Black And Long Ponds - Part 2

My sister and I were hiking with the dogs along the Adirondacks' Black Pond (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). It was not only beautiful, but also aromatic, thanks to the Balsam Firs along the trail:

We reached the end of Black Pond but stayed on the trail, which continued northward:

At the north end of Black Pond was a fish barrier, dividing Black Pond and Long Pond and designed to prevent the spread of invasive species. We checked it out but then continued on our original trail so we could see Long Pond:

Long Pond was both smaller and narrower, yet still incredibly beautiful:

We stopped to enjoy the wild scenery and quietude at the Long Pond lean-to:

And then walked out onto the pier which jutted into Long Pond. It had deteriorated and was much shorter than it used to be:

The dogs walked out onto it also, but none of them fell off (which I had thought might happen):

Seamus and Fergus got some loving attention at the lean-to:

And then we turned back southward toward the trail head:

All along the way were places for the dogs to access the water and they often made use of them:

As we neared the trail head, Black Pond narrowed, and we looked back at the bigger pond which we had just visited:

Jack and Daphne played in the water. None of my dogs actually swim, but they've gradually become comfortable with splashing and wading:

My sister spotted the Common Merganser family again and pointed them out:

But this hike was almost over. Our car was just ahead. We called the dogs and put them on leashes for the last little bit of trail:

Black And Long Ponds - Part 1

My sister usually visits me each autumn and the visits are mostly brief, so I try to make good use of our time together. This year we took the dogs south to the Black Pond trail in the Adirondacks. We parked and began at this small section of Black Pond. It was lovely, but I knew there was much more up ahead along the trail:

We saw some ducks, apparently a family group which was traveling north up the lake at about the same speed as we were walking. We used a zoom lens for a better look and identified them as Common Mergansers, diving ducks. We got a chance to see them in a communal feeding frenzy, apparently when they'd located a school of fish:

We approached the first of several lean-tos:

We walked to the lean-to and stood, taking in the wild beauty of Black Pond:

And then we continued on our way up the trail. The trail is mostly level, but not entirely flat and easy to walk for a guy like me with leg braces and awkward gait:

The trail never left the shoreline, and the dogs were able to take a drink whenever they pleased:

There were patches of Balsam Fir trees, and we knew when we entered one of them by the heavy Balsam perfume:

Parts of the trail were easy even for me:

And there were planks across the marshy places:

Seamus waded in up to his chest to get a drink and cool himself off:

The little dogs liked the water also, though they picked shallower spots and only got their feet wet:

We saw evidence of beaver activity, though most of it looked old:

The trail ran between a tall esker on the left, and the pond on the right. An esker, by the way, is a gravel ridge, left behind by melting glaciers:

My sister stopped beside a Winterberry Holly, laden with scarlet fruit. We were headed north along the shore of Black Pond and there was much more yet to see. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Black And Long Ponds, Keese Mills - Part 4

We were hiking southward, back the way we'd come, and passed the fish barrier dam between Long Pond and Black Pond:

 This was only my second "real" hike in my new braces and, while they were keeping my ankles from pain, they were making the rest of my feet and legs both tired and sore. I stopped for a rest along the shore of Black Pond:

 My seated position gave me a good opportunity to photograph the happy dogs. Fergus was again looking noble:

 And Daphne, I noticed, had filled out with a full, adult, Papillon hair coat:

Clover was looking regal::

 We got up and started hiking again. Daphne took a detour into the Horsetails:

 The trail took us along the western shore of Black Pond:

 Another species of dragonfly, differently colored than the smiley-face species I'd seen before, but similar enough that I wondered if it was closely related:

 The pooches stopped for a cool drink:

 The trail was extremely scenic, and Wood Duck nest boxes were attached to trees at intervals:

 Even Clover and Daphne were slowing down at this point:

 We rounded a bend and I was thinking ahead to taking more photos at the Black Pond lean-to when my camera's memory card beeped that it was full. So I put my camera away and we finished our hike without any more photos:

Black And Long Ponds, Keese Mills - Part 3

We had hiked northward along the western edge of Black Pond (previous two posts) and had arrived along the shore of the smaller Long Pond. Wild blackberries were blooming wherever a bit of sun got through the forest canopy:

We stopped when we got to the Long Pond lean-to:

The big attraction at the lean-to was its pier, leading out into the water and providing wonderful views:

The dogs and I all walked out on the pier, but only the smaller dogs went right to the end of it. Seamus and I stayed back a bit because the end was tipping and sinking:

This was the view looking south, down the length of Long Pond, while standing on the pier at the lean-to:

Clover and Seamus were very happy:

I had to arrange this posed picture of the dogs in the Long Pond lean-to, but by this time they'd expended all their excess energy and were willing to hold still - temporarily:

Wide patches of Bunchberries in bloom filled the forest floor:

And I discovered a new wildflower I'd never seen before or even heard of. It was Twinflower, in the Honeysuckle family, with double, pink, trumpet shaped blossoms. It's a creeping ground cover which likes cold, northern forests - so it sure was growing in the right place:

Fergus waited for me to catch up:

We turned back south from the lean-to and were retracing our steps along Long Pond:

The dogs were happy and often traveled in a little cluster. I told them to heel for much of the hike and they seemed to enjoy it just as much as running free. I liked it because I didn't need to keep hollering at them for running too far ahead. All in all, they behaved better on this hike than ever before: