A couple hailing from a village in “Staffs” (Staffordshire) in England planned to be in this area during their travels and requested a half-day hike or nature tour. Their objective was to walk around a bit so as to help them “appreciate the beauty of the area.” The chosen mission: Boulder Loop Trail in Albany. Leading was Redline Guide Tim Jones. His photos and words to follow…
A Day of Firsts
It was a day of firsts for our new guests, a couple visiting from Old England. First impressions are always interesting, and they were amazed at how quickly the topography of New England changes between Logan Airport and North Conway. They were sad to have missed the peak of foliage season but glad to miss the crowds of leaf peepers.
It was a spectacular fall day, sunny and warming quickly as we started up the Boulder Loop Trail. Boulder Loop has, well, a lot of boulders everywhere. ‘We don’t have rocks like this on our hiking trails in England’ was the first comment.
They asked about seeing animals on the trail, I told him we’d likely see chipmunks and red squirrels. They’d never seen either — until about 10 seconds later when the first chipmunk scurried up a nearby rock and stopped to stare at us. We saw a dozen more, one with its cheek pouches stuffed comically full of acorns. We had to wait until almost the end of the hike before a red squirrel obligingly crossed the trail in front of us and climbed a nearby tree.
They’d never hiked in deep leaf drift and found that an interesting challenge. Our pace was deliberate, taking care not to slip or twist an ankle on a hidden rock or root. In spots we had to be careful not to lose the trail. By the end of the hike they were picking out the blazes on distant trees and interpreting the crushed leaves in the trail’s main treadway to discern the route as if they’d been doing it all their lives.
Though it was well past the peak of foliage season, we were able to find a few brilliant red and yellow maple leaves (another first) among the deep russets and dark reds of the predominant oaks.
Three hours of hiking, plenty of time admiring the spectacular views from the cliff tops. Seems like their first New England outdoor adventure was all they’d hoped for. —Tim
