A Family Hike Along Quebec Brook - Part 2

I was hiking along Quebec Brook with my sister, my niece and five dogs. It was a wild and beautiful trail through Boreal Forest, a marvelous experience. Fergus and Clover did a bit of rock hopping at the river's edge but didn't want to go in. Fergus had already become so muddy that he had brown splotches all over his white fir, including one over an eye. I thought that made him look like Petey of The Little Rascals:

We walked down to Quebec Brook whenever we got the chance. It provided many lovely views, a bit of adventure and, in this instance, a nice place to sit and contemplate:

Quebec Brook is, I am told, a great fishing stream in the springtime, but I've never seen anyone else there at any time and it's clear that the trail is seldom used. It is a wild and pristine waterway:

We had already hiked up to the summit of Azure Mountain and back down, so this was our second hike of the morning. We were slowing down at this point and began our return trip to the car:

I love this picture! It shows my sister, my niece and all five dogs traveling along the mossy Quebec Brook trail:

The forest opened up in several places, providing long range views of wetlands associated with Quebec Brook. Mountain Alder was the predominant woody plant in these places:

And the dogs bounced merrily along the trail, a happy bunch of canines in a beautiful natural setting on a perfect day:

Who, us?

Little Madeline followed giant Seamus along the trail. He was a great guide, having made this trip several times already:

We traveled through leaves just beginning to color for the autumn:

And enjoyed the aroma of Balsam in the air:

The last stretch took us over moss covered trail with Spruce and Balsam overhead and Quebec Brook on our right side. We reached our parked car and I signed out at the kiosk, noting how very few hikers had been that way over the summer. So we'd finished two hikes already that morning. But were we done? No, there was one more short hike just down Blue Mountain Road a mile or so. But I'll post about that tomorrow:

Continuing Along Quebec Brook

If you've been following my posts about the Quebec Brook trail for the last three days, you may have formed the opinion that I have been gushing, exaggerating to the skies. I've even considered that perhaps I should tone down my rhetoric, but the truth is that it was far more beautiful than I am capable of relating to you. The overpowering, omnipresent perfume of the Balsams, the wilderness waterway, the thick carpet of mosses (a variety of species all mixed together) was quite wonderful. And yes, the Papillon "Silly Sisters" found it a grand place to run, play and wrestle:

We continued onward, sometimes on an easily traversed and easily seen trail such as shown here. But sometimes the footing became difficult. Trees had fallen across the trail in many places and remained where they'd hit the ground. It became clear to me that there'd been few hikers on this trail, at least past a certain point, and no maintenance for quite a while. But that's not a complaint. I enjoyed this hike thoroughly, and part of the reason I loved it so much was its utter wildness:

Seamus and Daphne cooled their paws and took a drink of clear brook water:

And of course Daphne had to sample the marsh grasses like a little Guernsey heifer:

Quebec Brook stretched out in both directions, bordered by Balsams, Spruces and Mountain Alders:

Seamus clambered up out of the water and shook himself. It was time for us to explore the trail farther into the wilderness:

The trail was alternately open and blocked by fallen trees. In places such as this one, it was easy to walk and quite beautiful. Those green leaves on the upper left, by the way, are of Mountain Alder:

The fallen trees eventually made it difficult to be sure where the trail was going. I persisted for a little way, but soon decided it'd be wise to turn back. It was getting late and this was, after all, our second hike of the day:

More mushrooms, more mosses, more Bunchberries:

One Bunchberry plant was actually blooming but, alas, the photo didn't turn out well enough to save:

By this time we were heading back toward our parked car and the trail head. There was no alternate route, no option but to retrace our steps:

Balsams, Mosses And Ferns Along Quebec Brook

As the dogs and I hiked the Quebec Brook trail, we made frequent exploratory side trips down to the riverbank whenever it looked easily accessible. The reward each time was an ever changing scene of great beauty:

A few access points were marked as canoe carries, though this one looked to me like a very difficult place to maneuver a canoe, either in or out of the water. But for our purposes, it was ideal:

The trail itself continued to follow the brook. It was still thickly carpeted with a variety of mosses and bordered with Mountain Alders and Balsam Firs:

A new type of mushroom in a bed of mosses:

The trail began to narrow and the forest began to intrude, its walls drawing in closer on each side as we hiked:

A Balsam branch hovered over the mossy carpet. I believed that the reddish moss was sphagnum, though I was not sure:

I saw occasional branching plants which I believed were Clubmoss. They were larger than the two species with which I was already familiar and fascinating. I've since searched for an identification and believe these were Running Clubmoss, Lycopodium clavatum, listed as a common resident of Boreal forests.  As always, feel free to correct me if I am wrong:

The trail got rockier, and in many places I could see that its foundation was a thick layer of rounded rocks, each about a foot in diameter. I learned that I had to watch for holes which could seriously damage an ankle if I was not watchful:

Recent frosts had turned almost all of the ferns brown. I at first found this odd because I so often find green ferns nestled in the snow on winter hikes. But I suppose it's simply a matter of different species:

Another glimpse of the constantly changing Quebec Brook:

Fergus likes to keep a watchful eye on me and returns to be sure I'm still with the group as we hike. Once satisfied, he again runs ahead with the Papillons. This was becoming one of my favorite hikes ever. But I'll post more tomorrow:

Beautiful And Wild Quebec Brook

The dogs and I were just getting started on the Quebec Brook trail. The beginning sections looked level and easy to hike. It was plain to see that this had once been a railroad bed. But that's far too practical a description for what was really going on in my head at the time. I was walking through what looked like a magical land with the aroma of Balsam Firs filling my head until it was difficult to think of anything else. I was spellbound in this enchanted forest as I walked down a path carpeted with emerald mosses of many kinds:

Quebec Brook was just to our left, a friendly presence as we walked. Without warning, Seamus bolted down a five foot embankment to immerse himself in its pristine waters. I guess he just couldn't wait any longer. As you can see, the other dogs followed his lead down to the riverbank:

Clover and Daphne, otherwise known as "The Silly Sisters," used the moment to play and to taste the clean water, their ripples causing the reflections of trees to bounce and sparkle in the afternoon light:

Besides the Balsam Firs, the other most common woody plant was the Mountain Alder. It has its own little imitation "pine cones" which dangled over the path like Christmas decorations:

I followed the dogs down to the shore to see what the brook looked like. It was magnificent, an example of what the pioneers must have seen:

There was still woody debris caught on rocks and I guessed that was a remnant of Tropical Storms Irene and Lee which had caused such flooding in the Adirondacks. But mostly I just relaxed, inhaling the Balsam perfume and appreciating the serene beauty:

Once back on the trail, we passed another giant mushroom. The area certainly had the feel of a magical forest:

Back down to the waters once again a little farther upstream, Seamus went in for another refresher:

Then the other three joined him, though they didn't actually go in:

The shoreline was billowing with Balsams and Spruces and Alders and Birches:

This thoroughly imperfect photo was one of my favorites, I suppose because it shows Daphne and Seamus at such an intimate distance and the wondrous Boreal Forest behind them. I'll post more tomorrow: