Hiking The West Bank Of Black Pond Headed North, Part 2

The dogs and I were hiking north along the western bank of Black Pond. This was one of the incredibly beautiful wild forest areas off of Blue Mountain Road just south of my farm. The land was managed by (and probably owned) by Paul Smiths College:

We walked beneath the Spruces and Pines with Black Pond always to our right:

There had clearly been beaver activity (notice the partially gnawed tree), but none of it looked recent. But for my purposes, this trail couldn't have been more perfect. It was serene, level, wildly beautiful and we had it all to ourselves:

The dogs marched along single file with great joy:

We walked over some planks which spanned a small, developing peat bog on the edge of the lake:

Clover and Daphne stopped to admire the Adirondack loveliness:

A few more planks across wet spots:

Glacial eskers surrounded Black Pond and the trail stayed mostly at the water's edge:

I peered down into the water at submerged vegetation and sunken logs. It seemed to be another world down there, a separate realm of quiet and mysterious beauty:

And onward we marched, continuing northward along the west bank of Black Pond. My formerly weak legs were feeling fine and I was beginning to hope that I'd be able to continue on to the top of Jenkins Mountain when we joined up with that trail:

I'll close today with this photo, one of my favorites, because it shows Fergus leaping for joy as we passed through an Adirondack scene of supreme beauty. What could be more wonderful?: