The weather man said that Easter Sunday would be sunny and in the mid-50s so I planned to climb one of our local hills, but instead of sun we had clouds that were low and thick enough to keep the temperature in the low 30s. I quickly changed my plans and decided to hike up to Beaver Brook Falls. Actually it’s more of a walk than a hike because you have an old abandoned road under your feet the whole way.
The old road was built to access a sawmill in 1736 and follows Beaver Brook to the north of Keene. The brook was relatively placid this day but it hasn’t always been so in the past.
One of the reasons I like to come here is because I can see things here that I can’t find anywhere else, like this plantain leaved sedge (Carex plantaginea.) This is the only place that I’ve ever seen it. It should be blooming before the trees leaf out sometime in mid-April, and I’ll be here to see it.
The old road isn’t travelled by car anymore but there were many years that it was. We had relatives living north of Keene when I was a boy so I’m sure I travelled the road many times with my father. I don’t really remember a single instance though; in those days I was far more interested in what was at the end of the road than the journey along it, and I probably couldn’t wait to see my cousins. These days I care more about what I see along the roadsides and don’t think much about when or where they might end. It’s funny how your perspective can change so easily, without any real effort at all.
I don’t suppose the no passing lines will ever wear away now since there has been no traffic on this road since the 1970s.
Stair step moss (Hylocomium splendens) gets its name from the way the new growth “steps up” off the midrib of the previous year’s branch. Each year a new branch grows from the old and this growth habit allows stair step moss to grow up and over other mosses. You can tell the age of the moss by counting these steps. It’s a very tough moss that even grows on the Arctic tundra. It has a certain sparkle to it when it’s dry and is also called glittering wood moss because of it. According to the Islandwood outdoor classroom in Seattle, Washington, stair step moss was once used to chink the logs in log cabins. Wet moss was pressed into the cracks between logs and when it dried it stayed compressed and green for the life of the cabin.
Annulohypoxylon cohaerens fungi like beech trees (Fagus grandifolia) and that’s where I always find them. They start life brown and mature to the purplish black color seen in the photo, and always remind me of tiny blackberries. Each small rounded growth is about half the diameter of a pea and their lumpy appearance comes from the many nipple shaped pores from which the spores are released. It has no common name apparently, and I had a very hard time identifying it; it took three years before I finally found its scientific name.
Other things I come here to see are the smoky eye boulder lichens (Porpidia albocaerulescens,) not because I can’t find them anywhere else but because of the way the light reflects off their spore bearing apothecial disks here. They look beautifully sky blue in this light, much like the whitish bloom on plums and blueberries make them look blue in the right light and it’s all due to a powdery waxy coating that the lichens and fruits have. The black border on each disk makes them really stand out from the body of the lichen, which can be the golden brown seen here or grayish white. The disks are barely bigger than a written period on paper. This is a really beautiful lichen that’s relatively common on stones and ledges.
The old road is washing away along the brook in more and more places each year. I talked to an old timer up here once who told me that he had seen water up over the road a few times in the past. Chances are one day far in the future there won’t be a road here at all.
Many of the old wooden guard posts that hold the guard wires have rotted off at ground level and hang from the wires but this one was still solid. It’s probably been close to 50 years since they last saw any maintenance. Even the triangular concrete posts used to replace the wooden posts are breaking up and washing downstream.
There are a few things that can get me to climb over the guard wires and one of them is this view across the brook of a waterfall that appears sometimes when it rains. I like the mossy rocks and wish I could get over there with dry feet, but the only way I see is by walking through the brook. This photo also illustrates the kind of steep hillsides found on both sides of the road. Together they make this place a canyon that it would be very hard to climb out of.
The biggest dog lichen (Peltigera membranacea) that I’ve seen grows here. It’s about 9-10 inches across and grows happily surrounded by mosses. The mosses soak up water like a sponge and that keeps the lichen moist as well. When moist it is pliable and feels much like your earlobe but when it dries out it feels more like a potato chip. The grayish / whitish areas show where it’s starting to dry out.
I’ve heard about four different theories behind the name “dog lichen.” One says that the name refers to the large, lobed body of the lichen looking like dog ears. It sounds plausible, but so do the other three theories I’ve heard. One says the lichen’s fang like rhizines that anchor it to the substrate look like dog’s teeth, another says the entire body looks like a dog, and yet another says that the apothecia, or fruiting bodies, look like dog ears. There’s not a single part of it that reminds me of a dog.
Apple moss (Bartramia pomiformis) gets its common name from its spherical spore capsules that some say look like tiny green apples. Reproduction begins in the late fall for this moss and immature spore capsules (sporophytes) appear by late winter. When the warmer rains of spring arrive the straight, toothpick like sporophytes swell at their tips and form tiny green globes.
The path down to the brook near the falls is steep and getting steeper all the time because it’s slowly washing away. Each time I stand here I ask myself if I’m not getting too old for this but each time if it isn’t icy, down I go. It’s a kind of half slide/ half climb situation going down so coming back up is always easier.
The reason I climb down to the brook is of course to see an unobstructed view of the falls, which people who stay up on the road don’t get to see. It was really too shady to be down here on this day but I thought I’d give it a shot. I’m guessing the falls are about 40 feet high but I’ve also heard all kinds of other guesses about its height. I don’t think anyone really knows, but I’m inclined to believe the old timers. It’s high enough so I know I wouldn’t want to ride down it.
I’ve shown this place many times on this blog but I’ve never shown this view of Beaver Brook from above the falls. It’s a bit hard to see because of all the trees but it was the best I could do. When I took the previous photo of the falls I was down there at water level. You don’t really understand what that means until you see it from up here.
It is life, I think, to watch the water. A man can learn so many things. ~Nicholas Sparks
Thanks for coming by.
Those smoky eyed lichen were the bluest I’ve seen in your posts. Truly lovely. Interestingly, double yellow lines here mean no parking not no passing. Strange they should have lasted so long.
It’s all in the way that lichen catches the light, so they change day to day.
The lines might have just been painted before they closed the road. In any case they’ll probably last as long as the road does now. They don’t get any wear at all.
Thank you for another beautiful post, Allen…love the shot of the falls. I’d offer that it was very much worth the effort in getting there.
Thanks Scott. I usually think so too once I’m down there. It’s getting there that makes me a bit hesitant.
You’re welcome….just be careful with your treasure-hunting. 🙂
The narrow stream running over the mossy rocks is very beautiful.
It is, and that’s one reason I go there at this time of year.
A wonderful walk with you today. Amazing to think the asphalt still hasn’t really eroded yet, even after so many years. Do appreciate your hiking to get those great Falls shot – just wonderful. But in the low 30’s, oh man and my husband wants us to consider relocating to New Hampshire!!
Thank you Mary.
The asphalt never sees and vehicles so I think it’ll be there for many more years, or until the brook washes it away.
You’d have a hard time finding a more beautiful state with mountains, lakes, and the ocean all within a two hour drive, but there is winter to think about. It can and does get down to 20 below zero and sometimes as low as 30 below, so weather is something to think about. Buy a house that’s well insulated!
You are so right about the weather and that’s the one thing that is holding me back – I rather enjoy the warmer temperatures here in TX. We used to live in Maine and I think he has forgotten how unforgiving the cold can be. I was just telling him about your blog and the temps you mentioned (he’s already in shorts!).
He wouldn’t be wearing shorts here! They’re saying we’ll have wind chills in the teens Sunday and Monday, and maybe an inch or two of snow. Today it was over 60 degrees.
🙂
Beautiful falls!
Yes!
I always like a waterfall picture and yours was well worth the scramble. As always your post was a mine of information and interesting images. Thank you.
You’re welcome, and thank you. I always feel as if I’ve only made half the trip unless I climb down to the water’s edge so it’s hard not to.
Your comment about perspective struck me as so true in many ways. Your shots of the falls are gallery-worthy! I also have to tell you I am now a big fan of smokey eye boulder lichens.
Thank you Martha. Smokey eye boulder lichens are one of the prettiest. If you have boulders and ledges you probably have them.
Another post full of wonderful things. Why was the road abandoned in the 70’s? In a way I am glad it was as we probably wouldn’t have so many different mosses and lichens to admire.
Thank you Clare. They built a new wider highway and it crossed this road, turning it into a dead end forever. There’s an immense pile of dirt at the end of it.
It’s become a great place to walk where you don’t have to think about where you’re going.
That sounds ideal!
I’m glad that you risked your neck and/or soggy feet to get the images of the falls, I loved them!
You have so many cool lichen there, all I can find are green and yellow ones, although they may not all be the same two or three species. Maybe I’m not looking closely enough in the right places.
I’m surprised that they left the old road there, here in Michigan, it would soon be a racetrack for motorcycles and ORVs. The state DNR has a terrible time keeping them out of places where they are banned.
Thanks Jerry! It wasn’t that much of a risk but you know how it is when you start getting a little older. I’ve found myself flat on my face in the woods more than once.
Lichens grow virtually everywhere; on rocks, soil, tree branches, even sidewalks and buildings, so maybe you just need to get ysed to seeing them. It’s one of those thinks where once you see one or two you suddenly start seeing them everywhere.
These roads are gated and barred so it’s tough getting vehicles in there, but I did see a couple of boys on a 4 wheeler once. I think most riders just decide it’s too much work and move on.
I love how New Hampshire has several Beaver Brooks, each with its own beauty and charm. I spend a fair amount of time at the Beaver Brook reservation in Hollis, and every now and then I treat myself to a Colebrook trip where I visit Beaver Brook wayside falls. The one in your area is new to me. Another future walk!
I knew we had two but I didn’t know about the third one. We must have had a lot of beavers here in the 1700s!
The one in Keene is all uphill but it’s very gradual and easy to do.
Ah yes. My wife and I have a mild yet ongoing disagreement about weather forecasts. She likes to listen to them whereas I believe them to be highly unreliable. Looking out the windows is good enough me.
Working outside most of my life has made me rely heavily on weather forecasts but it seems like it’s always a coin toss because they rarely get it right. It’s easier just to have every coat you own in your car.
Indeed. Though as I don’t use a car my own alternatives are more restricted.
I almost always feel I’m transported to where ever or whatever neck of the woods you are describing, and as always terrific pics and I’m finding I’m becoming more and weirdly engrossed by the low-level and almost alien life forms…. thanks for taking the road less traveled!
You’re welcome and thank you Rick. Those lower life forms can do that to you!
Overcast days really are the best times to get pictures of the falls. I know the climb/slide down can be downright scary.
Thanks Laura. The trouble is how dark it is down in that canyon on cloudy days. Luckily boosting the ISO usually takes care of it.
The path down to the brook has washed out quite a lot and roots are being exposed, so it’s easier to trip and fall now. I had to go slowly so I didn’t get into an out of control slide.
The picture and your description of the stair step moss were very interesting and thanks for climbing down to get that excellent view of the falls.
You’re welcome, and thank you Susan. That climb down gets a little harder each year.