Chapter One, Panther Mountain (Going Up!)

It was Tuesday morning and still very early. I'd taken a photo tour of the hamlet of Keese Mill (previous two posts) and then continued south on Route 30 to where it intersects with Route 3 just above Tupper Lake. I turned east on Route 3 for 1.6 miles and found the trail head parking, just as the guide book promised! I could only wish that finding trail heads had always been that easy. The dogs and I crossed Route 3 and began the rather steep ascent:

This was mature forest, but showing some signs of erosion on its steep slope:

But we were all happy and the day was exquisitely beautiful. The bug season was behind us and life was good:

This was a short hike but every bit as steep as the guide book had promised. We walked up, up, up - and then up some more:

Daphne hopped up on a rock to take a look around. Perhaps she was wondering why I was moving so much more slowly than she wanted to go:

Seamus has lost weight, but is still quite a chunky monkey. He was happy to go as slowly as I wanted and take a rest as often as I deemed appropriate:

Up we climbed, and then up some more. Past old growth forest and glacial erratics:

Hi Dad. Isn't this fun? Can't you walk any faster?:

And then we arrived at the summit. It had a breathtaking view:

Clover and Daphne trotted right out to the edge, exploring everything. I was more interested in the long range scenic overlook:

I followed them out to edge:

I was feeling happy and awed by all that beauty. I'll post more tomorrow: