Bring me my chaser peak
Plus, the annual Moss Review!
Dear Moss People. Before we wade into the krummholz of this week’s story, I would like to invite everyone who has read this newsletter and gotten something out of it (hopefully a hike or two!) to participate in the annual Moss Review. This reader survey really helps me get a sense of what’s working with MIND THE MOSS, what could be changed, and how a great deal of you are engaging with the newsletter. The answers from 2022 significantly shaped this year’s Moss.
You can take the current Moss Review survey by CLICKING HERE
One of the reasons why I’m circulating the Moss Review this week is because New England is approaching the doorstep of winter, which is a season when we have to get more creative with our hiking. Pummeling winds, shivering rain, and accumulated ice make it much tougher to be outside for hours on end. Climbing a mountain suddenly requires a bit more technical gear than a lot of us are used to carrying on our hikes. So our idea of hiking venues has to evolve to suit the season. Last year’s story about Rhode Island Mall Hiking—a variation of the Mall Walking you’ll often witness in the Midwest during winter—was inspired by a reader who filled out last year’s survey!
But we’re not there yet. The foliage is a slow burner this year. We’re still getting enough rain to keep the mosses deep green and springy. And the other week, the temperature in Boston re-surged enough that I ruefully had to swap out my thermal spandex tights (which I enjoy living in for half of the year in New England) for shorts again. So in the interest of nudging several of you out the door for a hiking experience that will be more difficult to enjoy in the months ahead, I felt like this would be a fine week to prepare an assortment of Chaser Peaks, for closing out the fall of 2023.
In the same way that you might conclude a trip to Mexico City with a sumptuous dinner of mole poblano chicken and tamales—a memory to tide you over from then until your next voyage—a Chaser Peak is a mountain hike to savor retrospectively during New England winter. It can also be a celebration of your outdoor exploits during the temperate months, when being outdoors is easier and more pleasant. But most practically, this is your last chance to ascend a mountain in a relatively simple fashion. Any mountain that intrigues you or holds a toasty place in your heart will do. And to give this year’s Chaser Peak assortment some thematic heft, I’m suggesting mountains named after animals. Because we’re going to see less of them as well.