King Philip's Cave

Continuing on once again with the Connecticut River Valley rock formations, I worked a series of precipitous sandstone ledges. Niches exist in these cliffs including one minor cave formation known locally as King Philip's Cave (King Philip also had his "chair" at Table/Jutting Rock). Hopping over to the east side of the Connecticut River, I took on conglomerate based bedrock. In this region I reexamined familiar old sites with names long ago forgotten. Some of these included Fern Cascade, the Arch the Fissure, and a possible site for Wild Cat Den. This whole area is a fascinating piece of geology with a long extended ledge which is a hanging wall of a fault. Fern Cascade leaps over this wall with the Fissure being a natural passageway between the wall and the Arch. The Arch is a massive detached section of the hanging wall that itself has separated, with its own natural passage running through it. The likely Wild Cat Den is a boulder cave formed from fallen sections of the same ledge. In another region of town, I parked at another popular cascade that also has its own archaic name in Munsell's Cascade. While hiking through the woods another splendid ledge with its own marvelous rocky formations was discovered. But being close to the end of my day - I left it for future exploration. But one quick stop was made at the spot formerly know as Stony Hill, somewhat chopped up by a latter day highway relocation. It was from this location several pieces of antique photography show beautiful views of the Connecticut River and the mountains on the far side.