Degrasse State Forest - Part 3

The dogs and I were hiking in Degrasse State Forest (see also previous two posts) and had already been swimming in an oxbow of the Grasse River and seen a privately owned cabin in the forest. We were on our way back to the car:

I spotted a large patch of Yarrow in bloom along the way:

The dogs were no longer running ahead and needing me to holler at them. They were happy, tired and satisfied:

The forest of mixed conifers and hardwoods was beautiful, though the underbrush was thick:

I'd seen a coyote cross the road on my way to the trail head so I wanted the dogs to stay near me even more than I usually do:

Our walk back was leisurely and comfortable. I enjoyed the sights and sounds, the dogs enjoyed the scents:

Clover, who usually leads the way, began to lag and stay close to me:

But we were all happy and feeling as if we'd had a grand experience:

I got a stone in my shoe and stopped to get it out, so Fergus came back to see what was slowing me down:

We were almost back to the car and I felt some sadness that this hike was almost over:

We arrived back at the car:

But before we left, I saw this lovely pond. It was on private property, so we couldn't investigate - but I did take a photo:

Degrasse State Forest - Part 2

The dogs and I were hiking in Degrasse State Forest and had reached an oxbow where they went swimming (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). This was my favorite photo of the day because of the look of joy on Seamus' face:

But of course we couldn't stay at the oxbow all day, and the time came to head back to the main trail. We began climbing uphill and I spotted this blue Gentian flower and bud, the first of the season. I looked it up when I got home and decided it was a Soapwort Gentian:

And I saw large patches of Running Ground Pine, a Club Moss:

And Bunchberry, a miniature relative of Dogwood trees:

Fan Club Moss:

We got back on the main trail and continued on our way:

 But I had to stop when I saw this Club Moss. It was different from the Running Ground Pine, above. I looked it up when I got home and decided it was One-cone Clubmoss, Lycopodium lagopus, a northern species:

We reached the border with private land and someone's beautiful cabin among the pines:

They'd mowed the grass all the way down to the Grasse River (no longer the oxbow), but I didn't walk down there because it was private land. I could have pushed through the underbrush on state land but decided instead to begin heading back to where I'd parked the car:

Along the way I spotted some ripening Wild Blackberries:

And stopped to enjoy them:

We were on our way back the way we'd come. I'll post Part 3 tomorrow:

Degrasse State Forest - Part 1

We'd never been to Degrasse State Forest before, so one morning the dogs and I drove there, about 40 miles southwest of home. I found a place to park off the rough dirt road and opened my car door, only to discover a large Viper's Bugloss plant in full bloom. It was prickly and I had to step over it to get out of the car:

We hit the trail immediately. It was smooth enough to drive on - possibly better than the road we came in on, but we were there to hike, not drive:

The dogs were, as always, beside themselves with joy and kept trying to run ahead. That meant that I spent the first half of the hike calling them back:

We passed through a mixed forest of conifers and hardwoods, with so much underbrush that I never attempted leaving the trail. The dogs pretty much stayed on the trail also:

 I thought this was Spotted Knapweed, but it was too big. So I looked it up when I got home and decided that it was Black Knapweed:

It was a pleasant hike and we arrived before it got too hot, which is part of why it was so pleasant:

  I stopped at a patch of Wild Ginger. This plant blooms in the early spring so I've never seen its odd, brown flowers. This year I thought of it when the time was right but didn't want to hike in the chilly, muddy weather. Maybe some day I'll actually do it and get to photograph the flowers:

We took a side trail which I knew from the map would lead to an oxbow, a loop of the Grasse River which had become disconnected from the river and now exists as a sort of long, skinny, looping pond. The dogs saw the water below them and broke into a run:

The bottom was smooth and the water cool, so the dogs enjoyed it immensely. They've had a lot of water to play in this year and have come to regard it as a wonderful thing. Only Clover shies away sometimes:

Seamus immersed himself while Daphne and Fergus waded along the shore, where Jack had already gone back to so he could roll for joy:

The sun reflected off the water as the dogs lingered there:

I took a photo of the Oxbow, looking south. It looks just like a river, which it once was before it became disconnected. It sure was lovely. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

The Duck Pond And Oxbow Trail - Part 2

The dogs and I were hiking the Duck Pond trail and had made it to the Oxbow (see yesterday's post), but hadn't found any easy access to the water. So we headed off along a deer path which skirted a side hill:

The brush was thick, and there were many fallen trees, causing me much difficulty walking because of my leg braces. Many of the pictures I took were unusable because it was difficult for me to keep my footing and because the brush hid the dogs I was trying to photograph. But I did snap this photo of Seamus and Fergus with their new haircuts:

And I got a photo of these Blue Bottle Gentians (Narrow-Leaved Gentians) along the way:

Despite the difficulty of taking good photos at close range in all that brush, the vistas out over the Oxbow were magnificent:

I kept hoping to find an easy path to those lovely waters, but I never did:

Eventually we gave up and turned back toward the trail:

We started back toward our car, an occasion every bit as joyful for the dogs as when we'd begun our hike:

This was lovely country:

The dogs had slowed down by this time and took numerous side trips to sniff interesting things:

As for me, I was happy to stop and eat wild raspberries:

I remembered seeing Azure Mountain from this trail in the past, but never spotted it on this hike. So we just walked happily along:

We don't hike far anymore, and shortly we were back at the car. I hope to return soon and drive in as far as we hiked this time in order to explore farther:

The Duck Pond and Oxbow Trail - Part 1

I drove down Blue Mountain Road, in the Santa Clara Tract of the Adirondacks, to take the dogs for a short hike to some quiet waters. But along the way, I saw this updated sign for another trail and decided to hike here instead. The dogs were thrilled to be on any trail:

There was no one else parked at the trail head and, as usual, we had the entire forest to ourselves:

I drove this old road once and may do so again the next time, now that I know it's safe, so we can explore farther:

It was a happy, fun experience for the dogs:

A white Aster was blooming everywhere, along with fields of Goldenrod. I think I've identified the Aster as the Flat-Topped White Aster, Aster umbellatus. As for Goldenrod, there are so many species that I didn't even try:

We don't really hike very far these days, but we enjoy our little walks and experiences in nature:

I've worked for several years now to retrain the dogs to stick close by me and not run ahead. They are getting better, but it's been difficult to break them of bad habits:

And it's a blessing for me to see them all so happy. Little Jack, the terror of the Shelter just a few months ago, is a joy to watch as he runs and plays:

We veered right at a fork in the trail and headed downhill toward the oxbow:

The oxbow is a sinewy section of the St. Regis River which got off from the main river many years ago when the St. Regis washed out a new shortcut. It stretched out before us, pristine and lovely, with two small mountains in the background. I headed toward the water, hoping to find some easy access points:

The dogs were happy to go wherever I went, so we set off to explore:

We never did find a good access to the water, but I decided to follow a deer trail off along the side of a hill, stopping for a few Lowbush Blueberries along the way. I'll post about the deer trail tomorrow: