Monument Mountain - Part 2

It was a beautiful Sunday and I'd taken the dogs to Monument Mountain in the Berkshires of Massachusetts. The beginning of the trail was very icy and I'd kept the dogs on leashes. But when the trail became less icy and I'd seen no other hikers, I let the dogs run and play. Even Seamus did a bit of romping - kind of like a brontosaurus at play, but romping nonetheless:

The trail was brightened and ornamented with emerald mosses, rufous pine needles, cherry-red Partridgeberries and white quartzite:

And Mountain Laurels were everywhere. This trail would be spectacular when they bloom in the spring:

But the "Silly Sisters" missed all that natural beauty, preferring instead to run and wrestle:

The trail took a sharp turn upward, climbing steeply to what appeared to be an overlook. I considered putting the dogs back on leashes right then but figured I'd need my hands free to get up there:

All four dogs are in this photo. Can you find them?:

Daphne played mountain goat:

I was beginning to see some steep cliffs and getting nervous about the dogs' playing. But I let them continue for the time being:

You can see in this photo that we were getting close to some sharp drop-offs:

I called the dogs to my side and attached their leashes:

And there it was, our first scenic overlook across some Berkshire Mountains:

And down below us was the Great Barrington high school. But this wasn't the top of the mountain. We had more climbing to do. I'll post more tomorrow: