Great Potential
April 12, 2006 by rockwatching
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There is a place just north of Trenton called “The Hell Holes”. It is a strange area of karst on a plateau above the Salmon River. You can hike through the shattered landscape of broken rock and deep gorges and no doubt wonder how it all came to be.
Sadly I dont have a definative answer as to the area’s origons but it is likely that some enormous river once flowed through here. In several places through the park you will find deep chasms (the hell holes).
At the bottom of the biggest pit there is a slew of rubble that has flaked off from the roof. I was left wondering what kind of tunnel would be exposed if we did some digging. According to Ron Storring it was once possible to look on through a narrow gap in the floor into tunnels beyond. He seemed eager that I gather together members of the TCG for a digging expedition, even offering to help himself. At the time that I had mentioned this to other members the idea was not all that well received, the exploration of ATR Cave had been all consuming. This spring looks a little more promising and Greg Warchol had E-mailed me this morning with a query as to when I had planned to get started. I suppose its time to give the matter some serious thought.
The area around the Hell Holes Park is pretty spooky. The valleys are narrow, deep and densely overgrown by cedars. Spider webs hang thickly overhead, glistening golden in the sunlight that penetrates the gloom. There are rumours of a headless horseman that haunts the trails on frosty November nights and also, more likely, a deep cavern that was blasted shut by the railway when it passed through in 1912.
