Madawaska Pond

My sister, Lynn, and her husband, Tim, were visiting from Ohio and we'd just hiked in to see the Santa Clara waterfall (see the previous two posts). Our next stop was Madawaska Pond, which required a five mile drive on rough, one lane "roads" through the forest. We arrived at the parking site and started walking:

The trail to Madawaska Pond is through a stand of large White Pines and is both beautiful and peaceful:

The dogs had already used up some of their excess energy, so they were much better behaved by this time. Seamus' back legs were beginning to fail him, and I eventually had to put him on a leash to keep him from falling or wandering off to unsafe places and getting lost:

The trail to Madawaska Pond was not only lovely to look at, but also wonderful to smell because the White Pine aroma rose when the sun hit the trees and fallen needles:

We took a side trip to a hill overlooking the marshy edge of Madawaska Pond. The red leaves you see on the hill were Lowbush Blueberries:

Lynn and Tim stood and took in the expansive views, backed by the White Pine forest:

But then we hit the trail again, which took us along the edge of the pond:

These miniature red-capped lichens were called British Soldiers. They are never large, but these were the smallest I've ever seen:

We found several water access sites. This one was marked as a canoe launch:

Recent rains had produced a crop of unusual mushrooms all along the trail:

And I got another a photo of Tim and Lynn:

I've never seen a mushroom like this, but its general lumpiness and orange color seemed appropriate for Halloween:

We walked to the end of the pond, then turned around and began the trek back to our car. We were all tired by this time, and happy to reach the car and sit down. We headed home for a nap and dinner:

Our Favorite St. Regis River Waterfall - Part 2

My sister, her husband and all five dogs had hiked in to the waterfall in Santa Clara, New York (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). We'd seen the base of the falls, so we began climbing the rocky trail which took us upstream:

The trail was lovely and wild, and my sister enjoyed the Adirondack scenery:

I stopped for this scene with Partridgeberry, mushroom and Sphagnum moss. The red and green had a kind of Christmas look to it:

The little dogs ventured out onto some rocks which were too scary for Seamus and me, both of us old and lame. I put Seamus on a leash for safety and the two of us took the safest routes we could find:

The trail took us upstream, where we could see the St. Regis River rushing through a narrow gorge:

But the trail ended, so we returned to the base of the falls:

We took a side trip on another trail along the St. Regis River and stopped to see these two gigantic rocks. Alas, the photo doesn't convey their huge size, but they were mammoth:

The trail had veered away from the river but soon brought us back again:

And once again, the autumn views were lovely and serene:

But soon we were headed back out to our car:

Lynn and Tim posed for a fun photo in the forest, and then we got in the car and drove to another nearby hike. I'll post about that tomorrow:

Our Favorite St. Regis River Waterfall - Part 1

My sister and brother-in-law had come to visit from Ohio, hoping to see some Adirondack scenery and autumn foliage. So of course we headed right out to see the waterfall near home. We hit the short trail which would take us there and the dogs began running for joy:

The pooches could barely contain their enthusiasm. Even old Seamus did a bit of wobbly running:

They'd run ahead, then I'd call them back, which is why you see Jack running toward me while the others are running ahead:

And of course the autumn scenery was lovely:

As we neared the falls, we could hear its roar and we had to step over a number of fallen logs (I had to lift Seamus over them, first his front half, then his back half). This log was covered with what I believe was orange Slime Mold:

And then we arrived at the base of the falls. My sister, Lynn, got there first, along with Daphne and Fergus:

Then my brother-in-law, Tim, arrived and they took pictures:

It's not a high waterfall but it's a roaring cascade of many levels. Furthermore, it's not well known and no one else is ever there:

Tim and a couple of the dogs walked out onto some flat rocks for a better view:

And what a view it was!

Lynn busied herself taking photos, a trait we share. But there was yet more to see, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Wonderful Debar Pond - Part 2

A friend and I were walking a trail along the shore of the Adirondacks' Debar Pond (see also Part 1, posted yesterday), and arrived at a small stream. The dogs thought it was great fun but we humans decided to turn back toward the easier walking and the buildings:


We all walked back to the lodge and peeked in the windows. It must surely have been a luxurious mansion in its day:

The group of people and their dogs were all gone by the time we arrived, so we ambled over to the water's edge and enjoyed the scenery and serenity. A cluster of pink Joe-Pye-Weed stood on the shore:

And then a Red Admiral butterfly began flitting from flower head to flower head and a bee joined it, making a lovely scene:

And this shoreline was much easier for the dogs to swim in. Seamus was able to walk easily out and not have any trouble with his back legs. Daphne and Clover went in, but stayed closer to shore:

I gave them all a call they waded back in to join us:

My friend and I enjoyed the dogs' company as we surveyed the scenery:

The dogs walked over to the old boathouse and then went back into the water. Seamus disappeared and we called loudly for him until we found him:

Seamus, of course, loves the water and couldn't stay out of it. Even Jack went swimming

We began walking again, passing by the old caretaker's residence:

And out onto the lawn, which is still kept mowed, beneath the towering White Pines:

We made a happy caravan as we proceeded onto the dirt lane which would return us to our parked car:

My happy dogs continued to sniff and search everywhere along the way. We stopped for lunch at a small general store where we could eat at a picnic table with the dogs. It had been a good day:

Wonderful Debar Pond - Part 1

It had been several years since I visited Debar Pond and I decided it was time for another visit. I brought along a friend and my five dogs. We drove into the forest on a long, one lane dirt road. It was lined with what I thought were Foxglove plants in bloom. Then we parked and began walking:

That's when I discovered that the flowers I'd seen had not been Foxgloves at all, but some kind of Bellflower:

I looked them up when I got home and learned that they were Creeping Bellflower, not because their stems were low to the ground (they were all about three feet tall or more) but because their roots send out runners. Furthermore, I learned that they were a garden escapee, not a native wildflower. There were many hundreds of them, all along the road:

We walked the dirt lane toward Debar Pond and passed by this ancient White Pine. It had to have been at least eight feet diameter at its base:

Normally I have Debar Pond all to myself, but this time there was a group of about ten people with big dogs, so we put my dogs on leashes. My friend took the three little dogs and I took Seamus and Fergus:

As we approached the former home site, we passed many abandoned barns and this picturesque greenhouse/potting shed:

And a garden filled with red Bee Balm (Monarda):

We arrived at the abandoned mansion, an Adirondack Great Camp on the shore of lovely Debar Pond. If I remember my history correctly, this was once the home of an eccentric and wealthy German hops farmer. Now it is empty and owned by New York State:

Alas, the serene nature of the site was turned into a boisterous day for about ten people and four big dogs. Some of the dogs were worrisome around my small dogs, so we walked uphill, away from the pond and toward the old mansion. This white dog, named Aspen, came running with us and ignored his owner's calls:

We arrived at the mansion and turned to look out over the pond and mountains:

And then we continued on a trail into the forest, where my dogs could do some swimming without worrying about the big dogs:

Big ol' Seamus waded out too far and then his back legs kept collapsing. He didn't seem able to stand up, and I was just about to wade in after him when he managed to make it back to shore:

Yes, he then went back out where he'd been before - and little Daphne swam out to join him. But we had much more to see. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: