Bolton Conservation Land - a site with a gurgling brook

by pwax
I think I am going to pubicize this site: it is at the northwest corner of the wetland shown on the map fragment under the "CO" of WORCESTER CO. At this spot a brook comes out after a brief passage underground and empties into the wetland. There is one large rock pile and a number of smaller ones all in a little hollow of the landscape, where you can hear the gurgling sound of the brook.When I first approached the site, I could see several rock piles and could sense something larger looming back in the shadows under the leaves. Here is a closer view of the pile in the background:Note in the detail view that the small rock at the edge is red colored as if it was burnt.

I could not contain my curiousity about the larger pile I sensed under the trees. Here it is:
It was only as I walked down to get a look at this that I realized how quiet it was in this place, with no traffic noises and only the sound of the brook. Next to this pile was a rock with a noticeable exposed vein of quartz:
I tried to frame this photo with the quartz visible in the foreground and at least the base of the larger pile in the background.

Here is another pile closer to the water:
You can see the hollow and, in the background, the place where the brook comes out from underground. I went over to verify the sound was coming from the brook. The brook comes from above, goes underneath the rocks for about 10 yards, and then comes back out above ground here. There must be a little cavity where the water falls and makes the pleasant sound and it had rained hard the night before. The sound would not always be here but I take it that this is the reason for the site being placed here. Another example suggesting that sound could be important.

I was thinking the large pile was a real "cairn". If rock pile hunting was to be compared with big game hunting then this pile is the equivalent of a buffalo. "The family will not go hungry tonight", I thought. Not seeing any more piles, I was heading off thinking about buffalo, but then decided to turn back and look harder for more piles here. After all, this was a very peaceful spot, why be in a hurry to leave? There were a couple more minor piles which I managed to get blurry pictures of.
This is a good examples of "Twins": a pair of boat rudder shaped rocks. In my observations, this pattern often occurs at the edge of a site and, according to my theory, it might mean "No Tresspassing".

When I did finally leave, I headed off towards a hilltop I had planned to explore. I did find another site up there. But if I had headed off around the wetland that this gurgling brook site was at the edge of, I would have found a continuation of this site in that direction. I'll leave the continuation for another day.