Friday, June 3, 2022


It's a small contingent of the Hilltown Hikers once again. This time exploring an entirely different section of the Peru State forest in the town of Worthington. We had reports of a mill and/or possible gold mining operation. We ascended along a tributary to the Middle Branch Westfield River (some refer to this as Lost Brook) and few signs of activity were encountered. These included pieces of rail, a pulley, and assorted odds and ends. Later on, hiking partner Tom concluded from a topo map, that a telephone line ran through this area. Once back out on the main road we walked a ways south looking for a reported entrance to a trial that ran along Fuller Brook. Nothing came out of this jaunt. But on the way home, Tom and myself decided to check a different section of Fuller Brook at a much higher elevation that the Westfield River branch. This did bear fruit as a steep gorge with magnificent waterfall were present. Some old foundations and stonework were present near the falls. But it was not exactly clear as to their original purpose. According to one old map, this area was the site of the purported gold mining operations.