Chesterfield Gorge
- July 25th, 2008
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This morning, my wife and I took a 30 mile trip to Chesterfield Gorge located in Chesterfield Massachusetts. It was relatively easy to find though we initially drove past the main entrance and found ourselves a little further upstream at a swimming area.
Since it was close to lunchtime, we put the blanket down on the beach and picnicked after a short walk about the shoreline. During lunch we were visited by the little creature below.
Beach Critter; © Copyright Reserved, Richard Lovison, 2008
This cute little mouse was unusually tame and munched on bits of apple we fed him though he wanted more and proceeded to the blanket to scoop up a crumb. Soon after I snapped this shot he went on his merry way further up the river. My wife named him “Lost and Found” since we were lost and he found us.
After finishing our lunch and getting directions from another visitor at the beach, we headed to Ireland Street toward Chesterfield Gorge. We made a left onto River Road West and found the main entrance to the 166 acre reservation area maintained by the Trustees of Reservations.
Chesterfield Gorge was initially carved by glacial meltwater and today, continues to be cut by the East branch of the Westfield River. The water was fairly high on our visit due to a few days of heavy rain. We walked along the ½ mile hiking trail at the top of the gorge that led us to the area where the following images were taken.
Chesterfield Gorge; © Copyright Reserved, Richard Lovison, 2008
Chesterfield Gorge 2; © Copyright Reserved, Richard Lovison, 2008
There were so many more images to be captured though the lighting conditions were extremely harsh due to mid-day light and a cloudless sky. I couldn’t find a way to capture the huge dynamic range so I decided to come back another time to do more photography.
Before we departed we visited the remnants of a bridge dating back to 1762. All that remains is the man-made abutment on the far side of the river and the shadowy remains of a stagecoach path on the near side with a stone wall bordering the path. According to history, this bridge served as an important link between Albany and Boston and was utilized by the British army during the Revolutionary War after their defeat at Saratoga, New York. The bridge was later destroyed in a flood in 1835.
The hiking area and property are well maintained with ample parking, restrooms and picnic areas with tables. It is a great place to explore and spend an afternoon though, if you wish to do photography, try to pick a partly cloudy day or shoot in the evening or morning.
