On the Trails: Let There Be Rock!...... 1

Off the Beaten Track; Alternative Hiking Suggestions...... 1 On the Trails: Let There Be Rock! Upcoming AMC Events...... 3

A Personal Perspective; BY RICHIE HOLSTEIN Introducing Young People to the Outdoors...... 4 In the last issue of Mountain Passages this column

NH Wild Day...... 5 discussed rock work in general terms. Now we present a more detailed description of a real proj- Fall Hiking Week...... 5 ect to give a better idea of what’s involved. September 28 - October 5 The Chapter runs three weekend schools a year at Cardigan Lodge, two in the win- Winter Rescue in the Adirondacks...... 6 ter and one in the spring. Spring school features an Intro to Trail Work workshop, and this year Winter is never far; Sign up for we used the workshop to install a rock waterbar the 2018/2019 Winter to correct a long-standing problem: barely a Workin’ on a Dip. Photo credit Heather Wyman. Hiking Series...... 7 minute’s walk from the lodge, the Holt-Manning choosing the dip, we considered location, shape, AMC-NH CHAPTER’S ANNUAL Trail regularly gets flooded by runoff from the dispersal, and convenience. Dips are easy to con- MEETING 2018 ...... 8 Back 80 Trail. struct and usually easy to clean. Unfortunately, Because the workshop is instructional and Speak Up for Land and Water dips also fill with debris and can be trampled Conservation Fund...... 8 includes people who have never done trail work down by hikers, and just don’t last without a lot Now Until Sept. 30 before, we first created a simple earthen dip to of maintenance. direct one small flow away from the trail. In ON THE TRAILS, TO PAGE 2

OUR MISSION Off the Beaten Track; The Appalachian Mountain Club is the nation’s oldest outdoor recreation Alternative Hiking Suggestions and conservation organization, and hiking alternatives for those times when you are BY WANDA RICE AND BOB MCLAUGHLIN promotes the protection, enjoyment, looking for a quieter hike. This article provides and understanding of the moun- We all have hiked popular trails where we are a list and brief description of the trails, but you tains, forests, waters and trails of the seldom out of sight or hearing of other hikers. should always carefully review detailed infor- Appalachian region. AMC has more The cars parked along I-93 in Franconia Notch mation about any trail you are considering, be than 100,000 members, 16,000 vol- on summer weekends pay silent testimony to the prepared and carry your 10 Essentials. unteers, 450 full-time and seasonal Alternative hikes in in the Mt. Cardigan area staff. The New Hampshire Chapter is number of hikers climbing the Franconia Ridge the second largest of the 12 Chapters via Falling Waters or Old Bridle Path. Some- Great views can be had with not a lot of other within the Club. times, hiking a trail with others is fine and even people on Orange Mountain. This is 5.6 miles enjoyable, and other times we all would prefer round trip with 1600’ of elevation gain. From Cardigan Lodge, take the Holt, Cathedral Forest, VOLUME 44, NUMBER 4 solitude in the wilderness. In this, the first of a planned series, we suggest OFF THE BEATEN TRACK, TO PAGE 3 JULY-AUGUST 2018 ON THE TRAILS, FROM PAGE 1 occasional pick-mattock for Holt-Manning. Rock water bars can last almost each rock. Sometimes we were All the rain, flooding from run- indefinitely but are hard work able to use the bars to just push off, and pounding by six pairs of to construct. About 20 yards a rock to the water bar. Other boots left the treadway around below the dip, a second stream times we used a couple of bars the new water bar a muddy, enters the Back 80 with a lot as rails over which we pushed mucky mess by the end of the more water. An old earthen dip the rock. And when we were weekend. (So were we!) But at this location had been tram- lucky, we could just rock ‘n roll even with that, we could see real pled into obscurity. When it to get a rock where we needed improvement dow