Hiking Hadley Mountain, Part 3

Walking and working our way up the side of Hadley Mountain, the dogs and I were heading toward an Adirondack mountaintop with a fire tower. It was a chilly spring day and the trees were still leafless, allowing views of the surrounding mountains during much of the hike, not only from the peak:

The trail, like the mountain stream at the beginning of the hike, had worn down the very thin soil atop the bedrock. This exposed the basic structure of the mountain to view. Never mind, the dogs cared nothing for such considerations. For them, this was a place to run and frolic:

A very large glacial erratic, this one split into cubes in many places:

"Take my picture, Dad. I am a fine specimen of Poodlehood:"

Moss covered rock cliffs, more typical of the Catskills than the Adirondacks:

The trail became a water stream again, but since we were gaining altitude, there was even more ice:

"You took Seamus' photo, Dad. Now take mine. I'm very handsome, aren't I?":

Once upon a time I only hiked with friends. One day, however, I got brave and hiked an Adirondack high peak by myself. When I got home, I felt somewhat sheepish about having enjoyed myself so much. So I called a friend whose wisdom I respected and asked if he thought it was OK for me to so enjoy solitude. I think the question I asked was something like, "If I hike a high mountain alone and have no one to share it with, does it still count?" He assured me that it did and I've since decided it "counts" even more. Of course, I'm not really alone with such fine canine companionship:

More rocky ledges, more moss, more water, more ice, more trees:

Drawing nearer to the rocky ledge, I found that the view was stunning. Sometimes it's the micro-views which are the most breathtaking, not just the grand mountaintop scenic vistas:

Fergus explores the ice:

Though we were still not at the peak, and in fact had a lot of hiking yet to do to get there, some scenic vistas presented themselves. There were more mountains out there; more lakes, more icy streams, more scenic panoramas, more forests, more wilderness: