Skull Cliff

Take the knowledge that you will someday be these bones, and enjoy now all that is precious. ICHABOD. YME... 2001

Ichabod's creepy yet inspirational message once adorned this colorful cliff on an abandoned quarry in Saugus Massachusetts. Although time and vandals have obscured the writing to the point of being illegible, the hundreds of skeletons that were painted alongside it have somewhat held up over time.

Skull Cliff sits on the outskirts of the Lynn Woods Reservation, a 2,200 acre playground that includes other head-scratching places such as the Dungeon Rock Cave. But while the history of that spot is well documented, the most that seems to been known about Skull Cliff is just what was painted in the message, that the artist calls himself Ichabod and painted this 35 foot tall cliff in 2001. And if the article in this link is referring to the same guy - which judging by the use of skulls in his other work I believe it is - Ichabod is arguably the most recognized freight train graffiti artist in America. http://www.theworldsbestever.com/2015/09/22/parallel-rails-ichabod/.

Driving to this place is no easy trick, to the point where we almost gave up looking for it. Our directions said to follow a public trail off Route 1, but what they didn't say was that the trail began in the back of a Jeep dealership's parking lot. By our third time driving by we finally figured it out, so trying not to make eye contact with any salespeople we drove through the dealership and sure enough found a parking area at the rear with a trail leading off. There were even chairs and a picnic table set up to reassure us it was okay to be there.

Once you figure out the driving part, getting to Skull Cliff is actually an easy and enjoyable half-mile hike. Exploring the cliff requires caution, however. Nothing so terrible that Tina couldn't climb it, just some tricky rocks and broken glass to be watchful of while making your way down. My advice is to brave your way to the bottom of the cliff though, as that's where the best view is.

My favorite places to visit are those created through a labor of love. I wondered how many days or even weeks Ichabod spent painting this cliff, how many gallons of paint he lugged through the woods, and how many trips did he make up and down his ladder. Grueling work for something he wouldn't make a dime doing and in fact would have cost him money. I tried to imagine the mind of this talented person, but I live in such a different world I'm not sure it's possible. Through a couple infrequent interviews he's given he describes his lifestyle these past 15 years as one without roots, having very little money, rarely holding a job, painting freight cars on almost a daily basis, all while facing his daily struggles with asperger syndrome. By his account he's illegally spray painted over 3,000 train cars in that time, and although he's shunned the social media notoriety that others in his circles seek, online fan groups have still crept up for Ichabod.

I regret not knowing about Skull Cliff in its prime. There are some fascinating pictures when it was freshly painted that are beautiful. But even 15 years later it's an impressive sight through the trees and bushes, and worth taking the trip if you're ever driving along Route 1 and have a few hours to spare.