The Ice Age Hitchhiker
Congratulations — you found the cache! Now meet the giant that inspired it.
Dyno Rock, sometimes called Dino Rock, is a familiar landmark near Pelham’s Calitri Conservation Area. Its name might make you imagine a dinosaur lumbering through the woods, but the story here is about another powerful traveler: a glacier.
Picture this woodland beneath an enormous sheet of ice. Long before these trails existed, glaciers moved across New Hampshire, scraping bedrock, carrying soil and stones, and reshaping the landscape. They even picked up enormous boulders and transported them within the ice. When the ice melted, those rocky passengers stayed behind. No return ticket required!
These traveling boulders are called glacial erratics. Your geocaching adventure brought you to Dyno Rock, one of Pelham’s reminders of that remarkable Ice Age journey.
Take a moment to look around. The uneven ground, scattered stones, and exposed rock may hold more clues to the landscape’s icy past. Imagine the force needed to move a boulder this large. Nature was moving giants long before people invented bulldozers!
Try a little detective work: Does Dyno Rock look different in color or texture from other nearby rocks? What do you notice about its shape? These observations can spark questions about where a boulder began its journey and what happened along the way.
We may not know Dyno Rock’s exact starting point, but it gives us a wonderful reason to pause, wonder, and look more closely at the woods.
Thank you for exploring with Pelham Pathways. Sign the log, return the cache to its hiding place, and leave the rocks, plants, and woodland as you found them.
You came looking for a small hidden treasure — and found a much bigger story.
For more in-depth explanations of glaciers transporting and depositing boulders check out the following links: NH State Parks – Madison- Boulder Natural Area and National Park Service – Glacial Erratics
