The cold, cloudy weather wasn’t enough to keep 11 hikers from convening at the Hiroshi Loop trailhead in Peterborough Friday for a morning of exploration and discovery.

Led by teacher-naturalists Nikko Gagnon and Kara Reynolds of the Harris Center for Conservation Education in Hancock, participants took a closer look at the terrain and local wildlife.

The 1.9-mile trail begins in an open field that was once home to a farmstead and, more recently, was owned by chef and restaurant owner Hiroshi Hayashi, from whom the trail gets its name. During the warmer months, it is still possible to see a foundation, although during the walk it was obscured by snow.

The snow provided hikers with the opportunity to see tracks of the animals that call the 128-acre Hiroshi Land their home. Signs of deer, mice, beavers and bobcats were scattered across the trail, which meanders alongside the Nubanusit Brook, providing hikers to a view of Dinsmore Pond before looping back around.

The focus wasn’t just on the local fauna. Participants were also taught how to identify common evergreen trees by the shape and length of their needles. Fir and Eastern hemlock have flat, rounded needles, while spruce needles are shorter and end in a point. A way to remember? “Spiky spruce, and friendly fir.”

There were also signs of human activity. One tree at the edge of the brook had anchors bolted into it, as during the warmer months, ropes are attached and anchored to a tree on the other side, so supplies and even people can safely get across. The area is used both by the Army Corps of Engineers and Nature’s Classroom Sargent Center, who run outdoor education retreats.

To reach the Hiroshi Loop trailhead, take Route 137 north from its intersection with Route 101 in Peterborough. The Hiroshi Loop trailhead is about 2 miles in, on the east side of Route 137.

For information about Harris Center programs, visit harriscenter.org/events.