Streakerfreak
Jan-Kee
Connecticut folklore tells the story of a gentleman only know as the "The Old Leatherman". The Leatherman traveled 365 days a year between the Connecticut and Hudson River between the years 1856-1889. His fame came from his signature leather outfit and his timely schedule. He would walk the same circle for over 30 years, but he would arrive at the same spot each year on the same day each year. He often made use of the caves and rock overhangs in the region.
I found out about this story a few years ago, but until recently did not pay much attention. A few weeks ago I decided to try to find some of these caves. His most famous stop is a cave in the Watertown area. Many of these caves can be found, but little info about them, such as GPS coordinates, can be found. Using some information I decided today would be a good day to go in search.
Why? Without putting my personal life out on a blog, all I can say is I have lost what means the most to me and now I am spending my wedding anniversary alone. I am currently at the lowest I have ever been, I am deeply depressed, and I am stuck in Limbo right now waiting for MY light at the end of the tunnel. The Leatherman story seems to speak volumes to me. The gentleman was clearly skilled and intelligent, but what happened to him to take up this life. I needed to do something to think. Searching for the cave would help for now.
I wasn't able to leave until after 12pm, as I was doing whatever I could to save what I had lost, but it was not to be. I knew I had very little time for the hike as the woods get dark around 3pm, I had to do something I hate. . .driving on the highway. Within 25 mins I was at the trail head, but with little info on the location of the cave.
I quickly realized the three days of moving my wifes stuff to her place and moving my stuff alone beat the hell out of me. 100 feet in and I could feel the fatigue setting in and with worn out boots I was not making much headway into the woods.
The trail I was on did not help much.
Being someone who does not give up easily, I pushed on.
New England has a great geological history, one that has been enhanced by glaciers and ice ages. Every rock on this trail shone like a disco ball. The brilliance of the scene was breathtaking. Unfortunately, my camera has been running on limited functions for a few months now. I could not capture this. Much of the rock is quartz.
The info I had on the caves location was sketchy, so I used whatever info I had to make an educated guess. Upon reaching the viewpoint I was to contiue down another unmarked trail.
The problem is I could not find this trail and how to get to the bottom.
Further down the blue blazed trail I searched every rock cropping I could find. That is until I found this.
I was excited to have found the cave or so I thought. Continuing into the rock formation, my hopes were high.
As I reached the other side I realized this was not the place.
Instead of continuing on I stayed for a bit to look around. Since there is very little evidence of the exact caves and out crops he used, this very well could have been used by him as it provided enough shelter to protect him from rain, but its still not THE CAVE.
Still determined, I hiked down the trail some more, checking each and every rock formation. As the day went on, light began to disappear, and my fatigue was setting in I realized that if I did not start hiking back out I would be in trouble. The Leatherman cave would have to wait for another try.
I found out about this story a few years ago, but until recently did not pay much attention. A few weeks ago I decided to try to find some of these caves. His most famous stop is a cave in the Watertown area. Many of these caves can be found, but little info about them, such as GPS coordinates, can be found. Using some information I decided today would be a good day to go in search.
Why? Without putting my personal life out on a blog, all I can say is I have lost what means the most to me and now I am spending my wedding anniversary alone. I am currently at the lowest I have ever been, I am deeply depressed, and I am stuck in Limbo right now waiting for MY light at the end of the tunnel. The Leatherman story seems to speak volumes to me. The gentleman was clearly skilled and intelligent, but what happened to him to take up this life. I needed to do something to think. Searching for the cave would help for now.
I wasn't able to leave until after 12pm, as I was doing whatever I could to save what I had lost, but it was not to be. I knew I had very little time for the hike as the woods get dark around 3pm, I had to do something I hate. . .driving on the highway. Within 25 mins I was at the trail head, but with little info on the location of the cave.
I quickly realized the three days of moving my wifes stuff to her place and moving my stuff alone beat the hell out of me. 100 feet in and I could feel the fatigue setting in and with worn out boots I was not making much headway into the woods.
The trail I was on did not help much.
Being someone who does not give up easily, I pushed on.
New England has a great geological history, one that has been enhanced by glaciers and ice ages. Every rock on this trail shone like a disco ball. The brilliance of the scene was breathtaking. Unfortunately, my camera has been running on limited functions for a few months now. I could not capture this. Much of the rock is quartz.
The info I had on the caves location was sketchy, so I used whatever info I had to make an educated guess. Upon reaching the viewpoint I was to contiue down another unmarked trail.
The problem is I could not find this trail and how to get to the bottom.
Further down the blue blazed trail I searched every rock cropping I could find. That is until I found this.
I was excited to have found the cave or so I thought. Continuing into the rock formation, my hopes were high.
As I reached the other side I realized this was not the place.
Instead of continuing on I stayed for a bit to look around. Since there is very little evidence of the exact caves and out crops he used, this very well could have been used by him as it provided enough shelter to protect him from rain, but its still not THE CAVE.
Still determined, I hiked down the trail some more, checking each and every rock formation. As the day went on, light began to disappear, and my fatigue was setting in I realized that if I did not start hiking back out I would be in trouble. The Leatherman cave would have to wait for another try.
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