Springwater Fieldtrip H17

Septermber 19-20, 2017

Participants: Dallas Abbott and William Menke.

September 19, 2017

10:00 AM, Leave Harpswell, Maine

12:30 PM, Spring 1 (probably not a spring), 336 Route 28a, Alton, NH. The “spring” is a valved pipe on the roadside in a small park, near a picnic area, labeled with a sign stating that it is hosted by the Alton Water Works. We walked through the park, visiting a well-house and climbing up to a hill with a nice view of neighboring Alton Bay (a dammed section of Merrymeetign River). The hill is alluvium and has a depression (maybe a kettle) near its summit.

2:00 PM, Stop to view the Pemigewasset River at the Route 104 highway bridge, east of Bristol New Hampshire.

2:15 PM, Spring 2, west side of highway near 510 Lake Street (Rt. 3a), Brisol NH. The outflow is a pipe extending from a stone pedestal, with water flowing into a basin. A kiosk beside the spring displays historical and scientific information. Cylindrical concrete spring house is 50 meters west along the hillside.

2:25 PM, Visit small park on the east side of Lake St (Rt 3a) in Bristol, New Hampshre, just south of the spring, with a good view of the Newfound River. A snowmobile bridge spans the river at the north end of the park.

2:45 PM, Stop to view Quincy Bog Natural Area, at the end of Quincy Bog Road, Rumney, New Hampshire. We walked the puncheon partway around this beautiful wetland, which is more of a grass-dominated marsh than a moss-dominated bog. The central part has been flooded by beaver activity. A muddy inlet stream was full of salamanders.

3:45 PM, Spring 3, Crystal Spring, 146 Daniel Webster Highway (Rt. 3), Plymouth, New Hampshire. The outflow pipe is on the west side of the road below a hillside, with water flowing into a stone basin labeled 1881. A sealed cylindrical concrete spring house is in a fenced-off part of the hillside 10 m from the outflow.

4:00 PM, Stop for dinner and to stay the night at home of Gigi and Paul Estes, 1 Maple Street, Plymouth New Hampshire. They are members of the Plymouth Conservation Commission.

September 20, 2017

7:00 AM, Breakfast with Paul and Gigi Estes.

10:00 AM, Stop to view a conservation easement wetland along the north side of Route 4, near its intersection with Lafortune Road, east of Enfield New Hampshire. The grassy wetland is surrounded by maple trees in their fall colors.

11:00 AM, Spring 4 (maybe not a spring), east side of West Street, Dummerston, Vermont, near US Post Office and intersection with Lyons St. The outflow is a valved pipe next to a sealed well head. Several other well heads and a sealed cylindrical concrete spring house are evident in the area.

11:30 AM, Spring 5, west side of West River Road (Route 30), Dummerston, Vermont, across from the West River, about 200 m north of the Rice Farm Road Bridge (steel frame design) and about 50 m north of a waterfall. The outflow is a 6-in diameter pipe extending from the hillside. The local rock is banded gneiss. The waterfall is down a blasted scarp about 10 m high. The bridge affords a nice view of the river.

1:30 PM, Stop for gas and a snack at the Irving Gas / Circle K, 1 Greenfield Road (Rt. 5), South Deerfield Massachusetts, just north of Exit 24 on Interstate 91.

2:15 PM, Visit Lithia Springs Reservoir, parking at the end of Lithia Springs Road, South Hadley, MA. The reservoir is a walk of about a mile north along Lithia Springs Trail. This is a small impoundment, about 350 m by 100 m, nestles between low hills, within the Connecticut Basin. Both Mesozoic sandstone and basaltic lava flows outcrop along the trail. We visited the dam at the west end and a small inflow stream at the east end. The inflow stream dried out 500 meters upstream of the lake, with some spring activity evident in the stream bed.

8:00 PM Arrive Tappan, New York.