NE Caves and other curiosities.....

[funkyfreddy]

I haven't come across that many caves in my Northeast hiking career aside from the usual rock overhangs that are often labeled caves. Does anyone know of any caves or other interesting NE geological formations they would care to share with their fellow VFFT'ers? Thanks, Fred

 

[SteveHiker]

In southern VT, there is the Devil's Den which isn't that big but definitely qualifies as a cave.

There is a cave in behind the town dump in either Danby or Mt Tabor (I don't remember which). It has a rather narrow opening, and so I didn't go in too far, as I don't like tight spaces (think the Lemon Squeezer at Lost River)

and there's the bat caves in Plymouth near the lakes, but I think it is closed to the public to protect the bats. They might be open part of the year, not sure.

 

[cp2000]

and there's the bat caves in Plymouth near the lakes, but I think it is closed to the public to protect the bats. They might be open part of the year, not sure.

Where abouts in Plymouth. Im one town over and Ive never heard of a cave(other than polar caves)in the area.

Thanks

 

[SteveHiker]

Where abouts in Plymouth. Im one town over and Ive never heard of a cave(other than polar caves)in the area.

Thanks

sorry, you're one state over. Plymouth, VT. Those early settlers weren't creative enough with their place names, were they?

 

[Tom Rankin]

I haven't come across that many caves in my Northeast hiking career aside from the usual rock overhangs that are often labeled caves. Does anyone know of any caves or other interesting NE geological formations they would care to share with their fellow VFFT'ers? Thanks, Fred

There's a small cave on the way up to Westkill from the East. Laurie knows where it is, but I've never been there...

Bonticou Crag has lots of caves. Real ones!

 

[Jim lombard]

In Pawtuckaway State Park in Southern NH there's a cave called the Devils Den on the North Peak. You have to slide down on your back to get in but then it opens at the bottom.

At Carter Notch there's a cave the caretaker showed me where they sometimes stored food in the summer when it was full service. I didn't explore too much but it also opened up some and you could explore it better in winter when things froze.

 

[chuck]

I posted before somewhere on here of an interesting overhang of Jennings peak and small cave or possible cave.

 

[catskillclimber]

Freddy,
There are some small bat caves within the rocks on the summit of Chimney Mt. in the southern ADKs. In Indian Lake if I remember correctly. I think it's close to Snowy Mt. off of Rt. 30. It was pretty cool.

 

[the starchild]

At Carter Notch there's a cave the caretaker showed me where they sometimes stored food in the summer when it was full service. I didn't explore too much but it also opened up some and you could explore it better in winter when things froze.

fun little cave. the problem in winter is the icicles can block the passageways. but the icicles make lots of really cool decorations, shapes and formations. here's me in the cave last november and a pic of the caretaker, neil, i think was his name, real nice guy. i think he's actually working in the observatory right now. seems like there might be quite a bit more than just the ramparts to whack around in and explore

 

[Rik]

There is a cave that is fenced off on Mt. Aeolus near Dorset, VT. I read somewhere that it is gated off because some sort of rare bat lives in there. Also on that same mountain is ,if I remember correctly ,the remains of the oldest quarry in the US? Someone please correct me if I'm wrong about that.

 

[Jim lombard]

fun little cave. the problem in winter is the icicles can block the passageways. but the icicles make lots of really cool decorations, shapes and formations. here's me in the cave last november and a pic of the caretaker, neil, i think was his name, real nice guy. i think he's actually working in the observatory right now. seems like there might be quite a bit more than just the ramparts to whack around in and explore

Great Pictures, brought back some memories, thanks!

Neil Lareau? Looked like him from the MWO staff listing.

 

[Mattl]

There are caves all over the place. But what do you define a cave? There are a lot of boulder caves. We lack the sedementary rock suiable for big ones. Cave Mountain, NH, Mount Mexico, Mount Lowell, The best one I have ever seen that was huge is one a little ways from Franconia Falls. My secret though -Matt L

 

[dms]

Cave Mountain

There are two Cave Mountains in NH, one in Bartlett, off the Mt. Langdon Trail, which has a neat little shallow cave, maybe more of an overhang than cave. The "other" Cave Mountain is in Dixville, and is a 3k peak I've been to twice, both times we searched in vain for any sign of a cave.

 

[cp2000]

come to think of it Mt. Morgan and mt. percivil in the sqaum range both have what could be called caves. Very small ones though.

Has anyone been to kiley's cave near Cardigan Ive never made it out that way.

 

[arghman]

I haven't come across that many caves in my Northeast hiking career aside from the usual rock overhangs that are often labeled caves.

Caves occur primarily where the bedrock is limestone, something which we don't have much (any?) of in the northeast, so that rainwater can dissolve it over time. Perhaps there are other types of rocks which support caves, but they're likely to be in more alkaline/calcareous rock formations, which VT has, also northern Maine, but not really NH; not sure about NY. The "caves" here are boulder caves.

 

[TDawg]

Years back on our drive back from Niagara falls we stopped at Howes Caverns off I90 in NY State. New York does have enough limestone in some areas for "real caves" to form and this sure was a real one. They take you down an elevator and on a tour through the cave. Although not off a hiking trail unfortunatly, and it was kind of a tourist trap type attraction, it was very interesting for those interested in geology like myself and some of you guys perhaps.

 

[takeahike46er]

Chimney Mountain in the adks has some fairly large caves, namely the eagle cave. The rooms aren't expansive like those found in areas with sedimentary rock; however, the eagle cave is very long. It is much more than a boulder cave. In fact, it formed as a result of the mountain fracturing and sliding along a fault. There is a great resource here: http://www.steuben.org/hobbies/ChimneyMountain/index.html

As mentioned, there are a number of large caves in central New York due to the presence of sedimentary rock.

 

[takeahike46er]

The "caves" here are boulder caves.

The talus "caves" found in the northeast are just as legitimate as solutional or erosional caves. Most tend to be small and hardly noteworthy, but there are some larger complexes if you know where to look.

 

[Hillwalker]

Here's one for you

Although it may be too late to get in there due to winter road closures, but save this. In Evans Notch at Wild River Campground. Hike up the Blue Brook Shelter trail from the campground. After a short hike you will come to a little gorge which you cross and then follow on the south bank. In a few hundred meters you will come to an overhanging cliff that looks geologically fresh. Bushwhack across the tiny stream at its base and you will find lots of openings into the rockfall created when the cliff was pushed up from the fault. In addition, at the east end of the cliffs are huge overhanging ledges big enough and high enough to set up several camps under. Sadly, in the 60s and 70s some graffiti was sprayed on the walls and ceilings of the "caves" and it remains today. I first discovered this treasure when I was the official adopter of the Black Angel Trail back in the early 80s. Wish I knew some way to get that crap off the rock. HW

 

[g o]

there is a small slab cave on bigelow, north of horns pond on the AT. it is just off the main trail in an area loaded with spanish moss covering the trees.