Spotlight: First Day Hike - Silver Lake State Park
- mharding221
- Jan 2, 2016
- 5 min read
I don't generally cover specific events since they only occur on certain dates, and this blog is supposed to serve as a guide for places to go/things to do at any time.
However, the Parks and Recreation First Day Hikes are an amazing way to begin your New Year and you don't want to miss next year's!
What it is: an easy-to-moderate guided hike at a state park - perfect for all ages, from my wiggly 4 year old to the grandparent-aged hikers we met on the trail.
This year, the New Hampshire Parks and Recreation gave residents from all over the state a chance to join in a First Day Hike by hosting events at: Monadnock State Park in Jaffrey, the Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion State Historic Site in Portsmouth, Weeks State Park in Lancaster, and Silver Lake State Park in Hollis - which is the one we chose.
When we arrived, (a mere 15 minutes after registration had begun), the spacious parking lot was already at least half full. We crunched through the snow and crossed the street, spotting the NH Parks and Rec. tent and a large crowd of people being checked in. As we neared the line, earthy clouds of smoke wafted over us from a campfire behind the tent. Just beyond that, sat several picnic tables with hot cocoa and water (free).
A friendly man sporting a black Parks and Rec. fleece (I want one!) checked in Munchkin and me, offering us a complimentary gray, black, or navy New Hampshire Parks and Rec beanie cap.
The Parks Department collaborated with the Beaver Brook Association for this event, and a Beaver Brook Nature Center employee had volunteered to lead the group on a guided hike. Or, we were told, we could head out on our own, following the well-marked trail.
Even though this was our first visit to Silver Lake, we opted to "go it alone". The snowy path was already littered with dozens of tracks from smaller groups of hikers already on the trail, so there was really no chance we'd get lost.
Plus, Munchkin likes to explore his surroundings a bit as we hike. He spent several minutes meticulously clearing the wet, melty layer of ice covering the picnic tables we passed in the beginning of the trail. He was also decked out in his bear track-making snowshoes and trekking poles, so he had to spend some time getting used to those - which he'd insisted on wearing.
Eventually, we hiked a couple hundred feet past the lake and the path snaked into the woods. Although the snow on the trees had already melted away, a soft 4 or 5 inches of the white stuff still covered the trail, slightly increasing the difficulty of the hike.
Munchkin, in his naturally friendly way, chatted up several older hikers and silently challenged the kids we met to races down the trail. He fell a lot though. Not because the inclines were steep, but because running through slightly slushy snow in snowshoes is as easy as trying to wade through a vat of mashed potatoes. But he loved every second of it.
We caught up with the guided hike group, who'd stopped to discuss the Beech trees, with their smooth bark and large, papery leaves, which sparsely inhabited the forest.
As the Guide moved on, there was now a clump of 40 or 50 of us slowly chugging down the trail, like a herd of migrating Woolly Mammoths.
The group quickly thinned out though as we approached a fork in the road: right looped back to the warm, comforting campfire, and left took us by the Woodmont Orchard.
Munchkin enthusiastically chose left and up we trekked with about a dozen or so others.
Barren apple trees with twisted trunks neatly lined the way one side as we climbed on. The top of this hill - before we fully reached it - appeared to be where the land met the sky. Ominous gray clouds darkened the area to our right, threatening a severe snowstorm. While to our left, robin's egg-blue sky dotted with friendly Cumulus clouds battled to peek through. The juxtaposition was otherworldly.
Meanwhile, the Munchkin was eager to join the other kids at the top of the hill. They'd discovered that the ground was perfect for body-sledding (yes, this is exactly how it sounds). Getting back up again was the real challenge though. They had to either do an intense military-style crawl or get hoisted up by a lowered trekking pole.
After several rounds of up-and-down, while I got blasted by strengthening gusts of wind, I ushered my little adventurer back to the trail.
He decided to abandon his snowshoes and poles for our descent. After almost 90 minutes of hiking/playing in the woods, I thought for sure the Munchkin was going to ask me to carry him back.
Luckily I was wrong.
The brisk air seemed to energize him and we jogged most of the way back. The huge urn of cocoa and the gently crackling campfire welcomed us back. We chose the picnic table closest to the fire to sip our cocoa and eat the PB&J's I'd packed (our standard hiking lunch).
Several yards away, the kids had flocked to a small playground. My son wolfed down his sandwich to join them.
And by some New Year's miracle all of the 8 or so kids played nicely, shared with each other, took turns well, and didn't get hurt! Instead, they giggled wildly as they plopped themselves in the snow and even built a snowman together.
Note the ingeniously decorated snowman. Yes, those are Cheezit eyes. Bonus points to the kid who thought of that one!
So I sat on the bench, nibbling my sandwich, enjoying the fire, and watching my son have fun with the other kids. It was a rare moment of blissful relaxation.
And then it magically got even better.
Munchkin noticed it first though. He'd trotted over to take a water break. The Parks and Rec man in the black fleece jacket casually unloaded a brown paper bag from his truck. Munchkin excitedly pointed out that they were marshmallow roasting sticks sitting on the top.
"Mama, are there marshmallows? Are we gonna have marshmallows?!" he squealed.
Black-fleece Parks Guy gave no indication that he had heard my son.
There was no "we're going to start roasting marshmallows now" announcement and I didn't spy any of the white puffy treats - and this is not my first mom rodeo, so I wasn't about to promise Munchkin anything. As I started to mumble something like "maybe they forgot the marshmallows", the other Parks worker, Khaki-shirt Guy set down a bag almost overflowing with marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate - score!
My eager Munchkin could hardly contain his excitement and bounced around while waiting for the Parks team to set up. A few other kids milled about, but Munchkin was almost uncomfortably-close to Khaki-shirt Guy as he unloaded the stash of s'mores-making ingredients.
He cheerfully offered Munchkin a marshmallow and a stick.
Giggling, Munchkin hopped over to the fire, quickly joined by the other kids. Soon all their little smiles were smothered in gooey, sticky goodness. A perfect end to a great event.
Obviously, if you've been following along with my blog, you know that I'm a huge supporter of getting your kids outside and starting them young with age/skill-appropriate hikes and nature activities.
I can't imagine a better way to start a New Year than with a wander in the woods followed by relaxing next to a toasty campfire, sipping hot cocoa and making s'mores. Thank you NH Parks and Recreation for this wonderful free event! We will definitely be joining you next year too!
Wanderer's Tip 1: The First Day Hike is a national program, so if you're visiting another state next New Year's, check out their State Parks website for a First Day Hike near you!
Wanderer's Tip 2: Some of these events are even dog friendly! We met a sweet 2 year old dog named Stella on our hike.
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