Birthday Hike

Sunday was my sister Kim's birthday. She and I are 47 years old for three weeks....Irish Twins.

We joined several other hikers on a 4+ hike/bushwhack to three hilltops in Stoddard: Brooks Hill to Melville Hill, and on to Dakin Hill. We started at the Aten Lodge near "Shinbone Shack" in Stoddard, NH. We walked up the Aten Rd. for about .25 mile, then left up a steep dirt drive to a trail which breaks off from there. The trailhead is not marked, but is well known by locals. The trail used to be known as "Meetinghouse Rd.".

Brooks Hill and Melville Hill are also known as "Twin Hills". Back in the day, these hills were pasture that overlooked Granite Lake. Kim's husband, Alan Rumrill gave us a bit of the history. His grandfather owned a great deal of the hundreds of acres in the area. He would move his cattle from pastures in Stoddard all the way to Brighton, Ma to market on foot! He would make a stop just before arriving, to allow the cows to drink all the water they could, so they would appear more "robust". Alan told us there had been Merino sheep farmed in the area until the woolen mills in the closed.

The foliage was stunning, as it is all over this region. Lots of reds and oranges popping out. We saw signs of bear, moose, and deer. Unfortunately as is usually the case when walking with a crowd, we didn't see any of these animals. We stopped at a cabin on at the edge of Chandler Meadow. What a perfect spot to watch the Canada Geese getting ready to head south. I could easily imagine a big bull moose walking in the swampy edges of the pond.

After our hike, we celebrated Kim's birthday with a great meal, and Grolsch at the Elm City Brewery, in Keene. Perfect Sunday.