A little walk across the street

[ebinmaine 67,277]

Trina, Meeha, and I met a friend and went for a super awesome bushwack hike on the mountains across the street from home.

6 miles of rough woods walking.

It was FANTASTIC.

 

We found a 900+ acre conservation area about 2 miles away that I'd NEVER EVEN HEARD OF!!!

 

Absolutely excellent day!!!

 

 

A small cave near the top. Maybe 4 feet deep.

 

 

 

I've tried twice before to find the actual peak of Bill Merrill mountain. Both times we were fairly close.

Yesterday I finally found the rock cairn that marks the highest point.

 

 

Here's a video showing the valley we live in.

Our house would be below the ridge near the beginning of the video.

 

 

 

 

One of the many boulders left behind as the mountains were vacated by the ice glaciers a few thousand years ago.

For scale note Trina to the left of the rock.

 

Her pic of the same, from close up.

 

 

 

 

 

Walking through rough forest and we popped out on this old cart/tote road.

It's now an access road for the conservation area.

 

 

 

One of several stone walls we found.

This area is known to be farm country from the late 1700s on.

 

One of the walls was 8-12 feet wide on one side which means that farm was in operation for a looong time.

 

 

 

A little vernal pool in a valley between the peaks. 

 

Moving moss in a small stream

 

 

[CCW 1,292]

Stonewalls in the woods of New England are no big surprise as I am sure @ebinmaine is well aware of.  One hundred years ago approx 90% of New England was farmland and treeless.  Now 95% of that treeless land is once again treed.  

 

Nice countryside Eric.  I am NE born and bred and love this part of the country.  When I was in Denver for a conference I missed the trees more than I ever expected.  A friend of mine had a brother from Columbine, CO visit and they felt like they were living in a jungle.  Not me.  Give me the trees.

 

[953 nut 55,081]

I grew up on a dairy farm in upstate NY. Each spring we would gather the stones that frost had pushed to the surface and add them to the boundary fences. Some were as high as we could reach. 

[WHX?? 48,783]

You did his today??? We dealt with this today!

Thanks for taking us along...

[Cvans 1,009]

Looks like you had a beautiful day Eric. 

I grew up in the Portland OR. area which was heavily forested. Lots of trees over a hundred feet high. After coming out to South Dakota I fell in love with the wide open spaces and now when we go back out west I get a very confined feeling. The only way to see the sky is look straight up. When coming home it feels good to come up out of the Columbia River gorge and be able to see the horizon again. Funny how we are attracted to different environments. 

[Mickwhitt 4,592]

Beautiful scenery, and amazing to see change on both a geological time scale and a human one. 

In Derbyshire near where I live we have a national park and some of the dry stone walls have to be seen to be believed, they go up some of the steepest hillsides you can imagine. The work to build them must have been immense, and now they are more or less redundant. Just reminders of when land was more precious. 

I will dig out some shots of our walks, but they are not much compared to your big country. But they are beautiful in such a small chunk of rock called England.

Mick 

[ebinmaine 67,277]

2 hours ago, Mickwhitt said:

some shots of our walks, but they are not much compared to your big country.

I'd be looking forward to seeing them.

Country is country. No matter the location.

 

@Cvans Trina and I went to North Dakota a few years ago.

It was incredibly fascinating for both of us.

We were both mind boggled by the terrain and the fact that a "high spot" is a highway overpass.

I very much enjoyed the HUGE sky and I understand and appreciate the draw towards it.

 

We would both love to see SD (Trina has a friend who is Lakota)  and for that matter many other areas....

 

New England will always be "home" to us. She and I most enjoy the looong views from the mountain tops.

 

 

[Herder 2,354]

Thanks for sharing EB.  Love it.  If you keep that up your going to windup with me as a neighbor. 

[ebinmaine 67,277]

4 minutes ago, Herder said:

Thanks for sharing EB.  Love it.  If you keep that up your going to windup with me as a neighbor. 

Bring your herd and don't be cranky and you'd be welcome..

 

[SylvanLakeWH 25,492]

Beautiful!

 

Thanks for sharing!

[Racinbob 11,045]

Nancy and I tend to be homebodies and really not interested in overseas travel at all but whenever traveling enters our conversation Maine always comes up. Then you get it started all over by posting more pictures. We always seem to come up with reasons not to go right now, mostly because we 'think' we're too busy. Bull pucky! We'll always have a ton of projects on the table because we like it that way. Maybe this covid 19 thing has a little bright side. Obviously this year isn't good for travel but it has reminded us that sooner or later we likely won't have the go juice left in us and we just need to do it. 2021...….Dirigo or bust!! Eric, you and Trina can be our guide for a hike like that. 

[Zeek 2,286]

Very pretty country!

[ebinmaine 67,277]

52 minutes ago, Racinbob said:

guide for a hike

You got you a deal Bob

I don't even have to ask Trina cuz I know she'd be happy to help as well.

Any kind of help or guidance or information or whatever you need, let me know.

 

[Herder 2,354]

8 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

Bring your herd and don't be cranky and you'd be welcome..

 

Thanks, I am not cranky with people that I like.

[ebinmaine 67,277]

5 minutes ago, Herder said:

Thanks, I am not cranky with people that I like.

So you'd be okay with Trina but not with me.....

[LengerichKA88 1,883]

I wish I had a place to stomp around like that right in my back yard... beautiful pictures @ebinmaine