Unofficial Names for Features That Are Unnamed on Maps

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1HappyHiker

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I realize that it would be impractical for mapmakers to assign a name to every cliff, ledge, bump & lump on the landscape. However, it's always been a bit of a curiosity to me as to why there is no official name for some very prominent features on the landscape. In some of these cases, an unofficial name used by the "locals" has crept into common usage.

So, with the above in mind, I'm just wondering if anyone cares to share unofficial names of prominent landscape features in the Whites that are unnamed on official maps?

As an example, I learned awhile back that the "locals" have a name for a massive cliff that's located on one of the ridges leading up to Hutchins Mountain (Pilot Range). They refer to this spot as Owl's Head! (I suppose that when viewed from some perspective, it must resemble an owl's head?:confused:) Regardless, this cliff is unnamed on any map I've seen, even though it is quite a prominent feature on the landscape which can be seen from many locations throughout the North Country. In the photo below, a red arrow points to "Owl's Head" as seen from a spot along Lost Nation Road.

100_2370.JPG"

And while I'm on this topic, I'm curious if anyone knows if there is an unofficial name used by folks to refer to the cliffy prominence which is situated very close to the Davis Path trailhead on Route 302. (Shown below is a photo with a red arrow pointing to the feature that I'm talking about.)

P1060295.JPG

As a side-note, I recently bushwhacked to the cliff-face shown above . . . mainly just because "it's there"!;)
I didn't expect, nor did I get any blockbuster views. However, just in case anyone might be curious about the view from there, the snapshot below will give you some idea.

P1060308.JPG

I'm thinking that this spot might have an unofficial name that's used by "locals" since I found evidence (fire ring, etc) that people do go up there. At one spot, I found a cable firmly anchored between two trees, and the tattered remains of an American flag were hanging from it.

P1060305.JPG
 
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The 3000-footer list that I have has Galehead Mountain in brackets, as though that’s an unofficial name. Owls Head Mountain is in brackets too, of course, but that wasn’t the surprise that Galehead was.

And naturally there seem to be dozens of other mountains without official names, particularly, I’d guess, in New York (although I haven’t actually counted them to be certain).

I can maybe see a barn owl’s face on your picture of Owl’s Head cliff, like the one on the left here.

barn_owl_young.jpg
 
I can maybe see a barn owl’s face on your picture of Owl’s Head cliff, like the one on the left here.
barn_owl_young.jpg
Hmmm! I didn't even consider a frontal view of an owl's head for that cliff-face photo that I posted. I was trying to envision a profile view, and that just wasn't working!:) Regardless . . . those are very nice photos of owls you posted!

I've got one more spot that is unnamed on maps but has an unofficial name that's used by at least a few "locals". Also, if anyone has been to the Sugar Hill Sampler shop (where else, but Sugar Hill, NH), there's a signboard which also labels this spot.
I'm talking about a big bump that's located along the Garfield Ridge between Lafayette and Garfield. This bump/lump has been referred to as "The Sleeping Baby".

Below is a very fuzzy image, but it's the best snapshot I could quickly lay my hands on which shows the spot I'm talking about.
Yes, I'll admit it is a bit of a "stretch", and it surely does take some imagination to conjure up the image of a sleeping baby. Nonetheless, here it is!

SleepingBaby3.jpg
 
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Don't forget the "Snow Cross" on Lafayette. I don't have a picture of it. Hmmmm. Maybe I should look harder in my Google archives! :p
 
It's fake. There is no "Snow Cross".

I haven't seen it that clearly. Maybe that is exagerated a bit, maybe that's how it appeared then and from time to time. A highly respected "hill country" friend of mine, now deceased, wrote about it in a poem published in the 50s. Here is a portion of Frances Ann Johnson Hancock's thoughts:

Now it is April, and I'll not forget
To watch the darkening hills until I see
The unforgetting cross on Lafayette.
I'll wait, as I have waited every year,
For mountain crags to shed their ice and snow
Until the deep, cross-patterned scars appear
Still drifted white, and then at last I'll know
That it is Spring....
 
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