Turtles, Friday walk, June 8th

Turtles on their Friday walk at the Castle in the Clouds Brook Walk.  6 of us : Betty, Nancy, AnneMarie, Christine, Laurie, and Jane concluded our 3 mile brook walk with lunch on the terrace at the Carriage House with splendid views of lake Winnipesaukee.

A group, hikes Mt. Jackson, June 7th

On Mt Jackson, looking over toward Pierce, Eisenhower, and (in the clouds) is Mt. Washington.  Pictured are John, Dick, Doug, Ginger, Don, Deb, and Ellie. 

Ellie (the dog) continually teased us with her unfair AWD advantage, covering the trail at least twice. Pic by Lesley.

Gibbs Falls, A couple tenths of a mile up the Crawford Path from rte 302. Photo by Dick.

Turtles hike at the Loon Center, June 5th

It was a lovely, but buggy Turtle hike / walk at the Loon Center.

June 7th, Stinson Mountain (B group)

Eight of us set out to Rumney for a wonderful hike up Stinson Mountain.  It was a fairly steady climb, gaining 1400' in elevation in a little over a mile and a half.  The canopy trees finally opened up at the summit for a beautiful view.  The bugs were surprisingly thick for an open summit, which was funny considering the lack of bugs we had in the very moist woods on the way up.  I'd say it was a good "moderate hike" with a distance (out and back) of around 3.4 miles.  The final destination of "Scoops" Ice Cream in Plymouth was an excellent way to end a great day's hike.

selfie... me (aka, Tracy)

Action shot while eating lunch and fighting bugs.  Cheryl, Kath, and Ruth

Lacy, Shirl, Ellen, Dee and Cheryl

Trail Maintenance Day(s)

Today 9 of us gathered to perform light trail maintenance along the Bear Camp River Trail, a 17 mile trail that meanders from the top of Mt. Israel to the Sandwich / Tamworth borders.

We divided up into small 2 person groups and concurred quite a bit of trail ground.  We removed small branches, identified some blow downs that will require chain saws, evaluated the health of some bridges, and verified trail blazes along the way.

We were pleased to find the trail in overall good condition, and we are thankful for the landowners generosity in allowing access to this lovely trail.

Thank you volunteers for your participation today!  Please save the date for June 30th, when we plan to finish the remaining trail sections.

Friday walking group...

On our hike / walk this morning at White Lake State Park, we were thrilled to see some lovely wildflowers, including Pink Ladyslipper, painted trillium, and Clintonia borealis.

After the two mile walk, we stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts for a free doughnut with our coffee. Apparently the first Friday in June is National Doughnut Day, a tradition started in 1938 to honor the Salvation Army “Donut Lassies” who served treats to soldiers during World War I.

East and West Rattlesnakes (B hike) May 31st

The B group enjoyed an iconic staple of the lakes region, the Rattlesnakes.  Many say they are being "loved to death" because of it's popularity.  We found evidence of a lot of trail maintenance, and some  that appeared in process.  Squam Lakes Association and it's volunteers are doing a fabulous job!

The views never disappoint, and the joy of less crowds on a Thursday is a major plus.

from left to right bottom row: Cheryl, Ginger, Shirley, Christine.  Top row Ruth, Elaine, Tracy and Jean.