Our fishing trip to a ghost town Part I

This weekend Michaela went to visit grandma and Aaron and I thought it would be a good opportunity to spend some time with James. Aaron's idea was to go hiking to the ghost town Hammond and take our fishing poles as well. It ended up being a trip I'll never forget and one I'll make again soon. Each step of the way into this little piece of history became more and more fascinating, almost addictive, as well as breath taking.



The walk out to the first fishing hole was beautiful. To the left of us, was the climbing mountain with jutting rock ledges and trees just beginning to wake up from the long winter. Below us, was the railway that once ran through the bustling town of Hammond, transporting its rich resources. Well below the tracks, the rapids were letting their presence known. I can't think of a more serene sound than the white noise that is produced by rushing water.



I admit the moment we came off the trail to drop down to our first fishing hole, I fell in love with the scenery. The water was absolutely clear. It was a little higher than it should have been, with all the rain that we've had lately, so I did not underestimate the power behind the rushing water. There is a lot of respect to be had for something so beautiful and so deadly at the same time.


Immediately we came across the first occupants in the area. A nesting set of wild geese. I also did not underestimate their power or territorial ownership. We watched them carefully as we quietly moved down to the beach. And we continued to watch them as we fished. We weren't alone in the stare down. We were watched the whole time. Occasionally, the male would move off the rock and nonchalantly take a drink of water all the while keeping one eye on us. He didn't have us fooled. We were being cased.


While the first fishing hole was beautiful, it didn't yield a lot of fish. In fact, we did not catch anything except for one hell of a view and a few rays of sun. The relaxation was much needed after Aaron's 2 long weeks of work.





It was also on this beach that I saw a little hint of the once bustling ghost town ahead. Hidden in the sand were a few of the bricks that were made years and years ago. My first thoughts were "How did they get to this small lonely beach? Surely they did not float." What I didn't know was that what laid ahead was a town that used bricks indiscriminately. It is not unusual in this area to find bricks laying here and there.

Aaron then asked me, "Do you want to see the falls?" I could hear them in the background and I said, "Sure." We worked our way back past the nesting geese and back up to the train tracks. We then worked our way back down the other side past a beautiful hillside of mountain laurel onto a view I could not even imagine. So what do you get when you have a beautiful waterfall in the background, a brick pump house, and a handmade brick dam?

A community bath!

We spent some time in front of the falls examining the community bath, exploring the rocks around the falls, and taking pictures. What laid ahead? What did the town look like 100 years later? A community that was once bigger than the modern community I now live in. What happened to it? Where did it go? What sort of legacy did the people of Hammond leave behind?

We then hopped back onto the railway and headed for Hammond...