Huckleberry Lake, Part 3

We were on the last part of the Wolf Lake loop trail and had already passed by Moon Lake, Wolf Lake, Huckleberry Lake and numerous beaver ponds. The trail then took us into the Adirondack forest:

Past White Pines of great age, many of them at least five feet in diameter at the base:

Over rocks and streams:

And through pine forests:

We climbed up rocky hills and then down the other side:

All the while marveling at the great natural beauty:

We passed by more beaver ponds:

When the trail dropped sharply down a rocky slope toward another beaver pond, little Madeline wasn't at all sure she wanted to do that. She stayed at the top of the rocks and peered over the edge at the other dogs who were already down below with their feet in the water. But of course, when I climbed down, she did also:

I found this red-gold gem of a fungus hiding in the leaf litter:

And I was very happy in spite of my sprained ankle (which by this time was beginning to ache):

The trail leveled out as it entered what at one time had been farm fields, and I knew we had reached the final stretch:

And the dogs were as happy to spot our parked car as they were to begin the hike. Is there anything which doesn't make dogs happy? As for me, my ankle was fine but 5.5 miles of limping over rocks caused me a night of serious, debilitating cramps. But of course I recovered and look forward to hiking this magnificent trail again and again: