There’s no wind, just the sound of snowmelt dripping through leafless canopy, leaving tiny imprints on a thin layer of white covering the forest floor.
I stop for a minute, taking in the quiet beauty of the forest around Stump Sprouts in Hawley. Oak trees stretch up toward a grey sky, black trunks reach down to a bubbling brook, connifers bow under the weight of wet snow, and young beech leaves contrast yellow through drizzle.
Ahead, Lloyd Crawford strides forward through the trees, gliding effortlessly into Thursday’s misty morning on skis. Crawford co-owns Stump Sprouts along with his wife Suzanne Crawford, a retired pre-school teacher, which facilitates cross-country skiing and other outdoor activities.
He stops, looking back down the trail, waiting for me to catch up.
I take a deep breath. The air is damp and crisp, refreshing. I push off on my skis, following Crawford’s sharp tracks in the snow.
“We started out as pure cross-country skiing, over the years, all the other components have grown,” Crawford said while giving me a tour of Stump Sprouts’ facilities.
“What is Stump Sprouts?” Crawford asked. “It’s many things … It’s a way to have fun outside with your friends.”
In 1977, Crawford inherited a decaying farm and around 400 acres of land at the top of West Hill Road from his grandparents. At the time, Crawford and his wife were living in Michigan while he was working at an environmental education center.
Forty years later, Crawford, who doesn’t employ anyone at Stump Sprouts, has converted the farm into a retreat center and popular cross-country skiing location — hosting workshops, retreats, and weddings, among other events. The name ‘Stump Sprouts’ reflects the farm’s history of new growth from decaying stumps.
Over the years, Crawford has built Stump Sprouts’ lodges by hand. One has a large space for activities such as yoga or weddings, another, sleeping quarters for around 20 people, including a common space and dining area.
“It works because were jacks of all trades. I build things, cook things, work the front desk, it’s just my wife and I. It’s 40 years of effort, a little bit at a time,” Crawford said, noting that dining at Stump Sprouts is “almost a throwback to a time when people made their own food.”
“People ask me ‘what’s there to do here,’ and I list off all the things there are to do,” Crawford said. “Then they come up and hang out on the couch all weekend.”
Outside, Crawford has blazed more than 15 miles of groomed cross-country ski trails through Hawley’s pristine woods, which can also be traversed on snowshoes and winter bikes. Some days, Crawford leads hiking tours looking for animal tracks.
Stump Sprouts rents cross country skis, ‘microspikes’ for hiking, snowshoes, and winter bikes.
While Stump Sprouts facilitates other activities, cross-country skiing is its main draw.
“The joy of living here — I ski these trails more than anyone else,” Crawford said, while I took a break on “Easy Slider,” a beginners trail.
I’m not an experienced skiier by any stretch of the imagination; however, I didn’t find it too difficult to get the hang of it. And while it’s not as exhilarating as barreling down a hill on a snowboard, cross-country skiing provides the simple charm of being alive and moving easily through nature.
For those who might not participate in outdoor activities during colder months (that was me a few years ago), winter in New England can be depressing and dull. Out in the woods, however, it’s anything but that. Cross-country skiing is a way to get outside and keep active.
For the Crawfords, Stump Sprouts is a sustainable operation that revolves around cross-country skiing and friends. Their two adult children, Nick and Kate Crawford, are also skiers.
According to Stump Sprouts’ website, “75-percent of our trash is either composted, reused or recycled.” Along with solar panels that generate 100-percent of the business’s electricity, some food is supplied from gardens, and the buildings are heated with cut firewood.
As Crawford explains, the simplicity of life at Stump Sprouts is intentional — a charm that brings loyal customers back year after year.
“A concept I just learned last week — the concept of ‘hygge,’ which is a Danish term for having fun with friends. It describes a sense of gathering simple things together, for instance skiing, or board games, sharing soup together, sharing stories, hanging out and having a good time,” Crawford said. “That’s what we do here. We provide a platform for people to spend time together.
In the woods, Crawford is in his element. While skiing, he points out variances in terrain and explains that about a hundred years ago, most of the forest was farmland.
Another aspect of Crawford’s philosophy is land stewardship. Because most of the trees on the property aren’t that old, Crawford views himself as a protector until the trees are old enough to be sustainably harvested.
In addition to co-owning Stump Sprouts, Crawford holds a few local government positions — he’s chairman of the Conservation Commission and also serves on the Planning Board.
For more information about Stump Sprouts, visit: www.stumpsprouts.com.
You can reach Andy Castillo
at: acastillo@recorder.com or
413-772-0261, ext. 263. On Twitter:
@AndyCCastillo