Old Keenan Road, Brasher State Forest, Part 1

I took the dogs to nearby Brasher State Forest, the place we go so often, but this time followed the state map to get to a hiking trail we'd never tried before. I turned onto what the state map said was a road. Alas, it had deep ruts and mud holes which I was able to avoid until I came to where the entire road was covered with water. There didn't look to be enough room to turn around safely, so I backed up - but wound up stuck permanently in a deep mud puddle.

The dogs and I were able to get out on the passenger's side, avoiding the two feet of muddy water on the other side. Then we started walking. As you can see, the dogs thought it was just a happy, fun hike:

I tried repeatedly to call AAA but without success. They put me on eternal hold, promised to return the call but only left a voice mail (which I was able to return only by calling the main "emergency" number and going through the whole process again). We kept walking:

It was a happy walk in the woods for the dogs and I enjoyed the scenery:

I took my time because of my lameness and new, uncomfortable leg braces. The dogs wanted to run, and I had to keep calling them back:

But at least the "road" was level and made of soft sand:

I stopped to check on local wildflowers, including this Yellow Loosestrife:

And there was deep forest on both sides of the "road:"

Logging operations had obliterated any intersections with hiking trails, but they'd finished logging and moved elsewhere, so there was no one to assist me:

So we kept walking, and I kept trying to reach AAA:


I finally called the Albany area office where I originally got my AAA membership. They were helpful, and a local tow service owner said he'd come out and check to see if he could pull me out of the mire. He was not happy to be called to what he called "a trail, not a road," but he said he'd come take a look. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: