New Hampshire's First Day Hike 2013
Monadnock State Park and Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion: January 1st, 2013
Monadnock First Day Hike:
At Monadnock, park staff and volunteers from the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests (SPNHF) led the hikes along the Parker Trail to Little Mountain. Dave Anderson (from SPNHF) helped lead the hike along the Parker Trail and provided interpretation of animal tracks, plant/tree identification and local history/lore of Monadnock.
Eastern Mountain Sports also displayed and provided free demos of their a range of crampons, micro-spikes, snowshoes and cross country skis for participants.
Complimentary healthy hot drinks and snacks were offered at the retail store. Day use fee were be waived for all visitors to the park.
Monadnock Event Statistics:
Weather was partly sunny, 24 degrees with an 18mph wind and a base of 18" of snow.
Total participants: 17
Estimated total mileage hiked:
2 people hiked 1 mile = 2
15 people hiked 2.8 miles = 42
Totals Miles Hiked = 44
Comments made by hikers at Monadnock:
"We have never hiked in the winter before - this is wonderful."
"Great view from Little Mountain."
"It was nice when we registered to have a fire in the fire place."
"It was nice of Eastern Mountain Sports to have free demos of snow shoes and poles for us to use."
"We had a great time we will have to do this again."
Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion State Historic Site First Day Hike
At Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion (WCM), Park staff and volunteers from Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests (SPNHF) led a 1.5 mile hike traversing three properties (WCM, SPNHF’s Creek Farm and City of Portsmouth Conservation land). Three SPNHF land stewards assisted with the hike and provided interpretation.
Wentworth-Coolidge Event Statistics:
Total Participants: 82 (74 Adults and 8 Children)
Estimated total mileage hiked:
82 people hiked 1.5 miles = 123
Totals Miles Hiked = 123
Over three-quarters of the participants had never been to the site. Most attendees were from outside the Seacoast Area. Comments were positive and people enjoyed learning about the area and many commented they can’t wait to come back in the summer and tour the Mansion and kayak in Little Harbor.
Here are some photos from this year's event on January 1st, 2013:
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