What’s going on with these rocks?

I’ve seen all these rocks recently along White Mountain trails. They look like they burst apart from a single point. Is this a natural phenomenon or a remnant somehow of the logging industry?


In front of Galehead hut.


Hancock Notch Trail.


Hancock Loop Trail.


North Twin Trail.

Logging Remains . Drill hole, insert dynamite. In theory, fill the hole with water and let freeze overnight but I dynamite was readily available.

You can find them on trails all over the Whites. showing the extant of the logging. When you see that it means the trail is probably a converted logging road. Many times they just blasted the top off pointed rocks so that they could skid logs down without tearing them up.

A nice book on the history of logging in the whites is this book
http://www.amazon.com/Trees-Anecdotal-History-Logging-Log-Driving/dp/0393319172

While not going specifically into the blasting of rocks it goes through how the woods were logged historically and brings up a lot of "ahah" moments on odds things encountered when you step off the trail. IMHO in general learning the history of the uses that occurred prior to recreational hiking in the area really tends to improve the overall experience in the woods. For those intent on working on a list, once the list mentality fades away or at least gets manageable its a nice way to expanding your interest in the area.

I've noticed these many times myself and then forget to ask about them. I meant to as a ranger a couple weeks ago while in Baxter State Park, but again forgot once I went to talk to him. There are a number of these on the Chimney Pond Trail on Katahdin.

I saw one last weekend higher up on the Bondcliff Tr. I have always wondered what caused that formation. Thanks for the answer.

peakbagger said:

Logging Remains . Drill hole, insert dynamite. In theory, fill the hole with water and let freeze overnight but I dynamite was readily available.

Click to expand...

The other plausible explanation I've heard for some of these is lightning strikes - a very prominent one right outside Galehead Hut in a fully exposed spot. No evidence of a drilled hole on that one that I can recall, and not much reason I can think of that loggers would want to decapitate a rock on that top-of ridge spot.

That first photo is the one outside Galehead hut, but the hole on top looks pretty round. That artificiality and the rocks’ locations along trails that are often old logging roads made me suspect that they were man-made.

Thanks for the information.