Going Down! Descending Azure Mountain

It had been a strenuous climb up Azure Mountain and a gloriously scenic and inspiring visit to the summit, but the time soon came to start back down toward the trail head. The trail was lined with Lowbush Blueberries:

And of course I ate quite a few of them:

I descended slowly, having learned from experience that the downhill hike can be treacherous and damaging to the feet and knees. I stopped whenever I felt the need. At one rest stop I put the camera on self-timer and got a photo of Clover and Daphne in my arms:

When we got down as far as the ledge with the scenic overlook, Clover ran right to it and I, of course followed:

The ledge provided a lovely, albeit hazy, view out over the Adirondacks:

Ever the little athletes, both Papillons wanted to run full speed all the way down the mountain. Can't you just hear Daphne saying, "C'mon, Dad, lets go already!":

Clover did her "She-Wolf, Queen Of The Forest" imitation:

Bright red Mountain Ash berries lit up the open spots in the forest. And the reason it was "open" was because the mountainside was incredibly steep at that point:

Almost at the trail head, near where we'd passed the old fireplace on our way up, I spotted a set of old concrete steps tossed off in the brush. Now I was sure that there had been a cabin here once:

And near the steps grew old fashioned Day-Lilies. Whoever lived in that cabin had planted flowers to remind them of home. But our hike was pretty much concluded at this point. I piled the dogs back into the car and we headed off toward the farm: