Shades of Oliver Wendell Holmes!

This likely will finish out an (all too) abbreviated season. It is with cautious optimism, I'll look forward to another Spring. No doubt about it - it will be a difficult time during the coming months for our Country

The Rhody Mountain Man (occasionally known as Mike) descended upon the Berkshires as we joined forces in Western Pittsfield. Once upon a time, a small cave existed here but recent years have seen a new housing development likey bury it. The area we explored is underlain (to some degree) by marble providing us with a rudimentary karst area. Nothing we would expect to produce any great rewards. Like another cave or other major karst features.

Interesting geology!

After looking over a couple of resurgences, we trekked out into more remote locations where Mike's research, using LIDAR, foretold of possible sinkholes. And sinkholes, indeed, we did find! Interesting, but again, nothing major. Small signs of possible drainage and almost no bedrock outcrops. Perhaps most interesting was a drainage gully that produced a mini cave-like formation. Marble was present at this site but intermingled with other surrounding rocks.

A side passage that exits the cave

Trucking out from the woods, we decided to relocate to the southern parts of Pittsfield to visit a cave that found its history among the famous books by Clay Perry. Elsie Venner's Cave is named after the story by Oliver Wendell Holmes and rests high in mountainous ledges that require a bit of a difficult climb. I visit this cave every few years but it was an opportunity for RMM's first visit. The cave is a chamber under rocks fallen from a higher elevation. There is even a side exit passage under an enormous boulder that has fractured. Photos taken, we returned to our cars to part ways on this particular trip. Likely, it will be springtime before I meet up with Mike once again!

In Search of Ester's!

To say the year 2020 was a 'disappointment' might very well be the understatement of a lifetime. Unless you've been living in a cave, likely your life was touch in some way, shape, or form by all that has been going on.

It was no different for me as a lot of the activities I typically pursue were hampered, or even completely closed off. Piling on top of that, medical problems once again reared its ugly head. Slowly coming back from that, I was able to connect with two good friends in a search for Ester's Cave.

Little had been heard from Ester in recent decades so we wondered what might be found - if indeed we could find it. Using some long ago directions, we climbed a significant, steep hillside. Eventually, some ledges with broken rock were located. The first thing we noticed is this was not limestone as the old directions mentioned. But a tiny entrance did exist and was explored by the two friends.

At this point, I went off through the woods to see what other prospects might exist. Covering a large section of the countryside, the possibilities for a cave were even less than the area I left behind. As I circled back, communication let me know the friends were moving on and would meet up with me along the way. Joining the two - and an area landowner - we made our way back to our cars in a more roundabout route. By this time, my injury from a couple of months back was beginning to severely hamper me. I managed to dump myself into my car and tell my GPS "HOME", ending this adventure.