The Duck Pond And Oxbow Trail - Part 2

The dogs and I were hiking the Duck Pond trail and had made it to the Oxbow (see yesterday's post), but hadn't found any easy access to the water. So we headed off along a deer path which skirted a side hill:

The brush was thick, and there were many fallen trees, causing me much difficulty walking because of my leg braces. Many of the pictures I took were unusable because it was difficult for me to keep my footing and because the brush hid the dogs I was trying to photograph. But I did snap this photo of Seamus and Fergus with their new haircuts:

And I got a photo of these Blue Bottle Gentians (Narrow-Leaved Gentians) along the way:

Despite the difficulty of taking good photos at close range in all that brush, the vistas out over the Oxbow were magnificent:

I kept hoping to find an easy path to those lovely waters, but I never did:

Eventually we gave up and turned back toward the trail:

We started back toward our car, an occasion every bit as joyful for the dogs as when we'd begun our hike:

This was lovely country:

The dogs had slowed down by this time and took numerous side trips to sniff interesting things:

As for me, I was happy to stop and eat wild raspberries:

I remembered seeing Azure Mountain from this trail in the past, but never spotted it on this hike. So we just walked happily along:

We don't hike far anymore, and shortly we were back at the car. I hope to return soon and drive in as far as we hiked this time in order to explore farther:

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:

The Duck Pond Trail - Part 2

The dogs and I had hiked as far as the oxbow (see yesterday's post) but not all the way to Duck Pond. We began returning to our parked car. The dogs by then had run off some of their excess energy and were much better about staying close to me:

But they still had lots of fun, running and playing and exploring:

And it was a glorious day, with warm temperatures, sun and blue skies:

Though it doesn't show in these photos, I could see Azure Mountain through the trees almost the entire way, adding to the scenic beauty:

The road through the forest was lovely and I figured that flowers would be blooming in one more week:

The dogs continued playing and sniffing:

The pooches were happy, and so was I:

I saw this giant rock, a glacial erratic, leftover from the retreating glaciers, down in the woods and we veered off the road for a closer look:

The side trip was fun, but brief. We soon returned to the road and continued on our way back toward our parked car:

And soon we saw our bright red car, just ahead:

Another vehicle pulled in and parked just as I was loading the dogs back up into the car. A local man was using this for his base of operations, from which he planned to run on Blue Mountain Road. He came over to say hello to my dogs, who, I am glad to say, were perfectly behaved:

So we settled in for the drive home, with a much calmer Daphne, Jack and Clover on the seat beside me:

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:

Exploring The Oxbow Of The St. Regis River

Our hiking was done for Easter Sunday and I pulled away from the Duck Pond Trail Head to begin the journey down the narrow lane toward Blue Mountain Road:

But I saw a turn-off toward the left that seemed headed for the Oxbow we'd seen on the way in. Well, you just know that I had to turn down there and take a look. What I found was wild, serene, beautiful:

The road ended in a grassy meadow, so I parked and all the pooches piled out of the car and headed downhill toward the Oxbow (a channel on the St. Regis River flood plain which had been severed from the main current when the river washed out a new shortcut):

We stopped when we'd reached boggy, squishy footing and looked back toward the parked car:

We all explored the grassy meadow as we headed toward the trees:

I noticed that Trout Lilies was just emerging, with leaves only about an inch long at that time. They were in full bloom down by Albany:

In the woods, I saw this amazing tree growing atop a boulder with its roots running down the side of the rock to find the soil below:

I took another look at the idyllic scene and snapped a photo:

And then another picture from a slightly different angle:

And that was the end of our Easter morning hiking. We all clambered back up into the car and I began the journey back to the farm where Wally and Winky were waiting for us: