Hiking to the Land of Counterpane in Money Rocks County Park

Today, Friday, May 14, 2021, was such a beautiful day, we had to head out for a hike.  The temperatures were due to be in the mid-60's Fahrenheit, and the sky blue with puffy clouds.  We chose to start our hike at Money Rocks County Park and see if we could find our way over to a viewpoint in adjoining Welsh Mountain Preserve, which is managed by the Lancaster County Conservancy.

We had only a short five mile drive, but it took us past picturesque Amish and Mennonite farms here in the neighborhood of New Holland, Pennsylvania:

Kathy can't resist saying hello to the horses, and she spotted this one as we drove.  David stopped the car as Kathy tried her hand at speaking horsish to this friendly creature:

We reached the trailhead at the Coxcomb Trail in Money Rocks County Park (marked with red blazes) and took our obligatory trailhead selfy --

-- then it was down the red blazed trail we ambled:

The Welsh Mountains harbor the second-most continuous forest left in Lancaster County, superseded only by Furnace Hills. Money Rocks Park preserves a nice part of that forest, which is in various stages of natural plant succession. A network of mining and logging dirt roads makes much of this wooded park accessible to nature lovers.  Money Rocks Park, located near the Narvon Clay Mine, spans over 300 acres of woodland in the Welsh Mountains of eastern Lancaster County. The ridge offers beautiful views of farmland, towns, and distant wooded hills.

It wasn't long before we encountered some trail magic.  This fellow graced the top of a tree stump --

-- and then this Inuksuk greeted us a little further down the trail:

When we reached the border of Money Rocks County Park and entered the Welsh Mountain Preserve, the red blazed Cockscomb Trail headed uphill to the right, and we continued straight on the Green Trail:

Everywhere we hiked, the rhododendron were blooming.  This beautiful, 5-petaled, 5-leafed variety entertained us the entire route:

Eventually, we arrived at the junction of our Green Trail with the loop Blue Trail in Welsh Mountain Preserve.  

Welsh Mountain Nature Preserve is one of Lancaster County’s few remaining natural areas. An area of wooded slopes and rock outcroppings, this land supports a diversity of plant and animal life. Due to relatively poor sub-soils, canopy trees appear much younger than they actually are, especially since large stands are of relatively uniform height. However, uniqueness within the landscape abounds and includes seasonal blooms of wild azaleas, low-bush blueberries, and wildflowers, as well as large flushes of mushrooms that improve the integrity of the humus layer atop of the soil. It is not only the forest cover but also the thick humus layer that provide the vital ecosystem service of stormwater retention, saving communities within the valleys from the possibility of flash-floods.

We decided to hike the entire loop and headed left:

We felt miniscule in comparison to the gorgeous greenery of the maples, oaks, poplars, beech, laurel and pine in this mature forest:

At the top of the Blue Trail loop, we needed to hike out the White Trail to our overlook.  David wasn't sure which way to go:

He decided to lead us outbound on the White Trail, and found a step-over log, probably constructed by some avid trail bikers to accommodate their rides:

We finally reached the end of the White Trail, with a viewpoint looking north over beautiful rural Lancaster County:

As she enjoyed her lunch, Kathy admired the view:

The view reminded us of Robert Louis Stevenson's poem, "The Land of Counterpane":

When I was sick and lay a-bed,

I had two pillows at my head,

And all my toys beside me lay

To keep me happy all the day.

And sometimes for an hour or so

I watched my leaden soldiers go,

With different uniforms and drills,

Among the bed-clothes, through the hills;

And sometimes sent my ships in fleets

All up and down among the sheets;

Or brought my trees and houses out,

And planted cities all about.

I was the giant great and still

That sits upon the pillow-hill,

And sees before him, dale and plain,

The pleasant land of counterpane.

This poem was part of a larger book published by Stevenson, titled, "A Child's Garden of Verses," an 1885 volume of 64 poems for children by the Scottish author, considered to be one of the most influential children’s works of the 19th century.

After lunch, we worked our way back across the top of the ridge, first on the White, then the Blue, then the Green, and finally the Red, Trails, until we reach the Money Rocks loop trail.  As we arrived at Money Rocks, we found some informal art decorating some of the boulders:

Park information suggests that Money Rocks got its name from the habit of local farmer to hide their money here -- from invading Confederate soldiers who would plunder local farmers.  They say the money was never found and is available for the taking, but we never found any.  

The rocks formed a small natural amphitheater:

We couldn't explore the rocks because a large group of pre-teen hikers were eating their lunch and perched all over the rocks and the trail.  So we did our best to appreciate the natural wonder and then returned the way we had come, back to our trailhead and our Jeep.  All in all, a 6.5 mile hike, and a beautiful one at that!