Posts by cardiganhighlanders
10/1/23: Solitude Trail Rock Steps in Gully
Solitude Trail runs southeast from Mt. Sunapee summit down to the west shore of Lake Solitude, where it ends at the junction with Andrew Brook Trail. The Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway continues south from there. Solitude Trail follows a southerly route atop the ridge joining the summit and the White Ledges, then turns east and climbs by…
Read More9/21: Barlow Trail, Blaze for Winter at Treeline
Barlow Trail climbs Mt. Kearsarge from Winslow State Park 1115′ in 1.6 miles. It was laid out by Don Davis of NH State Parks, and built by Trailwrights Inc. in 1997. The trail ascends easterly before it bends southerly to climb more moderate grades on the north ridge of the mountain. 0.2 miles before it…
Read More9/16/23: Andrew Brook Trail Ditch-a-palooza
Wind from hurricane Lee was loud in the treetops when we four met on Mountain Road at 0900. We were to fix drainage issues on the first half mile of the trail, downhill of its second crossing of Andrew Brook. We were two new volunteers, a Team Leader, and the Trailmaster. What with introductions, safety…
Read More8/29: Rollins Trail Side Ditches
Having a day of clearing weather, two members of the 90/70 Club drove up the auto road from Warner. They dug a new side or interceptor ditch at the uphill side of this trail, which is in a gully ~ 4′ deep. Small rocks and gravel, pick it to loosen them, shovel them up and…
Read More8/19 Winslow Trail: Building Steps & Waterbars
This workday offers a good example of the 6 P’s: proper planning prevents poor performance. Well, we are still learning. This begins with our Board deciding that each 3rd Saturday in the season May-October is a predictable and regular workday. So, we advertised it on Nature Groupie back on 7/31. We invited everyone on our…
Read More7/22: West Ridge Trailhead, Mud, and Herd Paths
RAIN totals 12.28″ for June and July in the gauge at Orange NH on the west slope of Mt. Cardigan. Trails that usually dry out by June were muddy like in the usual Spring mud season in July. The usual horde of hikers slogged up and down the trail this Spring and Summer, and the…
Read More7/20: Andrew Brook Trail Clean Drains… Again…
This Thursday 7/20 was two days in a row of dry and sunny weather. Three of us met on Mountain Road at 0900 and soon started hiking up the trail with our shovels and rakes and suchlike implements of destruction, so sez Arlo… All were over 70 YO, and we braced ourselves with hiking poles…
Read MoreSat., July 15: Monadnock Trails Week on Marlboro Trail
This day was part of Monadnock Trails Week as sponsored by SPNHF. They have held 17 MTWs so far. This day made 5 since the latest downpour, and Sunday had another 1.2″ forecast for there. This year the SPNHF coordinator Dylan sent me to Marlboro Trail. We hiked up over about 150 yards of pavers…
Read MoreSummer Calendar 2023
Well there, trail crew, Almanac for this June says 5.36″ of rain. Our habit of raking drains in November, and cleaning them again in Spring, means that all this rain eroded our trails very little, if at all. The team on upper Andrew Brook Trail on Sunday June 18 dug three more, for 100 on…
Read More6/18/23: A Visit to Sunapee
On Sunday June 18th five Cardigan Highlanders met at Sunapee Ski area for a ride up the chair lift to work on the Solitude Trail and the upper portion of the Andrew Brook Trail. We split the group into two work parties; one to work on the Solitude Trail and the other on the upper…
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