Easy

Hiking, mountain biking, snowshoeing.

Phil Heald was a wonderful man. He loved his woods and fields located in Temple/Wilton/Greenville/Mason NH . Much of it is protected with The Society for the Protection of NH Forests. Upon his death he requested the land be denuded of all buildings including his house and a lovely old camp by a pond. This post is about the camp trail.

I was fortunate to meet Phil. I sent him a thankyou note for allowing me to ride and hike his property, and it impressed him enough that he wanted to meet me.

On one occasion I was out riding the Heald tract and was stopped by a NH forestry person who told me horses were not allowed on Forestry property.  I told him Phil had given me permission.  Thank you again Phil.

When not with Ruby and Rusty, Caly is my trail companion.

There are a few pull offs on the dirt road. To get to the camp trail you walk down Russell Hill Rd and the trail is on the North side.

The Heald tract does get logged which on this day made finding the camp trail loop a little difficult.

slash makes finding the start of the trail a little unnerving.

Except for the beginning the trail is well marked.

We stayed on the camp trail to Sheldrick forest.

  • There used to be a camp.
  • The bench remains for quiet reflection.
  • Many of the bridges need work. We did not do the Castor pond loop because even the dogs didn’t trust it.
Years ago Phil had a hunting camp here. Hence the name camp trail. To get to it you walk across a bridge onto a very old stone dam. The cabin had been vandalized many times and now is no more.

Of course none of mikis picks would be complete without tree pictures.

  • how did this grow this way?
  • why did someone girdle this tree? seems heartless.
  • There was a Pilated woodpecker working even as I took pictures.

And of course rock pictures.

  • hint of a farmer’s hard work.
  • always amazed by trees growing where they shouldn’t.
  • tenacity

The camp trail leads to the Sheldrick forest. Rusty, Ruby and I stopped at the border. Rules are to be followed.

For more information on the SPNHF go to their website forestsociety.org/property/heald-tract for specifics on Heald.

With almost 1500 acres you can do a lot of exploring. Wear bright clothes during hunting seasons. It can get quite busy.

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