Scott Hollinger loved the outdoors. He had a life-long passion for backcountry hiking which was awakened during his college years at University of California Berkeley, and was rejuvenated almost every year, starting in 1995, with a two week backpacking trip into Alaskan backcountry.  Scott and his three former college buddies, Brad Westmorland, Dave Hill, and John Morrison, would be air-dropped into an area of Alaska for their two-week remote adventures. Sometimes as many as eight men would go on these Alaskan treks, but these trips always included Scott, Brad, Dave, and John.  At the end of an adventure a helicopter or float plane would come to find them and fly them back into civilization, often needing to do the pick-up over a two- or three-day period if the Alaskan weather were foggy or snowy.  This was all before cell phones or small portable GPS devices.

Their wives, at home with kids, would await a call from one of their “boys” when the boys returned to some sort of telephone communication in Alaska.  The “girls” at home then would activate their own “they have returned!” phone chain.  Scott was known for his good humor, cheerfulness, and safety skills during his hiking treks.  He loved games, and often took a wiffle ball on his backcountry adventures. He had a campfire game well known to his whole family called “Hit that rock with this rock,” where those around the campsite would be challenged to take a small rock and throw it towards a designated distant rock. During college Scott spent many days hiking with his buddies and with his future wife in many of the western National Parks and in the Sierras.  Alaska always had the top draw.  As Scott’s three sons got old enough, they too were brought into the yearly ritual of two weeks of trekking in Alaska. When in the east, during winter vacations at New London’s Slope and Shore, Scott loved backcountry skiing on Ragged Mt., and during any season he was happy to hike or trail run on many of the local trails, paths which eventually became some of the Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway trails. He played Ultimate and had much success and fun with his Ultimate teams. 

Scott Hollinger was born on July 2, 1962. He was raised in Wellesley, MA, and was the youngest of four children.  Scott’s love of the outdoors began early in his life.  In 1966-1967 Scott’s family built a house at Slope and Shore, then a new community in New London, NH, located at the north end of Pleasant Lake.  His family spent summers at Slope and Shore, enjoying its community, the waters sports, tennis, and the nearby hiking and running trails.  In the winter his family returned to Slope and Shore and enjoyed vacations filled with skiing at King Ridge, New London’s “top-to-bottom” ski area.  Scott loved the outdoors activities and gathering with his extended family.  Memorable are family fishing trips to Lake Sysladobsis in Manie. Scott’s aunts and uncles also made homes by Pleasant Lake and at Slope and Shore.  To this day many of the Hollinger kinship live at Slope and Shore or by Pleasant Lake. Their younger generations return to Pleasant Lake for rejuvenation and reunions.

Scott’s bond to Alaska began in his late teens. He attended University of Maine for his first year of college. In 1981, the summer after his first year in college, he went west and worked at a fishery in Alaska.  During his time off he hiked extensively on the west coast.  His passion for backwoods hiking in the big western mountains was immediate and endured throughout the rest of his life.   

In the fall of 1981 he chose not to return to U. Maine. He transferred to U.C. Berkeley. Scott’s college years at Berkeley were formative in many ways. He graduated from Berkeley in 1984 where he had been a Political Science major.  During college he needed a job and began working in “specialty masonry” for a concrete and waterproofing company, Western Waterproofing. This job led him to full-time employment after college and honed his interest and skills in building maintenance and restoration. From 1985-1993 he worked for this company in the San Francisco area. Then in 1993 Scott and his wife moved east to Hopkinton, MA where he worked in the Boston area for a branch of the Western Waterproofing Co., and later for the P.J. Spillane Co.  In 2008 Scott founded his own company, Patriot Restoration. His wife still owns Patriot Restoration and two of his sons, Jake and Nick, run the company, a business which at times has as many as 80 employees.  

Scott’s years at U. C. Berkeley also were personally deeply formative.  There he met his future wife, Peggy, a math and computer science major. Scott and Peggy spent time off from school hiking in many of the western National Parks, and in the Sierras. They married in 1989. They raised their three sons in Massachusetts after moving east in 1993.  Also deeply formative were Scott’s college friendships with John Morrison, Dave Hill, and Brad Westmorland, his Alaskan trekking buddies.

On March 3, 2018, Scott was skiing with his family in the west when, at age 55, he had a fatal heart attack. Scott’s ashes have been scattered by his friends and family across many of his favorite trails throughout the United States, and especially around his cherished locations in New Hampshire and in the New London area.

The family decided that they would ask Scott’s friends and family to donate to the Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway (SRKG) in lieu of sending flowers.  The SRKG has been honored by this generosity and thanks the Hollinger family and all of Scott’s friends for their donations.  In 2026, using donations from the SRKG Hollinger Memorial Fund, the   SRKG is replacing a significant hiker’s bridge across Kimpton Brook in North Wilmot, NH.  This bridge will be named the Scott Hollinger Bridge.  Think of Scott’s cheerful, playful smile as you hike across this bridge!