srhigham
Member
Hedgehog Chasm is a feature said to exist somewhere in the mountains surrounding Haselton Brook in Thornton or Waterville Valley, N.H. The first reference to it is in Pickering (1879). I reproduce that in full here:
“Late in the summer of 1877, while staying at Campton Village, I heard of a great cleft, which was said to exist in a little mountain not eight miles away, and known as Mt. Hedgehog. This cleft had been discovered by three men independently, at different times, on each occasion the discoverer himself being lost. Two of the men had subsequently tried in vain to return to it. I obtained a description of its general appearance from the third man, and at length induced him to go with me in search of it. Our party left Campton early in the morning of Sept. 10, for Elkins’, which is the last house on the Mill Brook road. Here we met our guide, and were soon on our way up the steep slopes of Mt. Hedgehog. After an hour’s fruitless search we heard a shout from one of the party, and running forward found him standing on a broad ledge of bare rock, down the very middle of which extended a long broad crevice. This was immediately identified by the guide as the place found by him some twenty years before. At one end he said grew two slender saplings; here we now found two sturdy full grown trees. I was let down into the chasm at one end, by means of a branch of a tree, and traversed its full length. It was very dark, and nothing but a narrow strip of light behind me indicated the opening. Near the entrance I found quantities of “daddy-long-legs,” which had probably never before been disturbed by man or beast since the chasm was formed. So narrow is it at the bottom, that I had to climb over one of my companions in order to pass him, and we called to the rest not to come in till we had got out. Measurements were made with a cord brought for the purpose. We found it to be 90 ft. in length, 55 in depth, and one to two in breadth, at the top, and about six inches at the bottom.
“Like the flume, it has a large boulder suspended between its walls, four or five feet in diameter. There is also another and smaller boulder suspended higher up. The best way to reach this spot in the future, would be to strike the long ridge running westerly from Mt. Hedgehog, rather more than halfway up, and then follow it up to the chasm. The latter is on the very edge of the ridge, and one could not miss it. Its position is marked by a solitary blazed pine tree which was then about eight feet in height. One side of the opening is three or four feet higher than the other, and one should move carefully, to avoid stepping into the chasm before seeing it.”
The only other printed reference to the chasm is in Sweetser, where the chasm is listed in a brief note in the 1886 edition, and possibly as early as the 1883 edition.
I began searching for this “para-cave” in 1994. I started out first at Hedgehog Mountain in Wonalancet, N.H., but then focused on a ridge-line of small mountains south of Hazelton (or Haselton) Brook in Thornton and Waterville Valley. This includes Fisher, Hogback, and Green Mountain, as well as several unnamed lobes of these. Over the years, I found several fissures and caves on these mountains, but nothing that matched well with the descriptions above.
Hogback, and the ridge extending northwest, contains very nasty terrain including dense forests of tangled and downed fir trees mingled with cliffs and very steep slopes. This summer, I noticed that I had never done a thorough recon of this ridge. Also, I’ve always noted the similarity between “Hogback” and “Hedgehog.” Hedgehog Chasm is narrow crevice on a weathered moss-covered ledge at about 2400 foot elevation. It is in one of the lowest cliff-bands that is encountered in a northwesterly path of approach. There is an entrance in the face of the ledge near the top. This leads immediately to a nine foot drop. The remains of the uprights of a very old ladder are in this drop, with big iron nails protruding. The entrance passage slopes down steeply, and there are two smaller drops before one reaches the bottom. The floor is very smooth. The crevice averages about 2 feet wide, and extends for about 100 feet. Since it has no roof, it’s not really a cave, but can be described as a chasm or “purgatory.” It’s one of the most unusual sites in the woods of New Hampshire, and is made more special by its complete obscurity in modern times. There are no trails within a mile of it, and no indication of any modern visitation. Steve Smith, who knows these mountains well, is unaware of anyone finding this in recent times.
“Late in the summer of 1877, while staying at Campton Village, I heard of a great cleft, which was said to exist in a little mountain not eight miles away, and known as Mt. Hedgehog. This cleft had been discovered by three men independently, at different times, on each occasion the discoverer himself being lost. Two of the men had subsequently tried in vain to return to it. I obtained a description of its general appearance from the third man, and at length induced him to go with me in search of it. Our party left Campton early in the morning of Sept. 10, for Elkins’, which is the last house on the Mill Brook road. Here we met our guide, and were soon on our way up the steep slopes of Mt. Hedgehog. After an hour’s fruitless search we heard a shout from one of the party, and running forward found him standing on a broad ledge of bare rock, down the very middle of which extended a long broad crevice. This was immediately identified by the guide as the place found by him some twenty years before. At one end he said grew two slender saplings; here we now found two sturdy full grown trees. I was let down into the chasm at one end, by means of a branch of a tree, and traversed its full length. It was very dark, and nothing but a narrow strip of light behind me indicated the opening. Near the entrance I found quantities of “daddy-long-legs,” which had probably never before been disturbed by man or beast since the chasm was formed. So narrow is it at the bottom, that I had to climb over one of my companions in order to pass him, and we called to the rest not to come in till we had got out. Measurements were made with a cord brought for the purpose. We found it to be 90 ft. in length, 55 in depth, and one to two in breadth, at the top, and about six inches at the bottom.
“Like the flume, it has a large boulder suspended between its walls, four or five feet in diameter. There is also another and smaller boulder suspended higher up. The best way to reach this spot in the future, would be to strike the long ridge running westerly from Mt. Hedgehog, rather more than halfway up, and then follow it up to the chasm. The latter is on the very edge of the ridge, and one could not miss it. Its position is marked by a solitary blazed pine tree which was then about eight feet in height. One side of the opening is three or four feet higher than the other, and one should move carefully, to avoid stepping into the chasm before seeing it.”
The only other printed reference to the chasm is in Sweetser, where the chasm is listed in a brief note in the 1886 edition, and possibly as early as the 1883 edition.
I began searching for this “para-cave” in 1994. I started out first at Hedgehog Mountain in Wonalancet, N.H., but then focused on a ridge-line of small mountains south of Hazelton (or Haselton) Brook in Thornton and Waterville Valley. This includes Fisher, Hogback, and Green Mountain, as well as several unnamed lobes of these. Over the years, I found several fissures and caves on these mountains, but nothing that matched well with the descriptions above.
Hogback, and the ridge extending northwest, contains very nasty terrain including dense forests of tangled and downed fir trees mingled with cliffs and very steep slopes. This summer, I noticed that I had never done a thorough recon of this ridge. Also, I’ve always noted the similarity between “Hogback” and “Hedgehog.” Hedgehog Chasm is narrow crevice on a weathered moss-covered ledge at about 2400 foot elevation. It is in one of the lowest cliff-bands that is encountered in a northwesterly path of approach. There is an entrance in the face of the ledge near the top. This leads immediately to a nine foot drop. The remains of the uprights of a very old ladder are in this drop, with big iron nails protruding. The entrance passage slopes down steeply, and there are two smaller drops before one reaches the bottom. The floor is very smooth. The crevice averages about 2 feet wide, and extends for about 100 feet. Since it has no roof, it’s not really a cave, but can be described as a chasm or “purgatory.” It’s one of the most unusual sites in the woods of New Hampshire, and is made more special by its complete obscurity in modern times. There are no trails within a mile of it, and no indication of any modern visitation. Steve Smith, who knows these mountains well, is unaware of anyone finding this in recent times.
