Climb down the cliff stair, 223 of them, to this quiet place.
A sole individual views Lucifer Falls from the Gorge Trail footbridge.
Climb down the cliff stair, 223 of them, to this quiet place.
A place for quiet contemplation within the Treman Gorge, only accessible via a 15 minute hike. Robert H. Treman New York State Park on a late October afternoon.
Autumn hills
Standing on Enfield Gorge rim above Lucifer Falls on a clear October afternoon, the slopes of the far gorge cloaked in shades of green, yellow and red.
Below, the Gorge Trail runs below a sedimentary rock cliff.
dramatic sky
Connecticut Hill from Harvey Hill Road on a late October afternoon. Newfield of the Finger Lakes Region of New York State.
Hay Bales!!
The land opens up on the slopes of Connecticut Hill, Newfield of the Finger Lakes Region of New York State.
A Meeting of Expedition Members and Trails
Here is the topographic map with Terrapin Trail (yellow) meeting Dutchman Trail (orange) to the right of Upper Black Top Mesa Pass, bottom center
The beetling cliffs off Bluff Spring Mountain loom over where Terrapin and Dutchman trails meet. Patches of yellow are Mexican Poppies blooming on the talus slope. Terrapin Trail climbs the ridge, to right. Here is where I caught up with mounted expedition members, the spotted rump of an Appaloosa figures prominently next to the signpost.
Terrapin Trail almost immediately starts a climb up to an eponymous pass between Bluff Springs Mountain and Weavers Needle. From here, it is the best way into the mountain. The trail name is a misnomer, as terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) turtle habitat is near the ocean. There is a desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) you might encounter during the rainy season as they are otherwise inactive.
Al at Terrapin and Dutchman trails. His Appaloosa is enjoying fresh grass.
Copyright 2022 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
A Storied Place
As we descended Upper Black Top Mesa Pass into Bluff Spring Mountain canyon we found, foreground, Palo Verde and brittle bush, and, midground, Saguaro. The presence of Palo Verde reveals water flows through this area intermittently though not enough to sustain a large tree. Palo Verde is in the pea family (Fabaceae), as evidenced by production of seeds in pods.
Calling it “Buff Mountain” some say the mountain is named for these buff-colored cliffs. Others, calling it “Bluff Spring Mountain” name it for the cliffs and the spring within a canyon on top.
Closer to the junction with Terrapin Trail this Bluff Spring Mountain ridge rose above us. A fine specimen of mature Saguaro cactus is in midground.
A climb up this ridge rewards a person with fine camping within a canyon on top of this mountain. This joy was reserved for a later trip I have yet to enjoy. Bluff Spring Mountain features prominently in the literature and stories of the Dutchman Mine and lost treasure.
Click Me for the next post in this series, “Bluff Spring Mountain Canyon.”
Copyright 2022 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Looking east
This the fifth and final of a series of landscape photographs taken from this position.
The peak is named, in the English language, Slievenaglogh. It is so strange as it’s not English, being instead a transliteration of the Irish name “Sliabh na gCloch.” This is “Rock Mountain” translated literally. Slievenaglogh is carried to the townland, a long thin swath of land being the peak and associated ridge-line.
The rocks up there are called “gabbro,” a type of magma slowly cooled under ground. Slievenaglog, Slieve Foy across the valley, and the Morne mountains all formed within volcano magma chamber(s) of the Paleocene, 66 million years ago, a time associated with extensive volcanism and the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event that gave rise to the current age.
Our younger cousin has been up there, optimistically we left it for a later trip.
View of Slieve Foy
This the fourth of a series of landscape photographs taken from this position.
The distant ridge, Slieve Foy, is the site of a mythic battle from the epic “The Cattle Raid of Cooley” (Irish: Táin Bó Cúailnge).
Pam and I did a circuit of the island, returning to the home of my Mom’s first cousin. Our last full day on Ireland a cousin took us on the Tain Trail, over Maeve’s Gap of Slieve Foy and into Carlingford town.
Our route is partly visible to the right of the ridge, hidden in low clouds.
Michael Stephen Wills Photography 