Hoping to escape the single digit temps and stiff wind in Grafton County, I left the condo today at around 1100 and drove south on I-89. It was a beautiful day! Everyone from Massachusetts must have thought the same thing, though, because the roads were full of cars with plates from the Bay State - at least they were headed south! I got off the interstate at the exit for NH-11 and followed it to US-4 - my goal was to locate the southern end of the Northern Rail Trail. I knew where the place was, generally, but I also hoped to find other parking spots along the way - I was successful in this secondary goal and noted that the trail mostly followed US-4, just like it did farther west. The most interesting place I passed, Potter Place, looked like a major trailhead for the NRT - but I didn't stop until I arrived in Boscawen. I found a trail parking lot but it wasn't at the terminus - I got back in my car and drove farther south on US-4 until I found River Road (the map showed it paralleled the NRT). From there, I was able to find the end of the trail - but there was no parking there! So I backtracked to town and parked at the first lot I'd seen (near Jamie Welch Memorial Field). I decided to walk south (1230) towards the terminus - the distance looked to be about two miles. There was almost no snow but I did encounter treacherous ice at times. The sun was shining brightly and the temps were in the 20s - the wind was very strong, though, and was biting cold at times! As usual, though, the less than pleasant weather cut down on the crowds (I only saw one person on the outbound leg)... I got some good views of the Merrimack River, which paralleled the trail for a lot of the rail trail. It was swollen with huge patches of ice - basically, little ice rinks were floating downriver. While remnants of the old rail-bed continue for another 80 miles to Boston, the NRT ended abruptly on River Road (as I'd seen previously). I noticed that there was a fundraiser flyer posted on the sign there that talked about extending the trail to the Hannah Dunstan Memorial (0.5 miles further south) - I took a copy so I could learn more about the project and then headed back towards my car. On the way, I met a wildlife photographer who was hoping to catch a glimpse of a resident pair of bald eagles nearby (no luck). I encountered a few more people out for a stroll before I was done with the NRT but didn't talk to them. Before getting back in my car, I explored the Jamie Welch Park and found a boat launch area. Got back in my car at about 1400 and decided to check out the Hannah Dunstan Memorial - it was at the end of a crumbling road near the river and it was clear that any improvement to the area would be welcome. I went back to Bosawen and headed west again, following US-4 until I got close to a landmark that I'd noticed on the way down: Daniel Webster Birthplace. This turned out to be only a few miles from civilization (off of the aptly named "Currier & Ives Byway") but there wasn't much in the way of historical interpretive information there. Still, the scenery and historic buildings were nice and I was the only visitor - shouldn't complain! I took my time on the way back (US-4, NH-11) so I could locate more lakes and state parks to visit. Was back on I-89 before long and made good time back to Lebanon (arrived home by 1600). Overall, it was a good day - I got some exercise (despite the elements), learned some history and got even more ideas for outdoor summer fun!
