A Family Hike Along Quebec Brook - Part 1

I'd just hiked up Azure Mountain with my sister, niece and five dogs (see previous three posts), but it was still morning and there were other wonderful hikes along Blue Mountain Road just south of my farm. So we drove a bit farther and began hiking along Quebec Brook, another of my favorite hikes:

We hiked along moss covered trails with fragrant Balsams all around:

There'd been a lot of windfalls and, apparently, no trail maintenance, so we had to improvise. This small tree was no inconvenience, but other places were quite difficult. Still, the trail was wild and beautiful:

Quebec Brook's water level was low, and it burbled quietly and calmly just to our left as we walked the path:

Maples along the way were donning their autumn apparel:

And just as I'd hoped, the Quebec Brook trail was a magical experience in the Boreal forest:

I'd been telling my family of the marvelously colored mushrooms I'd seen on previous hikes and lamenting that the dry summer would probably mean there'd be none today, when this apple red mushroom appeared right in the trail. It was growing in a bed of Sphagnum Moss with Shining Clubmoss standing alongside:

When we found a good place for water access, we all went down to Quebec Brook for a look. Seamus, of course, went right in:

We walked farther along the trail. This was wild and seldom traveled forest:

We found another spot where we could access Quebec Brook and pushed our way through the brush to get there:

We all did a bit a rock hopping for a better view:

And what a view it was. Quebec Brook is a wild, scenic wonder and many of the trees were beginning to take on their autumn hues. But we had more hiking yet to do. I'll post more tomorrow: