I never knew how many nearby rail trails I could explore until I discovered the New Hampshire Rail Trail Challenge. I’ve loved listening to stories from fellow participants. Something dawned on me after awhile: I was a walker surrounded by bicyclists! No wonder people were completing the Challenge while I was still ticking off only a few miles per week.
I keep walking anyway. My biking friends cover more miles than I do, that’s for sure. Still, I like my easy pace. It gives me a chance to notice things along the way.
I visit the Nashua River Rail Trail nearly every month, and it rewards me with something fresh every time. The north end of the twelve-mile-long trail is close to my town. While COVID has affected the trail’s enormous popularity, it’s still a busy path. No wonder: it’s a gem in every season.
Beginning in spring when the snow melts and it’s mud season, NRRT’s pavement makes it an appealing destination for me. That’s my favorite time of year to detour off the trail for a short walk through the woods to see what kind of season the Nashua River is having. Lots of spring rain and snowmelt means a brisk rush of water; a tamer season leaves the river gleaming and smooth as it flows into New Hampshire.
Wildflowers will edge the trail spring through fall, with successive varieties every few weeks. I look forward to all of them: short ones, tall ones, bluets, phlox, Queen Anne’s lace, and all the others that I need a field guide to identify. The biggest treats in my book are the columbines. I noticed a single scarlet clump in Dunstable one June about ten years ago. They’ve been spreading ever since.
There’s a farm along the way, with fields on both sides of the trail. The rhythm of the year dictates what I see there: bare ground resting up for the coming season, or corn and butternut squash ripening for market.
The farm isn’t the only marker of the seasons. The ice cream stand along the way must not be missed. It’s a little ceremony of mine to enjoy the year’s first and last dishes of Death by Chocolate on the first and last weekends the stand is open every year. Such luxuries can’t be rushed.
Artwork adorns the trail. A mural on an underpass illustrates the history of the Boston and Maine railroad line on which I’m walking. A sculpture – or is it a unique bike rack? – appears near a marsh. In Nashua, the path is lined by a series of posted drawings by local students. I like stopping to appreciate the artists and their work.
Do my bicycling friends enjoy watching the skydivers near the state line? I do. When the weather’s right, the plane out of Skydive Pepperell is busy. When I hear the muffled roar of the Cessna Caravan taking off, I know that I should keep an eye to the sky about ten minutes later, when the skydivers will begin their trip back to earth trailing colorful chutes. They’re fun to watch.
Now and then, I cruise down to Ayer and back on my trusty old bike (stopping for ice cream on the way back, of course). My best days on the trail, though, are the ones I spend walking, savoring the season, happy to share the path with my speedier neighbors.
-Ellen Kolb