arghman
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Okay, all you Goffstonians!!!! (What? You're not a Goffstonian? Maybe you should read a different trip report then.)
It was too nice today so I left work early & went on what I intended as a bushwhack to a stand of beech (Fagus grandifolia) that I've never gotten around to exploring. There are a couple of beech stands on the slopes of North Uncanoonuc. Something about a stand of trees dominated by one species is impressive; they're not particularly rare but most of the trees in our town seem to be white pine, red oak, red maple, white oak, and hemlock (with some birches and sugar maples and pitch pine and beech and other species thrown in), so a stand of beech can be striking this time of year, before the leaves come out and there's a sunny hillside.
Beech are among my favorite trees (I have a lot of favorite trees
), they make me think of elephants, like if you took an elephant and stretched it upwards until most of the elephant was safely out of view.
These stands are somewhat remarkable in that I didn't see any graffiti (EG + VR 2/1/84) slashed into them -- so please don't spoil this spot!!!
Their leaves are nicely ovoid and serrate, not as thin & jagged as chestnut, but similar. Many of the trees are well into bud; beech buds are long (almost 1") and pointed. Like the oaks, some of last year's leaves may stay on the tree even until spring; this is called marcescence (learned that one on a SPNHF hike) and although it's one of those annoying things when you have to keep raking the lawn, here in the woods it's nice when the old dead leaves keep rattling around in the wind.
I like lowland bushwhacks, especially when you're hiking in a stand of trees that is old enough that there's a canopy that shades out the understory so you can walk without having to push branches out of the way -- I guess it's not really a bushwhack anymore, more of an aimless wandering.
I'm going to have to come back later when there are more things sprouting; there were a few evergreen herbs visible: wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) and trailing arbutus (Epigaea repens) here and there, and some leafless blueberry plants (Vaccinium angustifolium) in patches, along with last year's blackened and withering Indian pipe (Monotropa uniflora).
Beech trees often spread by cloning: the roots grow laterally and then sprout upwards, so when you see a stand of beeches, they might all be genetically identical and interconnected. There were lots of little sprouts from the soil. Someone had cut down a bunch of the smaller trees a few years back, but not all the way to the ground, and they seem to be a rather resilient species, as you can see here: ("I'm not dead yet!")
Beech and red maple and pitch pine (and birches?) seem to be good at resprouting.
I didn't see any bear claw marks (apparently the beechnuts are one of their favorite foods), but occasionally the trees are infected with nectria fungus which is a pretty bad bark disease:
In some of the stands, there areas where beechdrops (Epifagus virginiana) are abundant. These are a parasitic plant that feeds on the roots of beech trees; they have small weird magenta/white candy-stripe flowers in the fall. They seem to persist over the winter.
On my way near the summit, I ran across some signs that were somewhat intriguing, so I figured I'd come back down & follow them.
That's right, in addition to the White Dot trail and the old Carriage Road, there's Guido's Ski Trail. Never heard of Guido's Ski Trail? Neither had I, but someone has put a lot of work into it. There are all these little triangular signs, routed with a G and varnished and painted and screwed into the trees (with those square bit anti-vandal screws!) at intervals. Much fancier than the tin can lids with white spray paint used on the White Dot trail.
Later on down the trail, there's a sign saying
Pretty audacious, considering that this is quasi-public water supply land (owned by the Goffstown Village Water Precinct).
About midway down, there's a little rest area with a bench and a little red trail register box (complete with roof!):
and inside you can leave a comment. There's a slip of paper which says
Who is Guido??
"Guido" (Gwee-do) is the assumed Italian name of a local World War II veteran who, like millions in his generation, fought to free occupied lands 60 years ago. "Guido's Ski Trail" honors Guido and the millions of other Guido's (in Italian, "guy" like "just another guy") who fought and died to preserve the freedoms we enjoy today.
Please honor the ski-only trail by walking it only to maintain & clear the trail. Please do not hike, bike, or snowshoe the trail.
"There's lots of hiking trails, but there's only one Guido's Ski Trail."
Thanks...
Along the way back down, the trees have those triangular wooden G's on it, or there are little rock cairns.
I had mixed feelings on seeing this trail. Clearly someone was inspired to invest a lot of energy to create the trail & do a high quality job on the "blazes", and it is a much more memorable trail than the other ones on North Uncanoonuc. But it's a bootleg trail, and I wonder if the person who created it even knows whose property it's on. Also the brush has been cleared away, but instead of being dispersed elsewhere in the woods, it has been gathered in piles that seem like a fire hazard.
Anyway, my hike was a badly needed diversion, & I'll be rambling around again in a month or two, to see what herbaceous vegetation has sprouted.
