Jenkins Mountain Trail, Part 4

I'd decided that my weakening legs would not carry me to the top of Jenkins Mountain and had turned back toward the trail head. The views were still lovely and I was noticing things I hadn't seen before such as this vernal pond. This was April 30 and their were still no leaves on the deciduous trees in spite of our mild winter and early spring:

The dogs, of course, didn't care one whit about having to turn back early. It was all a wonderful, happy excursion for them in a beautiful setting:

We continued back past the supplemental dam which the beavers had built:

And Seamus waded in for a bit of cooling refreshment:

We again passed that rocky topped peak which I'd formerly thought was Jenkins Mountain and past the largest of the beaver ponds:

Sadly, my legs were feeling weaker by the moment and I no longer regretted having turned back. In fact, I began to wish I'd done so earlier. Daphne and Fergus kept their eyes on me as I began to slow down:

The trail broadened noticeably as we neared the intersection with the Black Pond/Long Pond trail:

Huh? I could only assume that some jokester had made a funny. Probably a Paul Smith's College student:

We were almost to the trail intersection and I was beginning to worry about my legs seeing me all the way back to the car. But the trail was broad, smooth and level so it was a simple matter to keep putting one foot in front of the other as I followed the dogs:

And it was a pleasant woodland, just beginning its spring burst of growth. I'll post more tomorrow: