We started some work on the historic Kamp Kirk late last season. This will be another test site for our future chain of huts. Anyone interested in volunteering to help in the construction or donate funds or materials, please contact us at Cohos Trail or call us at 1 603-246-7784.
This will be a very basic hut with few amenities.
Kamp Kirk is located deep within the Nash Stream Forest. It is one of the original camps built in the area.
Hikers on the Cohos Trail may be able to stay in an improvised lean-to at Kamp Kirk sometime this summer. Check this website (www.cohostrail.org) periodically for updates.
The Cohos Trail Association has just received approval from the State of New Hampshire’s Division of Forests & Lands to restore this historic labor camp and turn it into a full-fledged hiker hut in the future.
But this summer, we will try to complete a lean-to on the building, a lean-to that will actually become the kitchen of the camp once we are able to complete the full restoration. You may camp overnight in the lean-to once it is completed. We ask that you do not use or sleep overnight in the camp itself. It is not safe to do so as yet.
Once we get the lean-to up and running this summer, it will be free to the public to use. It should be able to sleep eight people.
There is excellent water at Silver Brook nearby, and there is a cage composting toilet in the vicinity. Above the camp is a shed that will get a new roof, some siding and a cleaning. You can sit under the front roof overhang even in wet weather.
Kamp Kirk is at Mile 9 just off the old Nash Stream Road within the Nash Stream Forest. It is above the banks of Silver Brook. The camp is easily reached by foot from the Cohos Trail or by car along the road.
At Mile 8 there is a big stringer bridge across Nash Stream. Just north of the bridge, on the left, is the Sugarloaf Mountain Trail trailhead. At the bridge or at the trailhead, continue uphill on the Nash Stream Road and ascend a lengthy hill until it levels out. Stay on the level for a short distance and then begin a very gradual downhill descent. Near the bottom of the descent the road bends to the left. About 50 feet before the bend, look on the left for an indistinct drive that punches into the forest and goes uphill away from the road. In a second or two you will see Kamp Kirk perched on a low hill above you. If you miss the driveway, you will soon see a camp on the right side of the road that goes by the name Broken Dam Camp. You have gone too far.
There is limited parking below the camp on the left. Pull in there and park. Please do not climb the slope and park by the camp.
We are accepting donations and gifts to help us restore this wonderful old building for use as a hiker hut. You may donate dollars by using our PayPal arrangement or you may send a check or money order to The Cohos Trail Association-huts, PO Box 245 - W. Stewartstown, NH 03597.
If you would rather donate materials, please call 603-246-7784 in the North Country or 603-363-8902 in southern New Hampshire. We are in need of 10-foot and 12-foot dark green metal roofing and dimension lumber, particularly 2x4s, 2x6s, 2x8s and 2x10s. We can also use 1x6 and 1x8 boards of most any length.
