Don't bother looking for a road sign. There are none on the Delaware County side. You have to use gut instinct and sense of direction to travel west to east in these remote parts.
Deciding to enjoy the drive and whatever sights I might see until I came to a road sign or marked intersection, I began to scan the landscape to get a sense of what the land may have once been used for and when that might have been.
There are scads of hayed fields viewable from the roadway, neatly nestled between field stone walls - ancient property line markers. Catching a glimpse of these walls always make me wonder how long they took to build - it was all done by hand - and who exactly built them.
There is a 100 year lag in the the development of the area with its closest neighbor - Turnwood, NY, which is home to a trout hatchery, a Buddhist monastery and the headwaters of the famed Beaver Kill.
As the road narrowed and began to climb and snake, my focus became tight so as to not meet an oncoming vehicle head-on in the middle of the road. The guide rail hugged the pavement, leaving no shoulder as it teetered away from the edge of a ravine. A reflective flash drew my attention to what appeared to be the churning froth of small waterfall - just the other side of the guide rail.
I parked at the top of a knoll, once the guide rail ceased duty and backtracked a quarter mile to find this phenomenal water feature.
There must have been, at one time, some type of mill. The skeletal remains of a stone wall built adjacent to the rock face straddles the stream. It is easy to envision the water being harnessed to do the work of a mule or a man.
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| My travel companion and partner in adventure - Charlie Browne |
* Lillian Browne works as a newspaper and travel magazine editor to fund her adventure habit - which she indulges every chance she gets. She is exploring the world around her, one step at a time, with her dog - Charlie. Follow her on Instagram or on Twitter @browneinwalton
Were these waterfalls on DEC property where you can hike with the free pass? Looks like a fun hike.
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