A New Favorite Hike - The Santa Clara Waterfalls - Part 1

The owners of the feed store told me about a short trail to a waterfall where I could walk the dogs. It sounded almost too good to be true, but I was excited about it and drove the dogs there the next day. It was located exactly where they'd said, only 16 miles from my door. I parked my car and let the dogs out to run:

The trail was easy to walk and took us through a beautiful forest of Balsam Fir, Hemlock and Mountain Maple:

The ground beneath the trees was covered with moss and Canada Mayflowers:

The dogs were wild with excitement to be out on another adventure, and they stopped to sniff every smell along the way. At other times, they ran too far ahead and I had to holler at them:

Just as it had been described to me, we soon saw a smaller, less used trail take off to the right. We followed it:

A fallen tree was covered with small, orange fungi which looked like upside down mushrooms. I stepped over it but forgot to watch Seamus, who has always had difficulty with such obstacles. He either managed to step over it or walked around:

We took several forays into the trees (mostly Balsams), just to see what we could see:

One thing we saw was lots of Partridgeberry:

We heard the roaring water before we could see it. The dogs ran ahead and I again called them back. But soon we all arrived at the falls:

There were flattish rocks at the base of the falls, and Fergus and Daphne rushed out onto them. I followed cautiously because I am rather clumsy in my leg braces:

The falls were not high, but they were nonetheless dramatic and magnificent. The dogs found them lots of fun to explore:

We all climbed up on a higher rock and I marveled at the beauty of the St. Regis River (east branch):

Then the little dogs clambered down to the water's edge again for a drink of pure water and to investigate. Seamus and I, both of us awkward and prone to falling, stayed up on the flat rock where we'd be safe. But we had just arrived and there was much more to see. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Fort Jackson State Forest - Part 3

The dogs and I had hiked down to the St. Regis River in the Fort Jackson State Forest (see also Part 1 and 2, posted previously). We ascended the riverbank up to the main trail to begin our journey back to the car:

This trail follows the river through a largely Hemlock forest. It is level and scenic, perhaps 30 feet from the river, high enough not to flood:

We turned left, up the steep hill which would return us to our car, when I saw an eyeball in the trail - yes, an eyeball! It was shocking and gruesome, its size and pupil shape indicating it was from a deer. I didn't want to touch it with my finger, so I used a twig and discovered it was made of glass:

I picked it up and brought it home, then checked online and learned that it was a taxidermist's eye for a deer head. I figured that it must have been from a deer decoy being carried into or out of the forest last autumn during hunting season. For me, it was a highlight of our little adventure and it now sits permanently on my kitchen counter:

 The Hemlocks began to be replaced by Northern Red Oaks:

And as we climbed higher, the soil became very sandy and the trees became mostly Red Pines:

This was an entirely different landscape than we'd encountered previously, though a fairly common type in the Adirondacks:

Green mosses and blue Reindeer Lichens carpeted the ground:

And the coolness we'd experienced down by the river turned to hot summer, with the loud buzzing of insects (still no biting insects though):

The pines began to change to hardwoods and the sandy ground began to be more like forest soil when we reached the top:

I must have have inadvertently taken a different turn than usual, for we emerged into a clearing exactly at our parked car. That was highly convenient, but I wouldn't have wanted to have accidentally gone past it. I'll be alert to that possibility the next time:

A Walk In A Boreal Forest

I'd worn my new ankle braces for about a week when I decided to try a short hike. Besides, the weather was lovely and the dogs were anxious to get outdoors and run. So I drove to Blue Mountain Road in the Santa Clara Easement of the northern Adirondacks, parked and let the pooches out:

I chose the trail to Madawaska Pond, knowing full well that private landowners had posted the last segment of the trail against trespassing. I only wanted a pleasant, easy walk through the Boreal Forest with my dogs and to test out the new braces:

Daphne was a happy dog and seldom stopped to rest:

And the scenery was spectacular. The black flies had begun but weren't biting (much) yet. They were swarming and pesky, but not painful. They ruined many of my photos by swarming in front of the camera or landing on its lens:

The air was perfumed with sweet Balsam and Pine. Ravens croaked and White Throated Sparrows sang from the trees:

Fergus and Seamus had both been sheared the previous day and Fergus seemed embarrassed by his new haircut. I didn't tell him so, but he really did look kind of silly:

The forest on either side of the trail was dense and almost impenetrable, so we stayed on the road:

We crossed over a roaring brook:

It was only a short trail and I didn't even walk to the end of it. I just walked until my legs began to feel a bit tired and the black flies had exasperated me. Then I turned around and called the dogs back toward the car:

Seamus' new haircut:

The "Silly Sisters," Daphne and Clover, hung together as they explored the mossy sides of the trail:

We hadn't gone far, so we were back at our parked car in a jiffy. It had been just right. I got to try out my new braces, the dogs had gotten to run, and we'd all enjoyed an afternoon in the Boreal Forest:

Part 2, Southville State Forest

The dogs and I had hiked down to the banks of the St. Regis River and little Clover ran right to the water's edge. Madeline gave me a big smile but wouldn't go one step closer to the rushing water:

We began walking along the river while staying in the trees:

There were pools of water, remnants of the recently melted snow which the dogs found fascinating:

And then we headed back uphill toward the car:

The forest had been mostly Hemlocks down along the river, but became a mix of Red Oak and White Cedar midway up the hill:

As we neared the top, the forest became a mix of White Pine and Red Pine:

We took a few side trails, just for the sake of exploring. This photo caught Clover and Daphne, AKA "The Silly Sisters," wrestling in the middle of the trail. It's no wonder I often have to yell to get their attention:

We ventured onto unmarked trails and walked beneath the young pines:

I turned several times onto new trails, making a mental note of each one so I could remember the way back:

Then we walked off the trail and into the forest. I got four of the dogs to hold still long enough for this photo but Clover couldn't hold still even that long. She was off running:

We began making our way back to the car:

And everyone climbed back up into the car with great excitement. It would be dinnertime as soon as we arrived home and that was just one more reason for these dogs to be happy:

Fort Jackson State Forest Via Barrett Road - Part 2

The dogs and I had hiked down to the banks of the St. Regis River and it was lovely. But the time soon came to return to the car, so I gave a call and we began retracing our steps:

The lower forests, near the river, were mostly old growth Hemlock:

Seamus, Fergus and Madeline on the trail. The two "Silly Sisters" were off somewhere, no doubt acting silly:

Little clover smiled for the camera while Daphne looked on from above:

We all walked around this fallen tree except for Madeline. She insisted on walking right through its branches:

As the trail brought us higher, the forest became mostly mixed hardwoods:

More fallen Mountain Maple leaves. They have more variety than any other species I know. Some day I'll find a collection of different colors and patterns and photograph them all together:

As the trail brought us higher, the forest became mostly Red Pine, with a green carpet of mosses and lichens on the ground:

It all appeared quite magical, reminding me of Black Forest scenes in my old Viewmaster when I was a youngster. Could the Big, Bad Wolf be just around that bend?:

The dogs played on the green moss:

And we continued on:

We saw the car up ahead. That produced as much doggy excitement as did arriving here:

Everyone jumped happily up into the car, which I very carefully turned around and aimed homeward: