Brasher State Forest - Part 2

The dogs and I were hiking a new trail in the Brasher State Forest (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). It was broad, level, easy walking and the autumn scenery was lovely:

The dogs were exuberant:

The trail, in places, was so straight that I tried to see where it was leading - but all I saw was more trail and more forest:

Usually the dogs would have slowed down by this time, but they continued to run ahead and I continued to call them back:

We took a few side trips off the trail, but not many and we didn't go far. I could imagine getting turned around in this forest and having trouble finding my way back to the trail:

I decided it was time to turn back toward the car and save further exploration for another time:

That was fine with the happy dogs. They don't care which way they are going, as long as they are going somewhere:

I noticed in a few bare spots that the trail (one time road) appeared to have been roughly cobbled with native stones. That's probably why it has resisted rutting and eroding over the years. On the other hand, I couldn't help but wonder who went to all that work. There is a nearby CCC dam and reservoir, so perhaps the Civil Conservation Corps did the work back in the 1930s or 1940s :

The dogs led the way with their usual exuberant joy:

And I enjoyed the autumn scenery as if we hadn't seen it all before. The sun had been in my face on the way out and was behind me on the way back, so every new turn of the trail looked new:

I could see something moving up ahead - something very big. I figured that meant we were close to the road but began to worry about my unlocked car. I later learned that logging trucks had slowly passed by, and that's what I'd seen:

We again crossed the snowmobile bridge over Redwater Brook, which meant our car was just ahead. I put my camera away and concentrated on keeping the dogs under control. We made our way back to our car and began the short trip home: