Post by sugarloaf on Jan 25, 2011 15:42:42 GMT -5
PRESS RELEASE
LAST MILES OF THE COHOS TRAIL TO BE BUILT IN 2011
PITTSBURG, NH – After twelve years of effort, volunteers with The Cohos Trail Association are closing in on the last few miles of trail development on the 160-plus mile footpath, the Cohos Trail, that transists Coos County end to end.
In 2011, the association plans to open the last four miles of uncut trail in the northern reaches of this community and possibly tackle the restoration of the historic Deer Mountain Trail, a former fire tower access route to the 3,005-foot summit that stands just to the west of Third Connecticut Lake. Once complete, the Cohos Trail will snake across the entire central spine of the county from southern Crawford Notch all the way to Fourth Connecticut Lake on the border with Canada.
In the headwaters region here, nearly twelve miles of trail were laid out, cut, and opened to the public in 2010, a task spearheaded by Peter and Lainie Castine who reside at Danforth Road in this town, and who were tirelessly assisted by headwaters forest land state easements manager Sandy Young .
Several of the trails they and a host of volunteers created fast became some of the most popular routes on the entire Cohos Trail system, particularly the new Falls in the River Trail and Moose Alley Trail.
They also oversaw the development and restoration of foot bridges, new signage and blazing, and what may be the longest puncheon span (plank walkway over moist soils) in extant in New Hampshire, a structure that runs 800 feet in length.
This year, the association plans to complete the last several miles of the 4.4 mile Covell Mt. Trail that is complete now from Ramblewood Cabins and Campground on Ramblewood Road to the low but dramatic summit of the mountain of the same name. The trail will continue northward and then east around Round Pond and link with the new Round Pond Brook Trail that drops south from the body of water all the way to Route 3 several miles away. Also to be developed will be the Black Cat Trail, from the vicinity of the Second Connecticut Lake boat launch access lane northward to the vicinity of East Inlet Road and Deer Mountain Campground. That trail is already laid out, but needs to be cut.
If the association obtains sufficient grant funds and donation resources, members may tackle the restoration of the Deer Mountain Trail that was once a summit firetower access lane, the foot of which is in the valley of Moose Flowage behind Deer Mountain Campground. Since its inception, The Cohos Trail Association had wanted to restore that trail so the public could someday visit the old firetower site and obtain striking views into Vermont, northern New Hampshire, Maine, and Canada.
As work gets underway in the late spring, other developments are planned that may add infrastructure to the trail and may see the restoration of five miles of loop trail in and around Dixville Notch and in the northern extremities of the Nash Stream Forest. The hiking organization is interacting with the Garland Mill, the waterpowered sawmill at Lancaster, and with the North American Timber Framers Guild in the hopes of securing a large, donated lean-to. Discussions have been promising, so the association hopes it will be able to install a third lean-to somewhere in central or northern Coos County along the Cohos Trail.
Also, the association is partnering with the NorthWoods Stewardship Center at Charleston, Vermont, in the hopes of landing a sizable state grant to overhaul a number of popular trails in Dixville Notch, including the Three Brothers Trail, the Sanguinary Ridge Trail, and the Table Rock Trail, and to greatly improve about a mile of pathway in the remote Gadwah Notch area of Columbia township.
Last year, the association was fortunate to procure funding from the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund, from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation small grants program, from the New England Grassroots Environmental Fund, and from Public Service of New Hampshire. This year the association has increased its grant writing efforts and has and will submit grants totaling more than $35,000.
The hiking group has also increased its internet presence by putting up three different Facebook pages, including Friends of the Cohos Trail.
As the trail nears completion, the association is turning its attention to the future and is developing a five-year plan that it hopes to complete by the end of the year. There is interest among the board members, officers, and volunteers to develop a chain of seven or eight lean-tos north of the White Mountains high peak country to the Connecticut River headwaters region. There is also discussion about possibly developing a series of small, historic New England-style covered pedestrian bridges, the presence of which might attract not only hikers but other user groups to the trail.
And for the first time, the association is toying with the thought of unearthing local, state, or national resources in the form of sponsorships to eventually develop a headquarters/recreational hut or hostel for use by all sorts of new and traditional user groups, including hikers, xc-skiers, snowshoers, trail bikers and road bicyclists, canoers and kayakers, fishermen, equestrians, mushers, mineral collectors, bird and wildlife watchers, and others.
If you would like more information about the Cohos Trail and The Cohos Trail Association, go to www.cohostrail.org or go to the Facebook pages Friends of the Cohos Trail, I Hiked the Cohos Trail, or Improve and Maintain the Cohos Trail.
How about that! Sugarloaf
LAST MILES OF THE COHOS TRAIL TO BE BUILT IN 2011
PITTSBURG, NH – After twelve years of effort, volunteers with The Cohos Trail Association are closing in on the last few miles of trail development on the 160-plus mile footpath, the Cohos Trail, that transists Coos County end to end.
In 2011, the association plans to open the last four miles of uncut trail in the northern reaches of this community and possibly tackle the restoration of the historic Deer Mountain Trail, a former fire tower access route to the 3,005-foot summit that stands just to the west of Third Connecticut Lake. Once complete, the Cohos Trail will snake across the entire central spine of the county from southern Crawford Notch all the way to Fourth Connecticut Lake on the border with Canada.
In the headwaters region here, nearly twelve miles of trail were laid out, cut, and opened to the public in 2010, a task spearheaded by Peter and Lainie Castine who reside at Danforth Road in this town, and who were tirelessly assisted by headwaters forest land state easements manager Sandy Young .
Several of the trails they and a host of volunteers created fast became some of the most popular routes on the entire Cohos Trail system, particularly the new Falls in the River Trail and Moose Alley Trail.
They also oversaw the development and restoration of foot bridges, new signage and blazing, and what may be the longest puncheon span (plank walkway over moist soils) in extant in New Hampshire, a structure that runs 800 feet in length.
This year, the association plans to complete the last several miles of the 4.4 mile Covell Mt. Trail that is complete now from Ramblewood Cabins and Campground on Ramblewood Road to the low but dramatic summit of the mountain of the same name. The trail will continue northward and then east around Round Pond and link with the new Round Pond Brook Trail that drops south from the body of water all the way to Route 3 several miles away. Also to be developed will be the Black Cat Trail, from the vicinity of the Second Connecticut Lake boat launch access lane northward to the vicinity of East Inlet Road and Deer Mountain Campground. That trail is already laid out, but needs to be cut.
If the association obtains sufficient grant funds and donation resources, members may tackle the restoration of the Deer Mountain Trail that was once a summit firetower access lane, the foot of which is in the valley of Moose Flowage behind Deer Mountain Campground. Since its inception, The Cohos Trail Association had wanted to restore that trail so the public could someday visit the old firetower site and obtain striking views into Vermont, northern New Hampshire, Maine, and Canada.
As work gets underway in the late spring, other developments are planned that may add infrastructure to the trail and may see the restoration of five miles of loop trail in and around Dixville Notch and in the northern extremities of the Nash Stream Forest. The hiking organization is interacting with the Garland Mill, the waterpowered sawmill at Lancaster, and with the North American Timber Framers Guild in the hopes of securing a large, donated lean-to. Discussions have been promising, so the association hopes it will be able to install a third lean-to somewhere in central or northern Coos County along the Cohos Trail.
Also, the association is partnering with the NorthWoods Stewardship Center at Charleston, Vermont, in the hopes of landing a sizable state grant to overhaul a number of popular trails in Dixville Notch, including the Three Brothers Trail, the Sanguinary Ridge Trail, and the Table Rock Trail, and to greatly improve about a mile of pathway in the remote Gadwah Notch area of Columbia township.
Last year, the association was fortunate to procure funding from the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund, from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation small grants program, from the New England Grassroots Environmental Fund, and from Public Service of New Hampshire. This year the association has increased its grant writing efforts and has and will submit grants totaling more than $35,000.
The hiking group has also increased its internet presence by putting up three different Facebook pages, including Friends of the Cohos Trail.
As the trail nears completion, the association is turning its attention to the future and is developing a five-year plan that it hopes to complete by the end of the year. There is interest among the board members, officers, and volunteers to develop a chain of seven or eight lean-tos north of the White Mountains high peak country to the Connecticut River headwaters region. There is also discussion about possibly developing a series of small, historic New England-style covered pedestrian bridges, the presence of which might attract not only hikers but other user groups to the trail.
And for the first time, the association is toying with the thought of unearthing local, state, or national resources in the form of sponsorships to eventually develop a headquarters/recreational hut or hostel for use by all sorts of new and traditional user groups, including hikers, xc-skiers, snowshoers, trail bikers and road bicyclists, canoers and kayakers, fishermen, equestrians, mushers, mineral collectors, bird and wildlife watchers, and others.
If you would like more information about the Cohos Trail and The Cohos Trail Association, go to www.cohostrail.org or go to the Facebook pages Friends of the Cohos Trail, I Hiked the Cohos Trail, or Improve and Maintain the Cohos Trail.
How about that! Sugarloaf