Hike to the Summit of Rattlesnake Hill
May 26, 2023
On Thursday May 25, 2023, Bob Roemer led a walk to the summit of Rattlesnake Hill, one of the high points included in the Summit Series Challenge sponsored by Bolton Conservation Trust (https://boltontrails.org/summitseries). 13 intrepid walkers set out from The Lime Kiln parking area on Main St./Route 117. Several visitors from out of town came along.
Along the way, Bob gave a series of interesting talks about the geology, industry, and mining in the area. He also described the way that the land had been the first acquisition by The Bolton Conservation Trust and the open space in the area had grown in size with donations, purchases, and restrictions from about 27 acres to 400 acres today – the largest contiguous open space in Town.
The group stopped at various notable points along the route to look closely and hear descriptions of activity in earlier times.
Bob gave a narrative at many points along the way until everybody reached the summit. The nearby marker had been placed by the Massachusetts Department of Public works in 1956.
On the descent, the group stopped to look at the Hildreth Quarries and the site of a recently-discovered kiln nearby. Another point of interest was a dike formed in a fracture of rock.
