The Duck Pond and Oxbow Trail - Part 1

I drove down Blue Mountain Road, in the Santa Clara Tract of the Adirondacks, to take the dogs for a short hike to some quiet waters. But along the way, I saw this updated sign for another trail and decided to hike here instead. The dogs were thrilled to be on any trail:

There was no one else parked at the trail head and, as usual, we had the entire forest to ourselves:

I drove this old road once and may do so again the next time, now that I know it's safe, so we can explore farther:

It was a happy, fun experience for the dogs:

A white Aster was blooming everywhere, along with fields of Goldenrod. I think I've identified the Aster as the Flat-Topped White Aster, Aster umbellatus. As for Goldenrod, there are so many species that I didn't even try:

We don't really hike very far these days, but we enjoy our little walks and experiences in nature:

I've worked for several years now to retrain the dogs to stick close by me and not run ahead. They are getting better, but it's been difficult to break them of bad habits:

And it's a blessing for me to see them all so happy. Little Jack, the terror of the Shelter just a few months ago, is a joy to watch as he runs and plays:

We veered right at a fork in the trail and headed downhill toward the oxbow:

The oxbow is a sinewy section of the St. Regis River which got off from the main river many years ago when the St. Regis washed out a new shortcut. It stretched out before us, pristine and lovely, with two small mountains in the background. I headed toward the water, hoping to find some easy access points:

The dogs were happy to go wherever I went, so we set off to explore:

We never did find a good access to the water, but I decided to follow a deer trail off along the side of a hill, stopping for a few Lowbush Blueberries along the way. I'll post about the deer trail tomorrow: