Part 1- High Falls On The Big Salmon River

I drove south out of Owls Head, New York and followed the directions toward a trail called the Cooling Ponds Trail. I never found it, but the High Falls Trail seemed to be just where the other should have been. Perhaps they'd changed its name. Besides, it was on the Big Salmon River and apparently led to a waterfall. What more could I ask on a hot summer day?:

The trail did indeed begin along the Salmon River, but it wasn't very big in that hot, dry season:

But the forest was cool and I passed lots of Bunchberries with - um, bunches of berries:

And the dogs were happy:

The woods were attractive and we had them all to ourselves:

The dogs played in the river for a short time, but then I called them and we continued following the trail:

There were butterflies galore flitting about the Joe-Pye Weed. I caught a photo of one when it folded its wings and landed. I sent it in to Butterflies And Moths Of North America for an identification. When I got an answer, they were unable to identify it but knew it was in the genus Haploa. I then used their own website to locate it and discovered that it was Haploa confusa, a species of moth native to the northeast United States with spotted forewings and solid white or cream hindwings which are hidden when at rest. When in flight they look like typical butterflies. Its common name is Confused Haploa. You can learn more by clicking here:

We passed Clintonia berries with their beautiful blue coloration:

And onward through the forest:

An orange and yellow mushroom:

The trail had hewn logs over the wet spots, though in this case, Seamus declined the help and preferred to get his feet wet:

The trail veered away from the river for a while, and then returned. That sunlight you see on the left is from the opening in the forest cover made by the river. I was beginning to hear the roaring of rapids or of falls. But I'll post more tomorrow: