I took a muddy walk up an old logging road through Warner forest to the High Blue trail head in Walpole, New Hampshire recently. It is a walk I’ve taken a few times.
Before you know it you’re through the mud and at the trail head. I came here not just to see the view but also in the hopes of seeing some coltsfoot in bloom, but the plants that grew here appear to have been destroyed by logging. It’s too bad because it was a beautiful display-the most coltsfoot plants I’ve seen in one place.
This photo is of the coltsfoot colonies from last year. They extended off to the right well out of the photo. I’m hoping some of them survived being plowed up by a logging skidder.
Hobblebushes (Viburnum lantanoides) line the roadside up to the trailhead, and their flower buds are just starting to unfold. Their common name comes from the way the stems grow so close to the ground. Unseen under the leaves they can tangle the feet of or “hobble” horses. I got firsthand experience in how they work last year when I was trying to examine a bush. My feet became entangled in the stems and I went down fast and hard. Ever since then I’ve been more careful around them. Soon theses bushes will be covered by large white flowers that are among the most beautiful in the forest.
I’ve always called this plant fan clubmoss (Lycopodium digitatum) but some call it southern ground cedar or running ground pine, even though it isn’t related to either pine or cedar. The name fan clubmoss comes from its distinctive shape. This plant was once harvested to near extinction for use in making Christmas wreaths and flash powder, and is still rarely seen. This is one of the few places I know of to find it. It can grow undisturbed here because the plants are off the trail in the woods, so anyone who goes looking for them has a good chance of ending up lost. Every now and then I receive emails from people saying they’ll buy all I can find or asking where they can find it. I’m usually pretty good about answering people’s questions, but those emails go unanswered.
The meadows are still quite brown but it won’t be long before they green up. There are three or four large meadows in the area, still used for hay cutting as they have been since the 1800s. Since there was no water power for mills in the town, Walpole was dependent on agriculture in its early history.
I saw a huge pile of wood chips at the base of a dead beech tree and that was my signal to look up.
This is the biggest pileated woodpecker excavation I’ve ever seen. It must have been 9 or 10 inches long and at least half as wide. It looked more like a nesting hole than a feeding station.
I always take a photo of the sign that tells you that you are at the overlook, just for the record.
The view across the Connecticut River valley was beautiful as usual, and also very blue. It is this “blueness” that gives this place its name. The winds were light and the air warm, so I sat for a while admiring the view and the puffy clouds.
They’re still skiing on Stratton Mountain over in Vermont, but if we have many more days as warm as this one was it won’t last long.
As I sit and admire the view from this place my mind always wanders to the people who used to live here. They left pieces of themselves behind in things like this old stone ruin. Some say it’s a chimney and others a foundation, but whatever it is it is clearly very old and is a sign that people once lived here. I was reading a town history a while back that described the many dangers of living in places like this in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Chief among them were mountain lions (catamounts), wolves, and bears, and women and children never went into these woods alone.
I’ve built a few stone walls in my time so I know how much work went into these walls. Add to that cutting all the trees with an axe and pulling stumps and plowing the forest floor with a team of horses and it just boggles the mind. I suppose, when your very existence depends on it, you can do just about anything.
There are elderberry bushes growing here and I wonder if they were planted, because this hill top is an odd place to find them. Maybe the farmer and his wife sat sipping a little elderberry wine at the end of the day, watching the sunset behind the Vermont hills.
As you re-enter the meadow after coming back down the hill, in spring, fall, and winter you are greeted by a view of Mount Monadnock, the largest mountain in the region. It won’t be long before this view is almost completely hidden by tree foliage, and it will stay that way until next fall.
There may be more to learn from climbing the same mountain a hundred times than by climbing a hundred different mountains. ~Richard Nelson
Thanks for stopping in.
I find the fan clubmoss all over the NC mountains
Don’t tell anyone or you could suddenly wake up to none at all at around Thanksgiving. They’ll take all they can find.
I enjoyed the hike!
Thanks!
Truly a beautiful view. It is odd to think of farmland being allowed to go back to forest, while here they want to plow every square inch (unless they’re building houses on it).
Depleted soil and the industrial revolution put an end to many farms in this area. Also, the expansion westward meant new, much larger farms were possible and railroads made it possible to ship all that food east in no time at all. All of that together means 4.8 million acres of forest in New Hampshire.
Hey Allen,
Great post, boy you have some really cool and beautiful places to hike. Great shots! Stratton mountain looks like a great place too, I would love to hike and camp there 🙂 The pileated woodpeckers did a number on that tree. We call it southern ground cedar too, it’s grows a lot on the mountain here!
Do you ever see bobcats, bear, deer when you are hiking?
Michael
Thanks Michael. We do have some great scenery here, but you often have to climb to see it.
I see deer and bear but no bobcats. We have a population explosion of black bears here and I’ve seen them in my back yard and even walking right down the street. That’s why I’m thinking of getting a sidearm to carry during berry season.
Climbing is no problem for me, I love it. Wow, black bears seem to exploding everywhere, same this here. Side arm is a good idea!
I haven’t seen any coltsfoot yet in its accustomed spot near me, so maybe it’s just delayed this year? One can hope. Also, I didn’t know Lycopodium was in such high demand! I’ll be more cautious about revealing its locations in my neck of the woods to suspicious, shifty-eyed plant hunters.
Yes, they make Christmas wreaths out of it and it takes a lot of it to make one wreath. You can still buy them at larger tree stands.
I’m hoping that coltsfoot really is just on hold.
I’m glad you don’t tell people where to find the club moss, it would be a shame if it disappeared. There were some breathtaking views on that walk, well worth the climb 🙂
We’ve had a lot of plants hunted to near extinction so if I find anything really rare I don’t say where it’s located.
I’m glad you liked the views!
Sorry that I’m late with a comment, it was a busy day.
There’s lots of the fan clubmoss growing in northern Michigan, I hope that no one finds out about it. 😉
I doubt that the holes left by the pileated woodpeckers were nesting cavities, they like to leave an opening just large enough for them to get through when they nest. They’ll rip trees apart for insects, even toppling trees in some cases.
When I get tired, or cold, or wet, I try to think back to what people had to go through just to survive 100 years ago. We’ve got it easy, but then, maybe that’s why we live so much longer than they did.
The views from and/or of the mountains were wonderful! You’re lucky to have such views in your backyard so to speak.
No problem Jerry. I hope you were busy getting some great photos. I don’t know that much about pileated woodpeckers, but if he pecks much more on that beech the top is going to come off it.
That’s true-many of the early settlers died young and it was probably due to having to work so hard.
We do have some beautiful scenery in this state and I often feel lucky to have been born here. I do wish we had the type of parks system that you have in Michigan, but I guess we can’t have everything.
I can’t imagine having the long views that you do. Enjoyed.
Thanks. If there is one thing we have plenty of, it is hills.
Reblogged this on Dawn of Divine Rays.
Thank you for another re-blog Agnes.
You’re very welcome, NHGS. Sending bright Reiki blessings your way. Namaste.
I always think that a stone wall in a forest is a sad sight as it represents a lot of labour gone to waste.
That’s true. Even though most of these walls were built simply as a way to get rid of all of the stones they kept plowing up, it was still a lot of work.
Wonderful walk, I really enjoyed it!
Thank you Mary. I’m glad that you did.
Never walked that one, how long if one refrains from pictures does it take round trip? Great shots and views! Stratton must be smiling this morning
I’d guess, without a camera, about an hour. That’s with about 15 minutes to enjoy the view. It’s an easy, gentle walk.
Thanks. I’d guess about an hour without a camera, and leaving about 15 minutes to enjoy the view. It’s an easy, gentle climb.
Yes, I’d bet they are dancing on Stratton this morning!
I’ve seen Fan Cub Moss in northern Michigan and incorrectly assumed it was a small tree.
You wouldn’t believe how many people make that mistake. It’s easy to do because club mosses do look like miniature trees.
How have u been Allen?….been a very long winter……I truly enjoy your posts and share them with relatives in other regions of the world to give them a taste of home…..something that cant b acquired with a card saying ” Wish u were here”……they always r appreciative….Tis the coming season of fiddleheads….If u could let me know when they are ready….i would b greatful…..maybe meet me 4 coffee/ and a venture onto the flood plains i prefer to call home…..thanx again for sharing your talents with all of us…..truly…. Mike
Thank you Michael. I’m glad you’re enjoying the posts. It sure has been a long winter-we woke up to snow on the ground here this morning! I haven’t seen any fiddleheads yet but I will let you know when I do.
Also, I should let you know that I’ve removed your phone number from your comment. This and many other blogs are read by people from virtually every country on earth, so you should never put your phone number in a comment.
Take care. I’ll be in touch.
Running across old home places in the forest does boggle the mind. So difficult to believe the work that would have been required to eak out a living in so many of the places.
Going into these woods with nothing but a rifle and an axe is more than I could manage. They were hardy souls!
What a wonderful walk, you take such interesting pictures and I also enjoy reading your commentary.
Thank you Susan. I’m glad that you enjoy these posts.
Sounds like a wonderful walk. If I hadn’t woke up this morning to a coating of snow, I would say spring is finally here. I couldn’t imagine what life was like on the mountain back then.
Thanks Laura. We have snow here too. Hard to believe after near 80 degree temps.just 2 days ago!
I’m sure that life up there was pretty rugged.
A wonderful account of your walk, I love all of the detail, its so fascinating.
Thank you Julie. If you ever get a chance you might want to give this trail a try. It’s a very easy walk to a great view.