Chapter 3 - Hike To Grasse Pond, Debar Mountain Wild Forest

The dogs and I had hiked in to the Grasse Pond lean-to in the Debar Mountain Wild Forest and were making our way back to the trail head:

I never grow tired of seeing the dogs happy and excited as the explore the wonders along a forest trail, especially one as flat and easy to walk as this one:

I remembered that these dead looking, brown sticks were a parasitic plant, but didn't remember which one. I looked it up when I got home and decided that they were Beechdrops, a plant which lives on the nutrients it steals from Beech trees. In this case, I think they were the dried stems from last year's plants:

And a gorgeous, red button-capped mushroom:

And a flat capped mushroom whose colors and textures reminded me of toast with butter and raspberry jam:

We hiked onward through this wonderland of natural beauty:

This was surely one of the most pleasant hikes we've taken in a long time:

The Bunchberries were covered with scarlet berries and brightened the pathway:

And I focused my attention to the smaller plants and lichens which formed a wonderful miniature landscape of color, texture and wonderment:

The hike back from Grasse Pond seemed so much longer than the hike going in that I'd begun to worry we'd taken a wrong turn. But I knew we were on the right trail when we arrived at the bridge over the Osgood River. The dogs went in for a drink, a bit of play and a cooling off:

The sun was making it difficult for me to get photos, so I walked around some bushes to stand on a different part of the shoreline. I quickly sank down to my knees in the closest thing to quicksand I've ever encountered, and then fell backwards. I managed to keep one arm and the camera above the mud, but the rest of me was a brown, muddy mess:

I snapped a photo of the dried flower heads of Joe-Pye Weed as we got back onto the trail to finish our hike. I tried to clean myself of mud before getting back into the car but was largely unsuccessful. So we just drove home. But it had been an exciting morning and we'd seen lots of natural Adirondack beauty:

Chapter 2 - Hike To Grasse Pond, Debar Mountain Wild Forest

We'd hiked into the Debar Mountain Wild Forest to the Grasse Pond lean-to (see yesterday's post) and had just arrived at the southern end of Grasse Pond. The dogs began running excitedly toward the pond for a closer look:

The trail between the lean-to and Grasse Pond was, appropriately, all covered with grass and became spongier and bouncier as we made our way toward the water. It became apparent that we were walking on a floating peat bog:

Seamus was headed toward the pond with gusto, but stopped short of the water when he realized that the surface beneath him was becoming too treacherous to hold his weight::

I stopped short of the water also as I surely didn't want to break through the floating peat bog. But Grasse Pond was a gorgeous and pristine wild lake. I knew that I was seeing something sacred:

Being much lighter and more adventurous, Daphne continued to bounce through the grass like a silly little bunny rabbit. She sure has fun:

I was wearing brand new shoes and they were sinking into the water with each step. I didn't want to ruin them, so began moving back toward dry land. This picture shows the sphagnum surface on which we walked, complete with water bubbling to the surface, grasses and cranberry plants:

The path became less spongy and more stable as we returned toward the lean-to:

Once back in the forest, we began the return trip to the trail head:

We passed by the lean-to once again and the dogs, of course, checked one more time for dropped food or bacon drippings. Hope never dies:

Having found no food scraps, we all continued on our way:

My dogs stayed together very nicely, perhaps because it was such easy going. They still had a marvelous time, though, playing and sniffing and peeing and doing all the usual dog things:

Back through the deep forest we traveled, the trail seeming to me to be much longer than it had when we walked going the other way. Since the trail was unmarked and there were a few side trails, I began to wonder if I'd made a wrong turn. But I'll post more tomorrow:

Chapter 1 - Hike To Grasse Pond, Debar Mountain Wild Forest

I'd gotten an early start that Monday morning and hiked Panther Mountain and taken driving photo tours of the hamlet of Keese Mill and the town of Brighton. But it was still morning and I wanted to do one more hike. I chose to hike in to Grasse Pond (some spell it "Grass Pond") in the Debar Mountain Wild Forest. The trail head was adjacent to Mountain Pond and the Hays Brook Horse Trail where I frequently stop with the dogs on my way to and from the farm. The sign said it was 3 miles to the lean-to:

This trail was reported to be level and exceedingly easy walking. It was exactly that, and lovely also.

The dogs were ecstatic to be on another hike, and gave everything a thorough sniffing:

We passed through deep forests on a broad, level trail which enabled me to enjoy the views instead of carefully watching where I set down each foot:

We arrived at an old plank bridge spanning the Osgood River:

I made a mental note to explore the Osgood River on our return trip:

The trail forked shortly after we crossed the bridge and we bore to the right, heading for the Grasse Pond lean-to:

This trail was lined with ferns of all kinds, but especially Bracken Ferns. I don't think I've seen so many Bracken Ferns since my childhood summers in Oregon where we used to pull them up and use them as spears to throw at each other while playing "Cowboys and Indians:"

Are we almost there yet, Dad?:

The trail wasn't marked, but I thought it was obvious enough where to walk and didn't think we'd get lost:

The dogs alerted me to a pile of feathers in the trail and I took a closer look. Some bird, possibly a Blue Jay (judging by the striped feathers), had become someone's dinner here. I didn't notice at first, but whoever had eaten this bird had left behind its intestines, which look rather like earthworms in this photo:

And then we reached the Grasse Pond lean-to. The dogs ran quickly around to the front of it where they hoped to find food scraps or bacon drippings. I was more interested in seeing Grasse Pond, but I'll post more about that tomorrow: