Madawaska Pond - Part 3

The dogs and I were hiking along Madawaska Pond in the Adirondacks (see also Parts 1 and 2, posted previously), and came to a sort of peninsula where people had been camping:

The dogs immediately ran to a big rock next to the water. It was very steep and the water there was deep, so I was a little worried:

And just as I'd feared, both Fergus and Seamus fell in. Fergus was strong enough to climb up the rock and get out, but Seamus was not. I tried to encourage him, but as he tired out, I realized this had crisis potential. I couldn't go in wearing my leg braces and might not be able to get back out myself if I tried. So I hooked two six foot leashes together and looped one end. I lassoed his head with it and hauled him up the steep rock and out of the water:

Seamus had to rest for awhile after his rescue, and the other dogs got to explore the campsite on the peninsula while he recuperated:

But pretty soon, he was back on his feet and I called Clover to come with us:

Daphne, I learned, had also gone into the water but had found a safe place to do it. She too stopped her play and came with us as we returned to the main trail:

Before turning back toward our car, we went to look at the old dam, which blocks Quebec Brook to form Madawaska Pond. It was so decrepit that I began to wonder if it was the reason for the low water level. The Adirondacks has strict rules about leaving most places natural, so it may be that they will not repair the dam. That would be a shame:

The dogs were overjoyed again to be on the trail, though their previous excess of energy had by that time been much reduced:

Seamus was tired, wet and subdued. Jack was still a bit shaken and stinky, and the other dogs had run off some of their exuberance, meaning that I got to walk peacefully with my dogs as we returned on the trail to our parked car:

I knew this wildflower immediately from previous hikes. It was Whorled Aster, a sure sign of coming autumn:


Madawaska Pond was on our right, the forest on our left and soft, aromatic pine needles underfoot:

Almost back to the trail head, I felt grateful for a wonderful hike in a beautiful forest:

Madawaska Pond - Part 2

The dogs and I were hiking in to Madawaska Pond, a scenic gem in the Adirondacks, a short drive from home:

The forest was mostly towering White Pines, interspersed with sections of hardwoods:

And then we arrived at Madawaska Pond. The dogs ran down to the shore and waded in:

It was great fun and resulted in happy and refreshed dogs:

As I said, Madawaska Pond is a scenic Adirondack gem. Floating peat islands dotted the water and Fragrant Water Lilies bloomed like stars on a summer night:

But we had more walking to do, so I gave the dogs a call and we headed back onto the trail:

I stopped to photograph Fireweed in bloom. Fireweed is common in the Adirondacks and a beautiful member of the Evening Primrose Family:

And everywhere we went we saw natural beauty, heard bird songs and smelled pine and moss:

I stopped once again, this time to photograph Bunchberries, a member of the Dogwood Family. I was too late to see the flowers, as all the plants were already producing berries:

Jack and Seamus posed for a photo:

I began looking for a place to empty the sand and pine needles from inside my braces and shoes, and discovered this interesting little wildflower. I recognized it as a Pyrola but had to wait until I got home to look it up and learn that it was a Shinleaf Pyrola, a member of the Wintergreen Family:

My ankles were getting painful and I wasn't sure if I could get to the dam on Quebec Brook which created Madawaska Pond. I kept thinking it would be the next sunny area, just up ahead. But even though I must have been very close to it, I finally decided that it would be wiser for me to turn back toward the car. I'll post Part 3 tomorrow:

A Summer Trip To Quebec Brook, Part 2

We walked the Quebec Brook trail past fallen trees and over puddles until the trail became hard to find at all. Given my injured ankles and recent fall, I decided to play it safe and turn back toward the trail head:

We headed back the way we'd come and were on the trail when I captured this photo of Madeline looking admiringly up at her big buddy, Seamus:

And a happy group of dogs, all in a bunch. Only Fergus was off on his own:

The trail took us back along Quebec Brook:

This is a female Black-Winged Damselfly. Her wings have a white spot on them and her body is black instead of iridescent green. The male was pictured in yesterday's post:

We ventured off the trail into the Boreal forest every now and then just to experience the beauty and wonder of it all:

Seamus appeared to get tired and plopped his gigantic body down in the middle of the trail. I just walked past him and he pushed himself up and followed us:

The "Silly Sisters," only this time they weren't being so silly:

Clover and Madeline looked like small worshipers in the Boreal forest cathedral:

And onward we traveled along the ever changing trail:

A micro-mushroom. It was so tiny that I put my hand there for a size comparison:

And there was our car. The dogs were as happy to see it as they were to get out and see the forest. Dogs are happy about life in general, and that's a large part of why they are such a blessing to our lives. But this hike was finished. We weren't done for the day, though, and I'll post more from that summer afternoon in the future:

A Summner Trip To Quebec Brook, Part 1

We'd had a lot of rain, so much so that I knew I should keep the tractor off the fields lest I tear up the soggy ground. Or at least that was the excuse I used for taking an afternoon off to go hiking. I went back to one of my favorites, Quebec Brook:

Quebec Brook trail is one of the loveliest examples of Boreal forest in all of the Adirondacks. We walked across carpets of moss through air filled with the aroma of Balsams:

I'd hoped that the copious rain would have produced a bumper crop of colorful mushrooms, but it did not. Nevertheless, it was a beautiful, wild and peaceful path through unspoiled forest. I'd noted when I signed the trail book that no one else had been on the trail for the past month:

Oh, look - a colorful mushroom. It was tiny and alone, but it was a wonderful red color:

It's been been clear to me for the last several years that little if any trail maintenance has happened here. Fallen trees blocked the way in places and the trail eventually became impassable, at least for an old codger like me with bad ankles. But for the time being, it was easy walking and with a cathedral-like beauty:

We walked down along Quebec Brook:

This brook, if I'd had a canoe, would have taken me to Madawaska Pond. I've read that it's also terrific fishing:

I ventured down a steep bank but Madeline and Seamus thought they'd just stay where they were:

But then we returned to the emerald-carpeted trail to continue on our way. I told Madeline to sit so I could get a portrait of her:

Black-Winged Damselflies were everywhere. This one, with its solid black wings and iridescent green body was a male. I'll post a photo of a female in tomorrow's post:

The trail began to get smaller and more overgrown:

Blackberries would be ripe here later in the summer, but for now I just admired their flowers. I'll post Part 2 of our Quebec Brook hike tomorrow:

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: