Ah springtime in the outdoors! With the black flies feasting away, and my allergies raging away, it was time to make my first overnighter since 2019. The destination: deep into Worcester County. The goal: to start with a lead hanging about from late last year.
When my outdoor season was abruptly ended due to medical concerns late in the summer of 2020, I left a tantalizing clue to the mystery of a House Rock within the Blackstone Valley. A piece of conservation land with that name might be the answer to the mention of such a formation in the town's history. Slipping into the property, which is barely 3.5 acres and surrounded by housing development, I began my search. Barely a rock could be found! I returned to the suburban streets to canvass the neighborhood I had been through 5 years previously. Finally after checking other nearby conservation land and neighborhood streets, success of a sort. Buried behind the corner of a house, and for all intentional purposes inaccessible, was a gigantic monolith of rock. With no one at home, I had to leave my find behind and move on.
Next town east found me following the report of a boulder near housing along a quaint little lake. This boulder did not show itself so I ran over to the nearby beehive stone chamber to update my photos.
Slipping (just barely) into Norfolk County I connected with local author Marjorie Turner Hollman who puts out a series of guides to 'Easy Walks' for people of more limited abilities. Together we explored an old trolley route in her neighborhood.
Nicking the corner of Middlesex County, I put in an effort to locate Jasper Rock. My information was really scant and I wasn't even sure what I might be looking for. Having a starting location, I went through a large tract of woods. A couple of erratics were there and a hilltop with a water tank on it. Could this be the Jasper Rock site? My debriefing later that afternoon confirmed I did not locate it (recognize it?) but I gleaned enough to make another competent search in the future.
The following morning found me a bit north of Worcester itself checking back into some minor caves first visited ten years ago. While in the area, I wanted to check a 'new' access into the Devil's Pulpit and nearby Half House Rock. This route makes for a bit shorter journey than what I've used in the past. Since it was obvious by then I had one more walk left in me, I went ahead in to update photos of Devil's Pulpit and Half House. Then it was only to find my way to the Mohawk Trail and back to the Berkshires.
