Madawaska Pond - Part 1

I took the dogs to beautiful Madawaska Pond in the Adirondacks. I drove 24 miles south of home, then 5.9 miles into the forest on a rough, one lane, dirt road to arrive at the trail head. There was a vehicle parked there, but I never saw another person during our hike:

I first noticed a tiny purple flower with skinny leaves which was new to me. I looked it up when I got home and decided it was Slender Gerardia:

We began our hike in a forest of tall White Pines. The red color of the path was from dried pine needles:

Ferns grew along the edges of the trail as the dogs ran and played. As always, they were a little bit too energetic at first, and I had to keep reining them in:

This is a Bunchberry, in the same genus as Dogwood trees, a fact that always amazes me:

Bunchberries grew in big clusters, and the bright red and green reminded me of Christmas:

The dogs were excited, but I endeavored to keep them close to me:

Little Jack and Daphne thought they were timber wolves instead of foo-foo dogs:

We took a side trail to a bare hill which overlooked Madawaska Pond. I was shocked at the low water level. Clearly, our recent rains had not yet overcome the month long drought which preceded them:

I knew from experience that what looked like a meadow at the foot of the hill was in reality a marsh, so we turned back uphill to rejoin the main trail:

The Adirondack soil was so sandy that I had to sit on that fallen log and empty my shoes and leg braces. With that done, we were again on our way:

The day was heating up and the sun began to cause the pine aroma to increase. It reminded me of the Oregon forests of my youth. But we were just getting started. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: