by Erin Cabral, Recreation Technician
There are so many special places to see at the Calhoun Family Forest in Gilsum, NH, and each one tells a different part of the Calhoun Family’s story. In 2011, the five children of the Calhoun family chose to donate the 335 acre lot that they grew up on to the Monadnock Conservancy as a way to honor their parents, John and Rosemarie Calhoun. This area has been a hub of activity this summer; volunteers and workers came out to improve the structure of the trails and expand the trail network to more of the property’s unique features.
As recreation technician, one of my main focuses this summer was getting two new trails opened up at Calhoun; the orange trail and the white trail. On August 12th and 21st, I was fortunate enough to have 12 students from MC2 Charter School in Keene, NH come by and help clear the new trails. In two days, the students enthusiastically cleared debris, arranged stone steps, and put up trail tags to get the orange trail ready for public use.
The orange trail has three spurs with three unique destinations. One spur goes to the new growth forest, an area that was logged in 2014 and gives visitors a glimpse of what new vegetation arises from an emptied forest floor. Another spur treks through the forest along the stone wall separating the towns of Gilsum and Sullivan, before ending up at a bright, open wet meadow. The last spur on the trail goes to an old mill site, where visitors can see large birch trees growing on what used to be the stone wall of the mill.
The white trail takes hikers to the top of Porcupine falls, where they can watch the water transition from flowing peacefully down White Brook to gushing through the boulders below. I loved walking the blue trail this summer and listening to the roar of the falls get louder as I hiked closer and closer to it.
Early this summer, it became apparent that the bridge out to the falls from the parking lot on White Brook Road needed replacing. This bridge guided hikers over White Brook for more than ten years, and we were eager to return it to its former glory. After having it boarded up for a couple weeks, The Student Conservation Association was hired to help us out. In two weeks, their five crew members and two crew leaders built a brand new bridge, making it possible once again for hikers to cross over White Brook onto the blue trail safely and easily.
There are two trailheads for the Calhoun Family Forest in Gilsum, NH, one at the end of White Brook Road, and the other off of Route 10 about a half mile north of the entrance to White Brook Road. For a steeper, longer hike, park at the Route 10 lot and start on the green trail. For a shorter hike, park at the lot on White Brook Road and take the blue trail, which takes hikers up stone steps, along both sides of White Brook and across the bridge at Porcupine falls. The white and orange trail also make for great, short hikes. These trails are open in the summer for hiking, as well as the winter for snowshoeing and leashed pets are welcome. The parking area on Route 10 is open all year round. Kiosks with more information and maps for Calhoun can be found at both trailheads.