Alice Bemis Thompson Bird Sanctuary is a treat

Life has unexpected surprises and delights. Nursing a knee injury and temporarily using a walker to keep the weight off my knee brace, has indirectly allowed me to discover some wonderful places to write about to appreciate the wonders of spring.

One is the 303 acre Alice Bemis Thompson Bird Sanctuary in North Sandwich.

Last week I went there with a friend, who drove. Heading west on Route 25 in South Tamworth, she turned right onto Route 113 towards North Sandwich, and in 3 miles turned left into the small lot at the start of the trail.

The Thompson Sanctuary has a long history, beginning in 1976 when South Tamworth resident Charles Thompson donated the original 150 acres to New Hampshire Audubon, and asked that the preserve be named for his wife. Other donations of land followed. In 2014, New Hampshire Audubon donated a "forever wild" easement on the sanctuary to the Northeast Wilderness Trust.

It contains a large wetland on the north side, with Atwood brook running through it, and an attractive evergreen forest to the southwest.

Originally a trail traversed both. Starting on Route 113 the trail traversed alongside the wetland, crossed over Atwood Brook on a bridge in the marsh and entered the forest, where there was an attractive loop trail one could take before returning back over the bridge.

Enterprising beavers flooded the trail repeatedly over the years, cutting off the two sides of the sanctuary. But when it happened the last time, it was decided to make some big changes. Work began in 2014, using the manpower of the Bear Brook AmeriCorps of the Student Conservation Association, and under the leadership of Matt Coughlin of Recon Trail Design.

From Route 113, the trail was raised with gravel, and over the next two years, an elevated cedar walk way was constructed out to the middle of the marsh terminating in a comfortable observation platform just before Atwood Brook. The trail stops there. A unique place to comfortably observe the life of the marsh and the Sandwich Range beyond in all four seasons was created.

Today the two sides of the sanctuary are accessed separately. The forest loop trail, now called the Wilderness Loop, is accessed from Middle Road in North Sandwich, and starts on a private driveway. On that trail, which I did last winter with friends, at one point you can look across the marsh to the cedar platform and the Sandwich range beyond.

Last week on a beautiful day, we started walking on the flat trail from Route 113. It is right next to the marsh, and we passed many larch or tamarack trees, their new green needles emerging in clumps along its stems and branches. We passed a memorial for Fred Steele, who was a prominent New Hampshire conservationist.

In about 500 feet we started up the gentle rise of cedar boards to the elevated walkway. Along it the view was dramatic. To the south rose Black Snout in the Ossipee range. Surrounding us was a beautiful marsh, with a beaver house, and the sound of newly arrived redwing blackbirds. To the north the Sandwich Range stretched from Sandwich Dome to Mounts Passaconaway and Paugus.

There was a small group at the observation platform, but when we arrived there was plenty of room, and it was soon established that we were all vaccinated. We lingered for a half hour after that left, and then headed back.

In mid-May, Matt Coughlin and his crew from Recon Trail Designs will be back to do some improvements. Signs will be placed at the parking lot. The small parking space will be improved, though remain limited because of the wetland boundary. They will make it accessible for a handicapped van with a lift. The dry path will be widened. Work will be done on the cedar walkway to prevent bees from nesting beneath it by attaching wire mesh and sealing cracks between boards. Access to the sanctuary for others will be minimal because of their work.

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Ed Parsons of Tamworth has written a hiking column for various newspapers in the Mount Washington Valley, and for the Conway Daily Sun since the early 1990s. Since moving to Tamworth 7 years ago, he ranges frequently into the Lakes Region for hikes as well.