Doan’s Last Trail

An alumnus who guided thousands of outdoors people through the backwoods of New Hampshire now has his name on one of his favorite trails. The Dartmouth Outing Club has renamed a former section of the Appalachian Trail up Smarts Mountain (just north of the Skiway) in honor of Daniel Doan ’36.

Doan authored the pop- ular 50 Hikes in the WitheMountains and 50 MoreHikes in New Hampshire, classics filled with wit, folklore, and valuable tid- bits of insider information. His last book, Our LastBackpack, is a memoir of a 1966 trip he took with a close friend through the Mahoosuc Range.

As a boy growing up in Orford, New Hampshire, Doan explored his extend- ed backyard, including Smarts and the White Mountains. On New Year’s Eve of 1929 he bushwacked up Smarts— only to find that same DOC trail at the top that, 64 years later, would come to bear his name.

Doan died in Lancaster, New Hampshire, this past September, two months after the trail dedication.

“The Daniel Doan trail is an honor he cherished,” wrote his daughter Ruth, thank- ing the DOC.