Climbing The Pinnacle - Part 3

The dogs and I had reached a point in the hike where the trail made a sharp left and we took it. But the trail was poorly marked and the heavy layer of leaves obscured the trial, leaving me unsure of its location. I remembered my recent episode of being lost in the forest and made a decision. I admitted that I was now an old man and simply couldn't do some of the things which used to be so easy for me. So I turned around and we all began descending the trail, back toward the trail head:

It was such a lovely day, especially given the time of year, that I had no regrets:

The views were astounding, even without having reached the summit:

And our descent was just as much fun as our ascent. Certainly the dogs didn't care which way we were heading:

I'd made note of the icy patches on the way up so that I could be extra careful when I reached them on the way down:

So what we had was a wonderful walk through beautiful Adirondack scenery. What's not to be grateful for?:

Clover continued to climb up on rocks and strike poses:

And we all traveled happily through the forest:

A row of mountains was visible through the trees ahead of us, with a broad valley between:

I was thinking here that the trail head must be getting close:

And indeed it was. Jack ran full speed back to the car, overjoyed to see it again. I gave up and let all the dogs run down to the car. There was no traffic, after all. It had been an unexpected treat to get outdoors this late in the year and I was grateful:

The dogs all jumped up into the car, I snapped one last photo and we all began heading for home: