Over Cardigan and Through the Woods - Day 3

Day 3

Regions

       I woke on Day 3 refreshed and excited for not only the hike, but to see my family again. The day started by someone knocking on the door to get us up. Then, we scurried downstairs to meet with friends in the dining region and eat something. We sat down eagerly, expecting a good meal. And, a good meal is what we got. Piping hot french toast was brought out of the kitchen in harmony with sausage, maple syrup and some thick cornbread biscuits. We took careful servings as to not create any ORT. With this we succeeded and for this meal, as a session, we came up with 0 ORT! The trail leaders congratulated us and we went upstairs to get ready to hike the second of two different trails, or the trail we didn't hike the first day. For my group, this was to be a hike to the Welton Falls region. We packed up not only our hiking packs and bagged lunches, but our overnight bags, for we were going to be leaving after we came back from the hike. When we regrouped, we had two new group members (Julie and Garrett) from Gretchen's group which had broken up because a chaperone had to go home back to the region of Hopkinton within the region of New Hampshire, which we are in on our trip.

       Before we get very far along the trail, we stopped at an old 1800's cellar hole that used to be part of a house. There looked to be steps leading down to the cellar that is multiple feet below ground level. This is what I would call the region of the cellar hole.

This is the picture of an old cellar hole. There was a tree and granite posts within the hole. Also, there were many pine needles that blanketed the ground.

       When I sat down to do a sketch of it, I noticed the ground was wet, for there was morning dew plus, it had rained last night. Once we started walking again, we arrived at many cucumber roots, which are edible and Fern had introduced us to on Day 1. I like indian cucumbers, but Francie was crazy about them. Often times Fern had to call a red light, which means to slow down, and wait for her to pick them. Where this happened was the region of indian cucumbers. Almost like a game, Owen kept pulling them out of the ground before Francie could get to them.

       Before long we arrive at Welton Falls itself, with our stomachs full of indian cucumbers. The waterfall had mist around it and it plunged deep into the waiting pool of water below. For a while we debated, if we were able, whether we would jump or not. Right before the water cascaded down, it collected in an aqua colored pool that seemed very deep according to it's color. The waterfall pool below was much lower than usual and you could see a line on the rocks were the water usually goes up to. Also, the mist caused moss to grow on higher points of the rocks in which the waterfall was tucked into.

This was my sketch of Welton Falls. It shows the deep pool all the water collected in before the waterfall and then how it fell into the waiting pool below it. It also shows the cluster of rocks above, below and all around it.

       Beyond this though, the waterfall as well as Cardigan Mountain and the AMC Lodge are in the region of Alexandria and/or Orange.

       The waterfall was so much fun to explore. If you walk a little ways, there is a old metal railing and then you can go under the ledge of the rock and get another great view of the waterfall. Then, you can walk down a steep path and come to a stream. For a little bit we climbed in a cave which leads to the top of a rock. Inside the cave is musty and the rock itself is unstable, so we had to get off it before long. We rock hopped and some of us were unlucky and got our shoes wet. I was very careful, so I was not one of those people. I ended up not having to walk all the way back to the lodge with soggy shoes.

       All of this exploring worked up an appetite. So, after we crossed a small river that we used to get to the falls in the first place, we stopped for snack. I ate a Nutrigrain bar as we continued our discussion about rocks and whether they were dead or living. For full disclosure, we asked Ms. Bourgelais once we got back. It turns out that they are not living or dead- they are non-living. We figure if we have already stopped, we should do a sketch. Right in front of me is a stump with plants growing out of it, so I sketch that. We continue walking for a while until we come up on some interesting moss. I sketch it, and it almost looks like the tips were too heavy, so they tipped over. The cool and rainy weather probably contributed to their reasonably big size.

This is a sketch of the moss I saw on my Day 3 hike. There were multiple clumps of it on a log. All the clumps of the moss seemed to drop over, perhaps due of the rainy weather.

       This is the interesting moss region. Around here we try a little red berry that I forget the name of. It is tasteless and has a mushy texture. Once we are almost back to the lodge, we stop for lunch. Off the trail a little is a small cliff that goes to a valley with many fallen trees. I sit at the edge with Francie and dangle my feet off as I bite into my roast beef sandwich. The fallen trees themselves seem to be about 20 feet down. There must have once been a stream running under the trees and a strong storm must have toppled the trees over.

By now the weather has turned sunny and everyone has started to finish their lunch. A few people make up a game where they build towns and other people destroy them.

       Right before we arrive at the lodge, we stop and play a game called "Camouflage" in the camouflauge game region. The game is where people hid in the woods and people try to find them. Since I was wearing a pink/red colored shirt, I didn't blend in too well. After we played that, we decided to do our last sketch of the trip. I did it of a hobblebush, and we wondered if maybe this bush had once held hobble berries.

This is a sketch I drew of a hobblebush leaf. The leaf itself is very wide and pretty large. It has veins running out fom the center.

       We arrived to hustle and bustle back at the AMC Lodge region. People were hauling their stuff back from their rooms to Mr. Woolner's trailer. Right when the bus drove into the lodge parking lot, everyone rushed toward it. Gretchen told us that we couldn't get on the bus until we touched her hand, and she held it higher than any of us could touch. Finally, when the bus was parked and ready for us to get on, Gretchen lowered her hand, and everyone rushed towards it. People were pushing to get to the bus door, where it required a single file line. This time I got the aisle seat and sat with Francie. For a good portion of the way back, we played hand games. Some people even fell asleep on the way back. I almost did myself, I was so tired. Overall, it was a wonderful trip. The view from Cardigan was spectacular and I had an absolutely great time!

       Cardigan itself is part of many regions. For one, it is a part of the Grafton County region. It is also part of the New Hampshire region like I mentioned above, which is another region. New Hampshire is part of New England, so Cardigan is part of the New England region. From there it extends out to the Eastern Seaboard region and then America and then the whole world! As you can see, Cardigan is a part of many, many regions.

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Postcard Image by E.H. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.