by David Kunhardt & Juno Lamb
Chocorua Mountain Club logo designed by Charles Howard Walker in 1924. The overlapping letter motif in the top diamond was designed by Fordham Kimball in 1908.
It’s all about timing.
Long before Chocorua Lake Conservancy was a twinkle in its founders’ eyes, and a whole decade before the founding of the White Mountain National Forest, the Chocorua Mountain Club (CMC) has been maintaining trails on Mount Chocorua. At the first meeting of the CMC in July of 1908, its new members described its purposes: “to explore and to make paths and camps in the White Mountains [and]…to acquire by purchase or gifts…land” that would improve and preserve the natural resources of the White Mountains. Much of the early history of the CMC is captured in CLC’s 50th anniversary book Timeless Chocorua, including a note about membership, which “reached a record high of 418 in 1923, when special efforts were made to enlist support of all who made use of the huts and trails.”
Fast forward to 2010, when the club’s constitution was revised from its 1948 version to read: “The purpose of the Club shall be to work in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service to maintain the trails on Mt. Chocorua, Mt. Paugus and other trails in the Chocorua basin.”
CMC Vice President with tenure Kate Lanou and President Ken Smith at the May 2023 Trail Clearing Day. Enormous thanks to Kate and Ken for their leadership of the CMC in recent years and through the merger process. Photo: Alex Moot
Fast forward to…today. After nearly 120 years, the CMC reached a time when it was in need of evolution. For several years, the CMC and CLC have been in casual conversation about the possibility of merging the organizations, and in early 2023, several dedicated CMC members felt that the time was right to combine the avid mountain trails stewardship of the CMC with CLC’s organizational strength, including a larger membership and structures in place to communicate with members of both CLC and the CMC.
Representatives from the two organizations met in the winter of 2023 and Ken Smith and Kate Lanou, recent leaders of the CMC, shared their criteria for a successful merger:
that CLC would retain the history and art of the CMC,
that CLC would retain as a separate matter the funds and fundraising ability of the CMC,
that CLC would commit to careful stewardship of trail maintenance going forward,
and that a board member of CLC would devote time to the CMC arm of the merged organization, plus ongoing support of CMC merchandise including its popular Mount Chocorua trail map.
CMC trail maps are available at the CLC office in Chocorua Village, or online HERE.
Representatives of the two organizations agreed that the merger would result in good outcomes and shared a desire to cultivate and support a new generation of stewards to care for all of the mountain trails and trails on CLC conservation lands. Their memberships agreed: CMC members approved the merger proposal at its Annual Meeting in May, and CLC members approved it unanimously at their August Annual Meeting.
CLC board member David Kunhardt agreed to coordinate the newly-formed Chocorua Mountain Club Committee. The number of trail users continues to grow, and we invite all of you hikers and climbers of all ages to be involved in caring for this magical, magnificent mountain by joining us on the second Saturday of May each year for our dedicated Trail Clearing Day, and year-round, if you are able, in stewardship of Mount Chocorua and its beautiful trails.
To learn more and be part of year-round monitoring, maintenance, and care for the trails, please get in touch with David.
Banner image: Assembling to receive trail assignments at the 2023 Chocorua Mountain Club Trail Clearing Day. Photo: Alex Moot