Martin Dunham Reservoir Hike - Part 6

I was hiking the perimeter of Duham Reservoir with four of my dogs. This nice lake is a little known gem across the highway from the better known, busier parts of Grafton Lakes State Park. We'd hiked southward down the western shore of the lake (see previous posts) and were now hiking back northward on the eastern side. This trail climbed high up into the surrounding hills and deep forests:

I stopped with the dogs for a photo:

The forests were mixed hardwoods and spruce. They were quiet, with the only sounds the wind in the tree tops, our footsteps in the fallen leaves and the dogs' tinkling ID tags:

We came to a small stream:


The spruce stands looked dark and mysterious to me, reminding me of my childhood imaginings of the Black Forest. Even the dogs seemed subdued, though there were many possible explanations for their quieter behavior:

I climbed up onto a rocky outcropping and rested a bit:

The dogs scouted the woods for danger:

And then Seamus came over and sat down for a rest near me:

Daphne and Clover had a bit more exploring to do:

Then Fergus came over to me and relaxed;

Eventually all four dogs calmed themselves and we had a bit of quiet meditation on the beauties of the forest:

A pause by a stream:


But it was soon time to hike on and once again return to the little red car waiting back at the trail head:

The four of us proceeded with great joy through the colorful woodland. Eventually the trail took us back down to the edge of the lake, but by then my camera had run out of memory:

Martin Dunham Reservoir Hike - Part 5

We were stopped dead in our tracks by this very deep, very fast moving feeder stream rushing its way into the reservoir. There was absolutely no chance of rock hopping across it, so the dogs and I began tracing it upstream looking for a fallen log to use as a bridge:

Though it may not look like it in the photo, most of this stream was 3 to 4 feet deep and, and as I said, moving swiftly towards the reservoir. I kept the dogs on leashes just to be safe:

I saw a fallen log crossing the river up ahead and walked toward it. And once we'd arrived, I discovered an actual, honest-to-goodness bridge crossing the rushing stream. I'd apparently strayed from the official trail. Figuring that all danger was past, I again let the dogs off their leashes as we crossed the bridge:

The momentous "Crossing O' The Bridge:"


The trail soon ended at a small dirt road. Clover ran into someone's yard and refused to come when called. I walked down after her and met a very nice couple who were out in their yard gardening. Thankfully, they loved dogs and especially Papillons and Standard Poodles. They explained to me that I'd reached the southern end of the lake and would have to travel by road around the tip of the lake and pick up a new trail to take me back up the opposite side of the reservoir. This meant a mile or two walking roads, but there was little traffic and there were some nice views:

I made a couple of excursions off the road and into the woods:

And explored a dock with the dogs:

Seamus and Fergus consider themselves to have "sea legs," unperturbed by the rising and falling of the dock. The Papillons didn't much like the wave action:

We eventually found our way back into the woods following a trail northward along the eastern length of the reservoir:

This trail did not hug the shoreline but climbed up into the adjacent hills and had a very different feel to it. So our adventure continued. I'll post more tomorrow:

Martin Dunham Reservoir Hike - Part 4

My four hiking dogs were accompanying me on an autumn hike around the perimeter of Martin Dunham Reservoir in Grafton, New York on a fine Sunday in October (see previous three posts). The day's weather was alternately sunny and cloudy, but at any time, the leaf colors were beautiful. We had both the trails and the lake to ourselves, so I let the silly puppies run to their hearts' content:

The forest was still and quiet, the lake almost without ripples. But the earthy aroma of fallen leaves filled the air. It was a fine day to be alive and I had the fine company of four very happy dogs:

My spirits were high as I began to consider this one of the finest hikes I'd ever taken:

The dogs were pretty darn elated about it all as well:

Daphne made an exploratory trip to the shoreline:

And Clover considered a brief swim but then decided against it:

The dogs at the shoreline:


Always there was joyful, exuberant puppy racing:

And I was taking so many pictures that I was beginning to wonder how I'd find time to sort and edit them. Well, never mind. The hiking experience was grand:

I began to hear the sound of rushing water as we approached the southern end of the lake and guessed that we were nearing the spillway. I was unsure what we might find so I put the dogs on leashes. We soon arrived at a very deep, rushing feeder stream. This was over four feet deep and moving very fast. It appeared uncrossable, but I'll post more about that tomorrow:

Martin Dunham Reservoir Hike - Part 3

A glorious sunny day in October it was, and I was hiking the perimeter of Dunham Reservoir in Grafton, New York. The first part of the trail took us along the edge of the lake. We clearly had the entire forest to ourselves, so I relaxed and let the dogs run freely through the woods. They frequently collected at scent hot spots where some animal apparently had recently been:

And often we walked over to the shoreline. Little Clover is a brave explorer and I snapped this picture of her gazing off across the lake. She looked so well put together in this photo that I emailed it to her breeder to illustrate how well she is doing:

And the other dogs soon joined Clover to explore. Hey, wait a minute. Where's Daphne? She apparently was still running, a favorite pastime of Papillon puppies:

The scenery was spectacular but also calming and restorative. The woodsy aroma of fallen leaves was behind me, the lake in front of me:

I didn't know it at the time, but the trail would take us to the top of that small mountain when we reached the other side of the lake:

Seamus, for the most part, walked placidly at my side. He's just the right height for me to scratch his ears as we walk:

Daphne, Clover and Fergus, on the other hand, are most commonly running full speed up and down the trail and taking big loops through the woods. This picture captures Daphne and Fergus running full speed:

I was glad that I'd forced myself to take this hike. It was quickly becoming one of my all time favorites:
From the woods to the lake:


Happy dogs, happy me in a gloriously colored forest:

Martin Dunham Reservoir Hike - Part 2

I was hiking around the perimeter of the Dunham Reservoir, a part of Grafton Lakes State Park, with four of my dogs. It was a glorious October day with colorful leaves, chilly air and the earthy aromas of fallen leaves. The trail ran alongside the lake shore for several miles:

Most lake photos required pointing my camera sun-ward, so quality pictures were difficult. But the colors were magnificent:

The hiking trail meandered through the deep northern forest, touching the lake shore every now and then. The dogs were, of course, thrilled to the very core of their being with every foot of it. It's no wonder that dogs make such wonderful company. For them, every day is a wonderful, fun and happy experience. They are always enthusiastic and always happy to do anything:

Fergus has had a real problem understanding the concept of walking ahead but sticking close by me. He was always happy to heel if I told him to, but when I released him he ran too far ahead. Then I'd begin "hollerating" and wind up making him heel once again. But I made some real progress on this hike getting him to understand the concept. That made the hiking a happier experience for us both:

The lake was generally visible on our left even when we were in the deep forest. But every so often, the trail took us right up to it:

Need I say that Daphne and Clover, the two puppies, were running full speed back and forth, up and down the trail, in big circles? I figured that they may were covering 20 to 50 times more ground than I. Oh, to have such boundless energy!:

On and on we walked with my thoughts coming clearer and calmer with each mile. I hope I'm never to old to hike. How else would I keep my sanity?:

63 seconds of dogs at the lakeside:



There were many colorful leaves both on the trees and on the ground. The aroma of fallen leaves brought me back to when I lived in this area many years ago:

A happy experience:

Martin Dunham Reservoir Hike - Part 1

I woke up one Sunday morning in October, did my daily chores and decided that I really should go hiking somewhere. But it seemed as if I'd already done all the trails which are reasonably close and not too difficult. I got out my trail notes and began picking through them. I found a map I'd printed out from the internet of the trails in Grafton Lakes State Park. I'm quite familiar with the park in some ways, but have never hiked its trails. I then noticed a trail around Martin Dunham Reservoir. This reservoir is across the highway from the main park and mostly known only to the locals. I felt certain that I would find few if any other people on that trail. So I loaded the four hiking dogs into the car and drove to Grafton, New York. If you click to enlarge this picture, you'll see some of their happy yet anxious faces in the car windows:

Indeed, no one else was around anywhere. No other cars were parked along the road. The autumn colors blazed brightly around the perimeter of the lake:

I also figured the terrain would be fairly level. This was beginning to look like it would be a wonderful hiking experience. The dogs and I began our hike and I, confident that we were alone in this wilderness, let the dogs off the leash and did not fuss at them. The puppies were not too bad and Seamus, as is his custom, mostly just walked by my side:

A photo op with a squirming armload of Papillon puppies:

47 seconds of dogs playing as we walk the leaf strewn trail:



The first mile or two of the trail followed the shoreline and the views were many and stunning:

The dogs had no lack of drinking water or wet paws:

It was developing into a golden, sunny day:

Grafton sits high up on the Rensselaer Plateau and this State Park is not far from Dyken Pond Nature Preserve, the site of several recent hikes with the dogs. The morning air was chilly, but both the hiking and a hooded sweatshirt took care of that. Warm dogs helped also:

The forest types varied from one spot to another. We walked through beach/maple forest into hemlock forest into mixed spruce/pine and back again. Always on our left was the shimmering Dunham Reservoir. But we were just beginning our hike. I'll post more tomorrow and in the days to come: