FOP March 9th Trail Maintenance
Friends of Pisgah will hold a trail maintenance day on Saturday, March 9th starting at the Horseshoe Road trailhead parking area in CHesterfield at 10 a.m. We will head south down South Woods, Secret, Lily Pond and possibly North Ponds trails cleaning trees, branches and forest debris as we go.
Bring a branch lopper and/or a sharp hand saw. Be sure to have good gloves, warm clothing, boots and even a pair of micro-spikes or crampons in case of icy conditions. Bring a snack or a lunch and plenty of fluid.
Directions: From West: NH Rt. 9 from I91 Exit 3, 7mi to Rt. 63 South, 1mi left Old Chesterfield Rd., 0.2mi past school and field, bear right onto Horseshoe Rd. for 1.5mi to parking lot.
From East: NH Rt. 9 from Keene, approx. 13mi to Rt. 63 South. Follow directions above.
PISGAH MOONLIGHT HIKE
Weather permitting, the Friends of Pisgah are scheduling a moonlight hike on Saturday, February 16th, staring at the Kilburn trailhead parking lot just off NH Route 63 at 6:30 pm. We will be trekking out the Davis Hill Trail to Davis Hill's summit viewpoint to the east, toward Mt. Monadnock where the near-full moon will make its appearance if the sky is clear and the moon cooperates with us.
You might bring a light or headlamp, boots with a pair of micro-spikes or crampons or snowshoes if there is plenty of new snow. Maybe bring some fluids and a snack, if you like. Dress warmly, of course. There is no cost. All are welcome.
The trek out to the summit usually takes about 35 to 40 minutes, longer if conditions on the ground are iffy. We will return the way we came back to the parking lot. There is a viewpoint to the west a little farther along the trail, too, if folks wish to see a bit more of our beautiful northern New England world.
February 9th Trail Maintenance
Friends of Pisgah will hold a trail maintenance day on Saturday, February 9th starting at the Beals Loop/Beals Road trailhead parking area at 10 a.m. We will brush out blowdowns and forest debris in the area that day.
Bring a branch lopper and/or a sharp hand saw. Be sure to have good gloves, warm clothing, boots and even a pair of micro-spikes or crampons in case of icy conditions. Bring a snack or a lunch and plenty of fluid.
In order to reach Pisgah's most remote trailhead take Route 9 to a point just east of the Big Deal general store. Turn right if eastbound (a little after the store) or left if westbound (before reaching the store) onto the Old Chesterfield Road and then turn an immediate left onto Tuttle Road. Travel a quarter mile on Tuttle Road to the Old Swanzey Road and turn right and travel south to a fork in the road. Stay right at the fork staying on the Old Swanzey Road. The road will soon turn to dirt. Travel a long mile to Stone Mills Road on the right. Travel uphill gradually about two-fifths of a mile to a parking pullout on the right just before reaching a bog pond ahead and on the right. Park off the traveled road, please. Pisgah signage marks the trailhead.
FOP Run in the Park
MARK YOUR CALENDAR ASAP
On Saturday, June 1 is Friends of Pisgah's RUN IN THE PARK day. We're sponsoring three races this year: A 5k. A 10k. And a NEW Half-Marathon. Race start time will be 9 a.m.
Where? Horseshoe Trailhead at the end of Horseshoe Road about a mile behind Chesterfield Elementary School and southeast of Route 63 in Chesterfield, NH
Get up off the couch. Turn off the TV. Put down the tablet. Throw the cellphone out the window. Get a printed calendar and mark it -- June 1, 9 a.m. Race -- and tack the calendar to the front door, the refrigerator, or your forehead. Got that? Good!
Come out and run or walk in challenging, all forested terrain on woods trails...no road running or walking.
Tell a friend. Tell a relative. Tell Congress, even. SHARE THIS POST.
More details to come in the weeks and months ahead.
NH State Park's FIRST DAY HIKE
FOP Trail Maintenance 10/20/2018
Four members of the Friends of Pisgah, John Herrick, Jon Knickerbocker, Jim Schofield and John Hudachek, met at the Kilburn Trailhead at 10:00am on Saturday, October 20th, 2018. We drained some water off the west side of the Kilburn Loop trail and removed fallen trees and branches from the John Summer trail and Kilburn Road. A really pleasant day to be hiking around Kilburn Pond.
Friends of Pisgah Annual Meeting
On Tuesday, November 13th at 7:00, we will be assembling at the Hinsdale Community Center for our Annual Meeting. This year’s speaker will be Patrick Hummel with the State of New Hampshire, who will be doing a presentation on the 2008 Monadnock ice storm.
Friends of Pisgah Fall 2018 Newsletter is now Available
The online version of the Friends of Pisgah Fall 2018 newsletter is now available by clicking http://www.friendsofpisgah.
Spring Clean Up in Pisgah State Park
Sixteen volunteers came out for the Friends of Pisgah work day on Saturday, April 21st to sweep the many miles of trails that are part of the 10k and 5k Run in the Park races that are scheduled for May 26th. The folks assembled in crews and spent a long six hours clearing forest debris, cutting away blowdowns, opening drainage ditches and culverts to improve water flow off the trails, and generally sprucing things up. So the going is fine in much of the northern segment of Pisgah Park.
Two days later, a big log was jimmied out of the Kilburn Road, the newly refurbished Town Forest Trail was cleared of debris, and the old Davis Hill Trail got a manicure, too.
Volunteers make it happen in Pisgah!
K. r. Nilsen
1/20/2018 Pisgah Workday
WE ICED IT. Today, Saturday the 20th, nine Friends of Pisgah souls moved enough materials over the Kilburn Loop Trail and Kilburn Pond to build two foot bridges, one that will be 22-feet in length and the other 24-feet long. The materials are to be assembled into spans in the spring on the soon to the formally brushed out John Summers Trail on the eastern side of Kilburn Pond. On our Facebook page we see folks moving on ATV machines with hauling sleds attached and volunteers pulling lumber from the sleds and piling the material where it will be readily accessible in two different locations. Despite some logistical difficulties while moving half a ton of material up icy hills, the work was completed in six hours. Not a bad day's work.
