Hiking & Camping on Mount Sunapee

Saturday, August 27th

Learn More

Register Now

Herbert Welsh:

Father of Land Conservation on Mount Sunapee

 

Learn about Welsh's long walks to Sunapee and his effort to protect the first conservation land on Mount Sunapee.

Read this PDF article from the Soo Nipi Magazine (Summer 2004)

Welsh: Ahead of his time

The Sunapee Historical Society will hold a cracker barrel talk, The Life & Times of Herbert Welsh presented by Barbara Chalmers, Sunapee, on Thursday, July 21, 2011, at the SHS museum at Suanpee Harbor. All are invited. The program is open to the public free of charge and starts at 7 PM.

Chalmers is a member of the Friends of Mount Sunapee, Welsh Centennial Organizing Committee.

"I started out this research only knowing that he painted, summered at a cottage in my neighborhood and was instrumental in the effort that created the public lands on Mount Sunapee," said Chalmers. "What I discovered was so much more."

"He was a man blessed with a financial position that enabled him to use his intelligence, writing and public speaking gifts to support many humanitarian causes in pursuit of justice and conservation causes to benefit future generations."

"He was driven by the notion that he could make a difference in the lives of people selflessly – his fellow Philadelphians, American Indians, the persecuted Armenians, injustice in the Philippines, international dispute arbitration rather than confrontation, education of the Blacks, good government at all levels. In so many ways he seems a man ahead of his time," Chalmers added.


Climb the mountain and get their glad tidings. - John Muir

Treat your senses to beautiful scenery and a night under the stars with family and friends on Mount Sunapee.

Join the Friends of Mount Sunapee, on Saturday, August 27, 2011, for a family-oriented day—a hike to Mount Sunapee’s Lake Solitude and old growth forest followed by music and camping on the mountain.

Register for Welsh Centennial Celebration Hike & Camping in Newbury, NH on Eventbrite

The event is part of the Welsh Centennial Celebration honoring 100 years of citizen-led conservation efforts on and around Mount Sunapee including land now part of Mount Sunapee State Park, one of New Hampshire’s iconic mountain parks.

The day will start with a hike to Lake Solitude, located at 2,510 feet along the top of the Sunapee Ridge between the summit and South Peak, and offering spectacular views. Leading the hike will be naturalist Dave Anderson of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests and ecologist Chris Kane, who has studied Mount Sunapee's natural heritage including its old growth.

The largest known fragment of old growth forest south of the White Mountains remains in Mount Sunapee State Park.

Hikers will meet at the state park campground at 9 a.m., lunch at Lake Solitude, and return around 2 p.m. (Hikers should bring water and lunch.) The hike is of "moderate" difficulty. There will be short increments of very steep walking on a road and off-trail bushwhacking to see special hidden old growth features. (Wear appropriate hiking shoes/boots.)

After the hike, one can further explore the mountain or relax at the Sunapee State Beach. (There is free entrance to the beach area for campers; otherwise, there is a nominal state park fee.)

Evening camping activities will start at 5 p.m. and will include music, singing around the campfire and a celebratory cake. Participants are asked to bring their own dinner and drinks. Event organizers have reserved several campsites that are available on a first-come basis.

Register for Welsh Centennial Celebration Hike & Camping in Newbury, NH on Eventbrite

For camping contact FOMS camping coordinator Lisa Bozogan, phone 603-877-0037.

And, please contact us if you'd like to help out or otherwise contribute to this fun event. 

 
joomla hosting: by Simplweb.com