If ever I earned a Girl Scout badge for orientation, way-finding, or navigation--whatever following a marked trail was called in the mid-1970s--I need to hand it back. Somehow or other, I managed to stay on a well-marked, worn trail with my dearest old friend on New Year's Eve and get lost. How do you follow the blue dots on the trees and wind up in the middle of nowhere? Jeanne and I school teachers. We follow rules. That got us, quite literally, nowhere.
If this tree could talk, she might have something to say about it. The sign she has grown around says "Furnace Site 1.0." We came upon this sign when we found ourselves at the bottom of the blue trail, and I thought, "Ouch." Nobody noticed the tree was growing around this sign?
Here's the furnace where pig iron took form after laborers ripped it from the clear-cut hillside that is now a preserve, the trails of which are strewn with granite and quartz. Up the hill (if you stay with those steadfast blue dots), you'll find the pits covered with cages. You can look down and wonder what it must have been like to come to Roxbury, now the getaway bucolic paradise of way too many New Yorkers, and have yourself lowered into the earth to blast ore from quartz for just enough money to get a drink, visit the bordello, and make your way home again.
Many streams on the preserve feed into the Shepaug River. This one was structured into the industrial landscape at a time when the hill would have been clear-cut, harsh and bald. It's ironic that this discarded industrial site--a brownfield before there was much brown to worry about--is a gem in the Roxbury Land Trust's crown. It's ironic yet reassuring; nature heals herself and goes on. Even better if we make a point of getting out of the way.
Here's a view of some ledge from the Donkey Trail. This is massive, unforgiving, unyielding rock. Notice the young trees laying claim to the land and the mountain laurel (our State Flower) in the foreground gracing inert power with the beauty of life.
7 Comments
Hello,
ReplyDeleteSorry you were lost, usually I am with my hubby and he great at following the trails signs. It looks like a beautiful area, pretty river and rock ledge. Take care, enjoy your day! Have a happy new week!
Winter walks through the woods are wonderful. Happy New Year.
ReplyDeleteWorth a Thousand Words
interesting views from the preserve
ReplyDeleteWell you had an adventure anyway and saw some stuff. You preserve reminds me of Tulsa's Turkey Mountain which used to be a bald oilfield but is now a preserve with all sorts of trees with remnants of its past poking through.
ReplyDeleteDon't feel bad for losing your way, in 2019 I got off course on a trail race and bike ride. Very disorienting.
It looks like a beautiful place for a walk, even if you did get a little lost. That sign has certainly been there for a long time!
ReplyDeleteLooks an interesting trail even if you did get lost you found the best parts.
ReplyDeleteI would need that Girl Scout for sure because alone I can get lost in a large closet. You dont talk about how you ultimately found your way out, but I assume you’re not blogging from the forest, so .... speaking of lost, I am glad to *find* you and your new (to me anyway) blog ... I remember your old one and am not sure why I lost track. .... I enjoyed this hike with you ...scenery and history together make for the best ones. Happy Hopeful New Year.
ReplyDeleteThanks for being here.