St. Regis Canoe Carry Trail - Part 1

My second hike with my new braces was the canoe carry to the St. Regis River, just off of Blue Mountain Road. I parked the car and let the dogs out:

The trail was short and level, just what I needed. It was also beautiful, a walk through a Boreal Forest, perfumed with balsam and pine:

There was an unnamed pond at the beginning of the trail, and it was a gem:

So we veered off the trail, following a dry, sandy path covered with Reindeer Lichen:

It appeared to me that there had once been a road through the forest here, and it made a nice place for us to explore:

There was red Partridgeberry fruit left over from the previous summer, mixed in with the blue/green of the Reindeer Lichen:

I couldn't get near the water of the pond, but little Clover found a place to get her feet wet:

Since we really couldn't find access to the pond, we returned to the main trail and continued our hike:

The black flies were out and pesky, but the wind was blowing and that kept them at bay:

The ground underfoot was almost pure sand and the trail was level and smooth. It was a fine day for the dogs to be hiking and a good, easy walk for me with my new braces:

Clover, who normally tries to stay dry, jumped in the water repeatedly on this hike, though only enough to get her feet cooled off. But the St. Regis River was just ahead of us and I knew we'd be there soon. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: