That sounds really interesting, I'll check it out, thanks!
Printable View
Winters will be colder and snowier than Maryland, but you will be amazed at how efficiently the roads are cleared after a snowstorm.
You've got plenty to learn -- I bet you've never heard of "frost heaves". Just ask an old-time Down Easterner, and watch out for "Frost Heaves" signs. But they do have a positive side. When you run into one -- because the plows can't plow the snow off of them -- you can set up your camera gear and take pictures of the tow truck crew!
Attachment 170112
Maine has better beaches in many cases, yes. Hampton is really the only scourge of a beach town in NH though. The others in NH are nice, just Maine has more coastline in general.
re: Snow - even with AWD, your best bet is get a dedicated set of snow tires and wheels. It makes a huge difference over all-season tires.
Brother and his wife live in upper NH... the town of Hebron. Population just short of 500. When up there visiting them, I take many photographic excursions. Destinations usually streams and waterfalls based on studying USGS topographic maps of the region. Major waterfalls have been photographer thousands of times over the years... am looking for more intimate waterfall locations. On my mini SUV have mounted a small platform on top of the roof racks. Allows me to get more overhead shots of side of the road scenes. Shooting with an 11x14' view camera on a tripod on a platform on top of my SUV sounds a bit scary, but is a very stable operation in.... For long hikes, just take the Nikon D4 with a couple of lenses and make enlarged digital negatives to print Platinum/Palladium. Once hiked in on a class 5.1 trail/climb with my 8x10 in a backpack, and swore many times then never to attempt that again.
You GO, guy!
I've been up the Adam's Slide Trail in the Presidential Range in NH -- I don't think they show it on the maps nowadays. Now THAT was tough -- and I was NOT carrying a LF camera. But I did go down the North Bass Trail on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon with a 4X5. That was even tougher. OK, going DOWN was easy, getting back up was Hell -- and I had to carry all my water. I'll never do it again, but I'm glad I did.
Keep Truckin'
I enjoy getting a New Hampshire Atlas and Gazetteer, and trying to find the good streams for photography from the maps. Now I do it with my Maine one, but our streams are not as pretty as many I have found in NH. It's like a treasure hunt - not always successful, but I have a good time anyway.