Descending Elephant Head Mountain

It had been a brief but beautiful hike through a wild Adirondack forest to a spectacular view over Lake Titus north toward the St. Lawrence Seaway. But it was still early in the day and it was time to hike back down to our parked car. Daphne, Clover and Daphne were all excited - but then they get all excited about everything. I guess that's part of why dogs are such a joy to have around - everything fills them with happiness:

We hiked back down the mountain past giant boulders strewn about by the retreating glaciers:

And these exquisite bushes filled the forest with color. The are called Hobble Bush or Witch Hobble, Viburnum lantanoides:

Down through the hardwood forest:

Through shrubby sections, probably once clear cut by loggers:

While all the while the "Silly Sisters" wrestled, raced and played:

We made a left turn at the trail sign (notice Daphne's great joy):

And arrived back at the clearing which should have been the trail head and parking area:

We, however, had parked about two miles down the road. So we began walking:

Even the road was a pleasant hike:

There was another car parked where I'd parked. It was there when we arrived, though we saw no one the entire time we were there:

I stopped once again at a very deep, water filled hole in the road. I'd driven through it on the way up but it was the final straw which had convinced me to go no further on the access road. But our hike was over and I had to drive home for lunch and to let Wally and Winky out. They were waiting for us back at the farm apartment. And I had yet another hike planed for the afternoon: