Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Beaver Pond

I went out to a new area, a bit further west than I usually explore. After parking along a dirt road, I hiked over the creek that flows into a beaver pond, straight up the mountain.

This is a rocky area, but there is not much to see going straight up to the top. At the top, I took pictures of a couple of standing stones, but I'm not certain if they are natural or placed.

Here is the first stone I stumbled on. It impressed me enough to take a side view picture, too:

This second is among other rocks, in a place where it's possible to sit or stand in a spot below the stone and see the horizon along the top of the stone. This shot is taken facing east.Hiking back and forth across the peak of the mountain, I finally spotted something promising. This first picture is from the outside looking in. What essentially makes up the back wall is bedrock, or an outcropping.
There is a huge rock in the entranceway and I can't help but think it is a slab that fell off the top, possibly when the trees grew up. It would not make sense at all to build a utilitarian structure with a huge slab in the opening.

Then, this is from the inside, looking out. The opening faces east, very similar to the last standing stone:There is no garbage or farm debris here, and I did not find any cellar holes or clearly "colonial" remnants. The location and elevation also don't make sense from a farmstead standpoint.

Here is one more shot, from the side. I was highly impressed with the wall opening to the right because it is not squared off like the left side is, or like you would find with a cellar hole basement entrance. It is rounded outward.
Toward the back of the structure, I found this stone, although it is just loosely lying there, not necessarily placed, it may have fallen off the stacked drywall construction. It is, nevertheless, intriguing:

Finally, looking around the area some more, I found two rock piles nearby (to the south). This is the nicest looking one of the two:

And one more standing stone.


So, this begs the question of whether or not there are rock piles on the mountain to the east, in the direction of the opening of the structure, which I am surmising is a dilapidated chamber. I am planning to hike to that summit as soon as time permits.