Pages

About Me

My photo
Bethlehem, New Hampshire, United States
E-mail contact: randonneur8@yahoo.com | Facebook: facebook.com/1HappyHikerNH

Text Above Search Box

SEARCH MY BLOG USING TEXT BOX SEEN BELOW:

18 November 2019

A Short Trek along the Old Charleston Road near Lake Tarleton, NH


INTRODUCTION: 

In early November 2019, I hiked in an area slightly north of Lake Tarleton, NH.  Although I hoped there wouldn’t be, I suspected there might be hunters in this vicinity, especially since it is on public land.  And sure enough, I met hunters at two points along my route, even though it was midweek.  However, each was very nice and neither had any unkind words about my presence.  One actually complimented me for wearing a hunter-orange cap and vest.😀

So anyway, my goal for the day was to explore an old corridor that runs above Lake Tarleton from its northwest to its northeast corner.  It has been part of the landscape since the early 1800s and is known as the Old Charleston Road.  The name is derived from a small farming community that once existed there.

Although the hunters I met were very nice to me, I felt uncomfortable about being there and opted to limit my explorations of Old Charleston Road to the portion that runs northwest of Lake Tarleton.  I’ll likely return for a more complete exploration in early Springtime AFTER the snow is gone, and BEFORE the bugs and weeds make their appearance.

An Internet search will bring up several interesting articles written about the Old Charleston Road.  One particularly interesting article can be accessed by clicking HERE. 

Shown below is a USGS map from 1928 that shows the Old Charleston Road as a dotted line.  I only explored the northwest portion (highlighted in pink at top/left on map below).  So, as can be seen, there a lot more exploring to do!



PHOTOS:
 



- - - - - - - -
BONUS PHOTO:

About a week after my trek along a segment of the Old Charleston Road, several inches of snow fell in the Bethlehem, NH area where I live.  This enabled me to do my first XC-ski of the season along an old forest road not far from my home.  It was so enjoyable that I squeezed out the very last drop of daylight before calling it quits.😀




4 comments:

Grant said...

Exploring old roads is one of my favorite things to do. It is so amazing to imagination who passed through there and what happened there so long ago; this is the charm of New England! Nice post.

1HappyHiker said...

Grant, thank you for reading my blog, and a special thanks for taking time to post your comment.

I share your sentiments about how interesting it is to imagine the circumstances as they once existed in places like the Old Charleston Road. And actually, one of the hunters I met remarked that he would love to be a ‘time-traveler’ and visit the Old Charleston Road in the 1800s to experience the everyday life of the inhabitants.

All the best,
John

One Day in America said...

Hi John,

I enjoyed reading the piece about the Old Charleston Road. And I agree that it's intriguing to imagine what life was like in the area back in the 1800s.
This area is definitely worthy of further exploration—but not during hunting season!

The bonus photo is great! I'm jealous that you've been out cross-country skiing already. We're still waiting for our first significant snowfall.

1HappyHiker said...

Hi Rita . . . thank you for your comments.

Regarding XC-skiing . . . well, there seems to be a pattern that has manifested itself here over the past few years. We get a nice snow in early November that is good for XC-skiing. Then, we get warm weather plus a little rain that ruins everything. Then, we have to wait until late December/early January for snow that is once again good for XC-skiing. As of this writing, warm weather and rain have ruined XC-skiing. 

John