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What We've Been Up To!
Anatomy of a Spring Patrol
By Wes Tucker Anybody who has spent time in New Hampshire knows that there are more seasons than just the basic four. The spring thaw is followed by mud season. Then fast on it’s heels comes black fly season. But wedged in between them is a brief window of time that Cardigan Highlanders call spring…
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Mud Season & Trails
By Bob Humphrey Mud Season has once again come early to Cardigan Highlander territory. Mud season could arguably be the time of year when our trails sustain the most damage. Early warm days start the thawing process and beckon hikers anxious to hit the trails after a long winter hiatus. Unfortunately, this is the worst…
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2022: 38th Worklog Summary for Cardigan Highlanders Volunteer Trail Crew
Seventeen volunteers turned out: 10 had and 6 earned their tartans. The 812 hrs on trails is 158% of the average of the last 5 years pre-covid: 476 hrs. That 812 hrs includes 3 days from 2 YMCA teen crews on service trips: 300 hrs. Our admin hrs = 158, outreach hrs = 59, so…
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Putting Trails to Bed for the Winter, AKA Raking, Raking, Raking…
A clean drain is a happy drain! The trailwork manuals say that drains should be cleared of leaves before snowfall. Dry leaves do rake MUCH easier now than do soaked ones in May. Cleaning drains now means they can handle downpours and snowmelt right into next summer. Some crews heed this advice, some do not.…
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Friends of Mount Sunapee releases a new film
The Friends of Mount Sunapee has announced the release of a new film focused on Mount Sunapee’s Old Growth Forest. The film, The Forgotten Forest Primeval Re-Discovering Mount Sunapee’s Old Growth, highlights the rare, exemplary forest on Mount Sunapee as well as the early history of its protection as Forest Society’s first reservation in 1911.…
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10/8/22 Lake Solitude Trail, Mt. Sunapee: Autumn on the Mountain
This foliage season is easily the most spectacular one hereabouts in many years. After a drought, there was enough rain in September to let the hardwoods really blaze with color against the constant of dark green spruce, fir and hemlock. Swamp maples in bright scarlet, sugar maples in yellow or orange, beeches in a lighter…
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Words of Wisdom
“Everything we do here has it’s applications to water.” CLICK PICTURE BELOW TO PLAY VIDEO
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7/11 – 9/16; Remove & Replace Old Wood Steps and Waterbars on West Ridge Trail
One major focus of 2022’s work was to remove and replace old rotting broken woodwork on West Ridge Trail, the main tourist trail up Mt Cardigan from the west. It climbs moderate grades on deep mineral soil, varied by steeper bands of ledge, until it encounters bedrock ledges just above Cliff’s Bridge which it follows to…
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9/10: More Rocks for Winslow Trail
We were a crew of two, so we decided to gain time by working from the bottom up instead of the top down. We added a largish pin rock to an older waterbar. At the upper side of the powerline cut, we added a rock step to help hikers climb a short but steep slope. The new…
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