I’ve been talking to the Hanover Conservancy about adopting a trail near my condo (more details to follow!) and decided to join their staff for a winter walk in Pine Park today. Located on the edges of the Hanover Country Club (and along the Connecticut River), this place is Hanover’s oldest conservation area. With the closing of the golf course there are plans to return many of the greens to pine forests. at 1300, I joined a group of about 30 other hardy souls on a tour of the grounds - it was supposed to be a snowshoe walk but most of us used microspikes (snow not deep enough, lots of ice). That was ok. What I didn’t bargain for, though, was that the leaders of the group wanted to stop every five minutes to talk for ten. In single digit temps. With cold, icy winds blowing all around. Some of what they were talking about was interesting but I would have preferred the conversation taking place in a warm room with a cup of hot chocolate nearby. I eventually began to think I wasn’t one of the hardy souls after all - about 40 minutes into the “walk”, I was VERY cold. Everyone else seemed nonplussed (or were they just feeling trapped?). Faced with a choice of continuing to follow or blazing my own trail, I detached myself from the crowd and headed off solo. I walked several circuits of the trail on my own and soon warmed up - this helped me to truly enjoy the wintry beauty of the aptly named, pine filled park along the frozen river. The sounds around me were a bit ominous: creaking trees, groaning ice, wailing wind. But I was glad to moving at my own pace and experiencing a typical New Hampshire winter day. Fortunately, I was able to avoid answering questions when I accidentally encountered the group towards the end of my hike (they were stopped, talking again)… Walked about 3.5 hours in less than two hours, even with the slow pace initially. Before getting back in my car (1500), I stopped to check out the Dartmouth Outing Club Ski and Skate Center. For the first time since I’ve lived in the area, the place was packed. Decked out in their dark green school colors, lots of young people were happily skating, playing hockey, tubing, snowshoeing, skiing and making s’mores - saw many smiles and heard many happy sounds! After that, I drove north on NH-10, looking for the main Conservancy building. I couldn't find it initially and got distracted by a stop at the Kendall (55+ community, I got a brochure). Thinking I needed to keep driving north, I continued on NH-10 into Lyme. Part of me wanted to find something fun to do but, just before reaching town, I decided to turn around because it had gotten more snowy and windy. On the way back in Hanover, I finally found the Conservancy building... Reached home by 1615. Snow’s coming down harder now - I think I’ll see about that hot chocolate...
