Slayton Tower, Melrose MA

We plan most of our trips out in advance, but sometimes it's fun just to take off blindly for a place you know very little about. This was our visit to the Slayton Tower, where we made the three hour round trip based on not much more than seeing a picture of it online, and thinking it looked pretty cool. We did know it was located on a golf course, but whether it would be locked from entering, or whether the property itself would be off limits to the public, we had no idea.

Slayton Tower is located at the Mt. Hood Memorial Golf Course in Melrose, Massachusetts, but the first thing we learned is that this is actually the Mt. Hood Memorial Park and Golf Course, and that a public trail system surrounds the course. We parked just north of First Pond, where a kiosk told us how to skirt around the greens to reach the tower. Since this was December and no golf was being played - plus the fact we somehow took a wrong turn and ran out of trail - we cheated across the grass and after about fifteen minutes found ourselves climbing the high point of the park, where the tower came into sight.

But before climbing up there were a few things we wanted to check out first. In a nearby sitting area is a memorial plaque and bench honoring Major Doak A. Weston USAAF. In 1945, the B-25 bomber Weston was piloting began breaking up in mid-air. Heroically, Weston was able to keep the plane aloft long enough for his entire crew to escape by parachute, then he sacrificed his own life by crashing the plane upon this very spot, purposely away from a nearby school and houses.

As evidence that not all humans have a soul, Weston's memorial was defaced with spraypaint several years ago. Happily, it has been perfectly restored.

We also found what we believe are remnants from the days this land was privately owned - this pair of fireplaces sitting in the trees about fifty feet from each other.

Then it was on to the tower. The front gate was open, although a padlock indicated it must be locked at certain times. Round and round, we climbed our way to the top.

During WWII Slayton was used as a lookout tower for German U-boats in the Boston Harbor. Today, if your camera has a decent zoom, you can get a pretty good picture of the city's skyline.

This is a tempting time of year to stay sprawled out on the couch with a Netflix lineup and thick blanket, but when you have such cool places to explore as the Slayton Tower, it's a little easier to get outside and brave the cold during these winter months here in New England.

Photo Courtesy of a Nice Young Lady With Her Two Boys

Links:
Mt. Hood Park Website

The Raymond Oven Cave, Raymond NH

In the north part of the town, about 100 rods from the principal road leading to Deerfield, near the summit of a hill about 100 feet high, is a natural excavation in a ledge, called the Oven, from the appearance of its mouth. It is a regular arch about five feet high and of the same width, extending into the hill about fifteen feet, and terminating in a number of fissures.

- 1849, Gazatteer of New Hampshire

This 170 year old description of a cave hidden within a cliffside in Raymond, NH was more recently popularized in Clay Perry's 1946 book, Underground Treasures of New England". But when I first began my search for it, not a single clue to its location existed online. In fact, the only place that offered any information on it whatsoever was the letters section of the 1998 Northeastern Caver, Vol 29 No 3, in which the author had been told the cave was thought to be lost to construction. This was only a rumor, but with nothing else to go on I back-burner any further thinking about it. Then I was sent a picture by a talented fellow explorer named Chris, showing me that the cave actually did exist, and I was challenged to see if I could find it.

My first attempt started by identifying the principal road in the Gazatteer's description. From Raymond to Deerfield the obvious choice was Route 107, and I hoped this had been the case in 1849 as well. Next, Google then told that 100 rods equaled a third of a mile, so I took a drive looking for any cliffs within sight of the road, and start by exploring those. I spent an enjoyable afternoon in the woods that day, but the only interesting thing I came across was this abandoned motorcycle frame.

After looking again at Chris' picture, it seemed as if the cave had been formed by a waters flow. The Lamprey River runs parallel to Route 107, so for my next attempt I focused on undeveloped areas along the water's edge. A couple of weekend searches turned up several cool finds, but nothing that involved me crawling underground.

I wouldn't call this log cabin elaborate, but somebody put a good deal of effort into building it, even furnishing the inside with some rudimentary decorations.

My wife had joined me on this search, and the look on her face at this moment is one of both humor and disbelief. She had leaned over the well to have a peek inside, when her sunglasses dropped off her head and fell in. The good news was that it wasn't a real well - the glasses were just sitting there on the ground - but the bad news was that "man-eating spiders" prevented her from reaching inside to get them. Always the hero, I brushed aside a couple of daddy long-legs and retrieved the glasses for her.

By now we'd exhausted this section of town, so the next search was focused around a rocky ledge I'd pinpointed using Google Earth - north of 27 and west of 107. I parked where a trail followed power lines toward this ledge, then spent yet another afternoon scouring the woods. Again I came up empty, but this time I was so convinced I had the right area that I returned a week later with friends to do it again. We still didn't find it, but my camera got a good workout with all the other treasures we did come across.

Deeper in we found a few structures that I assume are used by hunters.

As we wandered the remains of a frisbee golf course, there was a very impressive stone picnic table.

But by the end of the day I was forced to admit that, although these woods held an abundance of cool things, this wasn't the right location for the cave, either. Back to Google Earth I went, and looking to the east this time I found a rocky location that was exactly a third of a mile from 107. The following weekend we were back at it, my sixth attempt to locate the Raymond Oven.

This ledge was separated from the road by a large marsh, leaving no direct route to reach it. We parked in a neighborhood on the opposite side, and after a 1.5 mile hike we found our second homemade cabin in the woods of Raymond.

When we reached the ledge our group of 5 split up, and the race was on. For all my frustrations and chasing dead ends in the weeks leading up to this point, my good fortune changed and I was the first to stumble upon the cave.

As with most legends, there was some exaggeration when it came to the Raymond Oven. As you can see by how I'm sitting in the opening, it is probably half that height of the five feet described in the 1849 Gazatteer.

But it did go in a ways, and we each took turns crawling inside and having a look.

It was great day out in nature spending time with friends, and pretty cool to chase down something as historical and yet little-known as this. Our friends from WeRmudfun documented the adventure on video, so click on this link and join us as we find and explore the Raymond Oven, one of the great treasures of New Hampshire, hidden within its woods.