Miriam Hunt Memorial Forest – Rindge NH

It’s weird how you can live somewhere almost your entire life and have no idea what is actually in the town you live in. Maybe it’s because being raised in a small town tends to make eccentric people a little… desperate to escape. I admit, I may have had some blinders on but really, I just noticed this path for the first time despite driving by it thousands of times. It seemed the perfect place to go check out – close by, easy to get to, and an easy path for my unfit body to absolutely crush so off I went!

First off I must say there’s no parking and it’s a busy road (the 119) so you want to be well off it unless you want to cause an accident. I managed to park the Prius directly in front of the trail and there was a little piece of shoulder there probably big enough for two cars if I wasn’t terrified of getting stuck in the mud… but you know, Priuses be Priuses. ANYWAY…

I was a little shocked how well maintained this path was. It was wide – maybe an old road? And it had a bulletin board not far in with maps and information which it looks like no one has looked at in a long time – but it was well stocked none the less! After that though… it got a bit hairy.

The first fork in the path went off in three different directions but only two were on the map… and the map wasn’t color coded so I was a bit thrown. I decided to walk straight. From there I found a few lovely large clearing type areas which would have been fantastic to run a dog if I still had one. And then the trails became super jumbled. There were blue markers, red, markers, yellow markers, and even the odd white marker. I had no idea where I was going or why but luckily I had come early and wasn’t disturbed by the idea of getting lost – I knew I could follow the sounds of traffic to get back to the 119 and my car.

Although this was supposed to be a wetland trail there wasn’t much water.. until I ended up in someone’s back yard which I am pretty sure I wasn’t supposed to. There was PLENTY of mud though and I highly suggest bringing your boots this time of year!

All and all it was a sweet little path – almost completely flat and quite short – but lacked a lot of character. I wouldn’t really suggest it unless you happen to live in Rindge or really close by in which case it still needs someone to love it, right? Better still the maps on the bulletin board let me know about three other nearby paths (but weirdly not the Betsy Foskett which is almost right across the road??) Suffice to say I will be going out and checking these other trails soon.

April 24, 2021 0

Meetinghouse Cemetery and Rindge Center – Rindge NH

It’s funny. It seems I have been all over the place – this blog started when I went to all the lower 48 states, and then Europe, and then decided to explore all corners of New England, but what I haven’t done in all that time is pay any attention whatsoever to the town where I was raised and spent the majority of my life: Rindge NH. And what a perfect time to explore a deserted cemetery so close to home than when we’re all still being super cautious about the corona virus.

So that’s how I ended up in the center of Rindge at the Meetinghouse Cemetery. I parked at the church because I had a foggy recollection that there was a gap in the fence I could walk through at the corner of it. Indeed there is, as well as a proper entrance adjacent to the current town hall just down the street a little ways where the old crypt still stands. Parking at either is easy and doesn’t bother anyone.

I hadn’t visited this place since I was probably 12 or 13 years old and had a friend living nearby. We’d walked the cemetery and played in the town center – once giving the dog officer a hell of a scare as we bounded through the snow in the common on one particularly dark evening. But happy childhood memories aside, this is the heart of the historic parts of Rindge and it’s got a lot of stories to tell. And what a better day to tell them than on a rainy day like this?! The perfect activity for those of you going nuts in quarantine – no one walks through old cemeteries in the rain… well, except for me and a handful of other delightfully weird people.

I have to say I don’t remember this being the most hill-filled graveyard I have ever been too. WHEW! There was no effort whatsoever put into flattening the ground here but I must admit that adds to how dramatic it feels with slate stones dating back to the 1700’s and creepy barren trees on all sides. Still it was super peaceful and welcoming to the photographer in me. (Though people driving by absolutely did notice me there. Probably thought I was the Ghost of the 1970’s with my orange plaid bellbottoms.)

A Little About the Stones…

I’ve learned a few things over the years about these old graveyards and cemeteries. The first is the difference between a cemetery, which is just a generalized burial ground, and a graveyard which is the consecrated ground surrounding a church. The slate stones that were favored in the 1700’s were mostly mass produced in Boston. As such many have the same designs on them. Today I saw mostly Death Heads (a symbol of rebirth and resurrections) and weeping willows. As usual the stones closest to the church were both the oldest and frequently the most wealthy. You can tell by how large they are as they range from little more than a foot tall to five or six feet. People of wealth in those days often were tied to either religious institutions or the military. You can see several Minute Men buried here who usually have metal markers aside their grave.

Was there anyone of particular note residing here? I actually don’t know. I suspect there are a lot of people that were important to the town back in the day but this was a while ago. I didn’t see any stones that dated any younger than 1901. This… is a forgotten place.

Other Things to See Nearby

That being said there are a few other things to see nearby if you’re there anyway. Directly across the street is the ruins of an old foundation that used to be our old town shelter for both abused animals and battered women. This was not unusual as the Humane Society functioned more as peace officers for domestic abuse situations than they did as animal rescuers although they fulfilled both roles. How much of a need did we have for this little building I have no idea but suffice to say if you were in need you’d be kept there…

Not far from the ruined foundation there’s a tiny park dedicated to our veterans. There’s a few benches, a little memorial, some flags. From here you can look over the town common which used to be used as a livestock exchange and open air market. Today it holds a gazebo used for weddings and one of only two antique livestock scales left in New England which we proudly use every year for the great pumpkin weigh-off. So how big can a pumpkin get? apparently over 2,500 pounds… and let me tell you moving these giant orange beasts is a challenge. Worth coming out just to see that!

And so that’s my little town center. Thanks for stopping by to enjoy it with me. Below are five galleries of photos I took, organized by topic.

Gallery One: Super Dramatic Multiple Stone Photos

Gallery Two: Some Individual Stones

Gallery Three: Artsy Close Ups

Gallery Four: Other Things to See

This structure was used to house carriage horses during church services.

Bonus! Two Woodpeckers

April 24, 2020 0

Pond View Trail via the Betsy Fosket Trail Rindge NH

Well! It’s been a while since I gave a little love to this blog and if I am bluntly honest I wasn’t really planning on it today either… but then I realized I actually hadn’t said much about this little haunt of mine so I took out my cell phone camera and started snapping away. I NEEDED THIS TODAY!

If you’re anything like me you’re probably being a good little disease vector and staying home in quarantine while simultaneously crawling out of your own skin. I get it. I know I had a TON of plans for this blog this year. I was going to go to art galleries, bizarre museums no one has ever heard of, lots of festivals and county fairs, and even some odd things like a midnight showing of Rocky Horror which I am currently being threatened with. OK, so those are off the table… for now… but that doesn’t mean I can’t keep exploring, just means I’ll be exploring more obscure hiking trails and cemeteries… in New Hampshire…. because all the states around NH are starting to pull out-of-staters over. Vermont is fining them, Massachusetts is sending them home and Maine is demanding a two week quarantine before entering. It’s…hairy….out there.

That’s OK though! We can do this. We can go out and appreciate nature without coughing on anyone. Especially on these far less loved trails so how about it… here we go!

Today I walked a very familiar trail – the Betsy Foskett Trail in the Betsy Fosket Wildlife Bird Sanctuary- the entrance of which is located half-way up some dude’s driveway (the very last driveway on the Emerson Lane cul-de-sac) and is hidden from the road. It is however there and that half of the driveway is a right of way so don’t worry when you’re walking up, it’s right past the little bridge and impossible to miss.

The beginning of the trail was flooded today because we’ve had so much rain but I took the part of the trail that is next to the water and walked along there following the yellow markers until a little sign showed where the two paths diverged. From here I took the red path – Pond View Trail. It’s longer than the Betsy Fosket but crosses it again later on. Here I found the ruins of what I think was a house at some point and lots of lovely photo opportunities. I even found a nesting hole from a woodpecker and a beaver damn! Both new to me!

It’s an easy trail but I am fiercely out of shape at the moment and was having difficulty keeping up. So when I came across the entrance to the clearing where it crosses the Betsy Fosket Trail again I got off it. The clearing has all sorts of No Trespassing signs but the trail is still town property so ignore them. It will lead to the dam which is where I took a lovely rest before returning home via the Betsy Fosket. Where does the Pond View Trail end? I currently do not know… but I will investigate this further when my lungs aren’t burning.

I had a GREAT trip out and needed this little distraction so bad. I regret not taking my actual camera as I tried to only take a few snaps with my cell. My photographer’s brain was going completely nuts out there. It’s been WAY too long since I let it out to play.

Since I clearly need more exercise and exposure to nature this will not be the last you hear from me this year. Stay tuned and keep safe!

April 11, 2020 0

Rails to Trails – Rindge NH

It was another one of those rare sunny days we seem to get once a week now. It was a good day to go out and have lunch with a friend at the local diner followed by a brisk hike into the nearby woods. Lunch at the Hometown Diner was as mediocre as I remember it the last time I attempted. I have no idea why this place is so so popular. The first time I went I got what tasted like pancakes from a box and this time around they served what was clearly mashed potatoes made from powder. You can always tell when it looks only vaguely like its supposed to with a sort of sick translucent sheen… I mean from a DINER which is supposed to be freshly made easy food. Where is your pride?! But hey after I got done eating the saltiest turkey sandwich on the planet I was ready to go!

The Rails to Trails goes through a pretty big area and has multiple spots to start and or end at. We decided to drive up towards Wal-Mart and take it from there. I was happy to see that this time around they had added all sorts of signs to adjoining paths to local eateries and businesses including the Hometown Diner! If only we had known. No wonder I never see the college student from Franklin Peirce, they must be skittering like squirrels through the woods whenever they go out to eat!

It was VERY bright out, my camera was less than enthusiastic about this so my photos are pretty washed out. This trail is nice in the fact its very flat, very wide, and makes for a great place to start out the season – all easy! We came across several other people but they were all cruising along on bicycles. In fact one politely dinged at us to get out of the way, which is such a sad little tinkle of a noise that everyone was looking around to see whose phone was chirping but alas… when we finally moved to the side the guy just laughed at us. Or maybe he was laughing at me… as flamboyantly dressed as I usually am.

We walked past the Hometown Diner, across the street, and continued to walk all the way until we reached the little park where the town’s farmer’s market is. I wanted to go further (where all the water and pretty scenery is) but my walking buddies were getting tired… so we headed back. One of these days I will explore more of this trail…possibly by myself.

June 13, 2019 0

Old Woods Trail: Melting Snow Edition Rindge NH

Today Mother Nature decided to bless us with 48 degree weather and a light drizzling rain which did a fantastic job of blanketing the town in dragon’s breath and washing a good deal of snow away. I figured it was the perfect time go out for a little walk, take a few spring snaps, and just enjoy myself. I’ve been cooped up in the house all winter, my health clubbing the crap out of me on the slightest whim, and cabin fever has made me more than a little anxious to return to the woods. So that’s what I did, I took my camera, slung it over my shoulder, and returned to a familiar haunt – The Old Woods Trail in the Betsy Foskett Wildlife Preserve in Rindge NH. Today I hoped to capture the strange and eerie feel it had to it since being clouded in mist.

I had wanted to take a trip out here in the winter, after a good blizzard, but I just didn’t have it in me. It’s just as well. It seems as if snow had been plowed into the entrance, hiding it behind a giant snow bank. That’s never stopped me before and it didn’t stop me today, although if this is a trail you’d like to check out I don’t suggest doing so in the winter. The trail is poorly marked!

I heard the water rushing by before I got that far. All this melting snow had added a liveliness to the pond’s tributaries. And the smell! There’s no fresher scent on this earth than the smell of freshly melting snow. It tickled all my senses and gave me such joy. It appears I was one of only two visitors in the recent past, unless I feel like counting all the dog tracks I found. I think it’s kind of sweet these dogs migrate to a path their owners probably walked them down whenever they escape their own confines. The wildlife was clearly used to their cold weather privacy as I seemed to have accidentally startled a gaggle of Canadian geese who honked loudly and upset a duck on the other side of the pond who quacked back just as angrily.

I was eager today to play with both my cameras, my cute little starter camera – Olympus XZ-1, has a filter on it called “Dramatic” that makes gloomy rainy days like this look spectacular like my trip to the Wachussett Dam in Clinton MA last year. My more professional camera, a Nikkon D5000 had recently found itself a new friend, an af-s micro nikkor 40mm macro lens. Now I could take fantastically detailed close-ups of interesting mosses, plants, mushrooms, and bugs! In addition to this I have been playing with Black and White photography. I was never one for putting all my eggs in one basket…

I made it maybe halfway down the path before my body decided to slam me. Just because mentally I am ready to be out running for the hills doesn’t mean the rest of me agrees. I begrudgingly headed back home before even reaching the stone wall I was so intent on visiting. Oh well, there will be other rainy days when I will return! For now I am at peace with what I could accomplish. It feels like going home to be back on the trails!