Trail Rider Magazine

12 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com Exi ng The Minks plopped us in downtown War- ner, where some of the group had to peel off for evening engagements. Before we split up, a group photo was arranged under the statue of Walter Harriman, and some amused onlookers insisted on taking the photo so we could all be in it. Thank you, amused onlookers! We bid the wed- ding-goers farewell and headed N toward Mt Kearsarge and the Blackwater River Flood Control system a er donning our rain shells… the sprinkles had started. A er a few miles of asphalt, we ducked back into the woods on what used to be a few miles of good old-fashioned rooty, rocky jeep track. Over the last few years, hundreds of yards of stone riprap have been laid out along this road, completely changing its character. We now run two gears higher and at much spookier speeds. I'm not sure who makes the decision to do that to such roads or who pays for it. Although I'd bet a pre y decent happy meal that we're paying for it through our taxes. Or, it may be sled registra on fees. The next sec on was some seasonal tracks through the Blackwater Flood Control area. As you might guess, it's a giant flood plain with a lot of sandy soil covered with a white pine forest. This is probably the most flowy sec on of the whole loop. One more short sec on later, we arrived at the Salisbury General Store, gas stop number two. They've got a bakery going in there now, and our group devoured a dozen choco- late chip cookies in record me. By the me the cookies were consumed, the on-and-off sprinkles were pre y much gone. The shells came off and were returned to the backpacks. A er a short break, we con nued on the loop, which for a while, included several transit sec- ons to get us back across the rivers. Or, more accurately, the Merrimack River. Fun Geography Fact: Just below Franklin, where we crossed westbound in the morning, the Winnipesaukee and Pemigewasset Rivers join to create the Merrimack River. Now you know.

• Cover