Catherineville State Forest - Part 2

The dogs and I were hiking in the Catherineville State Forest (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). It was a beautiful location on a near perfect day. I only felt a few mosquitoes, although they became more numerous as the day warmed up:

To my surprise, the trail became narrower and the trees smaller as we proceeded. I would have expected to find bigger, more mature trees farther into the forest:

It was a happy experience:

We came to a small, winding brook with big rocks - a perfect place for thirsty dogs to get a drink of water:

Clover went upstream and Seamus went downstream for their drinks:

And then we got back on the trail to continue on our way:

The trees kept getting smaller and I began to consider turning back toward the car:

I kept saying I'd go around that next bend, and then if there was nothing new, I'd turn around. Eventually I did just that. We'd already gone farther than usual anyway:

The flowers were pretty well spent, but these Foamflower plants were looking healthy. I also passed lots of Wild Ginger, whose odd flowers I've never seen, but we were too late to see them on this hike:

We were on our way back to the car, retracing our steps. There were no side trails to confuse us or provide a bit of variety:

The dogs were still feeling peppy, and bounced through the Bracken Ferns along the side of the trail:

And then we saw our red car. It's wonderful to live in such a beautiful part of the country, where we can access such splendor only 8 miles from home:

High Falls On The Salmon River - Part 3

We climbed down a steep rock face, past the base of the falls and walked out onto the flat rocks beside the Salmon River. We were looking downstream when this was taken:

And this was looking upstream, at the falls plus the flume above it. It was roaring loudly and filling the air with mist:

Seamus, surprisingly, did not go into the water. I think he was tired from climbing down the rocks:

Those stairs you see on the right were half rotten logs and several feet above the ground. I could maneuver them and the smaller dogs were able to get up and down them. Poor Seamus, however, was totally incapable of it, so when it came time to leave, I took him by the collar and dragged him up the logs. I saw no other way. It's a good thing he's such a compliant fellow:

But first, we took one last look at the falls. I didn't know if there were salmon in the Salmon River, but surely there must have been. I Googled it and learned that Atlantic Salmon used to swim upstream here, presumably even beyond the waterfall, but do so no longer. It didn't say why they stopped:

Once up the steep, rocky bank, we continued uphill on the hiking trail:

And back out the way we'd come, crossing the log bridges:

Fergus and the Papillons were still running full speed. Seamus and I had slowed down considerably at this point

I began seeing Painted Trilliums with thin, strap-like petals. At first I thought it was an odd species or some abnormality, but when I looked it up later, I discovered that Painted Trilliums often have thin petals. They looked kind of orchid-like:

We continued on through the forest which again became full of Balsams, scenting the air with their sweet fragrance:

We followed alongside the Salmon River (to our right):

Almost to the trail head, I stopped to remove a pebble from inside one of my braces. The dogs continued to check everything out while I worked at my brace and shoe:

And the last photo of the day was almost to the trail head, where there was a large patch of Foamflower in bloom:

High Falls On The Salmon River - Part 2

We were hiking to High Falls on the Salmon River. Most of the muddy spots and deep ravines had bridges with planks or logs:

And the forest was exquisitely beautiful:

Foamflowers were blooming everywhere:

Clover and Daphne were having a grand time exploring:

And running and playing. Notice Fergus in full gallop:

"Sheesh, Dad. Can't you walk any faster?:"

I began to hear the formerly placid Salmon River through the trees. It was beginning to pick up speed and getting louder as we proceeded toward the falls:

Daphne and Seamus posed for a photo:

This tiny (notice the ant) ferny moss was beautiful:

The dogs seemed to sense a mounting excitement as the roar of the river increased, so much so that I had to keep calling them back to prevent them running ahead:

As for me, I was still learning to use my braces and walking slower than I used to. The dogs would just have to wait for me to catch up:

We arrived at a site where the Salmon River roared around an island:

And then began plunging down a flume. This is where I began to worry about the dogs (not to mention myself). A fall into the water here would carry one down the flume and over the falls. We were almost there. I'll post Part 3 tomorrow:

High Falls On The Salmon River - Part 1

The day was lovely and I had a lot of farm work to do. But it was simply too beautiful to spend it forking cow manure and laboring, so I took the four younger dogs to Franklin County for a hike to High Falls, on the Salmon River:

The forest trail was lined with Bunchberry in bloom:

And it took us alongside the lovely Salmon River which, at this point, was quiet and serene:

There were log and plank bridges over muddy spots and ravines. The dogs had no problem with them, but I discovered that my braces were too wide to allow me to safely stand with my feet together. I began experimenting with different ways of walking across them:

I stopped to let the dogs go into the Salmon River but only Daphne was interested:

Foamflower was beginning to bloom and, in some places, fully in bloom:

Clintonia bloomed everywhere, filling the forest floor with its banana yellow flowers. My camera didn't register the color well at all. In reality, they were a gorgeous, full bodied yellow:

We'd had heavy rain the previous day and the trail was wet in places:

In some places, it was exceedingly wet. I was happy to note that some recent repair work on the bridges had made hiking easier:

Much of the trail took us through Balsam forest and the aroma was sweet:

The smaller dogs and I walked the planks, but Seamus didn't bother. He'd trudge through the mud or walk down into the gullies and back up the other side:

Like this:

It was a thoroughly pleasant trail through a lovely forest and toward a great destination. But we weren't there yet, so I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: