Water Loving Dogs At Whippoorwill Corners - Part 3

I was hiking with the dogs along Plumb Brook, in the Whippoorwill Corners State Forest (see also Parts 1 and 2, posted previously), but the time came for us to turn back toward the trail head:

I saw a dirt lane climbing up a steep hill and thought it might take us back where we wanted to go, so we tried it. It was marked as a horse path and probably did go where I wanted, but I didn't want to risk it. So we walked back down the hill and took the same trail we'd come in on:

The extra sunlight on the top of the hill produced a bumper crop of Orange Hawkweed, a beautiful, distinctive wildflower:

 

Soon we were back on the rocky brookside trail, where I remembered once again that going up rocky places is usually easier than going down:

Plumb Brook was now on our left as we made our way back on the trail:

Look, Dad, another place to cool off. Can we go in the water here?

Indeed they did. It was a fine stream for keeping dogs cool and watered on a hot day:


Back on the trail again. There were a few mosquitoes, but not too many:

 I found this clam shell near the water, likely the remnants of a raccoon's dinner and evidence that freshwater mussels live in the brook:

The little dogs wanted to rock-hop out to some rapids, and I didn't stop them. Both Seamus and I were tired and too unsteady on our feet to try it:

In a stretch of quieter water, Daphne got herself so drenched that she looked, as my mother used to say, "like a drowned rat:"

There was a stretch of quiet, shallow water just before the trail head, so we stopped once again for the dogs to explore the cool water of Plumb Brook. Then we all piled into the car and headed for home, arriving before the real heat wave began:

Water Loving Dogs At Whippoorwill Corners - Part 2

The dogs and I were hiking the trail along Plumb Brook in the Whippoorwill Corners State Forest (see also Part 1, posted yesterday):

And since it was a hot day, the dogs were even more anxious to go into the water than usual:

I'd let them cool off, then we'd continue on our way through the forest, with Plumb Brook always on our right:

Seamus led us through a number of patches of giant False Hellebore, a member of the Lily family which I've read can grow up to eight feet tall (four feet tall is the biggest I've seen):

Always staying beside the brook, the trail took us through a ferny woods:

Seamus sometimes wandered too far ahead and I had to call him back. Being old and tired, he hates to retrace his steps, but if he goes too far ahead of us, I insist on it:

I kept seeing these plants with the oddly shaped leaves and remembered learning what they were back in college. I thought they were called Lion something, so I looked it up when I got home. Indeed, they are Lion's-Foot, a member of the Composite (Daisy) family:

We continued on through the cool woods, watching for more easy places to access the brook:

Fergus found a place to get into the cool water!

And soon all the dogs were enjoying the brook (Jack was there too, somewhere):


Hey, there's Jack! I sat down on the river bank to rest, and Jack came up behind me to see what I was doing:


I was thinking that it must be about time for us to turn around and head back to the car, but the beauty of the scenery kept calling us forward. I'll post Part 3 tomorrow:

Water Loving Dogs At Whippoorwill Corners - Part 1

I'd been thinking about our first trip to Whippoorwill Corners State Forest last year which didn't go well because we began at the wrong end of the trail. I promised myself to go to the nicer part of the trail this year. So, with a heat wave expected to begin that afternoon, I drove there early in the morning, parked in the shade and let the dogs out to run:

The trail runs right along the banks of beautiful Plumb Brook (Plum Brook, without the "b," is north of here):

Plumb Brook is noted for its rapids and cascades, but most of it was relatively placid, and it certainly thrilled the dogs:

They investigated the cool waters at every opportunity - and even more so as the day warmed up:

I don't know if that dam is something beavers made or just the result of water rushing between the rocks, where the sticks get jammed (I suspect it was the latter), but either way, the dogs loved it:

And they went right in. In this photo, they appeared to be calling to Clover to come down and join in the fun:

In places, the trail went uphill, above the turbulent water below:

And in the dark, damp forest there were lots of Partridgeberries blooming. You can see their four-petaled white flowers and pink buds. You can also see one red berry and a White Pine cone from last year:

Fergus and Jack were very well behaved:

Oh look, Seamus, a quiet spot where we can swim:

And swim they did, prancing and splashing like happy children:

And then we again hit the trail. Jack and Daphne raced past a large Yellow Birch. But we were just getting started. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Whippoorwill Corners State Forest - Part 2

The dogs and I had tried the trail along Plumb Brook from the north end and were sorely (literally, given my bruises) disappointed. We made it back to the car and I began to leave. Then I remembered that the south end of the trail was only a short drive and maybe that would have the waterfalls, rapids and scenery that the state website had promised. So I drove there and let the dogs out. It was indeed pretty, and the dogs had easy access to Plumb Brook. So we kept walking:

The trail was rocky and skirted Plum Brook which did indeed have cascades and rapids:

As we climbed higher, Plumb Brook picked up speed and became more scenic:

I was bruised, wet and crabby - not to mention the braces on my legs - so I hesitated at the rocks. They weren't so bad, though, and provided some nice views of Plumb Brook:

It was also a great place for scenic photos:

Unlike the other part of the trail, there were places to access the brook although we didn't try most of them. It was pleasant to walk beneath the trees and look down on the roaring, tumbling waters below:

The dogs had calmed down a little and I was too spent to holler at them anyway:

And they enjoyed their doggy exploring:

But we didn't go far. I may return some day and start at this end. For this excursion, however, I was pleased that we'd found the scenery:

We made our way back toward our parked car, hopping from rock to rock in places:

All in all, this was a pleasant trail with great views:

Plumb Brook was as pretty as advertised, though maybe the use of the word "waterfall" was an exaggeration:

We enjoyed the scenery and adventure. The dogs got to drink cold, clean water, and I was happy I'd decided to give this end of the trail a try:

Whippoorwill Corners State Forest - Part 1

I discovered Whippoorwill Corners State Forest online and read that there was a trail along Plumb Brook with access to waterfalls, rapids and spectacular scenery. So I drove to the north end of the trail and started off with the dogs in a White Pine forest:

The trail was indeed along Plumb Brook (that's it on the left) but there was no river access and no waterfalls. I figured we'd get to them soon, so we kept walking. The dogs were so excited that I had to yell at them to keep them from running too far ahead. New trails seem to have that effect, causing the dogs such excitement that they run wildly:

The forest was lovely but we hadn't yet seen much of Plumb Brook:

Nevertheless, we kept walking:

We finally arrived creek-side and it was lovely, but with no waterfalls or rapids. There also was no access to the water's edge except at this one spot:

We left the forest and moved into an open area. That was more difficult walking, but it was full of wildflowers like Joe-Pye-Weed and Goldenrod:

This looked like potential tick territory to me, but we never saw any:

I did however see signs of beaver activity even though the water was not dammed and the bank was five feet higher than the water. I wasn't sure how the beavers got up there to chew these trees or where they took them after they got them back to the water:

The only water access we saw was at the top of five foot high, vertical, mud banks. Seamus wanted a drink of water and stretched himself down - and fell face first into the brook. He wasn't hurt but could find no way back up. I couldn't either, so I walked ahead to where I found a place where I could, with difficulty, get to the brook. Alas, I was too far away and out of sight, so Seamus stayed where he was, unable to save himself. I finally took the trail back to his location, emptied my pockets and climbed down. I was able to lift all 96 pounds of him up the five foot bank but then unable to hoist myself up. I fell backwards once, landing in the shallow water and getting bruised on the rocks. But I finally climbed back up and we started back toward the car.

I was tired, wet, cold and bruised. As far as I was concerned, this trail was best forgotten:

I did stop to admire some of the Goldenrod:

We had made it back to the White Pine forest when I noticed that Jack was missing. I began calling him and retracing our steps back to where Seamus had fallen off the bank. Jack finally arrived, but from in front of us. He'd run too far ahead again, a perfect example of why I don't want the dogs to do that. As you can see, this trail was not one I planned to ever repeat. But there is more to the story and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: