TO NEW ENGLAND

WILDF O U R

T R A I L S

BY GRAHAM AVERILL

PHOTOGRAPHS BY IAN SHIVE/TANDEM STILLS + MOTION (WAIKAMOI PRESERVE, OPPOSITE) BEN HERNDON/TANDEM STILLS + MOTION (GREEN HILLS PRESERVE , THIS PAGE)

T H I S S E A S O N , E X P L O R E S O M E

O F T H E N A T U R E

C O N S E R V A N C Y ’ S B E S T H I K I N G A D V E N T U R E S

FROMHAWAI‘I

50 NATURE CONSERVANCY JUNE / JULY 2015

HIKE THE 1.25-MILE Bird Loop Trail through Waikamoi Preserve, and you’ll experience one of

the most pristine forests left in all of Hawai‘i. Waikamoi sits on the northeast slope of Maui’s highest mountain, the dormant Haleakala Volcano. Its peak stands 10,023 feet above sea level, and its slopes stretch from the island’s famous beaches to the mountain’s dry moonscape summit. The cloud belt in between harbors a lush, layered forest that serves as a stronghold for many of the state’s native plants and animals. An astonishing 90 percent of the spe-cies in Waikamoi are endemic, including 63 rare plants and seven endangered birds, some of which exist only on the slopes of Haleakala. ¶ “That high rate of endemic species makes this a very special place in the world,” says Mark White, The Nature Conservancy’s Maui program director. ¶ The trail begins in the adjacent Haleakala National Park and drops into the preserve, winding through gulches in the upper reaches of the cloud forest, where lavender-flowered Lobelia grayana sprouts from the floor. The forest canopy—dominated by the native ‘ohi‘a tree and an under-story rich with moss and ferns—is a bird-watcher’s dream and a prime place to spot the ‘amakihi and scarlet ‘i‘iwi. The preserve is only open to the public for one guided trip per week, so get your name on the list early.

SEA TO SUMMIT: Between Maui’s beaches (top) and a dormant volcano crater (above) sits the lush Waikamoi Preserve. Visitors experience the 8,951-acre rainforest via a system of narrow paths and boardwalks.

HIKE DIFFICULTY: Intermediate.

ELEVATION GAIN: 800 feet.

DISTANCE: 3 hours for the 1.25-mile loop.

WHY IT’S WORTH A VISIT: Waikamoi encom-passes one of Hawai‘i’s last strongholds of native and endan-gered species. And the birding is unparalleled.

LOOK FOR: The critically endangered Maui parrotbill, which is found only on the slopes of Haleakala.

CLOSEST TOWN: Makawao, Maui.

ESSENTIAL GEAR: Dress in long pants and light layers, since weather can vary at this altitude. Bring binoculars with extra-low dis-persion glass for a clear view, ideal for birding.

BEST SEASON: Summer. Winter brings the rain.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO: Access at this pre-serve is limited to weekly guided hikes that are arranged through the National Park Service. Tours must be scheduled in advance.

BONUS ADVENTURE: Hike the Halemau‘u Trail (below)— at the adjacent Haleakala National Park—into the volcano’s crater before dropping 1,500 feet in eleva-tion via switchbacks. nps.gov/hale.

TRIPPLANNER

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52 MAGAZINE.NATURE.ORG 53NATURE CONSERVANCY JUNE / JULY 2015

ARAVAIPA IS ONE OF the most remote places in Arizona, and one of a few preserves in the state

where hikers don’t follow blazed trails. Visitors here explore a 10-mile-long chasm with 1,000-foot-high walls ris-ing from the creek bed, all of which are sandwiched inside a massive complex of designated wilderness area. The Nature Conservancy’s 9,000-acre Ara-vaipa Canyon Preserve is split into two tracts, including the western mouth of

the canyon. ¶ “In the middle is this rare, wet oasis,” says Mark Haberstich, the preserve’s manager. “It’s a miniature version of the Grand Canyon.” ¶ Hik-ers follow the washed-out creek bed through the canyon, sloshing through the shallow creek and stopping to cool off in the 3-foot-deep pools that form behind fallen trees. They can also trek into the smaller canyons carved by trib-utary creeks. Terrain can become more challenging as you explore deeper along the side creeks. ¶ Most people enter

through the west end of the canyon, 50 miles north of Tucson. A five-mile out-and-back hike will give you a sense of the canyon, but consider a multi-day traverse of the entire gorge. A visitor’s pass from the Bureau of Land Manage-ment is required to enter the wilderness area, but it’s worth the paperwork to see the Aravaipa shift from a desert landscape with saguaro cactus to a more lush forest with natural gardens of wildflowers and bushy cottonwood trees lining the riverbeds.

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ARAVAIPA CANYON PRESERVE

ARIZONA

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HIKE DIFFICULTY: Moderate.

ELEVATION GAIN: 500 feet, traveling west to east.

DISTANCE: 2 hours to 3 days.

WHY IT’S WORTH A VISIT: It’s a shrunken version of the Grand Canyon, where you hike the riverbanks instead of worn trails.

LOOK FOR: Aravaipa has an exceptional native fishery. The round-tail chub is a trout-like fish that thrives in the deeper pools.

CLOSEST TOWN: Tucson, Arizona.

ESSENTIAL GEAR: Sandals will leave you sore from pebbles. Try a sturdy water shoe built for hiking and sticking to slick rocks.

BEST SEASON: Fall or spring, when the trees are most vibrant, and to avoid the flash floods of summer and winter.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO: Get hiking and camping permits through the Bureau of Land Manage-ment, which controls the federal wilder-ness area between the Conservancy’s access points. The number of visitors each day is limited.

TRIPPLANNER

BONUS ADVENTURE: Explore Hell Hole Canyon, a slot canyon with hanging gardens. It follows Deer Creek, a tributary that meets Aravaipa Creek two miles from the preserve’s east end.

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DIFFERING PERSPECTIVES: From its ridges, Aravaipa presents a vast Western desert landscape. But the preserve’s cool creeks support forests of cottonwood and sycamore deep within the canyons.

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CLICK: nature.org/aravaipa PHOTOGRAPHS BY JUSTIN BAILIE/TANDEM STILLS + MOTION

54 NATURE CONSERVANCY JUNE / JULY 2015

THIS TRANQUIL SEA-level hike traverses an extremely diverse range of coastal settings. Here,

forested dunes covered with oak and beech trees transition to swamps and eventually a rugged shoreline—all in a couple of square miles. It can feel like a summery walk on most days of the year, but catch Nags Head Woods on a foggy morning and the swamps and historic sites take on a eerie and pensive tone. ¶ Nags Head Woods Preserve protects one of the largest intact maritime forests on the Eastern Seaboard and provides a host of eco-logical services, from storm buffering to nesting opportunities for migrating birds. The value of this landscape lies in its diversity. “We’re not just focusing on species-specific conservation here,” says Aaron McCall, the Conservancy’s Northeast regional steward. “We’re looking at protecting the system as a whole. That’s what’s endangered, the maritime forest itself.” ¶ The half-mile-long Discovery Trail meanders by open freshwater ponds and forested wet-lands filled with black gum trees. Then the Roanoke Trail takes you through a towering forest—with two 400-year-old live oaks—down to the banks of the Roanoke Sound, where you catch a view of Roanoke Island. Along the way, you’ll also pass historic homes and a cemetery that dates back to the 1870s.

BEACH MEETS FOREST: The trails at Nags Head Woods traverse giant forested dunes and a maritime shrub swamp, eventually reaching Roanoke Sound (below) on the western shores of the Outer Banks.

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HIKE DIFFICULTY: Easy to moderate.

ELEVATION GAIN: Flat.

DISTANCE: 1 hour for the 1.5-mile Roanoke Trail, but there are about 8 miles of trails within the woods.

WHY IT’S WORTH A VISIT: Nags Head Woods offers a glimpse of one of the last remaining marine deciduous forests left on the mid-Atlantic coast.

LOOK FOR: The rough green snake—a skinny, green, nonvenom-ous tree snake that’s found in the canopy of Nags Head Woods.

CLOSEST TOWN: Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina (site of the Wright brothers’ first flight).

ESSENTIAL GEAR: It gets buggy during summertime, so a longsleeve shirt and lightweight pants are recommended.

BEST SEASON:Fall or spring to avoid the heat.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO: Even though this preserve is close to the beach, don’t show up wearing flip-flops for a walk in the woods.

TRIPPLANNER

BONUS ADVENTURE: Go just beyond the preserve’s north border for a hike on Run Hill. The 100-foot-tall dunes protect the forest from ocean salt, allowing this ecosys-tem to differ from the beaches.

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56 MAGAZINE.NATURE.ORG 57NATURE CONSERVANCY JUNE / JULY 2015

STAND ON PEAKED Mountain and the en-tire Presidential Range, a 19-mile-long ridge

that contains New England’s tallest mountains, unfolds in front of you. But considering how short the trip to the top of Peaked Mountain is, you’re basi-cally getting a high-alpine experience at relatively low elevations. This is one of New Hampshire’s iconic views, and all you have to do to bag it is hike the moderate trail through Green Hills

UP AND AWAY: Green Hills Preserve offers four full seasons of quality hiking. But come wintertime, only snowshoers can enjoy the view of Mt. Washington (right) from atop Peaked Mountain.

Preserve, the Conservancy’s 5,500- acre property. ¶ Green Hills protects a series of 1,700- to 2,300-foot sum-mits with distinctive rocky ridges and peaks covered in red pine. The views from these open-bedrock mountains are outstanding, particularly in winter, when the preserve turns into a snow-shoeing destination, and the distant ridges are capped in snow. ¶ “When you’re looking at the Presidential Range, with its peaks all above treeline and covered in snow, you feel like

you’re in New Hampshire’s version of the Himalayas,” says Jeff Lougee, the Conservancy’s director of steward-ship and ecological management in the state. ¶ To get there, just follow the Peaked Mountain Trail for 2.1 miles as it climbs 1,000 feet over powder-covered slabs of granite. The hike up Peaked Mountain is just the beginning of the adventure. Green Hills has more than 11 miles of maintained trails and many paths that connect up with adjacent public trails.

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NEW HAMPSHIRE

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HIKE DIFFICULTY: Moderate to difficult, because of elevation gain. Winter weather here can be extreme, so plan ahead.

ELEVATION GAIN: 1,200 feet.

DISTANCE: 4.2-miles out and back on the Peaked Mountain Trail.

WHY IT’S WORTH A VISIT: From the exposed, rocky summits of Green Hills’ peaks to the snowcapped distant ridges, you get a high-alpine experience without a lot of effort.

LOOK FOR: Bobcat tracks in the snow—a footprint with no claw marks and a distinctive m-shaped pad at the base of the toes.

CLOSEST TOWN: North Conway, New Hampshire.

ESSENTIAL GEAR: Bring lightweight snowshoes for winter hiking.

BEST SEASON: It’s a great year-round hiking spot, but fall or winter offer the best views.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO: Stay on exposed bedrock while at and near the summit to avoid trampling rare plant life.

TRIPPLANNER

BONUS ADVENTURE: Other trails in this area allow access to mountain bikes and even snowmobiles. The Nature Conservancy added 1,300 acres to the preserve in 2014, and there are plans to add 3 to 5 miles of new trail. So stay tuned!

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MOREPreserves

[ O R E G O N ] Cascade Head Preserve A 6.8-mile out-and-back hike takes you from stands of Douglas fir to a headland meadows over-looking the ocean. The meadows are home to two rare wildflowers and the threatened Oregon silverspot butterfly.

[ N E W M E X I C O ]Santa Fe Canyon Preserve Remnants of stone dam ruins and signs of the Conservancy’s restoration efforts (beaver ponds and populations of northern leopard frog) highlight the 1.5-mile loop trail on this 525-acre urban preserve.

[ P E N N S Y L V A N I A ]Dick and Nancy Eales Preserve Part of this 2,250-acre preserve was almost turned into a busi-ness park—now it’s home to scrub oak and pitch pine forests and a large ridge-top heath bar-ren. Eight miles of multiuse trails traverse the property.

[ G E O R G I A ]Moody Forest Natural Area You might hear the call of the endangered red-cockaded wood-pecker while hiking this old-growth longleaf pine forest. The preserve also protects cypress and tupelo swamps along the lazy Altamaha River.

ROCKY ROAD: Lava trails traverse Haleakala National Park, near Waikamoi Preserve (see page 50). © IAN SHIVE/TANDEM STILLS + MOTION

CLICK: Find hikes near you at Nature.org.