Martin Dunham Reservoir Hike - Part 2

I was hiking around the perimeter of the Dunham Reservoir, a part of Grafton Lakes State Park, with four of my dogs. It was a glorious October day with colorful leaves, chilly air and the earthy aromas of fallen leaves. The trail ran alongside the lake shore for several miles:

Most lake photos required pointing my camera sun-ward, so quality pictures were difficult. But the colors were magnificent:

The hiking trail meandered through the deep northern forest, touching the lake shore every now and then. The dogs were, of course, thrilled to the very core of their being with every foot of it. It's no wonder that dogs make such wonderful company. For them, every day is a wonderful, fun and happy experience. They are always enthusiastic and always happy to do anything:

Fergus has had a real problem understanding the concept of walking ahead but sticking close by me. He was always happy to heel if I told him to, but when I released him he ran too far ahead. Then I'd begin "hollerating" and wind up making him heel once again. But I made some real progress on this hike getting him to understand the concept. That made the hiking a happier experience for us both:

The lake was generally visible on our left even when we were in the deep forest. But every so often, the trail took us right up to it:

Need I say that Daphne and Clover, the two puppies, were running full speed back and forth, up and down the trail, in big circles? I figured that they may were covering 20 to 50 times more ground than I. Oh, to have such boundless energy!:

On and on we walked with my thoughts coming clearer and calmer with each mile. I hope I'm never to old to hike. How else would I keep my sanity?:

63 seconds of dogs at the lakeside:



There were many colorful leaves both on the trees and on the ground. The aroma of fallen leaves brought me back to when I lived in this area many years ago:

A happy experience: