Winter Cathedral Of Pines - Part 3

The dogs and I were hiking on the Red Dot Trail (see previous two posts) and on our way back through the wintry beauty to the trail head:

I've never hiked this trail in the summer, but I can tell you that it's absolutely spectacular in the winter:

Clover ran on ahead and waited for us to catch up, but Daphne kept running back to check with me:

Seamus is given to gazing off into the trees and thinking deep, doggy thoughts - whatever those may be:

I didn't cross this bridge when we came to it, but the dogs sure did, running back and forth across the water just for the fun of it:

I heard no bird songs or calls, saw no animal tracks. It was quiet and mysterious:

The two Papillons continued to bounce and play:

Almost there:

We made it back to Osgood Pond, where Clover once again went to the shore to contemplate its mysteries:

Daphne joined her, appearing as if some force of nature was beckoning them:

But we continued on:

When we arrived at the trail head, the two Papillons finally ran out onto the ice of Osgood Pond. They ran full speed, headed for that peninsula, and then full speed back to join the rest of us as we plodded up the road to our parked car:

Winter Cathedral Of Pines - Part 2

I was hiking the Red Dot Trail with the dogs (see Part 1, yesterday) and we'd nearly reached Church Pond. The dogs were excited and began picking up speed as we approached:

Church Pond has a very nice lean-to and we all gave that a thorough examination:

Then we walked down to Church Pond and I went (very carefully) out onto the narrow, sinking dock for a photo down the length of the pond's icy surface:

But then it was time to continue on:

I walked and the dogs ran until we got to an intersection which gave me the choice of going down a steep, snowy hill or turning right and going uphill where no one had yet broken the snow. Since I was wearing only my braces and sneakers (which is all that will fit over the braces), I decided instead to turn back the way we'd come:

That was fine with the dogs and they ran on ahead with almost as much excitement as when we'd begun:

The big pines made it almost cathedral-like, and the dogs looked quite small beneath them:

The dogs may not have gotten tired, but just about this time they began to get snow stuck up between the pads of their paws. That slowed them down with occasional stops to clean their paws:

We once again began to see Osgood Pond off through the trees:

I decided that the first part of the hike was the most beautiful and was happy to be traveling through it once again:

The dogs had slowed down by then, but as you can see by Fergus' ears, they were still running:

And there were moments of quiet reflection. Yes, even for the dogs. But we weren't finished yet. I'll post Part 3 tomorrow:

Winter Cathedral Of Pines - Part 1

I took the dogs back to the Red Dot Trail the other day to hike in the snow. It's been two years since we were there and it was a snowy Christmas season then also:

The temperature was just about freezing and quite pleasant, and there was still enough snow on the ground and trees to be beautiful:

It was all so quiet and isolated that I let the dogs run to their heart's content - as you can see by how they crossed this little bridge:

The trail began alongside Osgood Pond, which was frozen over, and the dogs found it fascinating:

And I too found it fascinating - quiet and eerie, with muted colors:

The trail took us alongside a sort of canal between Osgood Pond and Church Pond:

The wet snow had been clinging to the trees for many days and I'm glad I got there in time to see its beauty:

I hate to use the trite expression, "Winter Wonderland," but it sure fits. I guess that's why it's used so often. The dogs, as you can see, were still running full speed:

Clover kept running so far ahead that I eventually began calling her back. She's happy to come when called. It's all part of the fun for her:

Daphne too was running full speed, back and forth, stopping occasionally to check with me to be sure everything was OK:

We rounded a bend and I knew that Church Pond was just ahead:

The dogs also sensed that we were approaching something, but I'll post about that in Part 2 tomorrow:

Chapter 3, The Red Dot Trail

This final leg of our Red Dot Trail hike took us across what appeared to be a peninsula jutting out into Osgood Pond:

And then the trail turned back toward where we'd begun:

Through the wintry forest, as ornately decorated as a Faberge egg:

And across the bridge we'd passed as we began the hike:

Through snowy hemlocks:

And along the canal once again:

Soon I could see Osgood Pond up ahead and knew we were nearing the trail head:

The dogs hadn't slowed down much. They were still running, playing and sniffing:

Over a small plank bridge which spanned a feeder creek:

And then, just up ahead, was my little red car:

Osgood Pond was looking lovely indeed:

And everyone was happy to see the car and go for a ride. Isn't it funny how everything makes the dogs happy? They are thrilled to hike, and thrilled to stop. Thrilled to get into the car and thrilled to get out of it. I guess that's a large part of the reason they're such good company. In this last photo, Fergus is once again leaping for joy::

Chapter 2, The Red Dot Trail

We'd hiked the Red Dot Trail from Osgood Pond to Church Pond and found there a lean-to which someone had decorated for Christmas:

And I was as happy as the dogs:

The trail took us away from Church Pond and back toward the larger Osgood Pond, with exquisite winter forests everywhere I looked. As for the dogs, they were racing and having fun:

We climbed up to a ridge overlooking Osgood Pond. Notice Fergus leaping for joy:

I got Seamus, Fergus and Daphne to hold still long enough for a photo atop the ridge with Osgood Pond's blue waters visible down below:

Through the forest on a level, snow covered trail:

We met a couple of hikers and their big, black dog on the trail right about here. Everyone got along well and it was a friendly, happy encounter:

Seamus kept sticking his face in the snow, presumably to sniff things, and then walked around with a frosty face. He's such a goof:

Little Madeline climbed down the bank a bit to look at Osgood Pond just as the sun's rays lit her up. It was a powerful moment for a city raised dog:

The trail took us downhill, closer to Osgood Pond:

And then back through the wintry forest. Have you noticed that Fergus' ears are almost always flopping in these photos. That's because he was so often running and frolicking:

We arrived at another lean-to, this one with no Christmas decorations. The dogs checked it thoroughly for any possible dropped food which hikers might have left behind. But we still weren't back to the trail head. I'll post about the final leg of the hike tomorrow: