A Spec-top-ular Experience On Coney Mountain - Part 3

We'd reached the summit of Coney Mountain and it was spec-top-ular indeed. I believed that to be the southern part of Tupper Lake in the distance:

There were rocky mounds on which we could stand, viewing not only the distant scenery, but each other:

Seamus, all excited, trotted off toward the edge and out of my view. I began to worry when I he didn't come when I called and went looking for him, calling louder and more urgently. I began to fear he'd fallen off a ledge. Finally, I saw him walking up this rock and a bit wobbly legged:

I will never know what happened, but clearly he went too far and had to climb back up some steep place. You can see how tired he was in this picture:

Seamus took a couple of rests, but began to recover and we made our way without incident as we progressed happily back toward the trail head:

The forest floor was coming alive with springtime color:

I had the dogs heel every so often just to be sure they were under control. That worked quite well until they saw a woman coming up the trail from the other direction and they all bolted to greet her. Sigh. I don't know if I'll ever conquer that training obstacle. I generally put them on leashes if I see someone coming - but this time they saw her before I did. Anyway, for this photo, I told them to stay for a moment so I could get a group photo:

And a photo of Fergus with a silly look on his face:

And three Papillons on the move:

And Seamus, hopefully more cautious now that he's had a good scare (but I'll bet he wasn't half as scared as I was):

But it was a fine day and had been a worthwhile visit to the farm, topped off by a mountaintop experience on Coney Mountain:

I was snapping pictures of some Painted Trilliums when my camera ran out of memory. But we were almost back to the car anyway. So I pocketed my camera, completed the hike and resumed our journey home to Albany:

A Spec-top-ular Experience On Coney Mountain - Part 2

We were hiking our way up to the top of Coney Mountain, the dogs and I, and enjoying the wildflowers along the way. Spring Beauties were in full bloom:

And Red Trilliums:

The climb was gradual and quite easy, even for an old codger like me:

And the dogs would stop and wait for me every so often:

We were nearing the summit:

The incline turned steeper:

And rockier:

And higher:

We were almost there:

Maybe this was the last incline?:

No, there was one more:

Ah, we made it. Coney mountain has a wonderful, 360 degree view and you can see why I coined the word, "spec-top-ular." The dogs were quite happy and so was I. I'll post Part 3 tomorrow:

A Spec-top-ular Experience On Coney Mountain - Part 1

I woke up extra early on Tuesday morning, had my coffee and breakfast, and cleaned the farm house. I was all ready to leave for Albany but it was far too early yet. So I lay down in bed to read and perhaps to nap while I waited. But then it dawned on me that with both Winky and Wally gone, I could stop anywhere along the route to take the dogs hiking. With that realization, I packed up the car and left for home, stopping south of Tupper Lake at the trail head for Coney Mountain:

The terrain was rocky but incredibly lovely:

And Daphne thanked me for taking her hiking:

Clover celebrated by running full speed up and down the trail:

And there was much sniffing to be done:

Clover peeked around the corner to see why I was moving so slowly:

And we progressed gradually uphill:

The Trilliums were just beginning to bloom and this Painted Trillium was the first one I spotted:

Clover and Fergus stopped only momentarily, waiting for me to photograph the Trillium:

And then we continued uphill:

Trout lilies were in full bloom:

And these wonderful yellow violets. I tried to look up the species, but gave up and just decided to call them yellow violets. But we were just getting started. I'll post more tomorow:

Part 4, Coney Mountain In The Horseshoe Lake Wild Forest

We'd reached the peak of Coney Mountain with its 360 degree views out over the Adirondack Mountains. The day was perfect - clear and pleasant without being too hot or too chilly. There were no black flies out and I couldn't have asked for more. That's Tupper Lake in the distance and, just to the left of it, a small section of Route 30 is visible. The dogs stood on the rocky promontory and looked out over the wondrous view:

And then I lay down to gaze up at the clouds drifting by, listen to the birds and feel the light breeze. The dogs joined me. They too were happy to take a rest. This was, after all, our second hike of the morning:

Clover got bored and went exploring while I continued to rest:

I shot a photo of my own ugly (but happy) mug and then got up to explore the summit:

C'mon, Seamus and Fergus. Get up and let's go exploring:

Daphne had already positioned herself as Queen Of Coney Mountain:

The dogs and I walked in a big circle, checking out the summit and looking at the views in every direction:

Clover was fascinated with the views. I think dogs understand much more than we give them credit for:

But of course the time soon came to descend. I saw a different trail leading the down the mountain and decided it must be a shortcut:

I stopped along the way to say "Howdy" to this handsome American Toad:

And then the trail became so exceedingly steep that I took no more photos at all until we reached flat land just before we arrived at highway. It turns out that I was on the OLD trail which was quite steep and even treacherous in places. That's why they'd built the new trail. But once we were on our way downhill, I certainly wasn't going to climb back up and start again. I took this photo of Clover just before we hit the highway at a place only about 50 feet south of where I'd parked on the shoulder of the road:

Part 3, Coney Mountain In The Horseshoe Lake Wild Forest

I'd carefully selected the trail up Coney Mountain for its reportedly moderate difficulty and length as well as its 360 degree summit views. The ascent had been as reported and was just right for my first experimental hike up a mountain to test my leg strength. I was doing fine, although Seamus needed to stop and rest occasionally:

And the summit was just ahead:

The last part of the hike was a bit steep, but so incredibly beautiful that I scarcely noticed:

And then the long range views began to open up:

Lowbush Blueberries were blooming wherever they could find a bit of shallow soil on that rocky summit:

And the view was free and unobstructed in every direction, looking out over the Adirondacks:

A summit marker placed there in 1942:

The dogs trotted out to a rocky overlook. That's Tupper Lake in the distance although the town was hidden by another mountain:

I swung my camera around, snapping photos in all directions:

And the happy dogs explored the summit:

I wanted to lie down and experience the quiet beauty, but first had to walk all around and see the sights. I'll post more tomorrow: