Santamont Trail In The Catherineville State Forest - Part 1

We had another beautiful September morning when I had the time and energy to take the dogs out for some fun, so I called them into the car and we drove off to the nearby Catherineville State Forest:

It shouldn't be difficult to find, but it always is - the Santamont Trail. It's not marked and is just an opening for a small dirt lane through the forest. But I found it, drove in a couple of hundred feet, parked my car and let the dogs out:

As usual, their excitement and energy were excessive, and I spent the beginning of our little hike reining them in. Despite the vastness of wild land, five dogs need to be kept under control and holding on to five leashes is out of the question:

But they know (with reminders) my expectations and soon we were having a wonderful time:

Little Daphne bounced through the forest, wearing a smile:

And then we took off down the grassy lane, just to see what we could see:

I wanted one of the dogs to climb up on this boulder, a glacial erratic, but none of them were interested, so I lifted Fergus up there for a quick photo. I got only this one picture snapped before he jumped down and continued on his way:

This was perfect walking for me with my leg braces and awkward steps. The lane was flat, level and free from boulders, ruts and big tree roots - and yet there was wild forest in every direction. The dogs liked it too:

So we kept on walking and exploring, veering off the trail from time to time to see the sights:

I found these Wild Ginger plants growing in the center of the lane and remembered photographing them last spring when we were here. Alas, I was too early the first time and too late this time to see their bizarre blossoms. In fact, I've never seen Wild Ginger in bloom, but only photos. I made a mental note to come back during June next year. But our little hike wasn't over yet and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: