Doane’s Falls

Doane’s Falls is located in Royalston, MA and can be found by taking Route 32 North from Athol, MA past Tully Lake, and then turning right onto Doane Hill Road. Then follow the road until you go up a small hill and come to a “T,” which yields Athol Road. Immediately to the right is a small parking lot off the side of the road.

When you get out, there will be a stone marker on a hill, indicating to whom the site has been dedicated by The Trustees of Reservations.

Doane’s Falls is a series of waterfalls that are emblematic of New England elegance in nature, and can be safely traversed and viewed from atop both adjacent slopes from pathways created and maintained by The Trustees. For an in-depth explanation of this site, as described by The Trustees of Reservations, visit the link above.

The site is relatively short and peaceful, so the pictures do most of the talking about this location. Though I’ve visited this location more than once, I chose the pictures I took on this day, in large part, because I was able to capture a rainbow this time and the weather was just right.

A word of caution before I close: there have been known to be many people who have hurt themselves at Doane’s Falls, so they have cabling rope along the edge of the trail. This should, in no way, create any unwarranted sense of security, and the cables are easily breached above or below their top and bottom lines. This is not the best place to take small children, though if you can manage to keep them close, the trail is as safe as any other.

Though you are almost assuredly going to encounter others during your short visit, it is still a very tranquil site where you can lose (and find) yourself in nature.

 

Entrance

An old grinding wheel with an inscription on its face

The rainbow. This day was filled with a lot of mist; likely the cause of such a great reflection

New Salem Lookout: Sunrise

One foggy morning, on my way to spend a morning out at Gate 11, I drove by Quabbin Overlook on Route 202 and noticed dense fog slinking through the hills below, prior to sunrise. I thought I could make a quick stop and grab a few sunrise photos while I was there, but had a long line of traffic behind me and didn’t think to stop until I was upon the turn. So I figured I would stop at the New Salem General Store to get some coffee and a pastry, then turn around and see what I could capture.

However, while I was at the store, the man working there engaged me in conversation, which led to me telling him that I was on my way to the Overlook for sunrise. When he heard this, he introduced me to a different idea; one he called “Our Lookout.” I asked him to elaborate and he told me that there’s a much better spot than Quabbin Overlook in New Salem Center.

I was initially uninterested because I meet so many people who have no interest in Quabbin Overlook because it’s just a small turn-off with not much of a view and so close to the road, and as I’m developing sunrise photos for this location, I often choose to ignore the calls for omission of this site.

In spite of my instincts to stick to the plan and Frag-order of Quabbin Overlook sunrise, the gentleman caught my attention when he went on to explain how New Salem Lookout was a nicer site because it offered a view of islands and water. Then he capped this summary by verbally illustrating how easy it was to access, yet how remote and secluded it was.

Across from the New Salem General Store are 2 or 3 different streets you can take to get onto South Main Street. Once on South Main Street, look for the Firehouse in the Center on the left, with a gravel drive just past it, its course bringing you east into the woods and behind the Firehouse. Following this road will bring you out to a basketball court to the left, and will bend to the right. When the road ends, you must park and follow the road beyond the gate, which leads directly to the edge of New Salem Lookout.

When you arrive, you’ll first notice tall, skinny trees and even some picnic tables to help make your visit more accommodating. The approach to this site is met with subtle sunrise shades on the backdrop of dense trees in the foreground.

I have to admit that the guy at the store was right. Toward the left view there is limitless horizon. Rolling hills were accented by the tumbling fog as it rolled through the valley. Looking forward offers more of the same, with samples of Rattlesnake North and Pittman Hill, but complemented by subtle trails of water meandering through those same sloping hills. Cast your gaze toward the right and you’ll see the islands as well as teasing hints of the northern part of Quabbin Waters.

The sights are stunning, especially on a partly cloudy day, as is the case with any sunrise, but does require some positioning and movement around the trees that sit stagnantly sentry atop the hill. I foresee many more pit-stops at this venue as I continue to explore the West Quabbin.

 

First Light

Looking left

Looking right

Gates 5 & 6: The Brook of Non-Designation

If you acknowledge that all Quabbin Gates begin with Gate #1, then Gate #5 would be the first gate open to the public. Gate 5 is a neatly pleated away notch in the Quabbin’s southern region. By traveling along Route 202 in Belchertown, Massachusetts, you can turn onto Allen Street, just north of where Route 9 intersects Route 202. When you get to the end of Allen Street, turn left onto Old Enfield Road and follow until it concludes at the yellow gate. If on Route 9 in Belchertown, turn right at the intersection with Route 21, onto Old Enfield Road and follow it until it ends at the yellow gate.

One intriguing feature of this neighborhood in the Quabbin is that it has a brook of lengthy proportions, which has not been officially named. According to a reliable source, DCR Personnel refer to this brook as Gate Brook, though no one seems to understand why.

This particular brook can be made most readily available through either Gate 5 or Gate 6, so I made it a combined effort over the course of a week. Gate 5 offers a more uninterrupted route to the mouth of the brook, while Gate 6 provides more scenery, history, and character along a lengthier route to the top of the ravine where I had estimated its rushing descent to begin. To caveat and complement this entry, I will also note that Gate 7 provides the fastest avenue to the bog from which the brook draws. However, the bog and immediate output are relatively unimpressive compared to Gates 5 & 6 in reference to this brook, so it has been excluded for now, and will be introduced later, in a separate entry.

Another aesthetic feature of Gate 5 is that the water comes into view almost immediately. It’s not far at all before you retain a glimpse of it beyond the rolling hills. A deeper probe down the road produces a cellar hole to the left, with a somewhat complex network of foundation walls deeper into the tree line. Beyond that is a concrete pad that appears to be some kind of old driveway, with a small staircase on the side leading into where the house once stood.

Finally, once emerging from the canopy along the old road, you come to the water with one of the most prominent spill sites I have seen. The asphalt beneath the clear water is quite easily visible with current water levels, and is as black as the day it was laid.

Visiting this spot on the beach inspired a sense of nostalgia as it was the first time from land I saw Enfield Tower since I first went to the Quabbin and stood inside of it, the account of which can be found here. The defined break between land masses also marks the location that separates Quabbin Park from Prescott Peninsula, Hampshire County from Franklin County, Belchertown from Ware from New Salem, and a convergence of where once met the Middle and West Branches of The Swift River! One might argue that this spot in Quabbin is the heart of the Reservoir and lifeblood of everything since spawned.

Back up from the beach just a few feet and back onto the road that led you there, and you will find a wide footpath to the left. Following this path will lead you straight and unnoticeably uphill to a cliff that overlooks a spot I call Emerald Bay. Emerald Bay sets inward toward the mouth of Gate Brook but not before emitting some of the greenest shore water I’ve seen in the Quabbin Reservoir; its depth rather ominous as well.

The boding overview provides precisely the right culmination of reach and safety in viewing. To the left of the path, leading all the way to the edge, is a property boundary that you have to climb over and temporarily break brush in order to gain access to the mouth of Gate Brook.

On the way, an old relic exists. I discovered a Utility Pole still standing in the middle of the woods, still tethered to the ground by metal binding cable. Scattered fence debris also remains on the ground, utterly useless.

The mouth of Gate Brook stands blocked and obstructed by fallen trees and vegetative debris, still displaying much character and unique design.

If your intent is to engage in a longer stroll through the woods, with a less inhibited avenue to where the excitement in the brook begins, Gate 6 would be more advantageous. Following the same directions as earlier, you would go to the road immediately prior to where Allen Street meets Old Enfield Road and go north. After a short drive, the road ends at yet another yellow gate marked with the number 6!

This road past the gate starts uphill right away. An old cellar hole also graces this route on the right nearly as soon as you reach the crest of the first hill.

The remainder of the road is fairly uneventful except for an unmarked turn to the left at the highest point along the road before the point where it meets Gate Brook. I didn’t explore this turn, as it looked more like a DCR-generated opening and subsequent clearing than something of historic significance.

After a downhill turn, you can gaze down the slope to the right and see the brook passing by in the distance. A leveling-off of the road will display the culvert through which Gate Brook passes.

Accessing this brook requires a treacherous tumble along the ravine wall. The hillsides tower around the brook which, on a map, assumes a flourishing and cascading nature to the brook’s character. However, as this brook happens to fall directly in the middle of this valley, it somewhat disappoints the wayward waterfall-seeker. The contour lines on a map indicate that this should be a spectacle of Quabbin proportions, but measures at best to a misleading expectation.

The brook itself is, however, full of character and has quite a tantalizing array of inlets that create the sum of Gate Brook. Mini waterfalls litter throughout, from start to finish, but the brook is only a foot or a foot-and-a-half wide and perhaps a few inches deep. It does make for pretty pictures, but may be one of the few places in the Quabbin that are better seen in pictures than it is more impressive in person.

Yet again, a sight worth seeing, and one to which you can take the kids. Aside from the brook there are several other sights to see such as Emerald Bay and the view of Enfield Tower and the cellar holes. The cliff above the bay makes it well worth the trip also.

 

The road to the water

First sighting of water

Cellar holes, property walls, stone network

Perhaps an old driveway

First sight of water from the beach. Enfield Tower on the hill in the distance

Close-up of Enfield Tower

The separation of Quabbin Park from the Southern tip of Prescott Peninsula

Spill Site of Old Enfield Road into the water

High view on cliff over Emerald Bay

Emerald Bay

Looking outward from Emerald Bay side view

Utility Pole

Fence debris

Perhaps a nostalgic view of Quabbin, showing the mouth of Gate Brook

Last cascade of Gate Brook before it opens to the mouth and into the water

Mini Falls

Moss-covered steps to the left of the old driveway shown earlier

Cellar Hole in Gate 6

Into Gate 6

The turn off at the crest of the hill. Unmarked on the map, looks like a DCR turn-out

The beginning of the falls off of the Gate 6 trail

Good picture of the inlet streams

I’ve been seeing a lot of these lately. Does anyone know what this is?

Shown here is an emblematic shot of the ravine sloping inward toward the stream.

Gate 16

The more I survey the West Quabbin, the more I recognize that it’s the worst place in the Quabbin Reservoir to take children. Very few of the roads are stroller-friendly and the preponderance of the region is an incisive, pitched descent to the east which can make it easier going in (though to some extent hazardous) but very taxing on the way out. The toothed hills do level off in many places, making northward and southward navigation comfortable, but such journeys are chiefly without incident and don’t lead to the triumph of making it to the water, thus creating a rather lackluster undertaking. Those roads that don’t depress with such dramatic exponentiation are long and windy and regularly cause kids to lose steam before making it even half way to the water.

So, for adults, the West Quabbin is as good as any, however keep the kids in any area other than the West Quabbin until they’re at least 10 years old. Not all is lost in the west, however.

The one thing I like about the West Quabbin is that it offers the best views of Prescott Peninsula from land.

Gate 16 is the northernmost gate in the West Quabbin, the last before you reach the Prescott Peninsula gates, and is perhaps the one and only omission to the West Quabbin Rule. You can get to Gate 16 by taking Route 202 until you get to the road leading to Lake Wyola in Shutesbury. You’ll see a sign posted indicating as much, which, in this case, is actually your indicator to park across the street from that westward turn. Gate 16 is one of only a few gates in the Quabbin that does not have the giant, yellow pole acting as a blockade, so pay close attention.

Once you park, you’ll actually have to break brush and walk along a narrow path in order to get to the main road. Gate 16A (slightly further north) will allow for direct road access, but is a longer walk as a result.

Once on the road, Gate 16 creates encounters with the characteristic Quabbin dead trees and sights and sounds found anywhere else in the Quabbin. Meandering down the road is as relaxing as always and eventually brings you to a frontal overview of the water, where the forefront hill drops stridently and has an uninterrupted view of the water, generating what appears to be a flush gaze.

When you arrive at the water, you are at the Northeastern-most point in Pelham, Massachusetts. A small island blocks your immediate view of the southward-looking channel, while winding left will offer a chance to see the northernmost portion of the West Quabbin Waters!

This venue is visibly frequented, frequently. Upon arrival to the shore we noticed rock formations created by a previous visitor who is apparently named “AJ,” as well as rock piles littering the coastline. As with many locations throughout the Quabbin, evidence of beavers is also copious.

On the day that my children and I visited, the ice was still present in abundance. The rising temperatures caused it to drift so much that you could see and hear the berg grinding into the land.

As always when ice is present, my kids and I enjoyed a game of rock-toss onto the ice to see if we could break it, which inevitably turns into a game of ice-shuffleboard when most of the rocks don’t break through!

I can easily parallel this venue to Gate 35, and will even go so far as to say that it is slightly closer to the water than Gate 35, however it is entirely downhill on the way in, which makes it entirely uphill on the way out. Still, the slope is relatively measured and the expanse short and rather direct (forking left immediately before the water off of the main road) so it’s less strain for even the little ones to make it.

2-Stars for this little adventure, but as always, well worth the trip!

Dead tree

A rather interesting look into the hollow of the dead tree.

After forking left, you’ll go around a bend and have a clear view of the water.

Small island obstructing your view of the Channel

A view of Prescott Peninsula from across the water

Northernmost basin of water in the west Quabbin Waters

AJ was here!

Rock piles. Look closely; they blend in rather well.

Giant ice plate that was shifting so much that you could hear it hit the coast and notice the movement slightly.

Beavers strike again!

Gate 52: War Relics

Most of what you read in all of my entries is the result of my own due assiduousness. I tend to hear gossip and fables from time to time about certain sites such as Gate 40, Quabbin Park, and Enfield Tower, which impel me to these locations, but I typically ascertain a venue and appreciate it for what my own impressions offer before I go home and look it up or ask around about it.

Inasmuch as I am quick to boast about leading and unprecedented discoveries like Briggs Brook, and in the same way that I assert preeminence and photo unveilings from locations like Rattlesnake North and some others, I think I should also exhibit an unassuming nature by offering credit where credit is due!

While I was in Afghanistan, my wife and I moved our family from the Suburbs to the Quabbin Valley. I was eager about the move because we had bought a house but also because I visited here recurrently as a kid and loved the area. As a result, I would get on the internet as frequently as possible to look at pictures and read stories about this area.

One search I conducted led to a discovery of some old, WWII Artillery miscellany left behind in the Quabbin. The blog, James Hunt Photography’s Blog, was the only place I could find on the internet that described the location in detail. James Hunt is a Photographer and though that link takes you directly to the page containing the entry I read, you should also check out some of his other posts to see the beauty he can capture with his camera.

In seeing the pictures that James posted, as well as other pictures you can find by conducting a simple search for “Gate 52 Quabbin,” you’ll be able to see the drastic contrasts between water levels at the Quabbin between [circa] July 2011 (when James posted his blog) and November 2012 (when I visited Gate 52 myself).

Gate 52 can be found inside Quabbin Park by taking Route 9 in Ware, Massachusetts, and turning north on the east entrance to Quabbin Park. Follow this quiet road past all the turns and signs and pull-offs until you get to Gate 52 on the right, just off the road.

As you get out and walk, you won’t be able to see anything seemingly unordinary, but just the customary picturesque highlights in harmony with everything else in the Quabbin Reservoir. A slight turn to the right and down a delicate slope and you will begin to look left and right at tall hillsides and rock walls from old property boundaries. As my kids and I strolled through, we were looking for the impressive relics left behind by the WWII generation.

At first it seemed as though this may have been a wild goose-chase! I began to question if I had read correctly; after all, it had been over a year since I examined the blog. I also didn’t recall if there were unambiguous directions to the actual site even if I was at the right gate. I wasn’t sure if it was going to be on the right or the left or on a hill or hidden behind one.

Thankfully, around a curve was the coveted prize sitting right next to the road, in the distance on the right side! In spite of how much anticipation I had built up over more than a year to see this, it was a rather haunting spectacle. In the distance you see the normal blue sky and reflective water, obscured and subdued by dense trees. The meandering road beleaguered with brown and golden leaves, a scrupulously rusted wall rests heedlessly as the vestige of a building placed above an old Powder Bunker.

Exiting the road and roaming down a brief gradient will bring you to the backside of the bunker where you can get a more detailed view of it from the “vault” level. As you face the bunker from its rear, you notice a crawl space to the left, exposing ventilation grids for the ammunition once stored inside, a door to the right but centrally situated allowing admission to the actual bunker.

The inner recesses of the bunker are well preserved but clearly no stranger to the passer-by and his vandalistic proficiency. Exiting brings you back out to face the old platforms, 3 total. Ahead of the platforms is the Conveyer, standing in the order of 15 to 20-feet into the sky, the contiguous base abides to exhibit its ammunition linkage left behind as well.

In addition to these relics are scattered structural debris, a table-platform, an observation platform, and another platform located on the crest of a hill before it depresses. It’s anyone’s guess as to what most of these remnants were used for, though as a former Infantryman I am familiar with the Conveyer, Observation Platform, table platform, and Bunker but unfamiliar with the purpose behind the rest of the platforms.

At the end of the road exists yet another Spill Site, the location where the old road submerges below the water.

Again, viewing James Hunt’s photographs, you will see an enormous disparity between natural growth and an alarmingly sharp dissimilarity in the water level. Conceivably, the Spring will cure us of this dearth!

This location is one well worth your time to see. It took me over a year from the time I found out about it before I could get out there myself and see it, but I’m pleased I finally did. History and nature are two of my favorite subjects, and this venue blends both of them very well. It’s not a long walk at all; one of the shortest walks to the water  in the Quabbin, and it’s paved the whole way so strollers are welcome!

 

Look closely at the top of the road. To the right is the wall to the Upper Bunker.

Inside of the Upper Bunker road-facing wall.

Upper Bunker platform, looking to the Bunker’s backyard where other platforms and Conveyer are located.

From behind: entrance to the Powder Bunker.

Crawl space on the left side of the bunker.

Inside of the Powder Bunker #1

Inside #2

Inside #3 showing entrance.

3 platforms behind the Bunker

Debris

The Conveyer

Front of the Conveyer

Remaining links left behind from spent munitions.

Observation Platform

Random platform, perhaps a sand table used as a model for the immediate impact area.

Remote platform above a ledge

Side view of remote platform

At the end of the road, you encounter this spill site. This particular shot portrays the devastating levels to which Quabbin waters have dropped.

Looking right from the end of the road

Looking left from the end of the road.

 

Gate 41: Quabbin Quarry

The Quabbin never ceases to offer something for everyone. I normally tend to stick to the short, flat hikes on as much paved road for strollers as I can so that my children can join me on my ventures. There’s seclusion, tourism, hills, water, aged relics, adventure, and even natural playgrounds –such as that which is found at Gate 41; an area my family and I have come to call Quabbin Quarry!

Quabbin Quarry got its name due to the abundance of gravel and sand and timber that get dumped in this area as some kind of work gets done in and around Quabbin. One of my favorite Comedians, Brian Regan, once said, “A kid can make a toy out of anything.” Though an Entertainer, his words bring insightful wisdom and truth. Here at Gate 41, nothing more than a dumping ground for landscape construction, has become one of my children’s favorite spots in the entire Quabbin Reservoir.

Gate 41 is located on Route 32A in Petersham. It is the last gate you will encounter before entering Hardwick if traveling south along this road. Likewise, if traveling north along Route 32A, once you pass Gate 42, you will enter Petersham from Hardwick and then almost immediately encounter Gate 41 on your left.

Gate 41 has sufficient parking considering I have never been there while someone else is there. However the parking lot could probably fit 4 or 5 cars safely and without interfering with one’s ability to enter or exit. This location also has its textbook unique attribute I like to offer in as many entries as I can by declaring that it is the shortest walk from where you park to where you will see water NOT considered to be Quabbin water. Gate 41 leads directly to Pottapaug Pond, (which is fed by the East Branch of The Swift River).

Walking through the gate allows an immediate view to the left of a wide, nearly stagnant stream that feeds into a bog; the road bending slightly to the left. This bog apparently belonged to someone who lived along this road and was self-employed by use of this bog as a fish-hatchery. In fact, the owner was the last remaining resident of what is now the Quabbin Reservoir after a bitter battle over his Property Rights and loss of his business income.

To the right side of the road is significant and obvious evidence of the residual home and hatchery where he once lived and worked, today littered with old beer bottles and other debris. The Compound, as I call it, is extensive. It even appears as though there was more than just one family living in the area. There are 3 separate sites within this short walk that are unique to others throughout the Quabbin.

First I encountered a standard cellar hole with trash in it, though slightly more trash than I would normally see, probably due to its close proximity to the parking area, but with the seclusion of a deeply entrenched location so as to not be seen from the main road. This first cellar hole was accompanied by a concrete wall, perpendicular to the cellar. It also had an old chimney probably once used in conjunction with a kitchen stove, but lying precariously low to the ground.

Another site, closer to the main road, is one of my favorite cellar holes. Seeing it from far away would not yield any of the normal indicators of a cellar hole. As most cellar holes are slightly elevated over their surrounding grounds as well as on some kind of high ground, this cellar hole is positioned slightly negative-flush of its surroundings and at the lower edge of a slight slope. This would not be considered the best location for a cellar due to drainage, but this cellar defies all conventional logic. It appears to be more of a well-preserved cache without its roof cover. In spite of its location toward the bottom of a slope, it is remarkably well preserved, as if water has had little or no effect on it ever.

The final site, located on the other side of the first one mentioned, furthest from the main road, is quite an extensive building. It might be the largest cellar hole I have seen yet in the entire Quabbin, which is not to say it is, in fact, the largest, but the largest I have seen out of the 100 or so that I have seen. This is obviously where the residing gentleman housed and worked in his hatchery, as extensive as it is, and judging by its general location to the end of the fishery across the street.

Beyond the hatchery is an open field to the right, the end of the bog to the left. Where the bog meets the culvert to the open field on the right is a persistent beaver dam that has been there for many years.

At this transparent overpass you may go straight to Pottapaug Pond, or fork right to the quarry, both within sight of this divergence. Recently, the straightaway to the water has been cleared, but prior to that it was blocked for some time by a fallen tree and other vegetative debris. Now it serves as a shaded walk to the water, generated by a thick canopy and leading to a fantastic view of Pottapaug Pond.

If you go right, there will be a small stream to the left heading into Pottapaug, and your frontal view will produce an image of magnificent proportions. Children and adults alike will be in awe of this massive sight; a cliff on a steep grade that is barely safe to climb on its face. My daughter did so when she was 10, but barely able by herself and she wasn’t tall enough to finish the job once at the top. The only reason it becomes impossible is because there is a 90˚ rise once you reach the top of the grade that is easily 5-6’ high. The unstable soil makes it unsafe to even try.

Walking through this pathway tempts you to shoot left onto the berm so you can capture a teasing sample of the water. Emerging from the crown of trees is “something else!” Something else –literally- almost every time you visit. Quabbin Quarry is one the most dynamic site in the Quabbin (another interesting fact)! Because of the deposit and retrieval cycles, it can look different every time you visit. One day there’s a pile of gravel as you enter, the next time you visit, there are 3 new, larger piles, while that one you saw the last time has completely vanished! It’s never-ending fun for kids because they love climbing these mammoth hills and although they can do so safely, I would never advocate for ANY child to do so and offer a disclaimer that parents should make their own responsible choices. Furthermore, BEWARE OF TICKS!

The one consistent landmark of this site is the large hill at your forward position upon entering; the one that’s probably too high and steep for most kids. You can, however, get to the top of it more safely if you traverse along the berm to the left and walk the ridge and around to the top.

Atop these ridges you may also catch glimpses of the water and the open field to the right of the road through which you entered Gate 41. If you manage to safely navigate on top of the mammoth hill, you can walk along its heightened path into the hilltop peninsula that juts out into Pottapaug, allowing a peripheral view of this pond through a dense pine forest.

For adults, this venue is maybe a ½ hour hike in and out if you stuck to roads and trails and didn’t want to stop to take pictures. You could spend all day if you wanted to pause for serene enjoyment or break brush to get to other spots in the immediate area, such as the trail to Gate 42 and southward. However the location itself is a lot more fun for kids 3+ (with careful parental supervision pertinent to exact age) than it is for adults to explore. Still, it’s a spot my kids ask about frequently, so this adult gives it 3-Stars!

Walking through Gate 41, the stagnant stream to the left.

The first cellar hole

Sadly, a common sight to many cellar holes in the Quabbin. These beer bottles are dated enough to safely say that they’ve been here for “decades.”

A linear wall stemming from the chimney in the next picture, forward of the first cellar hole

Chimney? Furnace chimney? I’ve never seen one like this.

The “Cache Cellar.” A very unique and well preserved cellar hole.

Close-up of the Cache Cellar.

An old tree. I’m a fan of Quabbin trees. Their condition is usually an indicator of how frequently visited a site is. They also offer some unique bends and shapes. I could dedicate an entire page to Quabbin trees.

The Hatchery, as seen from the road.

Left wall of The Hatchery, as seen from the driveway

The right wall of the Hatchery, as seen from the driveway

Open field to the right of the road

The bog to the left of the road before it forks

Beaver Dam

The fork. Straight is Pond 12, right is Quabbin Quarry

After turning right, look left to see this stream leading into Pond 12

Forward view shows the mammoth hill in Quabbin Quarry. Doesn’t look like much from here, but close-up is larger than life!

A view of the teasing pond beyond the berm

The Quarry

The Quarry as seen from the hill in the previous photo on the left

The ridge atop Mammoth Hill

A deeper look into the ridge

Gate 22: Hop Brook

Gate 22 is the first gate in the North Quabbin that is accessible to the general public. It’s a short walk, filled with Quabbin wonders and more than a few sights worth seeing. Overall, the North Quabbin is perhaps the preeminent place in the Quabbin to view wildlife, and my personal experiences dictate that this exclusive quarter of the North Quabbin has at least a small number of Bobcats coursing its tread. According to one account I cited in Quabbin Waters: Gate 31, during my first trip onto the water, a father-son team of fishermen eyed one of these beauties on the shore in the locality of the shores of Gate 22. During a visit to Gate 22 on land, my kids and I ran into two gentlemen who were returning from the depths as we were inward bound and were able to produce VIDEO of a Bobcat they had observed just moments before running into us!

To get to Gate 22 from the south, take Route 202 North until you get to the region known as Cooleyville, then look for Shutesbury Road on the right. If traveling from the north, take Route 202 South until you go through New Salem Center, past the New Salem General Store, and look for Whitaker Road on the left. Once on Whitaker Road, follow it until it T’s with Shutesbury Road, and go left on Shutesbury Road. Once on Shutesbury Road, simply follow it until you come to Gate 22.

In most places in the Quabbin, you have to saunter for at least a small stretch before encountering an article of noteworthy attribute. There are exceptions such as Keystone Bridge at Gate 30 and a few others, but in nearly all places, you must pursue. Gate 22 is one place where you don’t even need to get out of your vehicle before noticing a cellar hole!

When you arrive at Gate 22, you will see a few parking spaces on the left, forward of which is an old cellar hole. Going through the gate will place you on Millington Road; the same road I mentioned in Gate 26: A Secluded Hub, where it wraps back from the water and heads west. Turning 90˚ to the right will show J Vaughn Road, which leads to Gate 21 into Prescott Peninsula. At this T intersection, J Vaughn Road immediately tops an unnamed stream that nourishes Hop Brook, the underscore of this entry.

The viaduct over the stream creates a precipice of unique magnitude. In most normal circumstances, such a conduit would go over a sinuous body of water that flows through one valve. However, this particular bridge appears to have substantial potency in its broad and reinforced foundation, boasting two channels through which water may pass.

Pressing forward on Millington Road will be mildly uneventful until [what is now] Hop Brook comes back into view from the left. Beforehand the brook waxes and wanes as you begin, then goes under Millington Road, and then at this crossroads goes back under the road once more. After a long, dull curve to the right and a lazy climb uphill, you will once again see Hop Brook to your right before it courses southward, provisionally fading from sight as if to tease you into enjoying a view of something else; like a ghost that makes its appearance for but a brief moment before vanishing into a shadow.

About 100-feet further east on Millington Road is a road to the left. The corner features what could have once been a road sign, directing travelers toward their apposite destinations. However, much of this structure seems incompatible with such a post, rather it looks more like a foundation wall, but is embedded into the side of a rise in elevation which would also be inconsistent with a foundation. It is definitely manmade, however, indicated by the linear placement of the stones, and the inset niche with smoothed edges, accenting this anomaly. So, it’s simply a mystery as to what this monument really is.

Further along the travels of Millington Road you will find the normal staples of The Quabbin Reservoir: cellar holes, abandoned roads, trails, twists and turns, fallen trees. One particular tree we found has been named “Talon Tree,” as that’s unerringly what it looks like – a chicken’s talon! It’s so well defined most likely because of the fact that it appears to have grown directly around a large boulder! One must really ask how such a thing could happen. Does a tree not need to take root in the ground first? Talon Tree appears to have had its seed set atop the rock, and its roots maneuvered around the edges like egg-yolk dripping off the sides and then taking root in the soil below.

After a stunted jaunt, passing more hills and trees and interesting landmarks, you’ll come to a divergence in the road. A leftward fork will take you along the road skirting the water in a northward direction back to Gates 26 & 27, a rightward bifurcation takes you south, past a defrayal on the left with signs that indicate an end to the road and finishing at the mouth of Hop Brook. I believe the signs actually say something like “No Vehicle Passage,” or something like that. As you arrive on the scene you’ll see why. At its conclusion, this off-shoot of Millington Road ends on a rise, as if a bridge once graced this setting, casting your gaze down on Hop Brook by an elevation of about 6-feet.

Moving out onto the shore displays a recognizable landscape, as shown in some of my preceding entries such as Quabbin Waters: Gate 31. The principally visible island from these shores is actually an unidentified island, as is the one behind it, which is even larger. However just south of these shores you can effortlessly view Mt. Russ and Mt. L, two well-known islands in the Quabbin Reservoir.

Aberrant to the preponderance of my visits to the Quabbin (even on nice days), the return trip to the car produced even more contact with passers-by. As I said, on the way in we encountered two men who showed a video they had taken of a Bobcat. On the way out, we encountered 3 groups of two people almost concurrently! Then one more group of two people a little further out! In such a secluded spot you would anticipate seeing fewer people. I’ve seen more than this in more prevalent locations such as Gate 40 and Quabbin Park in the South, but such a blistering quantity of contact in the North Quabbin is comparatively unprecedented. I consider it an isolated occurrence and would still advocate Gate 22 as an exceptional hike with a low probability of such encounters.

 

 

The cellar hole by the parking lot

J Vaughn Road

Millington Road

The bridge over the stream that feeds into Hop Brook

Showing the two valves, left and right

Hop Brook escaping southward, away from the road

Looking back toward Gate 22

The interesting structure that may have once been a road sign

Talon Tree!

Hop Brook Mouth

The mouth of Hop Brook spilling into the Quabbin

Shore of Gate 22

3 groups of 2 people hiking independently on this nice, Autumn day.