The ORFS (Outdoor Recreation for Seniors) were scheduled for their normal Tuesday 10 am hike. However, this Tuesday followed a weeklong rain, and when the group met, it was decided that drenched moss rocks and wooded hill hike would be too dangerous. Instead, the group would hike three miles on Sunapee tarmac roads.
Outdoor
Steve had been anticipating this planned Indian Cave hike, as he always had to
bow out of previous Indian Cave planned Tuesdays. He was devasted that he would not finally get
to see and explore Indian Cave.
As the group
was hiking, they passed where one would begin hiking to search for the cave.
And the rain stopped. And the sun came
out.
Kendall had
been to the cave before, and in discussion with Steve, they decided to search for Indian Cave. The remainder of
the group continued the walk, given wet leaves, mossy rocks, steep hill and upcoming
signs of more rain.
Steve was glad he brought his hiking poles as the soaked leaves covered the ground’s hidden rocks, and the immediate uphill climb was made easier and safer using hiking poles for support and confidence.
We located
three entrances to the cave below the ledge.
We entered via the left entrance. The cave was dark and we used our
flashlights and headlamps. The floor of the cave was mostly shrapnel rocks. The ceiling and walls dripped with water, most likely from the prior week’s drenching
rain. The walls had some graffiti.
The below video will take you through the cave. Briefly, we squeezed into the left entrance and exited via the right entrance. The cave was pitch dark, and thankfully we had headlamps and flashlights.
Click the below picture right bottom to get Full Screen video with narration .
Who did the etchings on the ledge outside of Indian Cave?
I researched online the etchings outside Indian Cave: “Indian Cave Excursionist Peabody, Mass Oct 4, 1878” and located the below paragraph published by:
Sunapee
Echoes Sunapee, New Hampshire Historical Society, Inc. P. O. Box 501, Sunapee,
NH 03782 sunapeehistoricalsociety.org e-mail: sunapeehistory@gmail.com
603-763-9872 Winter 2020
--------------------------------
How did the
Indian Cave get its name? As the Sunapee Echoes story goes, a young Mohawk brave who had
joined the local Penacooks to hunt came down with smallpox and was set adrift
on the lake. But the Penacook chief’s daughter had fallen in love with him and was
determined to nurse him back to health. She slipped away from her tribe, found
him, and took him to a cave high above what is now Sunapee Harbor.
Unfortunately, both died there, and their bones were found by hunters many
years later. The cave was reportedly named “Indian Cave” by a group of
“excursionists” from Peabody, MA, who explored it in 1878.
 |
The rock etching outside Indian Cave.
|
BY A Party OF
Excursionists
From
Peabody, Mass
Oct 4, 1878”
Note: I intentionally did not identify the location of Indian Cave. As we searched for it, so shall you.
Now, I never have to say, "I wish I had explored Indian Cave."
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ORFS (Outdoor
Recreation for Seniors)
https://www.coachapincenter.org/orfs/
ORFS meets
every Tuesday (year-round, weather permitting) to do an outdoor activity for
two plus hours. Their mantra is, “Make weekly outdoor exercise with us your
joyful resolution. Join us each Tuesday at 10 am.”
In the summer Kayaking and hiking occur Tuesdays at 10 am at the same time and start area determined by the ORFS leader for this Tuesday. When the fall and winter weather make kayaking too cold, we all will hike or snowshoe.
And there
are two biking ORFS groups that ride every Thursday. One group pedals
moderately, and the other calls themselves “Slower Spokes for Older Folks.”
Miles differ depending on the routes.
The Outdoor
Recreation for Seniors (ORFS) group at the COA is made up of numerous
high-energy seniors whose hiking, alpine and Nordic skiing, kayaking, and
snowshoeing activities would put many younger persons to shame. The ORFS are
active throughout the year.
We have a schedule planned for every Tuesday throughout the year! No more
excuses, “I wish I had known about ORFS."
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Steve’s books are available as hardcopy and e-Books at Amazon's Kindle and hardcopy at Harborside Trading Company, 81 Main St, Sunapee, NH, Wild Goose Country Store, 77 Main St, Sunapee, NH, Morgan Hill Bookstore, New London, NH, Bookstore at Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Gift Shop, Lebanon, NH, and Village Sports, New London, NH.
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