Fort Jackson State Forest - Part 2

We were hiking in the Fort Jackson State Forest (see also Part 1, posted yesterday) and had just reached the St. Regis River. The four little dogs arrived first, and then big Seamus arrived later (his legs were still wobbly from the previous day's hike):

We walked out onto to a rocky section, exposed only because the water level was low:

And even little Jack braved the cold water. He has sure come a long way since his terrifying days at the Shelter:

Soon it was time to leave, but instead of heading all the way back to the trail, we continued on along the shore of the river, looking for more interesting places to access the water:

And soon we found a great place to get down to the river, with a grassy swath and a small, rocky island nearby. Fergus and Clover were the first to explore:

My sister sat on a giant rock and meditated on the beauty all around:

As for Seamus, his legs were tired and he just wanted to rest a bit:

My sister stayed behind while I took the dogs back to the trail which was once again right next to the river. I was looking for a big log on which to sit:

I noticed lots of Beech trees and the parasitic plants, Beechdrops. They are so nondescript that I've had little success photographing them, so I tried putting my hand behind one of them to help accentuate the odd, brown plant. They look dead, but they're not:

I found a big, comfortable log and sat down for a rest. Daphne came right up to me for some attention. Dogs are right at home in the forest:

We took a different, shorter trail back to our car, a trail which offered different forest types:

And large patches of moss and Reindeer Lichens:

Autumn woodlands are among God's finest creations:

And the dogs were tired from two days of hiking (yes, I was also). They were unusually well behaved for several days thereafter:

Whitehill Wild Forest - Part 3

My sister and I were hiking with my dogs in the White Hill Wild Forest (see previous two posts). We'd passed Little Rock Pond and were continuing on, hoping to arrive at Long Pond. I'd been there before and remembered it as the site of the biggest, most astounding beaver dam I've ever seen anywhere. So we kept trekking in spite of the heat:

I was just telling her about the bright red mushrooms I used to see so often when we came upon two of them, each as red as an apple:

We crossed several small streams. They were a mixed blessing of cooling water for the dogs but difficult walking for me in my braces as well as direct sunshine in that oppressive heat:

But the dogs got a refreshing drink and cool, wet feet at each water crossing. Seamus, beginning to suffer from the heat, lay down in one and appeared as if he might not go any farther. But of course he did, so we kept hiking:

But eventually the heat and humidity wore us all down and we turned back toward the trail head:

And we saw this lovely example of Beechdrops, a parasitic plant without leaves or chlorophyll. Not surprisingly, it was growing with a small Beech seedling:

We were hot and tired, even though we really hadn't hiked very far. It was a particularly welcome blessing when we returned to the shores of Clear Pond. Seamus, who had been most affected by the heat, was the first to go in:

And all the dogs still had enough energy for a bit of play:

A bit of romping in the wildflower meadow by the shore:

Every dog sniffed everything thoroughly

My sister waded out to cool off also, but only Seamus lay right down in the water. It was an exceedingly hot day. We got back into the car and stopped for takeout pizza on our way home. This was an adventure and fun outing, a nice start to her visit:

Chapter 3 - Hike To Grasse Pond, Debar Mountain Wild Forest

The dogs and I had hiked in to the Grasse Pond lean-to in the Debar Mountain Wild Forest and were making our way back to the trail head:

I never grow tired of seeing the dogs happy and excited as the explore the wonders along a forest trail, especially one as flat and easy to walk as this one:

I remembered that these dead looking, brown sticks were a parasitic plant, but didn't remember which one. I looked it up when I got home and decided that they were Beechdrops, a plant which lives on the nutrients it steals from Beech trees. In this case, I think they were the dried stems from last year's plants:

And a gorgeous, red button-capped mushroom:

And a flat capped mushroom whose colors and textures reminded me of toast with butter and raspberry jam:

We hiked onward through this wonderland of natural beauty:

This was surely one of the most pleasant hikes we've taken in a long time:

The Bunchberries were covered with scarlet berries and brightened the pathway:

And I focused my attention to the smaller plants and lichens which formed a wonderful miniature landscape of color, texture and wonderment:

The hike back from Grasse Pond seemed so much longer than the hike going in that I'd begun to worry we'd taken a wrong turn. But I knew we were on the right trail when we arrived at the bridge over the Osgood River. The dogs went in for a drink, a bit of play and a cooling off:

The sun was making it difficult for me to get photos, so I walked around some bushes to stand on a different part of the shoreline. I quickly sank down to my knees in the closest thing to quicksand I've ever encountered, and then fell backwards. I managed to keep one arm and the camera above the mud, but the rest of me was a brown, muddy mess:

I snapped a photo of the dried flower heads of Joe-Pye Weed as we got back onto the trail to finish our hike. I tried to clean myself of mud before getting back into the car but was largely unsuccessful. So we just drove home. But it had been an exciting morning and we'd seen lots of natural Adirondack beauty: