Tag: cascade

June 18, 2019 – Bear’s Den – Massachusetts

Yesterday Shadow, Wilma, and I Adventured to Bear’s Den in New Salem, Massachusetts.  Bear’s Den includes a short trail to a scenic waterfall, a stream, a secluded gorge, and contains ruins of an old mill.  The waterfall is a cascade falls, approximately twelve feet in height, and is sourced from the Swift River.  The Reservation was given its’ name due to a black bear being shot on the property.  Bear’s Den is owned and managed by the Trustees of Reservations.

We had a rainy Adventure to the Bear’s Den Reservation.  We were quite thrilled to have a weekday Adventure as our three days off in the summer has begun!  I expected the weather to become rainy, but we were determined to visit Bear’s Den, so we carried on!  I was pleased to arrive at a small and empty parking lot.  I had read there was hunting at this location so decided to adorn the pups in their bright orange armor!  We headed down a green surrounded trail into the great outdoors.  There was an informational kiosk a bit down the path with a map.  Soon we heard the singing of the stream, and headed straight to the water.  Shadow of course attempted a dip in the shallow water while Wilma found a fallen tree to climb, and a stick to chew.  We took our time in this area walking around the shore, jumping on the rocks, and wandering around the mill remains.

The trails were not clear, however we followed the sounds and quickly located the waterfall from high above the gorge.  We were pleased to find a path down to bottom of the gorge, and directly in front of the waterfall.  The gorge area was spectacular, with caves in the rocks, lovely green, and the tall boulders surrounding us as we peered at the waterfall.  The Falls had two main sections, separated by rocks in the middle.  It was small, but yet just right.  We relaxed for awhile taking in the scene.  Both Shadow and Wilma spent some time sitting, while Wilma also enjoyed some rock jumps, and Shadow often could be found searching for the quickest path to the water.  Wilma seemed a bit uneasy at times looking around cautiously, my mind repeatedly expecting a bear sighting  Thankfully we did not see a bear!

Bear’s Den was a peaceful and special location.  It was hard to capture the Falls in photographs, so I would encourage you to view the videos below.  So glad we could Adventure to this location (Rating:  4).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June 30, 2018 – New Hampshire – Lower Ammonoosuc Falls

Today, one of our adventures was to the Lower Ammonoosuc Falls in Carroll, New Hampshire.  This Falls is part of the White Mountain National Forest.  It is a Cascade Falls with a 15 Foot drop.  It is surrounded by rocks, and is a fast, and strong flowing cascade.  As you might suspect, it is part of the Ammonoosuc River.

I was glad to have done some research on the Falls as the parking lot was not clearly marked from the road.  Once we drove all the way into the lot, it was clear we had arrived at the Lower Ammonoosuc Falls Trail.  We started on the trail, which was flat, and not too unappealing.  After observing more closely we began to see many colorful, fluttering butterflies, and wild flowers along the trail, added some intrigue, and of course chasing for Wilma.  Additionally, it was pleasant to hear the natural sounds of the River as we traversed this simple trail.

On the way to the Falls, we found many little trails to sneak over to the River’s edge.  These were fun little spots, that often had beach-like areas.  Shadow was able to swim in the River, while Wilma waded.  I even decided to wade myself, enjoying quite the cool down in the chilly River water.  On and off throughout our walk we stopped at these areas to hang out for a bit and cool down.  Sand for digging, rocks for climbing, and water for swimming, I think just the perfect dog day!

On arrival to the Falls we found a heavy cascade of water barreling down into a large pool.  The Falls was surrounded by large rocks, that helped create the crashing sound of  the water.  We were able to climb the rocks along the side and enjoy the view.  Between the bright sun, and the moving water it was hard to capture a great shot, but of course attempted some videos as well.  We did not observe anyone swimming, but a hand-full of fishermen along the way.  This was a great area to hang out on a hot summer day (Rating:  4).