Mine Falls Park: Home of the Gate City Striders

OK, so the park isn't officially the home of a running club, but members spend so much time at Mine Falls Park that it's sort of home-away-from-home.

If you have avoided the Mine Falls area out of concerns for personal safety because it's an urban park, you might want to try the trails late in the day on Wednesdays between now & October. Gate City Striders (GCS) use the park and the adjacent NHS-South track for weekly workouts at 6 p.m., giving you plenty of company on the trails for an hour or so. You can park in the Nashua High School-South lot, behind the school, near the track.

By the way, I've used these trails for years, in all seasons, at all daylight hours & occasionally at dusk. I have not been accosted at any time. The creepiest near-encounter I  had with a suspicious-looking character was in the east end of the park, behind the now-renovated mill buildings, a decade ago when they were still pretty derelict. The character disappeared as soon as a group of half a dozen Striders came into view on their Wednesday run.

I'm responsible for my own safety, so of course there's risk, which I try to mitigate by carrying assorted devices. I usually let someone in my family know where I'm headed. I actually feel more at-risk in urban parks than on remote trails. I don't let the risk scare me into staying home.

Come check out GCS in any case. Fine folk, in my experience.

Dry spring = dry trails

Nearly snowless winter & dry spring have left trails near Merrimack in good shape. It's very dry & fire danger is high. Those same conditions have kept bugs away so far, although that can't last for long.

A few of my recent walks:
Pawtuckaway from parking lot near main entrance: I got most of the way to the fire tower before a still-healing fractured toe made me turn back. Some mud, easily bypassed. Main road is still gated and is likely to remain so for at least a couple of more weeks. While the park is not yet staffed for the season, there's now an iron ranger in the parking lot where you can pay $5 for admission. That's a bargain for this huge park with so many features.

Rollins State Park: The auto road up Mt. Kearsarge is still gated, but pedestrians can enjoy the paved road that comes within a half mile of the summit. Some tree litter remains on the road, but there's obviously been some early-season cleanup going on.

Horse Hill in Merrimack: I'm loving these few bug-free weeks on the trails here in Merrimack.

Mine Falls in Nashua: All trails clean & clear. The canal and river are at dramatically low levels.

Get out & enjoy everything. Keep your DEET handy, though. We'll need it soon.

Spring in Mine Falls Park

I shared the Mine Falls trails this afternoon with dozens of other folks eager to enjoy spring's first weekend. No crowds yet. Conditions reflect transition: trails have some patches of very slick ice, the ball fields are just emerging from the snow, and the low trail along the river is muddy enough for me to wear boots. I didn't care, and neither did the runners and dog-walkers out there with me. There was tree damage over the winter, but the mess is all off the trails.

No Porta-Johns out yet. Be patient.

I should have brought binoculars and an Audubon guide book. With no bugs out yet, it would have been a fine day to pick a spot in the woods and just sit for awhile to spot the birds. On my walk today, I saw swans in the cove where I usually see herons. The blackbirds were making noise down at the culvert near the millyard. Mallards were poking along the canal shore along an ice-free stretch. A woodpecker -- smallish; not sure what variety -- was busy near the newest bridge. Of course, I saw robins. One of them seemed to be posing for a delighted three-year-old near the ball fields.