Vibe Spring2025 - Flipbook - Page 39
“There is a reason, it’s called mud season,
recently freezing, but now we’re stuck
Ya know it’s better, in this spring weather
to leave the minivan at home and take
the pickup truck …”
So goes the first verse of “Mud Season Blues,” an ode to the so-called
fifth season, written by Russ Lanoie, who’s been getting down and dirty
in Mt. Washington Valley mud for decades.
I
t’s that time of year when dirt roads become
pot-holed and washboarded, at times hosting
muddy pits capable of stopping the likes of
minivans in their tracks. And when the hundreds of
miles of trails snaking through the White Mountains can be covered with puddles or mud capable
of sucking hiking boots right off your feet.
Lanoie has maintained dozens of dirt roads in
local developments and miles of private driveways,
so he knows a thing or two about mud season. He’s
written a book on the topic, called A Ditch in Time:
An owner’s manual for those who live and travel on
dirt and gravel roads. And he invented a contrap-
Spring 2025
tion called the “Front Runner,” an attachment for
the front of vehicles that has metal tines to grade,
remove debris, and help dry dirt roads.
Here’s how Lanoie explains mud season: Soil,
including that on unpaved roads, containing water
can freeze almost as hard as concrete. In the spring,
warmth from the sun thaws the surface while
heat from the earth thaws from below. However,
the frost in the middle, which can be several feet
thick, sticks around and prevents surface water
from draining and the soil from drying, resulting in
what Lanoie calls “one of New Hampshire’s most
beloved yearly occurrences.” Mud season.
39
