Martin Dunham Reservoir Hike - Part 6

I was hiking the perimeter of Duham Reservoir with four of my dogs. This nice lake is a little known gem across the highway from the better known, busier parts of Grafton Lakes State Park. We'd hiked southward down the western shore of the lake (see previous posts) and were now hiking back northward on the eastern side. This trail climbed high up into the surrounding hills and deep forests:

I stopped with the dogs for a photo:

The forests were mixed hardwoods and spruce. They were quiet, with the only sounds the wind in the tree tops, our footsteps in the fallen leaves and the dogs' tinkling ID tags:

We came to a small stream:


The spruce stands looked dark and mysterious to me, reminding me of my childhood imaginings of the Black Forest. Even the dogs seemed subdued, though there were many possible explanations for their quieter behavior:

I climbed up onto a rocky outcropping and rested a bit:

The dogs scouted the woods for danger:

And then Seamus came over and sat down for a rest near me:

Daphne and Clover had a bit more exploring to do:

Then Fergus came over to me and relaxed;

Eventually all four dogs calmed themselves and we had a bit of quiet meditation on the beauties of the forest:

A pause by a stream:


But it was soon time to hike on and once again return to the little red car waiting back at the trail head:

The four of us proceeded with great joy through the colorful woodland. Eventually the trail took us back down to the edge of the lake, but by then my camera had run out of memory: