Pulpit Falls (Finally)

A Worthy Quest

 

Ok, one of the problems with New England photography is that even the most famous locations can be difficult to find.  To a degree

NOT the real Pulpit Falls

part of the fun of the search is the inevitability that I will miss the mark from time to time.  As they say, “If it was easy, everyone would do it”.  A couple of weeks ago I wrote an article about my search for Pulpit Falls in Winchester, New Hampshire.  I had explored the woods off Route 10 on two occasions earlier this spring and struggled with vague descriptions and deep snow.  I came across a spot on Pauchaug Brook that
seemed to match most of the descriptions that I had found on the web, but I still had questions.  The falls seemed smaller than I expected and they were too close to the road.  Some explorers, like Kris of Wicked Dark Photography, described a deep gorge leading to the falls and that didn’t in any way match what I had found.  Thank goodness I titled my article “Finding Pulpit Falls, Possibly”, because, as I discovered last weekend, I wasn’t even close. In retrospect, my final conclusion in the article was appropriate, “… 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”.



 



Persistence

Pulpit's First Drop

Since my last visit I had been haunted by the suspicion that Pulpit Falls lay deeper within the forest.  After a substantial rain last Saturday, I decided that it was a good time to take another stab at finding the falls. I parked in the same pull over on Route 10 and Nellie and I followed the short trail down to Pauchaug Brook.  The walking was much easier without the two feet of snow that faced us the first time.  All the descriptions describe following the brook upstream to the falls, but the problem is that the stream splits.  I had previously followed the left branch, which was by far the strongest, but I never found any major waterfalls.  This time I decided to follow the weaker channel which headed southwest into the center of the forest.  The bushwhacking was not difficult, but I became increasingly depressed as the brook faded to a trickle. 

Stacked Granite

“How could this possibly become a ragging cascade”.  I was close to giving up when I heard the distant sound of falling water.  An essential rule of waterfall questing is to follow the sound of the water.  Keeping the sound to my front I climbed over a small ridge and down into a lovely forest valley.  As the faint rush became a thunderous roar I finally discovered Pulpit Falls plummeting from the gentle valley floor into a steep gorge.  Some of the descriptions of Pulpit Falls talked about a unimpressive show, but, at least with the nice spring run-off, it was quite spectacular.








The falls descends in two drops.  The first is an unobstructed plummet alongside interesting layered rock formations.   I only

Pulpit Falls, Definitely!

noticed when I was examining the photographs that the broad granite slab at the top of the falls has a couple of notches which may have been chiseled to provide a base for a long absent bridge or mill.  Antique photographs might clarify this.  The falls descend into a lovely deep, clear pool that could serve as a summer swimming hole.  The second drop fans out across a gentler slope, creating a lovely silky display which contrasts with the more precipitous upper falls.  The entire falls is best seen from the bottom of the steep gorge, but I found lots of interesting angles from points along the side and at the top.  I had to take extra care as I negotiated around the tangled mesh of bushes and blow-downs and the damp rocks provided questionable security for my tripod.   I’ve learned painful

Slippery Perch

lessons in the past and kept my camera strap safely around my neck or wrapped around my arm throughout.  All-in-all Pulpit Falls was well worth the effort to find its cloistered location.  In my experience it is one of the most beautifully arranged waterfalls in my corner of New England.  It may fade a bit as the water diminishes through the summer, but with a good flow it is a classic.





A surprising turn happened when I began to explore the gentle cascades above the falls on Houghton Brook.  Nellie first notice someone setting up to shoot at the top of the falls.  It turned out to

Kris

be Kris of Wicked Dark Photography who had returned to take another pass at the falls.  As I mentioned earlier, It was Kris' blog and great photographs of Pulpit Falls that pushed me to take another try at finding the waterfall this spring. An amazing coincidence and a great demonstration of the small world of New England photography. Kris and I explored upstream on Pauchaug Brook and found other lovely cascades.  Definitely worth further exploration.  

Houghton Brook Meanders

Now that I have finally found Pulpit it is time to seek out other elusive waterfalls in my region.  Next on the list is Fay Falls in Walpole.  I have already be there once and found some lovely cascades.  Perhaps with two or three more visits I will actually find the waterfall!


Jeffrey Newcomer
Partridgebrookreflections.com