SunapeeNews.com

It’s time to take a hike or two, or perhaps three, five or seven. The Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway Coalition will lead seven hikes this fall that are open to the public free of charge. The trails chosen are part of the Greenway’s 75-mile Emerald Necklace. Hikers will be able to go over Mount Sunapee, into Sunapee Harbor, to Morgan Hill, into Springfield and to Wilmot– travel high and low and along mountain trails, woodland paths and several Class 6 roads. To read more about it, here’s info from the recent SRKGC newsletter reprinted, in part, with permission.

The 16th SRK Greenway Coalition Walkabout will begin Saturday, September 5 and continue for seven Saturdays finishing up on October 17. Trails 1 through 7 are on this year’s schedule with 8 through 14 scheduled for next year. Details of each hike are listed below with the lengths and a general assessment of difficulty for each trail.

This year the Saturday hikes will usually start at 9:00 a.m. The leader will set the time and meeting place. If there is a rain-out, the trip leader will determine the starting time for the Sunday hike. All who plan to hike must call the leader by the evening before to get these instructions. Trip leaders recommend bringing hiking (or ski) poles.

Often some of our hikers don’t realize, prior to the event, that rough terrain and occasional steep sloops make it difficult for some to negotiate the trail. Using hiking poles are not just for sissies – they actually have many benefits. For a “pro/con” discussion on using poles, check this out at: http://www.slackpacker.com/trekking-poles.html

SRK Greenway 2009 Walkabout Schedule

• Sat. 9/5 – Newbury Harbor to Old Province Road, Goshen, 5.4 miles (Moderate), Andy Hager 603-526-2846
• Sat. 9/12 – Old Province Road, Goshen to Sunapee Town Hall,  7.3 miles (Moderate), Charlie Killam 603-526-4467
• Sat. 9/19 – Sunapee Town Hall to Deer Hill Road, Springfield, 7.3 miles (Moderate), Ron Wyman 603-456-2347
• Sat. 9/26 – Deer Hill Road to Springfield – New London Road,  4.1 miles (Easy), Cynthia Bruss 603-763-4570
• Sat. 10/3 – Springfield – New London Road to Great Brook Bridge,  8.4 miles (Difficult), Mike and Susan Chiarella 603-763-4661
• Sat. 10/10 – Great Brook Bridge to NH 4A, Wilmot,  3.2 miles (Easy ), Brian Faughnan 603-526-7838
• Sat.10/17 – NH 4A, Wilmot to Wilmot Center, 4.4 miles (Moderate), Ken Aldrich 603-526-2942

The Greenway’s mission is to create and maintain a forever green, great circle of trail corridors and conserved lands providing walkers with minimally-developed access to the mountains, lakes, vistas and historical sites of the region. The “necklace” comprises over 75 trail miles, created  with the cooperation of landowners and local authorities, through the forests, over mountains and, where appropriate, via old roads, now unsuitable for wheeled traffic but more extensively used as much as two centuries ago. Maintaining the Greenway, improving its pathways and creating new ones, some to form links with other famous hiking areas such as Monadnock and Cardigan mountains, are undertaken by SRKG members. Your membership, and offer to help, will always be welcome.