Latest News

Navigation

Archive | exploration

2021 Wild & Scenic Film Festival

By on March 2, 2021 in conservation, environment, exploration, voices, water resources

Join the New Hampshire Rivers Council and enjoy one of the largest environmental film festivals on your own screen, starting on Friday, March 26, 2021, at 6:30 pm.

The Council brings you the 2021 Wild & Scenic Film Festival with live-streaming and video-on-demand for five days, March 26 – March 30. This is the Council’s eleventh year hosting the festival. For tickets, go to https://nhrivers.org/film-festival-2021/

For the Festival’s “On Tour” calendar, go to https://www.wildandscenicfilmfestival.org/events/

The New Hampshire Rivers Council is the only statewide organization dedicated to the protection and conservation of New Hampshire’s river resources. The Council is committed to the conservation and ecologically sound management of New Hampshire’s rivers, watersheds, and related natural resources.  

Voices & Views

 

Sunapee Mountain hike bestows far more than one seeks

By on June 16, 2020 in exploration, hiking, natural heritage, voices

I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees. – Henry David Thoreau

Take a walk in nature and smell the wild air.

Hiking the Summit Trail along Mount Sunapee’s west flank

Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads. – Henry David Thoreau

In every walk with nature, one receives far more than one seeks. – John Muir

At Mount Sunapee State Park, the forested hiking trails take you through an exemplary natural community system, which encompasses rare old forest.

As you explore the great outdoors, please stay on the trails and be mindful of trail conditions and others on the trails. Follow hiking guidelines and Leave No Trace practices. Stay safe. Be well.

Friends of Mount Sunapee photos: Mount Sunapee State Park, hiking the Summit Trail (2020).

Further reading and viewing

Voices & Views

‘Time for a climb’ from New Hampshire Garden Solutions

By on May 31, 2020 in environment, exploration, hiking, native plants, voices

Is it time for a climb and new discoveries? The delicate spring beauty (Claytonia caroliniana) welcomes forest hikers in New Hampshire, April through June. Friends of Mount Sunapee photo.

It’s Time For a Climb: New Hampshire Garden Solutions takes you along on a recent outing on Pitcher Mountain in Stoddard, N.H., and the discoveries made by taking the same trails again and again.

John Burroughs said “To find new things, take the path you took yesterday” and of course he was right. I thought of him last year when I found spring beauties I had been walking by for years and then I thought of him again on this day, when I found sessile leaved bellwort growing right beside the trail I’ve hiked so many times. I’m always amazed by how much I miss, and that’s why I walk the same trails again and again. It’s the only way to truly know a place.

See New Hampshire Garden Solutions, Exploring Nature in New Hampshire.

Voices & Views

The Hobblebush

By on May 24, 2020 in exploration, hiking, native plants, voices

When heading out for a springtime hike or forest walk, be sure to look for the showy flowers of the hobblebush (Viburnum lantanoides). The hobblebush is a shade loving deciduous shrub with sprawling branches, which will root if they touch the ground. The photo above, taken while hiking at Mount Sunapee State Park, shows the flat-topped clusters of white flowers of the hobblebush.

Voices & Views shares The Nature of Phenology, Episode 123, Hobblebush

Large clusters of hobblebush flowers can be found now. Not only do hobblebush flowers trick pollinators into landing on them, but the plants really do trip walking animals and careless hikers more than your average shrub—hence the name hobblebush.

And via Northernwoodlands.org, enjoy The Humble (yet Devilish) Hobblebush and Hobblebush, Viburnum lantanoides 

Online references

Voices & Views

Gale Straub: ‘She Explores – Women in the Outdoors’

By on May 22, 2020 in environment, exploration, hiking, voices

“Enjoy. I find inspiration and comfort by connecting with women who share their outdoor experiences and stories.” A Friends of Mount Sunapee volunteer organizer shares She Explores, the podcast by Gail Straub of Dover. N.H.

Episode 149: Stories of Togetherness

Voices & Views

“Nature’s peace will flow into you …”

By on April 3, 2020 in environment, exploration, latest news, natural heritage

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. ― John Muir

Friends of Mount Sunapee President Steve Russell shares this photo from a local hike at Mount Sunapee State Park, the home to this “gnarly old guy.”

While we share this photo, we urge all to hike locally and responsibly and follow safe practices. There is still snow and ice in the mountains and an accident can endanger you and the first responders and put further strain on our healthcare providers.

Please see the NH State Parks Response to Covid-19 for updates and information.

When the Sunapee Chapter of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests published the “Manual of Mount Sunapee” in 1915, it chose to include the John Muir quote, shown above. The booklet details Mount Sunapee’s geological history, flora, birds, and ferns. You can view the manual via the Hathi Trust Digital Library.

Film showing: “The Lost Forests of New England”

By on January 25, 2020 in exploration, natural heritage, old-growth forest

A film showing of “The Lost Forests of New England” will be held Thursday, January 30, from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm, in the Putnam Theater at Keene State College.

Courtesy of the co-sponsors, the Harris Center for Conservation Education, the Monadnock Conservancy, and the Keene State College Film Society, we share the program announcement below.

An old-growth hemlock stand. (photo © Ray Asselin / New England Forests)

This homegrown documentary tells the story of central New England’s old-growth forests through drone and wildlife camera footage, as well as field interviews with Tom Wessels, David Foster, and other renowned ecologists. Learn how our forests have changed over time, and how to recognize remnant old-growth stands today. After the film, Tom Wessels, filmmaker Ray Asselin, and Bob Leverett of the Native Tree Society will be on hand for questions.

Please visit the Harris Center website for more information.  https://harriscenter.org/events/film-showing-the-lost-forests-of-new-england

NOTE: Mount Sunapee State Park contains primeval forest, first documented in the Manual of Mount Sunapee in 1915. Permanent protection of Mount Sunapee’s “exemplary” and old forests is a priority for the Friends of Mount Sunapee. The film “The Lost Forests of New England” further informs and inspires our work.

 

‘The primeval forest of Mount Sunapee’

By on July 30, 2018 in environment, exploration, hiking, latest news, natural heritage

Conservation ecologist Chris Kane, on June 30, 2018, led a hike at Mount Sunapee State Park, where he shared his knowledge of the area’s rare ancient forest.

Courtesy of the Eagle Times, July 28, 2018, this article by Steve Russell, president of Friends of Mount Sunapee, reports on a recent hike with conservation ecologist Chris Kane.

“Mount Sunapee contains as much as 10 percent of all the known ancient forest in New Hampshire, and the great majority south of the White Mountains.” – Chris Kane, June 30, 2018

In a walk through time into a forest never logged or otherwise affected by human endeavors, Chris Kane, conservation ecologist, led our small group of hikers last weekend into Mount Sunapee State Park’s primeval forest. Over the course of a three-and-a-half-hour journey, we hikers heard this naturalist identify and interpret the complexity of Sunapee’s ancient forests…

So, like those who were drawn to Sunapee’s rare forests over a century ago, we emerged from the forest with a new appreciation for the uniqueness of this special part of Mount Sunapee State Park and with an understanding that these forests represent the last vestige of wilderness in this region of New Hampshire: they are what make Mount Sunapee State Park unique, and we should do everything we can to ensure that they are permanently protected.

Read more via the Eagle Times, The primeval forests of Mount Sunapee 

Or view The primeval forests of Mount Sunapee | Lifestyles | eagletimes.com (pdf)

The ancient forest on Mount Sunapee
  • For information about Mount Sunapee natural heritage and its ancient forest, see the FOMS library of documents.
  • For info about our work to protect Mount Sunapee, please contact us.

SooNipi Magazine: ‘Hiking Mount Sunapee’s Summit Trail’

By on June 18, 2015 in environment, exploration, hiking, natural heritage, recreation

SooNipiMagazineSummitTrail2015SummerEnjoy and explore the Summit Trail at Mount Sunapee State Park. The SooNipi Magazine, always a fun and informative read, delivers in its summer (2015) issue an article that takes you for a hike up the Summit Trail. Learn what makes this area of our state park so special and why this favorite hiking trail is now at risk! Read (download/view):

“Hiking Mount Sunapee’s Summit Trail” (SooNipi-Summer-2015 P.28-31)  (PDF 3MB)

You can pick up the SooNipi at various distribution sites in West-Central New Hampshire, or download/view the article by clicking on the link above.

For some, Mount Sunapee State Park conjures up images of alpine skiing. For many others, however, the park represents a smorgasbord of outdoor recreation opportunities – including hiking, hunting, nature study, backpacking, snowshoeing, and more. All are available at no cost in our public park. The Summit Hiking Trail on Mount Sunapee’s west flank offers access to all of the aforementioned non-skiing activities, and is a personal favorite…

The Summit Hiking Trail lies directly in the path of the proposed western expansion of the ski area. As currently planned, the hiking trail will be bisected at least half a dozen times by new ski slopes, and a new lift line will be gouged out of the heart of the ancient forest community. The closed forest canopy will now feature ski runs, towers for a ski lift, and pipelines and guns for snowmaking. The trail will still be there, possibly re-routed, but the peaceful woodland hike that exists today will be changed forever. – “Hiking Mount Sunapee’s Summit Trail” by Gary Stansfield

To learn how you can help protect the Summit Trail, contact FOMS today!

 

Copyright © 2020 Friends of Mount Sunapee