Long Pond, White Hill Wild Forest Part 4

The dogs and I hiked from Little Rock Pond south toward Long Pond. I'd never seen it before, but according the map, the lateness of the afternoon and my tiring legs, Long Pond would be as far as we'd go this hike. We had the entire White Hill Wild Forest to ourselves and I was enjoyed watching the sights (when I wasn't swatting at Mosquitoes and Deer Flies), such as these Turkey Tail shelf fungi and the perfect miniature white mushrooms at their feet:

The trail was grassy, indicating to me that it is not much traveled. With the continuously falling rain and tall grass, my feet were getting soaked. But after a while, it just didn't seem to matter anymore:

Another attempt to use my camera's self-timer resulted in this washed out photo:

Suddenly the air was filled with the delightful aroma of Balsam Fir and felt cooler. I looked around and noticed that the woods now was full of Balsams. The trail dropped down a hill and we continued on through a slightly different type of habitat:

Around a few more bends we encountered Long Pond. It was not very deep or very big, though I suspected that there was much more of it just over that grassy ridge:

My wet dogs hopped from rock to rock exploring this beautiful wilderness pond. I did likewise, no longer concerned about getting my shoes wet:

This was pure wilderness beauty, a place to remember, a moment to refresh the soul:

This was Long Pond, a wild and gorgeous example of what one can find in the White Hill Wild Forest. But we had more to explore, so I'll post more about it tomorrow: