Notes from the Chair ...................1 Tale of Two Trails...............................1 Creation of the Trail System White Mountain and Beyond ..........................................2 Footprints in the Snow ...............4 Notes from the Chair A Way to Keep Busy, Discoveries in a Pandemic ....6 the continuing pandemic conditions, we have BY RICK SILVERBERG Trails Less Travelled: reluctantly decided we cannot safely conduct the A Collection of Ideas for Hikes school this year and the “Spring” School has been for Families and Explorers ......8 As the summer has gone on, many Chapter members have shared their “hike local” stories on finally cancelled. Proposed In addition to cancellation of the Spring By-Laws Amendments ..............12 our FaceBook page and are trying to make the best of the situation. While limited facilities have School, we are all too aware of limited number Winter Hiking opened at some AMC huts, and of Chapter outings this summer. Series Cancelled ..........................12 Highland Center and Joe Dodge The few that have taken place have New Hampshire Chapter Slate Lodge and Cardigan Lodge have followed the guidance and special of Candidates/Annual Meeting – 2020 ..............................12 opened for lodging and restricted protocols received from the Club food service, this has certainly not central office. Reports from trip Where In The Whites? ...............13 been a typical year for outdoor leaders have been that the partici- activities. Unfortunately, these pants on these trips have been very Protect Our Trails ..........................14 changes are going to continue good about following protocols. As into the fall and beyond. we enter the fall we are seeing an New Hampshire Chapter We had to postpone our increase in trips being offered. Annual Meeting .............................16 October 24, 2020 Spring School and had hoped to reschedule it in October. With NOTES FROM THE CHAIR, TO PAGE 2 OUR MISSION The Appalachian Mountain Club is Tale of Two Trails the nation’s oldest outdoor recreation (With Apologies to Fans of Charles Dickens) and conservation organization, and promotes the protection, enjoyment, the week before school begins, most folks would and understanding of the moun- BY BOB MCLAUGHLIN be home getting ready. When I arrived at the tains, forests, waters and trails of the Appalachian region. AMC has more It was the best of times, parking area at Lafayette Place, there were a lot of than 100,000 members, 16,000 vol- It was the worst of times. cars, but also some empty spaces, and I grabbed unteers, 450 full-time and seasonal It was the week before Labor Day weekend one. staff. The New Hampshire Chapter is and I took two hikes. I live in Lincoln at the Starting the hike, I was surprised by the the second largest of the 12 Chapters southern end of Franconia Notch, and have a large number of camp sites occupied and even within the Club. multitude of hiking trails from which to choose. more surprised by the number of parties on the In defense of my decision, and possibly trail. Before getting out of the campground, I VOLUME 46, NUMBER 4 exposing my naiveté, on Monday, I decided it was passed by 3 groups of hikers. Many wore masks, and all passed by leaving a substantial dis- FALL 2020 would be a perfect day to visit Lonesome Lake. The air was clear and winds calm. I thought, in TALE OF TWO TRAILS, TO PAGE 3 NOTES FROM THE CHAIR, FROM PAGE 1 development of the first hiking trails, some of which are still in use today. We look forward to a vaccine that will bring us to a level of herd • Lu Ann Laquerre presents five lesser known hiking chal- immunity that we will be able to return to our accustomed activities. lenges to explore. Any of these hiking challenges provide a With any luck this may be as early as 2021. We can only watch and great way to discover new trails and avoid crowds. wait. • Following on the topic of avoiding crowds, Bob McLaugh- Looking to the future, Winter School at Cardigan is still sched- lin, contrasts two hikes he took recently in Tale of Two uled, but we will not be able to make decisions on how and what we Trails. A valuable object lesson. can offer for several months. We just cannot have these larger group • Another article, Protect Our Trails, was authored by Bob, gatherings and we are forced to think smaller. but represents the thoughts of many members of the Chap- The New Hampshire Chapter is committed to continue to edu- ter’s Executive Committee. It is worth a read to remind us cate the public, but we just have to rethink how we do that. of what we can all do assure that our trails are protected for We are still exploring the best way to conduct Chapter events that everyone’s enjoyment today and for the future. can provide value to our members at low risk during this time. We • Finally, there is article describing the amendments to the are considering how we can properly manage small gatherings and Chapter By-Laws that have been approved by the Executive how we can provide virtual events that can at least partially make up Committee and that will be proposed for approval at the for what we cannot safely do. Many creative suggestions have been Annual Meeting. made that are being explored. If you have ideas please let me know, We hope you enjoy this issue of Mountain Passages. A big Email at [email protected]. thank you to the authors and newsletter staff who make it all It is a challenging time, but we can make it work if we all try. possible! Your thoughts and suggestions will be welcome. Enjoy the outdoors, but stay safe! In the meantime, we are looking forward to our Annual Meet- ing on Saturday, October 24. For better or worse, this year’s Annual Meeting will be on Zoom. In some ways it will make attending easier and it opens up some possibilities, but we all know what will be MOUNTAIN PASSAGES missing. Take a look at the article by Debbie Marcus in this issue of Volume 46, No. 4 Mountain Passages for a preview and the link to register. Fall 2020 A highlight of the Annual Meeting program is our keynote Mountain Passages is published four times a year by the New Hampshire speaker, Ty Gagne. Ty is the Chief Executive Officer of the NH Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club. Public Risk Manager Exchange and is an active participant in the Submissions. Members may submit articles or photos (hi-res jpegs) to Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue team. In addition, Ty is the [email protected]. Articles may be edited at the discretion of the editor to meet space and style requirements. Publication is on a space- author of the fascinating book, Where You’ll Find Me; Risk, Decisions, available basis. While Mountain Passages does not pay for submissions; a and the Last Climb of Kate Matrosova, and the shorter piece, Footprints byline or photo credit is given. Contact Mountain Passages for in the Snow, which is reprinted in this edition of Mountain Passages. reprint permission. We understand Ty has another book in the works and look forward to Advertising. The AMC NH Chapter members enjoy the outdoors year-round by hiking, paddling, skiing, backpacking, climbing and biking and more. his presentation at the Annual Meeting. For information and the Ad Rate Sheet, send an email to Elsewhere in this edition of Mountain Passages, you will find: [email protected]. • A great story by Tim Kennedy, one of the 50 year honorees at the We reserve the right to refuse any submission, photo or advertising that is Annual Meeting, about how he made use of his “close to home” not consistent with the mission of the AMC. time during the pandemic. Address Changes. Address changes or other changes to your membership must be made through AMC Member Services at 10 City Square. Boston, • Another article by Bob McLaughlin in his continuing series on MA 02129; 800-372-1758; outdoors.org/membercenter the history of hiking in the White Mountains leading up to the 100th anniversary of our Chapter. This time Bob explores the Please note: Member address updates cannot be handled by AMC-NH officers, committee chairs, or the newsletter editor. Mountain Passages Online. If you’re receiving Mountain Passages through the mail, please consider signing up to get the electronic Advertise Here to Reach Almost 15,000 version instead. You’ll get added resources not available to print subscribers: direct links to Environmentally Active Outdoor Enthusiasts emails, forms and online information, color photos, online registration forms. ISSUE DEADLINE AD SIZE PRICE (per issue) To sign up, go to www.outdoors.org/membercenter and set your AMC-NH Spring March 15 1/8 page 3.5”w x 2.5”h $100 Chapter newsletter preference to online. 1/4 page 3.5”w x 5”h $160 Summer May 15 1/2 page 7.5”w x 5”h $250 © 2020 by New Hampshire Chapter, Appalachian Mountain Club. Fall August 15 20% Discount for advertising in six Winter November 15 consecutive issues, with prepayment Editors: Robert S. McLaughlin & Brett Billings For questions, or to submit ad: [email protected] [email protected] Please send ads as color PDF or jpeg high-resolution files, at correct size. Ads will appear in color in the on-line and print versions. Graphic Design: Jessica Clifford, Graphic Designer, Artist & Photographer. We reserve the right to refuse ads that are not related to the mission of AMC.