Chapter Three, Hays Brook Truck Trail

The dogs' paws had begun to hurt because of the snow, and my ankles were becoming quite painful (I later learned that I'd injured some tendons). So I decided to turn back toward the trail head:

I continued to marvel at the forest's beauty as we proceeded down the trail:

I stopped to admire the Balsam needles all covered with snow:

And the golden clumps of Beech leaves, still clinging to their branches and holding snowy orbs aloft:

The dogs began to run as they realized we were headed back to the car:

We crossed back over the Osgood River:

Seamus' paws were bothering him by then so I picked one up for a look. Well, it was no wonder they hurt. The snow was packed in between the pads:

But the dogs were happy, and so was I:

We continued along beneath the pines:

Clover looked back, much as Madeline had done earlier, to make sure we were still coming:

We hit the access road again, though it didn't look much different than the trail. But the dogs knew where we were and were very excited:

We trotted back to our parked car. We hadn't made it to Hays Brook, but it had been an excellent experience and we can try it again this summer:

Chapter Two, Hays Brook Truck Trail

It wasn't far to the bridge over the Osgood River and it soon appeared ahead of us, all covered with snow:

The river itself was not large, but it sure was breathtaking:

The dogs crossed the bridge ahead of me and Madeline once again looked back to see why I was so darn slow. Madeline watches my every move and you may notice her watchful gaze in many of my photos:

The trail split into three shortly after the bridge, and we took the middle road:

Debar Wild Forest was a splendid sight:

With towering pines filtering the sunlight, blue sky overhead:

I told Fergus, Madeline and Clover to sit so I could get their picture:

And then we continued onward, admiring the beauty:

Even Seamus seemed to be admiring the beauty:

The ski track trail became narrower and the walking more difficult:

And the trail took an uphill turn:

Little Madeline began stopping to pull the snow out from between the pads on her feet, I had to decide whether to go on or to turn back. But I'll post about that tomorrow:

Chapter One, Hays Brook Truck Trail

It was midday Monday up at the farm and I'd already toured Brasher Iron Works (see previous posts) and done my shopping in Massena.  There was still time for a hike and the weather was beautiful. So I drove south to the parking area for the Hays Brook horse trail and was surprised to find that in spite of the snow cover, quite a few other people had the same idea:

But there were four trails to choose from and a huge expanse of Debar Mountain Wild Forest in which to hike. I chose the Hays Brook Truck Trail, let the dogs out and headed down the road to the trail head:  

The road itself was quite beautiful although the snow was deep and the walking difficult. But the dogs were ecstatic and we forged onward:

We arrived at the trail head for three of the four trails and noted that Hays Brook, our destination was only 3 miles. Well, I thought, 3 miles each way might turn out to be quite a lot if the snow made for difficult walking. But there was nothing for it but to get started and then decide:

The cross country skiers had made a nice indentation in the snow and I kept inside of that. The dogs did also, at least most of the time:

It was sunny, the scenery beautiful and all was right with the world:

Madeline looked back to see what was taking the rest of us so long:

Seamus went ahead while the other four were stuck at some fascinating smell:

We proceeded through a forest of Red and White Pines, exquisitely beautiful with their frosting of snow:

And the youngsters ran ahead, then back, then ahead, then back. Oh, to have such energy!:

I was just happy to be out in nature again and especially so on such a clear, bright day:

I knew that the Osgood River was just ahead, but I'll post about that tomorrow:

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 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: