I began the almost 4-mile trail up to my first 4,000-foot peak moving at a steady pace along the flat Greeley Pond trail that would eventually intersect with the trail up to East Osceola. It was my first full week in New Hampshire, and I was excited to get started exploring this beautiful area. Sure, I am new to the Eastern Lakes Region of New Hampshire, but for me this feels like a return journey back home.
I grew up in a small town in Northwestern Connecticut and spent the first 18 years of my life there in the heart of New England. We were located in the perfect spot to make a day trip to Boston, New York City, New Hampshire, Rhode Island or really any other part of New England. My mom’s large Italian family would vacation to the middle-of-nowhere Maine every August where I remember watching meteor showers with my uncle, eating bacon muffins (a family recipe), and finding more mosquito bites than I could ever count. Autumn became my favorite season thanks to the fact that New England does fall better than any other part of the country. When I shipped out to college in central Pennsylvania to study Earth and Environmental Sciences in 2016, I did not think I was leaving New England behind, just embarking on a temporary journey. Little did I know that my parents would decide to make a move down to Atlanta, Georgia and I would spend my college breaks and summer’s splitting time between Hot ‘Lanta and Pennsylvania.
Sure enough, one thing led to the next and I was offered a position to be the Water Quality Resources Assistant at Green Mountain Conservation Group, as a part of the Lakes Region Conservation Corps. After humid days in the bustling suburbs of Atlanta and road trips that took 8 hours and only crossed 1 state boundary, I was ready for the move. I was returning to a place I once thought of as home.
On the 2nd day of my long 18 hour drive north I reached the Connecticut border and drove across the state as the fall foliage bursted on either side of me. I was in awe. Sure we got some of that in Pennsylvania, but like I said, no region of the country does fall quite like New England.
As I continue the journey up to East Osceola I find myself slowed by an older man in front of me. I walk behind him for a few minutes and then he turns around and strikes up a conversation. Next thing I knew we were scrambling up layers of rocks together (6 ft apart of course) talking about everything from our journey up the mountain to our journeys with spirituality. I learned that this man is close to 70 years old, has been hiking in this region for decades, has run close to 25 marathons in his life, was in the military, and adores his grandchildren. We submitted the east peak together and then parted ways as I continued over the ridge and up to Osceola. I sat on the peak for a while looking out at the vast collage of mountains and felt that familiar feeling of awe and silence that overwhelms me on almost every summit I have reached before.
I sit now, almost 2 months into my service term, having gotten my feet wet with GMCG (literally and figuratively), and even though I find myself far from my family and friends in a world dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic, I am extremely grateful to be where I am, doing what I am doing. I cannot say I ever envisioned beginning my adult life with rain boots and a mask on, but I am blessed to have returned home.
Trent is the Water Quality Resources Assistant serving at Green Mountain Conservation Group. He studied Earth and Environmental Sciences and Ecology at Susquehanna University. You can learn more about Trent here!