Higher And Higher, Climbing Azure Mountain

The trail up Azure mountain was reportedly only one mile long each way. But yet people spoke of it as if it was quite a strenuous hike. I was on my way up the trail with four of my dogs, all the while thinking it wasn't as steep as reported when it suddenly turned sharply uphill. Both Seamus and I began huffing and puffing but we continued upward:

The trail became so steep that much sunlight penetrated through the trees and there were many Mountain Ash in full fruit lighting up the forest with their flame red color:

And there were many dead trees riddled with Woodpecker holes. I figured that this forest must be rife with wood boring insects and the Woodpeckers who eat them:

And because the sun was penetrating to the forest floor, many raspberries were growing. They too were in full fruit:

And blackberries, though they were not yet ripe:

We climbed higher and higher, scrambling up and over rocks and ledges:

I set my camera on self-timer and just barely managed to get seated when it snapped the photo. I was laughing at the time:

The trail became so steep that I went up in many places on all fours. Seamus was getting seriously winded and we both began taking short rests every 30 feet or so:

The youngsters - Fergus, Daphne and Clover - had so much energy that nothing slowed them down:

We reached a ledge where I could see out through the summer haze to some nearby Adirondack peaks. I stopped for a rest and to snap a picture and then we continued upward. I'll post more tomorrow: