On October 9th 2017, I turned 28 years old. To celebrate my birthday, I took a solo trip to New Hampshire to see the famous fiery fall foliage.

I arrived on Monday afternoon. Once I was settled, I headed out into the cold to explore Nashua. I then ended Monday with a lovely dinner at an Italian restaurant, and brought a book for company.

The following morning, I headed to Mine Falls Park to see the more natural side of Nashua, New Hampshire.

As I shared in my first ever vlog entry, Mine Falls Park was far more beautiful than I expected it would be.

Starting Out

The first thing I noticed when I hit the trails was this Walk for Whiskers charity event. If I was still in New Hampshire on the 28th, I would have totally gone.

There are many entrances to — and exits from — Mine Falls Park, but I entered from Whipple Street. Directly ahead, there was a bridge stretching over the Nashua River.

On the Bridge

If you’ve been following my travel blog for a while, then you know that there are two main things I look for on a hiking trail: bridges and waterscapes. To find both of these so early was a good sign.

To boot, the view from the bridge was spectacular. But I wouldn’t hold the bridge for long. Along came a friendly Alaskan Malamute to steal my attention.

Leaving the Bridge 

After a brief chat with Sir Doggy and his Humans, it was time to leave the bridge behind and explore the rest of the park.

Right about here, is where I started filming my vlog entry for Mine Falls Park. I was really careful to make sure no one else was around to watch me make a fool of myself on camera!

One thing I can say about vlogging — and I’ll likely be writing a post about this at a later date — it’s a lot more invasive than writing, especially for someone like me who hates being in front of a camera. I’m not photogenic. You guys can probably tell, I look different with every angle I turn the camera, and not all of them are particularly flattering!

These were the steps, where the vlog entry ended. Definitely, not the kind of path one wants to tread, while staring into a camera.

The Lower Level

The path did continue up ahead, but I wanted to see what was on the lower level. What I found were trees aflame with the fall foliage, reflecting on the river. Believe me when I say the pictures don’t do justice to what I saw in person.

The lower level had a bit more foot-traffic than up top, so I ran into a lot of hikers while traveling along this path. Some were very friendly and greeted me as they went by. Some smiled, or nodded. Others pretended they had the trail to themselves and no one else existed.

Once the path was clear, I sneaked in a quick selfie — or two — and then continued along the trail. 

I have no idea what that building was in the distance, but it provided the perfect backdrop.

To the right of this, I found even more swampland. The water on the other side was cleaner, but there really wasn’t anything interesting to see.

The lower level of the trail ended shortly after this.

These steps led up to the end of the trail above. It would have been easier to follow them up and make a loop, but I decided to turn back to my original detour.

Back On Top

Once I made my way back to the trail on the upper level, the autumn views just kept on coming.

Unfortunately. so did the heat, so it was time to stuff the scarf into the back of my CamelPak.

After that, I wandered to the end of this trail, and onto a dock at the very end. Maybe people kayak up and down the river. I’m not sure, but I didn’t see any while I was there.

Another Route

After the dock, I turned back and took the bridge across the river to the trail running parallel to the one I started originally. From this point onward, the views were pretty much the same as I saw on the other side.

When I reached the entrance by Whipple Street, I went by it and continued to the other side of the park. There were a few great photo ops, but my phone had other plans for me. When I tried to take a picture, this happened:

That was the last “picture” I was able to take. After that, my phone became stuck in a restart loop and would not stay on for more than a few seconds. By the time I made it out of the woods again, the battery was almost dead.

The Dilemma 

I needed the phone to call my Uber back to my hotel, so this was one hell of a situation to be in. Thankfully, I’m not someone who panics easily.

There were a lot of businesses along Whipple Street. I walked to the UPS I had spotted on my way in, explained what had happened, and asked if I could charge my phone.

Once the phone got some charge, it stopped its re-looping madness, and I was able to call my Uber and get back to my hotel. Aside from this bit of malfunctioning, I have to say, my Samsung Note 4 held its own on the trip.

Bet you didn’t know every last picture and video you’ve watched so far wasn’t taken with my handy camera this time. They are all phone pictures!

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I had a great time hiking in New England. Next week, I’ll share the 5 Massachusetts reservations I hiked in one day, in one post… with a bee sting in my rump!

Stay tuned.

My trip to New England was booked by 1 View Point, our in-house travel agency at Alexis Chateau PR. My wardrobe (ASK ME HOW I GOT HERE shirts and hoodies) was designed, and sponsored by 1 View Point and Alexis Chateau PR in celebration of our #November31 campaign.

We’re providing 1/2 off booking fees this November to celebrate a year of travel-testing, and our official launch. Email us for details!