Years ago I tried to do a post on Chesterfield Gorge, which lies over in Neighboring Chesterfield New Hampshire ,but it was really too dark there for the light gathering capabilities of my camera and I gave up on the place. Until recently that is; a helpful reader wrote and told me that our terrible storms this summer had toppled some trees and let in much more light, so last Saturday I went to see for myself. There was indeed more light available and I was finally able to get some passable shots of the gorge.
Chesterfield Gorge was created by Wilde Brook and it is said that it has taken it many thousands of years to cut through the bedrock to where it is today. The cool, shaded gorge has been enjoyed by locals for hundreds of years and in 1936 a local farmer named George White bought the land to be sure it would be forever preserved. It eventually became a state park and now anyone can enjoy it at no cost. There were many people here on this day including lots of children, which always gladdens my heart.
In places you’re high above the canyon that the brook has made and in the most dangerous areas the state has put up fencing to keep people back from the edge. But people will be people and some are foolhardy enough to climb the fences just so they can “get a little closer.” Not me; no photo is worth that fall.
The last time I came here there was only one bridge across the gorge because the raging waters of the brook had washed the upper bridge away. Happily I found a new one in its place this time. Though Wilde Brook seems placid enough it can quickly turn into a monster, so I’d never come here right after the kind of storms we’ve had recently. Over a foot of rain has now fallen in some places in just 4 weeks. The brook starts at small ponds upstream and flows down into Partridge Brook in Westmoreland. The last time I visited Partridge Brook I found that it also had raged and had scoured its bed right down to bedrock in places. It had also completely altered the landscape and had caused some serious flooding.
One of the trees that fell was a very big and old golden birch. There are many of them in this forest.
Sawdust on the inside of the fallen birch points to carpenter ants. I’m guessing that it probably had woodpecker holes as well because they love carpenter ants. Note the hollowed out space where the tree’s heart wood should have been.
Dry rot in the heart of the fallen birch pointed to fungi, and there were plenty of different mushrooms growing all over the fallen logs. The fungi rot the wood, ants move in, and before long a 100 foot tall tree is completely hollow inside. Add 60+ MPH winds and a lot of them come down; hopefully not on houses.
Some of the older birch logs displayed this wavy pattern. I think it was in the inner bark but I’m not positive, and I don’t know why it would be on only parts of certain logs. It was beautiful, like it had been sculpted.
I saw a lot of tiger’s eye fungi (Coltricia perennis,) also called fairy stools. This one shows how the velvety cap reflects the sun and makes it look shiny. These are very pretty little mushrooms that vary in size and color. This one was probably an inch across and might have stood an inch tall.
I also saw lots of yellow spindle coral fungi (Clavulinopsis fusiformis) growing along the trail. These fungi almost always grow in tight cluster like these examples but I did see a single “finger” here and there.
Many trees had fallen into or across the gorge. It didn’t look like there was any way to get them out or to even cut them up. What will most likely happen is the next flood will wash them away.
The lower bridge is smaller than the upper one. It’s apparently also less likely to wash away, though I’m not sure why it would be.
I was surprised to see how low the water was by the lower bridge, but even so in places it still ran with enough force to knock a person down.
Here was a small, dammed up pool that looked perfect to cool off in. I often find these shallow pools that have been made by someone damming up a stream or brook with stones they’ve found just lying around. It’s hard to tell how long they’ve been there but I do know that people in the 1800s weren’t so very different than we are today when it came to recreation.
I’ve had some breathing issues lately so I’ve avoided hill climbing in the hot, humid weather we’ve had, but I had forgotten what a hike it was all the way down there and then back up again. I had to stop and pretend I had seen something interesting a couple of times while I caught my breath but I did surprisingly well. If this Louisiana weather ever leaves us I’ll have to start climbing again.
I kept taking photos of the gorge, trying to show how deep it really is. The safety fence at the top of the photo is about 4 feet high, so that should give you a sense of how far the drop to the water would be. I wish I could have gotten a closer look at all the plants on that cliff face, but it wasn’t possible.
Here’s one of those interesting things I saw while I stopped and caught my breath. At some point someone had bent a piece of iron into an S shape and hammered it into the end of this post. It looked quite old but I can’t guess what it meant.
Near the post was what looked like an old well cover. That’s something you have to be careful of in these woods because the wooden covers have often been there for a very long time and are rotted. And they’re often covered by leaves, so you have to pay attention, especially when near old cellar holes.
I saw lots of tree roots on the trail. I think the recent heavy rains have washed a lot of soil away from them, and that weakens their holding power so when a strong wind blows, down they go.
Some of the tree roots looked as if they had been carved and polished by an artist; so beautiful you wish you could take them home. I can’t guess how many years and how many feet it would take to do this.
I’ve chosen this little mushroom as the prettiest thing I saw on this day, but not just then; I’m seeing them everywhere I go this year and that seems a little odd since I can’t remember ever seeing them before. I love its colors and its waviness. I think it’s called the smooth chanterelle (Cantharellus lutescens) but I couldn’t guarantee that. There are a few chanterelle mushrooms that look a lot alike.
It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men’s hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that emanates from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit. ~Robert Louis Stevenson
Thanks for stopping in.
I too am sorry you have had problems with your breathing this summer. The dust and heat have made my asthma a problem too and I am grateful for the inhaler I have with me all the time.
What a fantastic place you have brought us to here! It’s such a deep gorge!
Thank you Clare. The breathing problem isn’t going to go away so it’s something I’ll have to get used to. I have asthma too and also use an inhaler which helps, but with COPD on top of it some of those heavy humidity days are tough. I hope we’ll both have some more agreeable weather soon!
We now have autumnal weather; much cooler, windy with plenty of showers. The leaves are turning colour early this year, probably because of the drought during the summer. I hope your breathing improves soon, Allen; there is nothing more worrying than not being able to catch one’s breath. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
Thanks very much Clare. They say we have the same weather as you have minus the showers coming tomorrow and staying for a while, so that was good news.
More good news said that after a I had no sign of lung cancer, so things are looking up. Now all I have to do is get used to this COPD, if that’s possible.
I am so pleased about the absence of lung cancer! I can imagine all the worry you must have had while waiting for the test results. I think there are many things that can be done to ease COPD. A local hospital here has had marvellous results by inviting all their COPD patients in and getting them to sing regularly. http://www.breathemusic.org.uk/about-breathe-music.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25231910
Thank you Clare, me too!
They wanted me to join a pulmonary rehabilitation group but since it met during the day I couldn’t do it if I wanted to keep my job.
I didn’t know singing was rehabilitation too!
Yes. It is also something you can do at home at any time (as long as the neighbours don’t mind!) It’s the slow deep breathing and fully emptying the lungs that is so important. My sister, who is a paramedic and nurse practitioner, nearly died 10 years ago and was in intensive (critical) care for a few days and was told she had COPD. She has worked hard to improve her health and now doesn’t have COPD.
I’m not much of a singer but I do get a lot of exersize at work and breathe pretty deeply all day, I think. Whether or not it’s the right kind of breathing I don’t know. In fact I never knew there was more than one way to breathe.
That’s interesting about your sister. I didn’t think you could die from COPD and I didn’t know it could be cured. I’ll have look more carefully into it when all of these tests are out of the way. They shuffle me from here to there and half the time I don’t know where I’m supposed to be, or when.
Poor you! I hope you get all the answers soon.
Thank you. Me too!
Wow, what an amazing place! Glad you made it there, AND back. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Chris!
What a pretty place! I envy all of the rain that you have had. In contrast, we’ve had only about half an inch in over 8 weeks.
Thanks Montucky! That’s how it was here fir the first part of the summer. Hardly any rain and then nothing but rain.
I hope you’ll get some soon but not the flooding we’ve had.
I think “Louisiana weather” describes our summer weather perfectly. I’m outside every day, but not sure I could handle hiking in this high humidity. Applause to you. Glad the S hook was explained because it is quite interesting. 🙂
Thank you Judy. Yes, this weather can sure slow you down. Hopefully it will end soon. I’m looking forward to a cool, crisp day!
I think just about anything the railroads did is interesting. I never connected the S hooks with the railroad that day though, even though I’ve seen many.
Your post helped ‘renew a weary spirit’ this morning. So many colors! ,So much blue! The brook; so many different shades of blue. The ‘S’ hook. The tree root which told its own story. And the chanterelle which made me think of the sun. Very alive! Blue and yellow; the colors of life!
Like you, I’ve been spending too much time in doctors offices these days and my outdoor ‘adventures’ becoming limited and so I enjoy the outdoors vicariously through your posts.
I’m sorry to learn about your breathing issues and the limitations you’re experiencing. I think we have no control over what age does to our bodies, but we have control over how we deal with it.
“You know that old trees just grow stronger, old rivers run wilder every day” John Prine
Thank you Callie. All the colors are a testament to all the extra light getting down into the gorge now. The trees will fill in and the light will disappear again, but for now it’s very light filled.
I’m glad these posts help you at least see what’s going on out there. The only real limitations I have are when it comes to climbing. I can still do it but I have to stop often, especially in this weather.
Thank you for the quote. I hope you’ll be able to get out of the doctor’s office and into the woods again soon.
Wilde Brook – so aptly named. Certainly a beautiful mountain waterway, especially the small rapids. We had to take down one of the old Maples in our back garden because it was infested with carpenter ants and was leaning right over our roof.
It’s a good thing you had it cut down. We’ve had a lot of trees fall here this year and some have crushed houses.
Hello from Hancock–
My daughter has a house in the Upper Ninth Ward of New Orleans. I’m thankfully absent medical issues, but I gasp for air just crossing the street there!
Please take good care, you and your blog are unique and irreplaceable treasures. Best, Lynne
Thanks very much Lynne. I work in Hancock, at Nature’s Classroom.
One of the nurses I saw recently came from Louisianna originally and she said our weather last week was “nothing.” When I left my house for the testing that day it was 100 degrees and the dewpoint was 72%. I’m not surprised that you gasp!
A lovely place! Enjoyed the shot of the spindle coral fungi.
Thanks! There were a lot of coral fungi there.
I like to see a what W S Gilbert refers to as a ‘brook a-gurgling’ so this post was a treat. Your sharp eye found a wonderful tree root for us to enjoy at the end.
Thank you, it sure was a-gurgling.
There were other tree roots like that one on various parts of the trail.
Gorgeous photos as usual! This is a place I’d love to visit.
I can’t agree more about the weather, I have chronic back pain & the humidity makes me ache worse than normal. It really has felt like we are living in southern florida!
Thank you Erika. It’s fairly cool down in the gorge so you probably would enjoy it.
I fractured my spine in 2 places by falling out of a tree when I was 14, so I know what you mean about this humidity. It doesn’t help humans in any way that I can see but the plants sure do love it!
Take care of that back!
I see that some one else has already explained what the S hook in the post was for, so I won’t bother. 😉
I loved the views of the gorge and creek itself, there’s nothing like that anywhere close to where I live, as I’ve probably said too many times already.
If there are trout living in the stream, the fallen trees provide the trout with shade to hide in and stay cool, and if the tree is in the water, areas of reduced current where the trout can rest. Here in Michigan, they are purposely adding fallen trees to some of our trout streams to improve the habitat for them.
Sorry to hear of your breathing issues, this heat and humidity take their toll on all of us, I’m finding that I also have to slow down, which isn’t always a bad thing.
Thanks Jerry! If ever there was a Deja vu moment that S hook was it. I must have seen at least hundreds of them when I was a boy. It looked very familiar as if I had seen it before but it didn’t come to me.
I think you’d love that gorge. I didn’t say anything about the birds but there were many there.
I wouldn’t be surprised if there were brook trout there. That’s just the kind of brook my father always fished.
Thank you, hopefully when all the testing is over I’ll find that the breathing issues are manageable. They gave me a new inhaler which seems to work well.
Yes, there is something about old trees. Wonderful, wonderful quotation.
Thank you Laurie. I meet lots of old trees but every now and then you meet one that you know is special. Some have great power in them and almost throb and hum with it.
Yes! In my fiction, there are oaks and forests that have that great power.
You have a lot of fact in your fiction then!
And folderol, too. 😉
I think your S iron in the post means the post is an old railroad tie repurposed. S ‘hooks’ are common in railroad ties to help keep them from splitting.
Stay healthy and out in the woods. This blog is always an inspiration and a welcome way to start my day. SC
Thanks very much. You could be right but the post was somewhat smaller than a tie. It could be that a tie had been cut down though. I think it was about 5 X 5, which is an odd size for lumber.
You have jogged my memory though. I’ve seen thousands of ties and knew I had seen that S shape somewhere, so thanks again!
Hey Alan,
Great post. Glad you were able to get that shot of the gorge with the fence. Really showed the depth. 🙂 Thanks for going the extra mile to enable your followers to better experience what you are actually seeing. (Mostly, I guess. Always better to experience nature first hand!)
Very good reminder about the danger of old wells!
Sorry to hear of your breathing issues. I’ll be very sad the day you stop this blog. But the infomation is so timeless, anyone will be able to read through and learn – years later.
It’s excellent documentation too! I read somewhere that for years Thoreau noted when things bloomed in Concord. (I’ll bet some of his neighbors rolled their eyes at the “waste” of time, energy, and paper.) Today, that information is being used to study climate change. Just never know!
Thank you Cindy. I’ve had emails from people who can no longer experience nature first hand so they do it through this and other nature blogs. That’s why I’ve always tried to be true to what I see on this blog. If I’m not, they’ll know!
Yes, I’ve spent as much time in the doctor’s office as I have in the woods lately. It’s something I’d rather not do but sometimes you have to bite the bullet and let them at you.
Thoreau was far ahead of his time in many ways and I’ve been reading what he wrote since I was a boy. I love the idea of documenting when certain flowers bloom but I’ve never thought of that being what I was doing here. I guess I have, and if it proves to be useful in the future, so much the better.
I hope you’re well, and if so I hope you stay that way!