Five Overexcited Dogs In The Wild Forest - Part 1

It was a beautiful day and I was in no mood to do any work, so I put the dogs in the car and drove down to Blue Mountain Road. The road began as blacktop, then narrowed to oiled stone, then narrowed again to dirt, then narrowed even farther to mostly sand. It was about 12 miles from my house to Blue Mountain Road, then about 13 miles of winding, backwoods road to the trail head. But as you can see, the scenery was spectacular:

The dogs were all excited because they knew they were going on an adventure. The three little dogs rode in the front seat, and the two bigger dogs rode in the back:

I parked and let the dogs out. They were overly excited and so happy that they were hard to control:

I'd call (yell) and get them to come to me, but then they were off and running again:

I kept seeing these signs, asking for people to report any Spruce Grouse sightings. With Ruffed Grouse so common, it might be difficult to tell them apart:

We started down the main trail but then quickly turned off onto a side trail, which I knew led to a beautiful wilderness pond:

Half the dogs ran forward, half ran back to the main trail and I had to do more yelling to get them all together with me. They didn't seem to mind, though - they're used to me yelling:

We arrived at the pond, but I couldn't get any closer than this because the greenery you see around the pond is a barely floating peat bog and each footstep sinks right into the water:

Daphne and Clover may be little foo-foo dogs, but they have the most adventurous spirits and love to run excitedly ahead to scout things out for the rest of us:

I managed to get us all together again and we walked back to the main trail:

This is spectacularly scenic boreal forest, so lovely it reminded me of a fairy tale landscape:

Back on the main trail, the dogs ran full speed ahead. They love to get out of their house dog existence and consider themselves canine wilderness adventurers. I, however, know there are bears, coyotes and other people (some with big dogs) to consider, so I work hard to keep my crew right where I can see what they are doing and control things:

They began to slow down after we'd walked a bit. But we were just getting started, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

The Duck Pond and Oxbow Trail - Part 1

I drove down Blue Mountain Road, in the Santa Clara Tract of the Adirondacks, to take the dogs for a short hike to some quiet waters. But along the way, I saw this updated sign for another trail and decided to hike here instead. The dogs were thrilled to be on any trail:

There was no one else parked at the trail head and, as usual, we had the entire forest to ourselves:

I drove this old road once and may do so again the next time, now that I know it's safe, so we can explore farther:

It was a happy, fun experience for the dogs:

A white Aster was blooming everywhere, along with fields of Goldenrod. I think I've identified the Aster as the Flat-Topped White Aster, Aster umbellatus. As for Goldenrod, there are so many species that I didn't even try:

We don't really hike very far these days, but we enjoy our little walks and experiences in nature:

I've worked for several years now to retrain the dogs to stick close by me and not run ahead. They are getting better, but it's been difficult to break them of bad habits:

And it's a blessing for me to see them all so happy. Little Jack, the terror of the Shelter just a few months ago, is a joy to watch as he runs and plays:

We veered right at a fork in the trail and headed downhill toward the oxbow:

The oxbow is a sinewy section of the St. Regis River which got off from the main river many years ago when the St. Regis washed out a new shortcut. It stretched out before us, pristine and lovely, with two small mountains in the background. I headed toward the water, hoping to find some easy access points:

The dogs were happy to go wherever I went, so we set off to explore:

We never did find a good access to the water, but I decided to follow a deer trail off along the side of a hill, stopping for a few Lowbush Blueberries along the way. I'll post about the deer trail tomorrow:

Peat Bog At Benz Pond

We were driving home from our short hike on the Madawaska Pond Trail (see yesterday's post) when I noticed Benz Pond through the trees. I parked on the side of the road (there was no traffic to worry about) and let the dogs out. They ran and I walked the short distance down to the pond:

Besides being a lovely Adirondack pond, Benz Pond offers a very nice floating peat bog. And this one floats in a very real sense. When I stepped onto the sphagnum mat to snap this picture, the whole floating mass bounced, clear out to where Clover was standing:

I saw no Pitcher Plants, Cranberries or Bog Rosemary, but it was scenic, with Azure Mountain in the background:

And there were plenty of Pale Laurels in bloom:

The dogs ran and played. No one fell into the water this time - not even Seamus:

Little Daphne looked dainty and cute as she strolled through the Pale Laurel blossoms:

Seamus was certainly not dainty, but he too looked good with the pink flowers and wild waters behind him:

Fergus, Daphne and Clover ran and played:

And then we all began moving back toward solid land:

The footing here is indeed boggy and my feet got quite wet. The little dogs had no such problem:

Daphne took one last drink of water before we climbed up the bank to our car:

I tried to entice them all to look out the window for a group photo but this was the best I could do - Daphne, Jack and Seamus. Clover and Fergus were occupied with other things at the time. But our hiking had ended for the day and I got back into the car and headed for home:

Happy Dogs At The St. Regis River Canoe Access - Part 2

The dogs and I had just investigated an unnamed pond (see yesterday's post) and returned to the trail, headed for the St. Regis River:

We came to a clearing where, I have read, an Adirondack Lodge once stood - the Indian Rock Rod And Gun Club. The dogs broke into a run, and this time I didn't object:

This part of the Adirondacks is in the Santa Clara Tract, accessed from Blue Mountain Road, and it's very scenic. That mountain ahead is St. Regis Mountain and there is a fire tower at the top of it:

Jack discovered the joys of rolling in the sand:

Seamus and Daphne went wading in the water. The water level was quite low and that was helpful for little Daphne as she could venture farther out into it:

Fergus got his feet wet and muddy, but that was as adventurous as he would get:

And then, while Seamus enjoyed the water, the smaller dogs ran up and down the shoreline:

This is a slow moving, wide bend in the St. Regis River, a natural place to put in a canoe - or, if you are a small dog, to go wading:

I stayed there and watched the dogs play for quite awhile:

But eventually it was time to go. I called the dogs back up toward the trail, stopping only to photograph these wild strawberries, growing in the sand:

We followed the trail back toward our parked car, again passing the small, unnamed pond along the way:

The dogs had a grand time and soon we reached the car. This is a short, easy and scenic hike - one of my favorites:

The Duck Pond Trail - Part 1

It was a lovely April day and I drove the dogs down Blue Mountain Road, planning to take a couple of the short hikes located along its length. I got about 8 miles into the forest when the road became so covered with snow and ice, obviously not plowed all winter long, that I backed up and began returning home. Then I saw this sign and remembered that here was a pleasant hike to a little pothole called Duck Pond:

The "road" (I use the term loosely) was closed, but there was a nice parking spot. By the way, that's Azure Mountain ahead of us:

This was so far from any traffic or other people that I left Jack off leash altogether. He did make a few exuberant runs, just to use up some excess energy, but was otherwise perfectly behaved:

There was no green yet of any kind - except for one large patch of Shining Clubmoss, a most welcome sight:

There were still patches of snow and frozen waters, but not enough to slow us down. Clover thought the snow was there for her to play in:

And Jack delighted in rolling in the snow:

The only other time I'd been here, I drove this road instead of walking. Being on foot was surely better, and it I was surprised, when I saw the Oxbows ahead, at how quickly we'd arrived:

This oxbow is a a portion of the St. Regis River which became severed from the main current when the river washed out a new shortcut. We headed down for a closer view:

There was supposed to be a canoe put-in on the oxbow, but everywhere I looked, I found steep banks:

So we veered to the left, where I thought I detected the overgrown remains of an old path or road:

It took us close to the water but still there was no easy access and, with my damaged ankles and resulting clumsiness, I didn't want to take any chances:

So we simply enjoyed the views and then turned back toward the car. But I'll post about that tomorrow: