the Way of the Turtle

3.7 Mile Hike at John Boyd Thacher State Park
Monday, February 15, 2010

I spent a good deal of time waffling about where to go today... I had planned to head to the Berkshires for some snowshoeing but in the end my legs were tired and sore enough that I decided it wasn't worth 2+ hours of driving there and back. Since I haven't been up to Thacher in a while, I finally decided to head there for some walking, which turned out to be a good choice.

I got off to a late start and didn't want to risk getting locked in, so I parked up on Beaver Dam Road and walked down the old Paint Mine road to the picnice areas on the escarpment. The first surprise was the amount of snow on the trails - I could have easily been snowshoeing, though it was packed enough that I didn't need to snowshoes. The sun put in an appearance so I had a really pleasant walk down the hill with blue skies overhead and birds calling in the trees... mostly I suspect brown creepers (I managed to get some photos of one) though I also heard chickadees and nuthatches in the mix.

The fields along the top of the escarpment were very icy... I had to be pretty careful even with my screwshoes. I started out heading east, past the fenced-off descent to the lower Indian Ladder trail, and ended up at surprise #2 - a fantastic view of Mine Lot Falls, encased in ice. I had seen a few photos previously, and years ago Ann and I visited there in April and saw the remains of the huge mass of ice at the base of the falls - but this is the first time I've seen the "ice falls" in person, and they are pretty spectacular.

After that I headed west along the escarpment, to just past the other entrance to the lower trail. Along the way I had a pretty good view of the area below the cliffs, and noticed the snow clearly marking the route of the old Indian Ladder Road that ran to the top of the escarpment (the cut that is currently used as the western trailhead to the lower path was the final bit of that road.) The old road was built in 1828 and last used sometime in the early 1900's. I know there have been plans to add a trail along its route to the Tory Cave (a cave where, in 1777, British Loyalist and spy Jacob Salisbury hid from the locals after leading raids against farms in the valley; searchers apparently saw smoke from the cave and discovered him hiding there, after which he was hanged) but with the state budget in the condition it's in and further cuts anticipated to the already meager parks budget, I don't expect to see that happen anytime soon.

I briefly considered walking the trail along the escarpment around the Horseshoe Loop, but decided that it was going to be sufficiently difficult going that it probably wasn't worth it today, especially since it was getting late and I had over a mile of walking to get back to the car. So instead I headed back across the fields and through the stand of huge evergreens to cross the road and head back up Paint Mine Road. While the walk back up the hill wasn't nearly as effortless as the walk down, the gorgeous surroundings provided ample distraction... and I've walked and run up that hill enough times now that it really doesn't seem all that far. Along the way I spotted a downy woodpecker and heard a barred owl calling off somewhere in the woods. Best of all, there was still plenty of light to see by when I got back to the car... as I've said before, I love the longer hours of daylight, even if they signal the approaching end of snowshoe season (only a month left... it seems like the season just started!)

I'm glad I went up there today... sometimes I forget how much I love Thacher Park. Between memories of all the races I've run there (including my first ever trail race, way back in 1998), all the fantastic scenic spots that make up the park, and the fact that it's one of the few places that's local (within a half hour's drive) where I can go and enjoy some respite from all the sounds of so-called civilization (everywhere else, there's always traffic, train, or airplane noise... not at Thacher, unless you're near one of the roads - though the picnic areas can get noisy on summer weekends) while enjoying some beautiful natural surroundings - it's just a wonderful place to be.

JMH