The Last Leg Of The Jug End Ridge Hike

It'd been a glorious hike to the Jug End Ridge and we were making the return trip back to the trail head. We arrived at a split log water crossing though my four dogs ignored it and simply trudged through the water:

And then a plank walkway over a muddy spot. I found it quite lovely, actually, as it snaked its way through the forest. But then I was extremely tired so perhaps my judgments were not to be trusted:

By this time even lively little Daphne was wearing out and stopped in the middle of the planks to look up at me plaintively. Sorry, Daphne, there's nothing to be done but keep on hiking:

But we of course did reach the trail head at beautiful Guilder Pond. I estimated that we'd hiked ten miles so far and our car was parked another two miles down the road:

In spite of all the colorful and varied mushrooms I'd found on the hike, I was a little disappointed that I'd seen no slime molds. Then I saw this tree trunk on the shore of Guilder Pond:

Was this a slime mold? I'm not sure, but the answer is a definite maybe:

We began walking down the washed out gravel road. Fergus suddenly felt a burst of renewed energy and ran around the edge of the pond to explore:

Seamus took a side trip also, apparently feeling the need to check for whatever it is dogs check for:

But as for me, I slogged tiredly down the gravel road. My toes hurt from jamming into the front of my shoes on the sharp declines in the trail, so much so that I tried walking down the road backwards. That, as you may guess, did not go well. You can certainly see here how much damage Tropical Storm Irene did to the road and why it'd been closed to vehicles:

And then I spotted a florescent orange slime mold on a tree stump. At least I'm pretty sure that's what this was. Luckily, it was right next to the road because I would have been too sore and tired to walk into the woods to take a picture:

And eventually we reached the locked gate and my parked car. Several other vehicles had been parking there but were just leaving. The dogs weren't even interested. They just wanted to get into the car and lie down. Me too, but I first had an hour and a half drive. But I'd been promising myself to return to Jug End Loop for a decade and I'd finally made it. Well, almost. But this would have to do for the time being:

Beginning The Hike Up Jug End Ridge

Tropical Storm Irene presented me with not much of anything except a lot of rain, nothing I hadn't seen before. In fact, by the afternoon it was almost over and I went to the gym and the grocery store, complete unaware of the devastation that other places all around me had suffered.

The next morning, still not realizing that there'd been a lot of damage, I drove to Mount Everett Reservation in northwestern Massachusetts to hike Jug End Ridge. I found some washed out roads on my way there and heard news reports of the destruction some places had suffered. When I arrived at the Mount Everett Reservation, I found the gate locked. I figured either someone hadn't gotten out of bed early enough or Irene had washed out the mountain road. It was perhaps two miles to the trail head, so I parked my car and began to walk up the road:

I quickly discovered that the reason for the locked gate was the devastated road which would have been completely impassible for my car. But my feet still worked and the dogs were happy to be out, so we kept heading upwards:

It was about two miles to the parking area and to lovely Guilder Pond:

And on the way, Fergus posed in front of a very large Mountain Laurel bush, possibly the same bush I photographed in full bloom earlier in the year:

And just past the parking and picnic area, I joined the Appalachian trail which passes by, going right up over the peak of Mount Everett, down to the parking area and then up to Jug End Ridge, which is where we were heading:

The trail entered the woods looking pleasant, level and easy. The sun was shining and I quickly forgot about Tropical Storm Irene. Most of the brush alongside the trail was Mountain Laurel:

But then I began to encounter lots of wet trails. In this spot, someone had built a kind of log bridge. I used it but the dogs seemed to think it was silly:

Fascinating mushrooms of many varieties had sprung up in the mosses all around (and in) the trail:

And the trail got wetter. The dogs walked right through the water but I endeavored to rock hop or find alternate routes:

And then the trail became a veritable stream. I was able, however, to walk along the sides, out of the water:

And I continued to be amazed by all the mushrooms. This family of apple red fungi was so stunning that I decided to take photos of all the different kinds I could find along the way:

The dogs uttered a startling "W OOF!" and I looked up to discover another hiker with a large yellow Pit Bull/Lab mix:

The dog was named Everett (after the mountain) and was exceeding well behaved and playful, a wonderful combination. He and Seamus played and then Everett chased the Papillons for a bit. I discussed hiking with dogs with Everett's dad and then they moved on ahead of us. We were well on our way. I'll post more tomorrow:

Part 5, Mountain Laurel Heaven

The dogs and I had hiked to the top of Mount Everett and back down. But before beginning the trip back home, we stopped at beautiful Guilder Pond to enjoy the views and get refreshed:

Seamus was sorely tempted to wade right in as he usually does, but for some reason did not. I was happy that he did not cover himself with mud. But all the dogs were fascinated by the shoreline and investigated it carefully:

My little red car waited for us beneath a canopy of cedar and hemlock:

At this lower altitude, the Mountain Laurel was still mostly in the bud stage, though still lovely. Nevertheless, I knew that we'd pass through a forest of full blooms on our way down the access road. I was looking forward to it:

After one last parting shot of beautiful Guilder Pond, the dogs and I piled back into the car and began our journey down the access road:

As we descended the mountain, the Mountain Laurels became taller and more numerous. Still mostly in the bud stage, I kept alert for the spots I'd seen on the way in where it was in full bloom

And then we were at a low enough altitude for the Mountain Laurel to be mostly fully open. I was not disappointed:

This surely is one of nature's most beautiful plants, and a woodland filled with them is a breathtaking sight:

Mountain Laurels are not tiny bushes. Just look at this one towering above my parked car:

When our hike was over and we were on our way home, I stopped for a cold diet sports drink (well, I actually had 3 of them because I was dehydrated). And then we drove along the small highways through Copake Falls and Hillsdale, New York on our way to the Taconic Parkway. But I couldn't resist stopping for one last photo of this totally unique little shop along the way. I suppose I should have stopped in to see what they had for sale, but in truth I was tired. So I snapped a photo and continued on my way toward home:

Part 4, Mountain Laurel Heaven

We were descending the trail down Mount Everett toward our parked car, the dogs and I. The day had been warm, sunny and breezy. At about the halfway point, the narrow, rocky trail became a gravel service road, making the walk easier. The rocky cliffs along the route provided magnificent scenery:

A mountain stream began flowing downhill along the edge of the trail and all four of my dogs were quick to help themselves to multiple drinks of clean, cool spring water:

We continued downhill, sometimes steeply and sometimes comfortably, through the emerald forest:

When we reached the car, I first had to spend some time with a large family of picnickers who fell in love with my dogs and wanted to hold the two Papillons. But then I began driving down the access road alongside beautiful Guilder Pond. When I saw a turn off, I took it and parked. There were even more Mountain Laurels here than on the steep mountainside, but most were still only in the bud stage:

The dogs and I threaded our way through the Mountain Laurels, Cedars and Hemlocks toward lovely Guilder Pond:

As Daphne and Clover, the two Papillon pups walked through the forest, passing beneath blossoming Mountain Laurels, the scene was surely magical:

And at last we arrived at the shore of Guilder Pond, with Mountain Laurels lighting up the forest like glorious little beacons:

Seamus wasted no time rushing toward the water:

Daphne and Clover found a safe spot to get a sip of water but were careful to keep their feet dry:

If there is a heaven, surely it must look like this. Or maybe we'll discover some day that this earth was heaven, and be judged for how we despoiled it or treated it with love:

Mount Everett, Part 4

This is the final post of my hike up Mount Everett. We were on our way back down the mountain when these photos were taken. This first is of all three dogs, Fergus, Seamus and Daphne, at the rocky shoulder which provided such grand panoramas:

You may need to click to enlarge this photo to see the dogs. Seamus is resting next to the trail on the left side of the picture and Daphne is cavorting, puppy-like, just beyond that big rock in the trail. And of course there's more wild Azaleas in full bloom:

Hey, Seamus is resting again! This big boy is not a ball of fire, but he sure is a companionable hiker as long as it's not too terribly hot and sunny. So we all took a brief rest on our way down the mountain. Descending is often more grueling than ascending because of the wear and tear on leg joints and the bruising of toes. At least it is for me, though the dogs seem just fine with the trips back down the mountains:

This picture demonstrates the dogs negotiating the large, sharp boulders in the trail. This seems to be par for the course when hiking in the Taconic Mountains:

And we arrived back at the stone lean-to with the nice view. The dogs were inspired by the large expanse of mowed lawn to run and play (as you saw in the video two posts ago):

Bluets and wild strawberries bloomed together in the grassy areas:

And violets mixed in with the wild strawberries in other places:

After we'd passed the stone lean-to, the trail was again a dirt road and much easier on the feet and legs. And still the wild Azaleas blossomed nearly everywhere I looked:

We continued hiking down the dirt road (which is closed to vehicles and therefore safe for dogs):

And I set the camera on a stump to get a self portrait. I'd wanted the dogs in the picture, but they were too busy playing:

Seamus did, however, pose in front of a large patch of Interrupted Ferns:

And also blooming was Clintonia, Clintonia borealis:

And Starflower, Trientalis borealis, aptly named as both flowers and leaves were star shaped:

When we reached the bottom of the mountain, I passed by our car and headed down to beautiful Guilder Pond. The dogs could get themselves cooled off and I could get myself all muddy:

The beavers had dammed up a corner of the pond, though it looked like they hadn't been active recently:

But the dogs surely enjoyed the muddy edges of the pond. Here's a couple of videos:



And a very brief video I'll just label "Mud Puppies:"