Five Overexcited Dogs In The Wild Forest - Part 2

The dogs and I were hiking the Indian Rock Waterway Access trail (see also Part 1, posted yesterday) and the dogs were beside themselves with joy:

The pooches ran ahead, then I'd call them back, then they'd run ahead again:

Most of the dead trees were covered with Usnea, or Old Man's Beard, a lichen which grows in forests where the air is clean. They grow on dead or dying trees because the lack of foliage allows them more sun:

There were patches of Shining Clubmoss along the path. That's Clover's snout in the lower right of the photo. She likes to be right in the middle of things:

Daphne and Fergus ran too far ahead, then returned to me when called. They were happy and smiling:

And onward we proceeded, headed for a bend in the St. Regis River:

And everybody was busy sniffing the interesting smells. As for me, I was sniffing the aromas of Balsam, Pine, Spruce and Fir which filled the air:

The trail narrowed toward the end:

I spotted this, the largest patch of Indian Pipe (a parasitic flowering plant without chlorophyll) I've ever seen, along the way:

And then we walked out into a clearing. The dogs took off as if shot from canons, for they knew there was water ahead:

By the time I'd caught up with them, they were already enjoying the waters of the wild St. Regis River:

It wasn't a hot day, but these pooches have learned to love the water:

Seamus came down to join his little buddies. I'll post Part 3 tomorrow: