Wednesday, May 12, 2021

To Blackstone and Beyond!


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.

Beehive stone chamber entrance

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.

Abutments to former bridge and trolley route

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.

Devil's Pulpit (aka Pulpit Rock) as it appeared circa 1870s

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.