Spring Skiing

It's that time of year when we here in the North East are starting to maybe not be excited about the cold winter temperatures.  We are setting our sights on Spring as we watch the snow melt.  When we still love to get outside there are fun options this time of year. Spring skiing is a cherished pastime for a lot of people. A man staying at the Hostel this week enthusiastically told me that Spring skiing is his favorite time to be on the slopes.  Lately spring as been holding onto the dead of winter with temps staying in the teens and low 20's! We got a taste of upper 30's and mid 40's weather last week but then it dropped back down. Once you smell spring and hear the little trickle of snow melting streams it's hard to get back to winter mode.  

This coming week the temperatures are headed back up and the sun is coming out.  There is a different vibe around the slopes right now. Not the "gotta get out there for the first time and embrace the frigid air for the love of the powder" but more of a relaxed "let's get in some sweet runs before it all melts away" kind of vibe.  The change of all the seasons here in the the North East is one of bitter sweetness.  I for one always start to miss the season we are in while at the same time fill with excitement and awe at what's coming next.  What is coming next is new growth on each limb of every tree, and the smell of ground thawing and the sound of birds chirping and the sight of tiny baby flowers peaking their bright green heads out of the moist soil.  It's a season of birth and newness and beautiful change.  So before it totally takes over and the snow on the slopes melts into beautiful streams, come up to Conway and book your bunk at the Hostel, break out your rad shades and find your favorite T-shirt because that's all you'll need on the slopes for these last weeks of snow season!

We tapped 5 maple trees at the hostel this weekend.  I have a feeling this isn't the first time sweet maple sap has been harvested from these old trees.  We have a deep respect for this old farmhouse and acreage that was once worked on by many strong hands.  Elizabeth Roper owned and worked this land for decades and even established 4H programs right here.  I can only imagine the fresh hard-working energy that encompassed this place when dozens of 4H kids came to learn valuable farming skills from this wise woman.  I know these old trees have seen all of this and have soaked up the nutrients from this soil.  Now, years later this sacred space is a hostel and instead of generations of people living here working the land there are travelers from all over the country and world who pass through this space.  They are here for a night or a few nights and maybe in and out hiking or climbing and then they are on their way, hopefully to someday return.  But we are here to stay, to live here and to get this place back to its roots.  It won't be back to a full scale farm with livestock but it's a great gift to work with what is already here.  

So what we did, we researched small scale maple sugaring.  The key is timing.  The days have to be warmer, above freezing and preferably sunny and the nights need to drop back down below freezing for the sap to be running well.  The books were already checked out of the library so I went to the trusty internet.  There I found many sites and blogs excited to tell me all about how to tap our trees, what we needed and how to do it all safely.  We went to our cute little local hardware store and found buckets, covers, taps, and hooks.  We also got cheesecloth for the outdoor debris that falls into the sap and some bottles to store our precious resource!  It was surprising to me how easy it really is.  We just went out and drilled 2 inch holes into the trees and hammered in the tap, hooked on our buckets and covers, on some trees there was sap dripping out immediately, which, let me tell you, made me as excited as a little kid on Christmas morning!  After one warm day of the sap running I collected well over a gallon of sap.  Fair warning, we have read and have been told all around town it takes A LOT of sap to boil down much syrup, but we are determined and excited for any sweet return we do get, even if it's only enough for one pancake!    

Stay tuned to This Old Hostel next week when we boil down our first batch of the sweet Nectar of the Trees and find out just how much syrup we can get from our own backyard!   

X-Skiing Paradise

This winter season has been an amazing year for all skiers but my passion this year has been for back-country skiing.  There are many great maintained trails such as, Jackson and Great Pine, but there are also many free trails to be found that are well worth the effort. I have been lucky to have some fellow friends that are back-country enthusiasts , my friend Nordel above,  shared some local knowledge with me about great trails to try.

I will put a plug in also for Ragged Mountain , whose Staff was extremely helpful in setting me up in some great fisher skis for this season! 

Ask us at the hostel if you are looking for some great places to back-country ski and we will be happy to point you to a great adventure!

Winter is open for business!

Hostels Today

Hostels today Hostels have evolved somewhat in the last 40 years. Today, they are no longer just a place for young travelers. You'll as likely find a retired couple staying at a hostel as a college student. Hostels still offer an affordable, no-frills place to stay, but they generally have staff to do the major cleaning and chores. However, guests are expected to clean up after themselves and keep their room or sleeping area in order. There is no maid service as you'd find in a hotel. Not all hostels are communal, but they generally offer less privacy than hotels. Most have shared bathroom facilities. In addition to affordable accommodations, hotels offer: An informal environment An opportunity to share travel stories and ideas with other guests Unique accommodations. There is no one style of hostel. Sleeping arrangements can vary from bunk beds in a communal room to private rooms. Most hostels fit in with the local culture, architecture and environment. If you're planning a trip this season and want to save money while having a unique experience, be sure to consider staying in one of the world's more than 4,000 hostels.

What is a hostel?

What is a hostel? I have run hostels for 20 years so I get this question a lot. If you love to travel, but don't have a lot of money to spend on accommodations, hostels might be the right choice for you. If you like sharing travel stories and getting to know the local culture, food and language, consider a hostel. If you are uncomfortable in formal hotel lobbies with bellmen and gilded ceilings, a hostel could offer the informal atmosphere you're seeking. Created in Germany in the early 20th century, the first hostels were designed primarily for young travelers to have a cheap place to stay while they toured the country. Early hostels were run on a communal basis, with the temporary residents taking care of the cleaning, laundry and maintenance chores. The first hostels closed during the middle of the day to encourage residents to enjoy the fresh air. Hostels became particularly popular in the 1960s and 1970s when flocks of college students toured Europe during the summers and today, you'll find hostels in all parts of the world, in most major cities.

Thanksgiving

There is much to be grateful for at the White Mountains Hostel! A lot of wonderful guests that came from the Hudson Valley for a holiday Celebration for example. They had a great time skiing and hiking and some even made the climb up Mount Washington which is a major accomplishment in winter time, and yes it is winter time! We had a fresh foot of snow on Thanksgiving eve to welcome in the holiday. As they travel home today we wish them safe travels and thanks for staying with us!

Best, Tim