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Take a Hike! Recreational Trails in the Upper Valley
Researched and Written by Janine Weins
(Posted 7/5/06)

Most visitors consume fossil fuel in getting to their destination. This Saturday, July 8th, when participants in the 25th Annual Prouty Century Bike Ride & Challenge Walk head north, the towns of Lyme, Orford, Piermont and beyond will be visited by hundreds fueled only by the previous night's pasta dinner.

It is not just a Saturday in July when visitors don't use fossil fuel on their way to the upper part of the Upper Valley, almost every day visitors walk, bike, paddle, ski, or snowshoe into the area. The Appalachian Trail is responsible for many of the visit to my hometown of Lyme and the surrounding communities.

The vision of the Appalachian Trail (AT) was set forth in 1921. In an article in the Journal of the American Institute of Architects, Benson Mackaye wrote of the need for "an extensive national playground," which would offer "the great body of working people... opportunities for recreation and recuperation." Benson proposed starting "out from Mt. Washington, the highest point in the northeast" and ending in North Carolina at Mt. Mitchell, the highest point east of the Rockies. (visit http://www.fred.net/kathy/at/mackaye.html).

Benson's vision today is a quarter of a million-acre green way and the nation's longest blazed foot path. The 2,175-mile Appalachian National Scenic Trail extends from Mt. Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia. It crosses 6 state parks, 8 national forests and 14 states. Among the towns on New Hampshire's 161 mile-share of the AT are Hanover, Lyme, and Orford.

You do not have to walk into Lyme to walk in Lyme, and if you are in Lyme there are marked trails in addition to the AT that are maintained by dedicated volunteers. Three of these trails, the Grant Brook Trails, follow portions of the brook that flows from its source in Smarts Mountain through Lyme Center, along the southern border of my property, over Tannery Falls and eventually into the Connecticut River (visit http://www.uvlt.org/html/grant_brook.html). The eastern most of these trails is the Johnson Loop. It is located on the property my mother worked with the Upper Valley Land Trust to preserve for perpetual recreation and I now own. The middle segment is a half-mile trail that runs between Route 10 and Market Street through the Big Rock Nature Preserve. The third segment runs from the Lyme School to the Connecticut River.

Like the AT, the trails in Lyme are open year round. If you hike at this time of the year I suggest you wear long sleeves and long pants, use a bug spray, possibly one of the new plant-based lemon eucalyptus insect repellents and/or wear some of the new Buzzoff clothing that is formulated to repel insects. Any time of the year, make certain you have plenty of water and are wearing appropriate footwear. I like to carry a walking stick and a camera to capture images of a cute animal, a pretty flower, and the spectacular views.

The sign that marks the entrance to Big Rock Nature Preserve adn the beginning of Big Rock Trail.	The barn on Franklin Hill Road where you can access Johnson Loop as it looks in the winter.	The barn on Franklin Hill Road where you can access Johnson Loop as it looks from up the hill on a warm summer day.