It was too nice today so I left work early & went on what I intended as a bushwhack to a stand of beech (Fagus grandifolia) that I've never gotten around to exploring. There are a couple of beech stands on the slopes of North Uncanoonuc. Something about a stand of trees dominated by one species is impressive; they're not particularly rare but most of the trees in our town seem to be white pine, red oak, red maple, white oak, and hemlock (with some birches and sugar maples and pitch pine and beech and other species thrown in), so a stand of beech can be striking this time of year, before the leaves come out and there's a sunny hillside.
Beech are among my favorite trees (I have a lot of favorite trees
), they make me think of elephants, like if you took an elephant and stretched it upwards until most of the elephant was safely out of view. These stands are somewhat remarkable in that I didn't see any graffiti (EG + VR 2/1/84) slashed into them -- so please don't spoil this spot!!!
Their leaves are nicely ovoid and serrate, not as thin & jagged as chestnut, but similar. Many of the trees are well into bud; beech buds are long (almost 1") and pointed. Like the oaks, some of last year's leaves may stay on the tree even until spring; this is called marcescence (learned that one on a SPNHF hike) and although it's one of those annoying things when you have to keep raking the lawn, here in the woods it's nice when the old dead leaves keep rattling around in the wind.
I like lowland bushwhacks, especially when you're hiking in a stand of trees that is old enough that there's a canopy that shades out the understory so you can walk without having to push branches out of the way -- I guess it's not really a bushwhack anymore, more of an aimless wandering.
I'm going to have to come back later when there are more things sprouting; there were a few evergreen herbs visible: wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) and trailing arbutus (Epigaea repens) here and there, and some leafless blueberry plants (Vaccinium angustifolium) in patches, along with last year's blackened and withering Indian pipe (Monotropa uniflora).
Beech trees often spread by cloning: the roots grow laterally and then sprout upwards, so when you see a stand of beeches, they might all be genetically identical and interconnected. There were lots of little sprouts from the soil. Someone had cut down a bunch of the smaller trees a few years back, but not all the way to the ground, and they seem to be a rather resilient species, as you can see here: ("I'm not dead yet!")
Beech and red maple and pitch pine (and birches?) seem to be good at resprouting.
I didn't see any bear claw marks (apparently the beechnuts are one of their favorite foods), but occasionally the trees are infected with nectria fungus which is a pretty bad bark disease:
In some of the stands, there areas where beechdrops (Epifagus virginiana) are abundant. These are a parasitic plant that feeds on the roots of beech trees; they have small weird magenta/white candy-stripe flowers in the fall. They seem to persist over the winter.
On my way near the summit, I ran across some signs that were somewhat intriguing, so I figured I'd come back down & follow them.
That's right, in addition to the White Dot trail and the old Carriage Road, there's Guido's Ski Trail. Never heard of Guido's Ski Trail? Neither had I, but someone has put a lot of work into it. There are all these little triangular signs, routed with a G and varnished and painted and screwed into the trees (with those square bit anti-vandal screws!) at intervals. Much fancier than the tin can lids with white spray paint used on the White Dot trail.
Later on down the trail, there's a sign saying
GUIDO's
"SKI-ONLY"
SKI TRAIL
Please Do Not
*Snowshoe
*Hike
*Bike
"SKI-ONLY"
SKI TRAIL
Please Do Not
*Snowshoe
*Hike
*Bike
Pretty audacious, considering that this is quasi-public water supply land (owned by the Goffstown Village Water Precinct).
About midway down, there's a little rest area with a bench and a little red trail register box (complete with roof!):
and inside you can leave a comment. There's a slip of paper which says
Who is Guido??
"Guido" (Gwee-do) is the assumed Italian name of a local World War II veteran who, like millions in his generation, fought to free occupied lands 60 years ago. "Guido's Ski Trail" honors Guido and the millions of other Guido's (in Italian, "guy" like "just another guy") who fought and died to preserve the freedoms we enjoy today.
Please honor the ski-only trail by walking it only to maintain & clear the trail. Please do not hike, bike, or snowshoe the trail.
"There's lots of hiking trails, but there's only one Guido's Ski Trail."
Thanks...
Along the way back down, the trees have those triangular wooden G's on it, or there are little rock cairns.
I had mixed feelings on seeing this trail. Clearly someone was inspired to invest a lot of energy to create the trail & do a high quality job on the "blazes", and it is a much more memorable trail than the other ones on North Uncanoonuc. But it's a bootleg trail, and I wonder if the person who created it even knows whose property it's on. Also the brush has been cleared away, but instead of being dispersed elsewhere in the woods, it has been gathered in piles that seem like a fire hazard.
Anyway, my hike was a badly needed diversion, & I'll be rambling around again in a month or two, to see what herbaceous vegetation has sprouted.
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