I had very limited time today to beat an incoming snowstorm. I chose Marjory Swope Park in Concord as my destination. I am really surprised at the amount of well maintained, wonderful little trail networks that Concord has on offer! Plus they have all sorts of connecting trails between some of these networks creating opportunity for any sort of adventure. So far, all the places I have visited have been exceptionally well marked and easy to explore. I was second car in the parking area, when I returned there were 3 cars in the lot and several up and down the roadside. This is a popular destination. I saw several groups while out on my walk. There are only 3 trails at Marjory Swope Park, each marked with a different color. Blue is a loop, Orange and Yellow intersect the Blue creating opportunity for a shorter or longer hike. I headed out on the Blue Loop to the left having read that is the "easier" way to go. We have had several snowfalls one after the other over the past week, so I wasn't sure what ground conditions would be. I could see at the trail entrance a well established track (which again surprised me since we were only 2 days post the most recent snowfall) so I set out with spikes and carried my snowshoes just in case. I ended up wearing spikes the entire way, but snowshoes wouldn't have been overkill in some places. The Blue Loop was well trodden, and while Orange and Yellow were established they weren't quite as well packed. Of course, it is snowing again this afternoon so all that will be out the window anyway! I reached the Orange intersection and headed left to the park boundary where trails continue to surrounding areas. I backtracked to an Orange/Blue connector and took that back to Blue, then back to Orange. This time I headed uphill towards the scenic vista where I found a really pretty cleared area with a bench and overlook towards Crotched Mountain and Pats Peak. I continued on Orange to Yellow and took a right back to Blue. I doubled back over Blue this time continuing the loop around to Yellow. Yellow up to the Jerry Hill summit was the steepest section of the day as far as climbing, but it was short. The summit has some old cement footings for an observation tower that is long gone. No views from the summit. I went back down Yellow passing a peekaboo view of Kearsarge Mountain and back to Blue. Continuing the loop, I came upon another cleared view with a bench overlooking Long Pond and over to Belknap Mountain. Even on a cloudy, overcast, snow incoming day, it was a pretty view. I just had to finish the Blue Loop to complete the day. This section of Blue had a steep drop off where you could see the road way down below. That was kinda cool. Here I encountered a family with 2 little ones that were sledding their way around the Blue Loop to the scenic vista. It looked like a lot of fun. I heard the Mum say something about a snowshoe, but I thought she was talking to her son. A little ways on I kept thinking about that and something made me look at my pack and I realized I had lost a snowshoe along the way. Annoyed with myself, I turned around and headed back to where they were, thinking she had seen it where I encountered them (and probably wondered why I didn't stop and pick it up). Once I reached them again, she explained that it was actually at the trailhead, someone else had picked it up and carried it out. Relieved that it wasn't lost and grateful that the hiking community is so honest and helpful, I headed back in the direction of the car and sure enough, once I reached the kiosk, there was my snowshoe leaning up against it. Thank you to the kind soul who found and carried it out! I wouldn't have been thrilled at having to backtrack those 4 miles to try and find where I'd lost it! Now I know to secure it better next time! I finished about 15 minutes before the snow started, so goal accomplished and 3 more trails checked off my southern NH redlining spreadsheet.
Strava Activity
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| Gilfillan Rock |
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| Jerry Hill summit (old footings covered in snow) |
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