Over spring break I took a hike in Warner, New Hampshire at Mount Kearsarge, and I would not say that it felt like Spring whatsoever at the top. This mountain was named after the Indigenous word meaning “Notch-pointed Mountain of Pines.” Its prevalence of softwoods definitely reflected how it gained this name. The trail is pretty easy to navigate, but below is a map and written directions if interested in checking out:
The most interesting thing that stood out to me about this location was wind swept ice on the trees at the top of the mountain which I loaded pictures of below. This hike was a perfect example of how elevation change impacts the different aspects of the environment, since at the bottom things were wet and melting but at the top everything was still frozen. As we learned in our last lab, conifers have a higher tolerance to higher elevations, since they must be able to survive the wind, ice, etc.
As for animal activity, it was fairly quiet on the way up. Towards the bottom though, I noticed the amount of birds I could hear and see increasing. Also, this likely had to do with the time as it got later in the day. Below is a bush full of sparrows I saw that I thought was pretty cute!
