New Hampshire is one of North America’s chosen places to watch the leaves come alive with color. The New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development Division of Travel and Tourism has come up with a Foliage Tracker, the better to nail down when a region’s colors are ripest. The state’s broken up into seven distinct sections: the Great Northern Woods, White Mountains, Dartmouth Lake – Sunapee, the Monadnock Region, Merrimack Valley, the Lakes Region and the Seacoast. Knowing when to visit each will save some disappointment.
Wherever you drink in the season’s colors it might be wise to pay heed to some suggestions from Parks & Recreation New Hampshire about hiking those leaf-strewn trails this time of year:
- Watch out for poison ivy. The best bet to avoid it is to stay on the trail, make sure you wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts. Gloves wouldn’t hurt.
- Although not all ticks bear Lyme disease all of them are a pain. To decrease your chances of being exposed to the tiny bloodsuckers, again, stay on the trail. Ticks gravitate to tall grass and brush. Wear long-legged pants, and long-sleeved shirts. Tuck the cuffs of those pants into your boots or socks. Use insect repellant and check yourself often
- Much the same strategy applies to warding off mosquitoes, some of which could carry the potentially nasty West Nile Virus, something you don’t want to get. Mosquitoes like weeds, tall, grass and bushes. Remember to keep as much skin covered as possible, and use insect repellant that contains DEET.
(Image: nealaus)
