Reflections of Grandeur

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October 25th 2014

Published: February 16th 2016

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Magic Mirror of Fall Color

Brilliant fall foliage above a perfect reflection at Noanet Reservation

I love fall in New England. Every day I look outside my apartment window at the bright yellow tree less than a yard away, and remind myself just how few places get foliage like this. It’s still bright late in the month, a small sign of one of the best foliage seasons in years. Today dawned bright and warm, creating the irresistible desire to hike. Local foliage was still at peak, so I wanted something close. I went to the popular Noanet Reservation less than twenty miles from Boston.

Noanet lies within Dover. It’s one of those wealthy communities where everything wants to look like a horse farm. No tract housing here! The town has an extensive network of conservation land, of which Noanet forms a centerpiece. Once off the main highway everything became twisty, slow, and very very pretty.

A great hiking place this close to Boston has an obvious and painful downside. On any nice weekend it attracts more people than the official parking can handle. On a nice weekend in foliage season finding a spot can become nearly impossible. Regular visitors all have techniques for dealing with the problem, which I’m certainly not revealing in my blog :

The Boulder

Large glacial erratic along the trail

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Parking settled, a narrative must start somewhere. I’ll pick up mine at The Boulder, a very obvious sight marked on the map. As the name implies, it’s a huge rock located next to the trail. It looks so clearly out of place it had to come from somewhere else, and it did. The Boulder is a glacial erratic, dragged here in the last ice age and left behind as the glaciers melted. They exist across the Northeast.

Noanet was active logging land before it was donated to the Trustees of Reservations, so a network of old wilderness roads spreads though the reservation. They form most of the trail network, a huge maze with hundreds of variations. It’s confusing enough that a good map is essential. The trailhead copies always run out, so I took a picture of the map at the entrance.

The history of logging also means that the reservation, with few exceptions, only has young trees. They cover a big mix of species with pines and deciduous mixed together throughout. At this time of year, of course, it makes little difference to the scenery.

Soon after the Boulder, the trail forked, the first of

Boston view

The long distance view at Noanet Reservation

many. I took the branch on the right which briefly climbed and then became flat and straight as an arrow. The road passed through a mixture of pines and deciduous species, all young. A surprising number of the latter were still green, the rest were yellow. The road went on and on through them. Most of the year, the walk could even be called dull, but not now!

Noanet Reservation is not known for long distance vistas, but it does have one. The straight logging road finally reached an obvious steep rocky slope. It then climbed, short but brutal. At the top, it ended at a bare rocky ledge. The ledge overlooked a narrow valley between two ridges, covered in foliage. The valley led to a view of the towers of Boston in the distance. Compared to many views I’ve seen of Boston, this one was a little underwhelming. The carpet of trees close up was quite nice, though.

Thankfully, the vista was just the appetizer. The valley, the heart of the reservation, was the real prize. A narrow rocky trail, now a real hiking trail, scrambled along the ridge away from the overlook. The foliage, as elsewhere,

Memorial view

The pond forms a perfect mirror at the memorial bench

was all relatively recent growth. Much of it was pines, with some beautiful red and yellow trees mixed in. The path crossed many rocks until it reached a series of steep rocky steps, which ended on another logging road.

This logging road dropped down the side of the ridge. The trees switched to full deciduous here, a world of yellow and orange. An unexpected delight was the light shining through the leaves at different heights. This lasted until the road reached a flat area and forked. I took the right.

The right fork passed through yet more pine trees and foliage. It soon reached an open area on the right. It was a small pond, slowly turning into swamp. In colonial days, the valley held a mill. To ensure maximum production on their small stream, the owners needed as predictable water flow as possible. To get it, they built a series of mill ponds that would fill with spring snowmelt and then let it out at a predictable rate. This pond is one of them.

A narrow trail followed the stream down from the pond. It entered a somewhat swampy area with lots of young pine trees.

Perfect reflection

Spot the pond in a reflection this clear!

Glancing through the bushes showed another pond, a small taste of the wonder to come. The pond showed a reflection of the foliage above, a remarkably clear reflection.

The trail reached a clearing under pine trees with something surprising, a bench. It’s located in the middle of the wilderness far from any facilities. Reading the plaque showed it was placed by the last private owner of the land as a memorial to her husband. The bench looks out on the pond seen earlier. One glance at the view showed exactly why she chose this spot.

The pond was so enchanting I wished I could watch it for eternity. The surrounding trees blocked the breeze completely, so the pond became as reflective as glass. It showed a magic world, the perfect mirror of the scenery above. The scene was so sharp, I had to remind myself it was actually water. The view was all trees and sky of course, with at least half of the former in peak foliage. When an insect skated across creating the slightest of ripples, the enchantment was complete. I stayed there a long time.

Sadly, reality ultimately did intervene. I only had so

Ripple reflection

Single ripple disturbs a reflection so perfect the water almost doesn't appear to exist!

much daylight, and much more hiking to do. Very reluctantly, I left the bench and continued on the trail. It crossed the dam at the base of the pond and followed the stream through the valley. The view had lots of foliage, of course, plus riparian plants along the stream banks. The latter were all brown. Lots of fallen leaves, too, which made the path hard to find in places.

Eventually, the path ended on yet another old logging road with another open area in the distance. Immediately after the junction, the road crossed the stream. It had no bridge. The crossing was wide enough that a soaking looked inevitable. Studying the crossing ultimately revealed the very unofficial scramble path below the crossing to a narrow rocky section, where the stream could be crossed by a rock hop. Crossing here was tricky and required balance, but it kept me mostly dry.

Further down, the road revealed the open area was another pond. This one was larger than the previous one, but I saw it from further away. This lessened the magic mirror effect I had seen at the previous one. On the other hand, the foliage was much

Stream hike

Hiking along the stream in fall foliage

better, with fewer pines among the bright orange and yellow trees.

After the second pond, the road pulled away into a world of more colored trees. The leaves blocked any view beyond the immediate area, but this wasn’t a problem on a day like today. In the late afternoon sun, the yellow trees practically glowed.

The scenery continued basically unchanged until the road crested a short rise. Here, the view revealed what appeared to be yet another pond in the distance on the left. This one appeared to be the largest yet. Like the previous one, trees blocked a detailed view.

Slowly and surely, the road worked its way down the slope toward the water. The number of trees in the view lessened, revealing more of the water. The view showed tantalizing glimpses of clear reflections. This pond could have the same magic mirror reflections as the first one! I wanted an open view, and I wanted it soon.

I got my wish when the road reached and crossed the dam at the base. The first pond was incredible, but this one could induce sensory overload. It was larger than the previous one, which meant more

Main pond reflection

Peak foliage above and below at the main pond

shoreline. Every inch of it had trees, many of them with peak foliage. Even more remarkable, this pond also became a perfect mirror. Imagine the impression of all that foliage, and then imagine seeing it all twice.

I spent a long time at this pond, taking pictures from all angles. The perfect double view, foliage included, proved to be magic. This pond contained groups of lilypads, incredibly intriguing from a photography standpoint. Several people, myself included, experimented with framing the lilypads against the reflections of the foliage to create something rarely experienced. At the right angle, it became a late painting from Claude Monet brought to vivid life!

From the dam, a narrow and obviously artificial canal headed for a rock wall in the distance. Like the pond above, it too was as reflective as glass. This was less interesting than it sounds, because much of the surrounding trees were pines. It did have one sweet spot, where a red maple grew right next to the water. Peak foliage red leaves, doubled!

The canal ended at the top of a high stone wall, the former mill site. A plaque here described its history. It was called the

Monet is real life!

Claude Monet's Waterlillies comes to life thanks to a perfect reflection at Noanet

Dover Union Iron Mill, and forged hoops for barrels and similar flat iron. With the stream’s low flow, the owners created as high a drop as possible to maximize power. The canal ended at the top of a huge waterwheel. The panel also noted that while the foundation is original, the wall itself is a recreation; the original blew out in a flood in the late 1800s.

Looking over the wall revealed a very steep drop to a narrow rock lined channel surrounded by two rectangular depressions lined with rocks. The channel is the former waterwheel site, surrounded by the mill foundation. A narrow but high artificial waterfall now dropped where the waterwheel used to be. Naturally, all of this was surrounded by still more yellow trees.

On the far side, a steep trail descended to the base of the wall. The waterfall looked pretty good from here; the stream was surprisingly high for fall. The view also showed how the wall was constructed, precisely laid stones without using mortar. It’s a recreation, but a historically accurate one.

By the time I left the mill site, the sun was low and it was time to find my way out. A

Mill site

Waterfall at the rebuilt mill site in Noanet

confusing knot of old logging roads headed away from the mill. After much work looking at the map and a false start, I found the one I needed. Once out of the valley, the vegetation switched back to the young trees and pines I had seen on the way in. They still were not boring this time of year, a colorful last hurrah for a hike absolutely filled with color. Eventually, I found myself back at the Boulder. Another incredible hike was over.

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