Lipfert Forest

In early spring of 2023, I was living on a small mountaintop in Claremont, New Hampshire, and dealing with a lot of personal turmoil. I had discovered, months earlier, that during times of trouble, going for a long walk almost always helped.

I’ve always liked walking and hiking. Especially somewhere I’ve never been before. The sense of novelty and adventure always gives me a boost, and during this particular period, my need for solitude had led me to discover the joys of hiking in all conditions, hot, cold, rain, snow. As the seasons changed, even revisiting the same places could seem like a brand-new journey.

I had frequently driven past the entrance of a spot in Cornish, NH, which looked like a steep driveway and was marked as some kind of tree farm. I later discovered it was a large parcel of private land that was generously made open to the public as a hiking area. One day, I decided to finally check it out.

Within 10 or 15 minutes of walking along what looked like a fairly boring path through some hills, I came upon a sign:

“TO THE WATERFALL”

Of course, I had no choice but to follow it.

The rest of my day was filled with an uplifting sense of peace and wonder as I explored that and several other small waterfalls along the river trail, and made my way to the top of a steep hill where a lovely view of Mount Ascutney awaited me.

The photos of the waterfall and surrounding area I took that day in the Lipfert Forest were some of the first that I felt were truly therapeutic for me, rather than merely amusing or aesthetically pleasing. I returned to this spot a couple of times later in the year as the seasons changed, and captured this photo on a visit later that summer.

There’s something honest about water in the woods. It doesn’t perform. It doesn’t explain. It just keeps going—over stone, around roots, through whatever’s in the way.

And sometimes, that relentlessness can be soft and beautiful and powerful all at once. 

I started on a journey, not knowing what to expect.

I’m glad I followed the sign.

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December 23, 2025 No Comments