When I moved to Andover in the late 1980s there seemed to be
a constant buzz about local outdoor opportunities. Like today, the Andover
Townsman published a weekly calendar that often advertised guided trips along
area trails.
Local merchants continue to sell copies of the
Andover Trail Guide,
which my husband used to scope out age-appropriate walks for our kids.
Andover was fortunate to have both a bike shop and an
outdoor outfitter and the owners were invaluable resources. I miss Moor &
Mountain and the Andover Cycle Stop.
I recently interviewed another Andover parent, my friend
Carol, who practically raised her children on the trails. One of the highlights
of her 20+ years of living in town was her son’s 6th birthday party
that was a hike through Baker’s Meadow followed by cake and toasted
marshmallows back at her house. The cake in the picture was designed by her
husband, Ed to resemble the beaver’s lodge he took them to see.
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| Ben's Beaver Lodge Birthday Cake courtesy Carol VanDoren |
1. When did you first come to Andover to use the
trails? Was it before you moved here? If so, how did you hear about Andover?
We first came to Andover to use the trails when we were
living in Arlington - around 1986 or so. We have a book called Fifty Hikes
in Massachusetts by John Brady & Brian White, and we drove up here to
hike in the Ward Reservation. After that, we went
on guided hikes through the local chapter of the Appalachian Mountain
Club (AMC). In fact, we later led some of those hikes. The book is still on my
shelf - along with the index cards which were my "notes" for one of
the hikes we led! I had forgotten about that!
We fell in love with the town and heard it was 25%
conservation land. We moved here in 1988 and hope to also retire
here.
2. You’ve been here through many phases of your life. What
were your favorite trails and has that changed over time to reflect your different
roles and responsibilities? Were certain trails “starter trails” and did you
graduate to more demanding hikes as the kids got older? Are there any trails
you don’t know about but would like to visit?
When we first moved here and were doing home renovations,
being able to scoot over to Baker's Meadow and Indian Ridge for a hike was a
wonderful break from working on the house. We could be gone for only an hour
and still put in a full day of work on the house.
We've been pretty consistent with rotating the trails and
kids have tons of energy, so they were always able to keep up. When we had
company such as the kids' younger cousins, our favorite place to take them was
Baker's Meadow and Indian Ridge. That is fantastic for young kids because we
would tell them about the esker and then look at the beaver huts. We even
brought my in-laws hiking at Weir Hill and took my parents hiking through
the Bird Sanctuary at Phillips Academy, so we've had family members of all
abilities out with us. It also makes for fantastic photo ops. We treasure the
photos and the memories.
When the kids first learned to cross-country ski at age
3, we went to the lawn at Phillips Academy. It was flat and just right. After
that we always skied at Goldsmith Reservation. That is still my favorite place
to ski. The trails are rolling and fairly wide. I find that getting up on
my skis isn't as easy as it used to be, so that is well suited to me.
Our adult children still love to hike with us when they
can and we try to incorporate that into our holiday traditions.
We always found Alan French and his staff at Moor and
Mountain to be a great resource; I have a copy of the Bay Circuit Trail
and eventually would like to try more trails too. I still miss that
store. I'd like to learn more about the hikes at Harold Parker. Or if there are
reservations in Andover I haven't seen or visited in awhile. Yesterday we walked
along Deer Jump Reservation. I hadn't been there in years and
couldn't believe how pretty it was.
3. Do you have anything that you like to bring with you
on hikes? Like an AVIS guide? Water bottle? Head Lamp?
I have hiked the Ward Reservation in the dark with the
Girl Scouts once, but aside from that, all our hikes are done in daylight. As
long as I can take photos on the hike, I'm happy. We don't go out long enough
to worry about bringing water. I have graduated from taking a camera to using
my phone for photos. Whatever I bring goes in my pocket.
We do consult a map first if we're not already familiar
with the trails. I still manage to get confused in the Ward Reservation and
have discovered new trails there in recent years.
4. I so love the cake, can you tell me a little more
about Ben’s birthday party?
For Ben's 6th birthday, we decided to bring the group of
boys on the Indian Ridge loop (3 miles). We specified on the invitation that it
would be a 3-mile hike, and a few parents joined us. Halfway through we
stopped for snacks and a group photo sitting on a log in front of the beaver
hut. We were careful to carry out all trash! At home, the boys toasted
marshmallows and Ben had his beaver hut birthday cake.
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| Baker's Meadow Birthday Hike, circa 1997 courtesy Carol VanDoren |
Ed's mom was an award-winning baker and Ed also worked in
a bakery, so he is the baker of the house. He created this cake by baking
3 layers and then carving it into a mound the shape of a beaver hut. We
probably ate the scraps! He frosted it with chocolate and then put pretzels on
top for sticks. He put it on a piece of plywood covered in aluminum foil
and used blue frosting to have water around it, adding the lily pads. He uses
his mom's old Fanny Farmer cookbook for all his baking.
For a thank you note, the boys received a copy of the
group photo. Back when we had to wait for a roll of film to be developed.
Thank you for sharing!
