Catherineville State Forest, Santamont Trail - Part 2

The dogs and I were hiking in the snowy Catherineville State Forest (see also Part 1, posted yesterday):

The dogs were less rambunctious than usual, which made me happy, yet they got to run and play - and also to poop and pee everywhere:

Fergus, Daphne and Seamus went exploring off the trail, but they didn't go too far:

And sometimes they thought they heard something. They'd all stop and pick up their ears, then decide they'd been mistaken and continue on along the trail:

Fergus most often walks at my heels but was more forward on this hike, though he sometimes looked back at me to see if I was OK with that. I was:

It was lots of fun, but we didn't go far. Soon we turned back the way we'd come, returning to our parked car:

Clover and Daphne, imagining themselves to be Timber Wolves, strode boldly through the trees off the trail:

We stopped at a giant bolder, a glacial erratic, a bit of "gravel" left behind as the glaciers melted:

We again crossed a Balsam Fir which had fallen across the trail:

And took another exploratory trip off the trail:

I was happy to be out in nature and to have the dogs behaving so well:

And then we saw our little red car, parked along the side of the road up ahead. I had all the dogs heel (our version is pretty loose). Jack has never quite learned, but he sort of has the idea by watching the other dogs:

Santamont Trail In The Catherineville State Forest - Part 1

We had another beautiful September morning when I had the time and energy to take the dogs out for some fun, so I called them into the car and we drove off to the nearby Catherineville State Forest:

It shouldn't be difficult to find, but it always is - the Santamont Trail. It's not marked and is just an opening for a small dirt lane through the forest. But I found it, drove in a couple of hundred feet, parked my car and let the dogs out:

As usual, their excitement and energy were excessive, and I spent the beginning of our little hike reining them in. Despite the vastness of wild land, five dogs need to be kept under control and holding on to five leashes is out of the question:

But they know (with reminders) my expectations and soon we were having a wonderful time:

Little Daphne bounced through the forest, wearing a smile:

And then we took off down the grassy lane, just to see what we could see:

I wanted one of the dogs to climb up on this boulder, a glacial erratic, but none of them were interested, so I lifted Fergus up there for a quick photo. I got only this one picture snapped before he jumped down and continued on his way:

This was perfect walking for me with my leg braces and awkward steps. The lane was flat, level and free from boulders, ruts and big tree roots - and yet there was wild forest in every direction. The dogs liked it too:

So we kept on walking and exploring, veering off the trail from time to time to see the sights:

I found these Wild Ginger plants growing in the center of the lane and remembered photographing them last spring when we were here. Alas, I was too early the first time and too late this time to see their bizarre blossoms. In fact, I've never seen Wild Ginger in bloom, but only photos. I made a mental note to come back during June next year. But our little hike wasn't over yet and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Sheldon Road Multi-Use Trail - Part 1

I drove by this newly erected sign one day and stopped to investigate. A number of trucks and bulldozers were building a new, multi-use trail off of Sheldon Road. A few weeks later I returned with the dogs to give it a try:

It was a hot, sunny day with lots of pesky deer flies, but they weren't biting, so we pressed onward:

The terrain was flat with huge boulders, no doubt glacial erratics, indicating the retreating glaciers had once scraped this area flat and then left behind "gravel" as they melted:

The ferns were even taller than Seamus, and he's a giant of a dog:

It was a fine day to be outdoors:

And the dogs ran and played, investigating everything:

Seamus sometimes acts as the leader, mostly because of his size:

But it is tiny Clover who is almost always out front. In fact, I have to keep calling her back so she doesn't get too far ahead:

About a half mile into the forest, the trail made a sharp left:

And entered a forest of younger trees. This area was probably a farm field not too long ago. But it was cooler in there and we enjoyed the shade. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Santamont Trail In Catherineville State Forest - Part 1

Our belatedly warm spring took a nosedive. Nighttime temperatures fell to near freezing, daytime temperatures never got out of the forties. It was cold, cloudy and windy. I wasn't in the mood to do much of anything, but I did take the dogs hiking. Catherineville (sometimes spelled "Catherinesville") State Forest is only 8 miles south of my house and we've been there before, but I never found any really good trails. This time I found the main trail, but only after mistakenly trying two incorrect trails:

This trail could have supported auto traffic and probably does so at times. But it was comfortable walking and the dogs were ecstatic:

This was cold, rocky country and spring was even more delayed here than at my house. Nevertheless, I did find Wild Strawberries in bloom:

And ferny fiddleheads unfurling:

We began in a hardwood forest with few leaves yet on the trees:

And progressed into a pine forest:

I kept seeing smallish, white Trilliums and wondered why the flowers were so small. Then I remembered that Painted Trilliums (white, with a red center) are nearly always smaller flowers than their purely white or red cousins:

Normally, both Papillons run up any rock such as this but they didn't this time. I wanted a photo, so I tried to coax them. Finally, I simply lifted Daphne up onto this glacial erratic with its "hair" of moss and baby trees. She wasn't sure she liked it, as you can read by the expression on her face:

There were lots of green plants on the ground as wildflowers were just emerging and the Princess Pines (clubmoss) were standing at full height:

A Princess Pine and a Painted Trillium, abundant plants which beautified our hike nearly everywhere we went:

Clover, Daphne and Jack left the trail to explore a rocky, mossy, trickling streamlet:

And Beech tree buds were beginning to open. I knew it wouldn't be long until the hardwood trees were clothed in green leaves. But there was a lot more to see on this trail, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

The River Loop Trail In St. Regis Falls - Part 2

The dogs and I were hiking the River Loop Trail (see Part 1, yesterday) and had arrived at the banks of the St. Regis River, currently roaring with the spring runoff. Daphne climbed down onto a thin sheet of ice and I began yelling for her to get back up with me before she broke through and plunged into the rapids. She did so, and all was well:

And then we continued on. Clover climbed up on a glacial erratic, queen of all she surveyed:

At this point we were in a Cedar and Hemlock forest, typical of most river valleys around here:

Jack had probably never been so happy in all his life. He behaved pretty well too, though I could see that he imitated everything Clover did. That made me more determined than ever to keep Clover reined in and not running too far ahead:

The trail eventually took us back uphill to the elevated woodland where we had been before, circling around to the trail which had brought us to the river:

It was a gorgeous day and the dogs were happy:

Clover and Jack raced each other through the forest:

Clover ran like a tiny Greyhound and Jack couldn't quite keep up, but he sure tried:

We hiked through several different forest types:

Some sections had trail markers every twenty feet or so, but other sections were sparsely marked and I had to walk slowly and make sure I didn't lose the trail:

But soon we were back on the main trail, headed back to our parked car. The dogs had begun to slow down at this point, having run almost continuously since we'd begun:

The dogs saw the road and our car ahead at just about the same time I did. They wanted to run to it but I made them heel - all of them except Jack who had no idea what "Heel" meant and didn't care, either. But he was waiting for us at the car when we got there: