Floodwood Loop Trail, From Little Pollywog Pond To The Pollywog Pond Extension

We had made our way from Middle Pond to Pollywog Pond to Little Pollywog Pond and were on our way back toward the trail head:

The forest was scenic and fragrant, the dogs happy and playful. We never saw or heard another person, either in the forest or on the lakes:

We continued back the way we'd come. In this photo, we were crossing a small peat bog:

The forest was lovely, reminding me of the fairy tale Black Forest pictures of my childhood:

Daphne kept an eye out for big bad wolves, ogres and the like:

The moss covered sides of the trail lent a soft aura of comfortable mystery to the hike:

We took a detour when we reached the canoe carry trail, however. This canoe carry was a portage between Middle Pond and Pollywog Pond:

And this was the destination we sought. It was Pollywog Pond again, but a distinct "lobe" of it, almost a separate lake:

This quiet section of Pollywog Pond was quiet and wild, and the dogs did some exploring out on that peninsula. I didn't follow them because I was sure I'd sink down in:

And then we began returning to the main loop trail. I noticed that the canoe carry was broader, wider and easier walking than the regular hiking trail. But of course that made sense because those using it would likely be carrying their heavy canoes:

The dogs began to slow down, even the "Silly Sisters," Daphne and Clover:

The forest turned from mostly coniferous to mostly hardwood as we neared the trail head:

All in all, it was a spectacular hike, and one to which I hoped to return - especially since there remains so much of it we never got to see:

Floodwood Loop Trail, Pollywog Pond To Little Pollywog Pond

From Middle Pond (see yesterday's post), we set off again, this time aiming for Pollywog Pond:

Big, moss covered fallen trees were everywhere, so I set Fergus on one for a photo. He didn't look like he was enjoying it, though:

But he certainly enjoyed the hike, with so much to see, hear, smell and taste:

We crossed over an old beaver dam:

And stopped to photograph this bright red mushroom:

And then, just ahead, we caught a glimpse of Pollywog Pond:

We had to cross over this log to get to it, but I wanted to go down to the water's edge:

Pollywog Pond is, according to the map, quite large. But it consists of a series of loops, bends and bays, so it was impossible to see the entire lake. Nonetheless, it was both wild and beautiful:

But of course there was a lot more to see, so we continued on the trail toward our next destination:

And that next destination was Little Pollywog Pond. This one had a sandy, gradual shoreline so the dogs got to go in and splash around:

My dogs sure have a grand time outdoors, running and playing, sniffing and splashing:

But that was as far as we went. I turned back toward the trail head where we'd parked:

We crossed back over the old beaver dam and through the forest. I'll post Part 3 tomorrow: