While looking for an old homesite (surprise!), I came across yet another rock wall complex. I'd already been on a couple of explorations earlier in the afternoon, so it was getting late by the time I came across this site. I had to climb up, over, and down the other side of a steep ridge to get here. With daylight running out, and my leg still not at 100%, I didn't have time for a thorough exploration. I need to return soon and scope out the extent of this site.
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Section of rock wall
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More rock wall
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Rock wall
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Section of wall across a small wet-weather branch.
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At least four parallel rock wall sections can be seen going back into the distance.
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Another series of parallel walls stretching back in the distance.
I was running out of daylight and wasn't able to explore how far back these went.
These images were significantly brightened in post-processing...
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More walls
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I spotted a rock that appeared to have two cupules pecked into it.
I poured some water into the cupules to show them better.
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These rusted 5 gallon metal cans were found nearby,
probably the remnants of an old logging operation.
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A week later, I went back to explore the site further...
The wall complex is considerably more extensive than I had thought from my first visit. One area has eight parallel walls going up the slope, and other walls are scattered all around. They range from as short as 20 feet on up to 150 feet long.
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Small waterfall on the creek that runs through the area.
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I encountered some rock piles this time.
Most seemed to have been disturbed long ago...
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Four rows of walls are visible in this image.
There are actually 8 parallel walls here as you go up the hill.
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More examples of the many rock walls here:
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Most of the walls here aren't very tall.
The area has been logged in the past, and I wonder how much damage the logging operations did to the walls.
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A wet weather creek runs through this area, some of it underground...
I don't know how deep this hole is, but I inserted my arm holding my
hiking pole as far as I could (about 7 feet), and didn't touch bottom!
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Examples of a few more walls:
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Rock walls are somewhat unusual to find in this part of the country.
We don't have the extensive culture of wall building found in locations like New England.
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This is one of the longer walls, stretching off into the distance.
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A second wall is visible here, at upper left.
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While in the area, I revisited an old homesite (UN01) that I had come across years before:
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A nice chimney fireplace
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From the other side...
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All of the original clay chinking is gone from the chimney.
Only gravity is holding it together...
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Rear side
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