Friday, September 6, 2019

The Lost River Gorge & Boulder Caves are located about an hour from Mount Washington, in North Woodstock, New Hampshire. The terrain here was carved out by glaciers during the Ice Age. The Lost River was discovered when two brothers, Royal and Lyman Jackman, were fishing along a stream in the gorge. Lyman slipped through a moss covered hole and into a cave, landing in a waist deep pool of water. The river (brook) runs above ground before disappearing below the surface.

The walk through the park is not long, but there are about 1,000 stairs to negotiate if you take the entire tour. These caves, formed by granite rocks deposited by ancient glaciers, are more like narrow crevices. Some of the openings are too narrow for many people – at one point, called the Lemon Squeezer, you are required to pass through a very narrow framed triangle-shaped slit before entering the cave, to verify that you won’t get stuck once inside. This required some gymnastic contortions that were demanding of my almost 70 year old body, but I did it! One other septuagenarian made it through as well, along with her grandchildren, but not her daughter! Mark was able to get through, but opted to stay back and take photos. In this cave, I had to creep through on my stomach.

Of the other caves or crevices, most were much easier to negotiate. There are waterfalls, both above and below ground. Some of the side trails afforded us stunning views of the surrounding area.

After this strenuous activity, we headed to Burlington, Vermont, where we were in time to enjoy the sunset over Lake Champlain.