With: Gail Golec and Nancy Botkin

Hike Fee: By donation/ registration encouraged

Hike Size: 15-25 / Family friendly/all ages. Possibly difficult terrain for smallest children

Join archaeologist Gail Golec and local historian Nancy Botkin for a hike on the unmaintained end of Bley Road (3.0 miles round trip). We will explore old cellar holes, roads and stonewalls of the farming community that was abandoned in the decades following the Civil War. We will use some of the maps that archaeologists use to locate, identify and confirm historic features.

Planned route is undulating, uneven, rocky and potentially very wet at many points along the way. Be prepared to be in the woods in a relatively remote location for 2+ hours. Suggested gear: sturdy hiking boots, hat, sunscreen, bug spray, hiking poles, snacks, water. If preferred, also bring a backpack, pencil, paper, and clipboard. We will park and begin the hike just past the last house on Bley Road.

Gail Golec has been a professional archaeologist in the region for over 20 years. She grew up in Alstead and now lives in Walpole and enjoys researching local history for her podcast, The Secret Life of Death.

Nancy Botkin is the granddaughter of Edith and Heman Chase. She spends her winters at her home in San Francisco making books, playing with paper, and taking classes at the San Francisco Center for the Book. She then teaches book arts in the summer. This is her fourth year teaching at Chase's Mill.