If you’ve been reading along, you know that one of my biggest fears about our Border-to-Border New Hampshire walk is not blisters (I think I can do enough proactively to avoid those), pain (that’s what walking poles and Motrin was invented for) or even finding a place to stay each night (I’m positive that New Hampshire will provide.)
Nope my biggest fear has been bears.
That is, at least, until last night.
Yesterday I drove to our nearest NH visitors’ center to get maps and brochures of attractions in New Hampshire that we would be likely to pass by. I spread a map out and explained to the “map guy”- Andrew that my son and I were going to walk the length of New Hampshire. I traced our path with my finger from top to bottom. He looked at our route and within seconds started pulling out brochures and publications which would help us along the way.
Got to like a guy that knows how to do his job.
He also told me of a Stephen King (written as Bachman) horror story called “The Long Walk” that I *had* to read. I’ve ordered a copy but I’m a little leary, I have a feeling that asking me to read that book is kind of like asking someone to read Cujo right after they get a cute, little, adorable puppy. But I digress – back to the things that really scare me.
After I had a pile of information, he started asking me about our starting point. “It’s up at the Canadian border,” I told him.
“Oh that’s nice up there,” he said. “There’s a park so that whoever is dropping you off can turn around (good to know) and this area,” He continued, pointing to the top of the map. “The first 20 miles of your walk is called Moose corridor.”
Apparently it’s called Moose Corridor because that’s home turf to our moose-gang population.
To emphasize this, he took his pen and drew long parenthesis around the first leg of our trip.
Those two lines cover a lot of miles.
Record scratch. Wait, what? MOOSE? MANY MOOSE? (Meese?)
So now I have bear and moose to worry about. I’m carrying an air horn and because someone said it was a good idea, we both have jingle bells on our packs.
But have you seen a full grown moose lately? Those things are huge, they are utterly prehistoric. Do you think bells are going to scare them away (would a middle-aged woman’s scream do it?) What does one even do when you see a moose? Stand still? Play dead? Change your pants?
“Everything will be fine,” said Griffin, my young optimist after I informed him of this new wrinkle. “Um, but you are going to bring a first aid kit right?”
Yup.
Starting August 9th, you guys are going to have to check in every day just to make sure we haven’t been eaten by New Hampshire’s beautiful wildlife. Checking my jingle bells right now.
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Wendy Thomas writes about the lessons learned while raising children and chickens in New Hampshire. Contact her at [email protected]
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