Solutions: The power of partners
On summer weekends, Crawford Notch State Park in the White Mountains of New Hampshire bustles with activity. Vehicles fill trailhead parking lots and line Route 302, the main artery. People traipse mountainside trails.
Amid the commotion, the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Highland Center lodge welcomes visitors with a sign: “adventure—lodging—learning.”
The Highland Center stands across the street from the more than 200-year-old Crawford Path, the longest continuously maintained hiking trail in North America. The lodge and its predecessors have catered to visitors since the Crawford House Hotel was built on the site in 1850.
AMC turned the place into the Highland Center, a beacon for the region and a representation of a kind of welcome point that groups around the country have developed to deal with people in search of information about outdoors options.
Today, the lodge is a launching pad for all kinds of hikers, some who head off at sunrise to tackle the 8.5-mile Crawford Path to Mount Washington. More casual trekkers pursue easier trips and others drive through Crawford Notch for the scenery.
Plenty have questions about conditions, need to buy a piece of gear
