Finding Pulpit Falls, Possibly

 This week's blog is a short discussion of my search for a back woods waterfall.  Nothing very special, but it is these quests that make photography in the wild a constant adventure.  It is all about the thrill of the quest.

With the end of winter (hopefully) New England photographers

Catsbane Tributary Chesterfield, NH

turn there attention to waterfalls.  Falling water is the one thing that helps us survive the early spring season until the foliage begins to explode.  I have been planning a blog to highlight my favorite falls in Cheshire County, much like my article last year about the cluster of waterfalls in Hillsborough County.  My favorites list includes many great nearby locations that I visit on a regular basis, but then I made the mistake of Googling "Waterfalls in Cheshire County".  A number of nice lists came up in the search and I was horrified to realize how many of the falls I had never explored or even heard of. There is no way I could find all these falls for my article, but one popped out from the list.  Pulpit Falls in Winchester, NH 



Pulpit Falls

The Wrong Falls

Pulpit falls has been a bit of a torment to me for several years.  I have seen a few picture of the falls in Flickr and have found acouple of descriptions with directions that seemed rather vague.  I had tried to find the falls a few years ago but went up stream instead of down from the road.  I ended up finding a nice cascade, but it was definitely NOT pulpit Falls.  Every so often since,  I have looked for clearer directions to the falls and finally decided that an article about the waterfalls of Cheshire County was a reasonable excuse to give it another try.  The Wicked Dark Photography Blog had a nice story about finding the falls and armed with this description and others I headed  south to Winchester to try my luck again.

 

Looking West on Route 10, Winchester, NH

Pulpit Falls is located on Pauchaug  Brook, off of  Route 10 in Winchester, New Hampshire.  Coming from Chesterfield, I headed down Route 63 toward Northfield Massachusetts and turned east on Route 10.  The standard descriptions instruct visitors to look for  a rather sharp curve to the left a few miles down the road.  Toward the beginning of the curve  there is a jeep road on the right with a broad should on the left to allow parking.  I had to drive by twice before I caught sight of the road.  The point on the map was set by my GPS coordinates of:  
 42 43' 52"
-72 24' 31"
   It lies about 2.4 miles east of the intersection of Route 63 and Route 10.


Nellie and I descended the rough unplowed road and quickly found

Pauchaug Brook

Pauchaug Brook.  From that point all the directions advised to bushwhack up the stream until you find the falls.  On my visit last Saturday, the weather had warmed, but the stream was north facing and there was still a foot or more of snow in the gorge.  Sadly I did not bring my snowshoes and it was a struggle slogging through the cover.  I frequently sank to my knees and the snow snatched away the basket on my one walking pole.  I found two sturdy sticks that

Lower Cascade with a touch of Toning

worked better to keep me above the deep snow and pressed on. After a short distance I heard the welcome sound of falling water and I soon came upon two levels of cascades. Unfortunately both falls we're encased in ice and it was impossible to get a clear view to confirm that I had actually found the elusive Pulpit Falls.  The terrain beyond this point appeared flat and uninteresting and without sight or sound of other falls, but until I can get back to explore when the snow has cleared, all I can say is that I was sure I had found the right starting point and I may have found Pulpit Falls.  

Upper Cascade

The Falls One Week Later

 The descriptions of Pulpit Falls always portray a modest cascade, but modest as it may be, the search has become something of a quest, and questing is one of the great attractions of natural photography.  Hopefully my description will make it a bit easier for others to find this spot.  I'll be back to confirm the location of the falls, and then it will be on to Frye Falls in Walpole.  There is NO excuse for me not knowing all the major falls in my backyard.



Jeffrey Newcomer
Partridgebrookreflections.com