Again, it's the Western Mass Hilltown Hikers with explorations were into sections of the Huntington State Forest. Old roads were traveled. Old settlement sites, sought out. A pleasant day of discovery among a 'typical' (are they ever?) woodland setting. An old abandoned cabin, terribly beat up (of course!), was stumbled upon. Old mill sites, from the long ago past, with ruins still exist.
Afterwards, an attempt was made to find a reported 'Indian oven' in the area. This proved unsuccessful. :(
Meeting up with members of the Western Mass Hilltown Hikers, explorations were continued along a former section of the Huckleberry Trolley Line. This started by accessing an old, abandoned, section of the Lee Westfield Turnpike. The walking started out a bit tough, but soon we entered a more defined section of the former road. An old cellar hole of a long ago resident was encountered as well as magnificent old trees that lined the old lane. Soon we had made our way to the Massachusetts Turnpike. This, being on its southern side from our 5/6 trek along the former trolley route north of the Mass Pike.
A slight bushwhack north, the actual Huckleberry Line route was discovered, which made for a mostly pleasant walk back southeast to Johnson Rd in Becket. We then poked around a few locations along the Becket border with Otis hoping to find other signs of the old Huckleberry but were mostly unsuccessful.
Returning back to the southern Berkshires, after just a few days respite, I called upon my old (and too often neglected) 'cave man' skills. A further, better equipped , investigation into the site of the former Huckleberry Trolley tunnel was undertaken. This passed as a relatively routine experience leaving me only to find my way eastward into the Tyringham Valley.
I had enough time to make a quick stop at Gorilla Rock, then on to the Cobble! After the recent experience in Monterey with Elephant Rock, I felt incentivized to follow up with another look at Rabbit Rock. The geologic map showed a slightly different scenario with actual beds of marble near the base of the Cobble. I did not see anything in the way of definitive marble. But Rabbit Rock did provided a vigorous fizz under the acid test (more so than Elephant) and had more pronounced potmarking upon it.
Gathering up my evidence, I moved on from the Rabbit to the Schoolhouse. Or the namesake boulder that once had a school next to it. MANY years since I first laid eyes upon this Big Boy leftover from the last ice age. I was treated to meeting the owner then finished up my day visiting my sometimes partner Gary at his new home in Lee.
Once again joining the Western Mass Hilltown Hikers, this day's explorations was my first view of the the old Huckleberry Trolley line. Or more accurately, what remains on its former route. Our journey began with the Jacob's Ladder Trail and (appropriately named) Huckleberry Lane. Working our way southeast we eventually ended up where the Massachusetts Turnpike obliterated the old route. Along the way, old culverts (dated 1911) were some of what remains in the way of relics. Here and there parts of the old electrical system and posts, conveying that electricity, might be seen. At the last point east (quite adjacent to the Pike) we did find an old corner boundary marker for the towns of Becket and Otis.
After making our way back near our point of origin, the site of an old tunnel, that was for the trolley's use, could be located under Jacob's Ladder. At least one end. The other had been completely covered and totally disguised. We continued to work towards the the northwest which led to elevated fill and rock cuts. An effort to reduce the grade that the trolley would have to traverse. Near some of the rock cuts, large piles of stone still lay from the days the trolley passed on through. This section was much more of a bonanza in terms of seeing old poles, wires, and wooden insulators. All part of making the Huckleberry Line a success during its limited lifetime. And yes - huckleberries were seen, beginning their first shoots of spring!
(Note: rock pile behind)
Today's adventure brought me to the southern Berkshires, joining the Western Mass Hilltown Hikers in Monterey. The hike took us into a section of the Beartown State Forest, visiting the Mount Hunger Cemetery, and eventually climbing the steep Mt. Hunger itself.
The 'geologic portion' of the trip was a short drive to local landmark Elephant Rock. Its been years since I last visited this magnificent boulder and I wished to determine if it be marble or not. The old favorite acid test did react positively but indications (at least at this early point in time) are it may be what it was thought originally: sandstone. BUT, a sandstone with a small calcium carbonate mix.
The final stop was to the shores of Lake Garfield to ponder furture hiking and kayaking in the area.
Helping Mike finish this year's trip to Western Massachusetts, we met at an access point north of majestic Mt. Tekoa. The goal was to check the summit ridge for a reported cave, then continue the hike a ways towards English Grass Cave.
Some prep work, along with modern GPS and mapping technology, made accessing the Tekoa Summit fairly easy. But along the way we quickly became aware of severe trail flooding with impoundments creating small ponds at certain points. After reaching the ridge that looks down on the Westfield River 900 feet below, we followed that ridge to the northwest to use the existing network of trails (along with a moderately long bushwhack) to eventually end up at English Grass Cave. A lot of walking and a lot of climbing involved. Upon our departure from the cave, it was one more lengthy walk and a bushwhack to skirt a pond covering the old woods road. Beat up and tired, we eventually reached our cars and said goodbye until our next adventure.
November came calling - and that is the time of the year that heralds the return of Mike, the Rhody Mountain Man. He had a well prepared list and we set of (after breakfast) to seek out something new for both of us: Kelly's Caves. The area was part of a favorite of mine, a small mountain in the foothills of Greylock known as Sugarloaf. The whole area is a 'sort of' karst area boasting 'caves' of different origins. There is some bona fide karst in the marble surrounding parts of its lower elevations and the section area we explored was an area I had never ventured onto.
But Mike had some pretty good coordinates for the area we sought out and with a bit of bushwhacking, we eventually landed in an area of a sinking stream. Two small caves were to be found. But, in the end, fill made them somewhat short, . While Mike checked out the underground I roamed the forest seeking out evidence of further karst formations. This proved to be fruitless and soon we were headed on our way out of the woods.
On our next stop, we sought out a somewhat vague mention of a cave up a steep hike in Williamstown. It basically was a geocache site in the Pine Cobble region, located among a tremendous slide of talus. The definitive site of that cave could not be totally confirmed after much searching. We moved along, then on to our prospective homes.
