Rocky Seat on Western Ledges

I recently started following robharris35 and was struck by his use of the phrase "A veritable palimpsest of layers and history" when referring to his experience living in Cambridge. This "palimpsest" image describes very well what I love about living where I do, and put me in mind of an experience I had this summer.

About 20 years ago I was wandering around off the trail on the Western Ledges and came across a large cairn on a rather inaccessible rocky ledge. Layers of moss and lichen suggested it was already quite old and there was no history of trails in the area. It made an impression on me and this summer I decided to go back and try to find it.

So there I was wandering around the ledges again when I came upon a small bench someone had made out of rocks. You find these from time to time around here, and some are even well known to locals who hike a lot, but I was a bit surprised to find this one where I did. Naturally I sat down on it to take a break, and when I did I started to get the strangest feeling. I got the uncanny sense that I had actually been the one who made it. 

When I got home from the hike I started looking through some old computer files. If I was correct, I had made the seat when taking a self portrait to send my mother about 10 years ago. Sure enough, I found the photo and confirmed it was one and the same. Deeply satisfying.

Incidentally, I did find the old cairn again this summer. It had the same air of age and abandonment I remembered. I did not, however, visit it again today when I went back to my little bench. The access road to the trailhead is closed in winter, and what with all the ice around it was enough to just to get as far as I did. 

Finally, I would mention that the view from this seat is itself a palimpsest. The coves in the foreground, the stretch of water traversed by the Captain Henry Lee, the islands in the distance -- all of them mark significant chapters of my life since moving to the island. I took it all in, listened to the silence for awhile, then left a little offering on the rocks before heading home.