Chapter 4 - Wolf Lake State Park

My sister, my five dogs and I had hiked to Moon Lake, then to Wolf Lake, and back again to Moon Lake. From Moon Lake, we then continued on toward Huckleberry Lake. Daphne and Clover wondered why I was so slow, but by this time my injured ankles had become quite sore:

We arrived at the Huckleberry Lake lean-to (notice the campfire ring) and took our third rest there to enjoy the wild sights, sounds and aromas:

Huckleberry Lake is much larger than the other two, a very long, narrow body of water - a thing of great beauty:

The trail took us away from the lean-to and up atop a rocky ridge which formed the eastern border of the lake. It was a fine place for wondrous views and it was fairly easy walking, too - at least as long as you didn't trip and fall down its steep sides:

The long ridge walk offered magnificent views over its entire length. By this time, the dogs too had slowed down and were staying close to us:

Huckleberry Lake, a photographer's dream:

More Huckleberry Lake scenery:

One wouldn't want to walk this trail dizzy or drunk:

That high ridge may have had a sobering drop off, but it certainly offered up magnificent scenery:

The trail then pulled away from the lake and back into the Adirondack forest where we passed beneath some very old, large growth White Pines:

We continued on past more beaver ponds:

And on into the forest, eventually reaching the trail head. You can see Fergus' muddy feet here from wading through the edges of the beaver ponds. We were tired and hungry, so we stopped and bought pizza to eat on our way home. It had been a great day. The next morning, my sister left for home:

Huckleberry Lake, Part 2

We'd reached the magnificent Huckleberry Lake, one of three pristine gems in the Wolf Lake State Forest. The trail took us along a high, rocky ridge which formed the boundary of one side of the lake:

It was easy walking and plenty scenic. The dogs played and were very happy:

The dogs kept an eye on me but still had lots of fun. I could see islands in the lake just ahead of us:

The last time we'd hiked this trail I had to keep Seamus on a very short leash because he was still wobbly from his brush with heat stroke. But this time everything was perfectly happy and a spectacular experience for the senses:

The trail took a scenic turn downhill toward the lake shore. I had to be careful not to twist my ankle again as I climbed down the rocks:

We walked closer to the water's edge:

The ubiquitous reddish coating on the ground was old White Pine needles from the trees that appeared to be growing on nothing but rock:

I lost the trail at one point and had to backtrack, but that was just fine with little Madeline. It was all a fun adventure for dogs and they'd go whichever direction I wanted:

Over more rocks and past more scenic beauty:

I found this leather leash and control chain dog collar atop a rock by the edge of the lake, and that got me to speculating about what may have happened here. Was there a potentially out of control dog ahead of us on the trail? Had someone come here to end his dog's life? I never got an answer, but supposed a dog owner had simply forgotten it along the way. There were no other people (or dogs) anywhere. We had the forest all to ourselves:

I found the trail again and we continued on our way:

I took lots of photos (as you can see) because the place was so incredibly scenic, the dogs so happy and the weather so perfect. This was likely to be our last major hike of the year and I wanted to be able to fully share it:

Huckleberry Lake, Part 1

This was likely to have been our last hike of the season and so far it had been magnificent beyond anything I could have hoped. Even my sprained ankle was holding up fairly well. We'd already visited Moon Lake, Wolf Lake and then Moon Lake again. We were now on our way to Huckleberry Lake, the largest of the three. I remembered that it was hemmed in by large rocky outcroppings on one side and thought, as we climbed these rocks, that Huckleberry Lake would appear on the other side:

We found water, all right, yet it was not Huckleberry Lake but another of the numerous beaver ponds. Nevertheless, I knew that Huckleberry Lake was very close:

We dropped down a hill to the beaver pond:

And then waded through a flooded trail:

And finally caught our first glimpse of Huckleberry Lake:

We climbed up onto the rocky outcropping which formed the boundary of one side of the lake:

And followed the tail down to a lean-to at the water's edge:

Seamus went into the water and the other dogs took a drink. I rested briefly:

And then we climbed back up to the rocky ridge along the edge of the lake. That's where the trail was:

The lean-to looked picturesque and inviting down below us as we continued on our way:

The ridge trail was smooth and scenic, and the dogs ran and played:

The trail occasionally took us into the forest, but mostly we stayed on top of the ridge. But I'll post more tomorrow:

Passing By Moon Lake A Second Time

The dogs and I left Wolf Lake and followed the trail back to Moon Lake. But we passed by the trail by which we'd arrived, taking instead a lake shore path to the rocky ledges at the edge of Moon Lake:

And arrived at a lean-to nestled in the pines and warmed by the slanting rays of the afternoon sun. This was the same lean-to at which I'd pulled Seamus into the cooling waters of Moon Lake this past May when he was suffering from heat stroke:

There was a narrow inlet on one side of the lean-to which we hadn't previously seen, so of course we did a bit of exploring:

We returned to the lean-to but none of the dogs wanted to go in the water:

It was time to forge ahead, this time aiming for Huckleberry Lake. I asked the dogs if they were ready:

And we all bounded off into the forest once again, following the trail signs:

This part of the trail was much longer than I'd remembered it and of a different sort of geology and forest type than we'd seen so far:

Seamus finally plopped himself down and wanted to take a rest. There was nowhere comfortable for me right there, but I was ready for a rest also. I called him along, but kept my eyes peeled for a good resting spot:

Great rocky cliffs began to rise up all around us:

And I found a hillside where I could sit down and take a rest. I even took off my shoes and put my feet up onto a tree trunk. We were all happy. Notice little Clover up on top the hill above me and Daphne's head peeking out from behind my shoulder:

And then, after a little rest, we continued onward toward Huckleberry Lake. The rocky, ankle-twisting trail which had nearly bested me at the beginning had turned smooth and easy. And it was good thing, too, for my ankle and I were both getting tired:

We traveled on and on through spectacular scenery, Huckleberry Lake our next stop. But I'll post more tomorrow:

Wolf Lake Loop Trail, Part 4

Seamus seemed to be having a case of heat stroke or an allergic reaction to the deer flies, or something. I'd gotten him cooled off twice, once in Moon Lake and once in Huckleberry Lake. Then I let him rest and recuperate for awhile before we resumed walking:

Huckleberry Lake was so exquisite that I couldn't imagine it wasn't flooded with tourists. But it's in a wild forest and requires a hike in and out, so I suppose most folks won't go to all that effort - especially in deer fly season (which is pretty much all summer long):

The eastern shore of Huckleberry Lake was contained by a wall of rock, and just on the other side of that rock was yet another beaver marsh. The trail wound back and forth between the two bodies of water:

I kept Seamus on a leash as we continued along the shore of Huckleberry Lake. There were no more access points to the water, though, as the trail was high up on the wall of rock:

But the views were magnificent.

I wasn't taking many photos, just walking slowly along with Seamus on a leash:

We arrived at a lean-to with water access just as a couple of folks in a canoe were leaving. I explained what I was doing, took everything out of my pockets and walked Seamus right down into the water until it covered everything but his head. I don't think he liked it much, but it did him a world of good. When we came out, Seamus and I lay down to dry out and Daphne bounced around, still having fun:

Seamus seemed much revived as we continued on our way along the shore of Huckleberry Lake toward the trail head. Nevertheless, I kept him on a leash lest he take another tumble down one of those rocky cliffs:

When the trail veered away from the lake I stopped for one farewell shot:

I then allowed Seamus off his leash. He was doing pretty well by then, but you can tell in this photo that he was still a little unsteady:

We passed more beaver marshes:

And Clover looked so tiny in that big forest. The daylight just ahead of her was a trail head. It wasn't our trail head, though. We had to walk another third of a mile on a dirt lane to get to our parked car:

The last third of a mile was a breeze, and both Seamus and I were overjoyed to rest our weary bones in a comfortable, carpeted car with air conditioning and windows to keep out the deer flies. I'd love to hike this again some day, but will only do it in the spring or the autumn when the temperatures are cooler and the deer flies are absent. Seamus, by the way, went on a diet immediately following this hike and is doing well and looking much thinner: