Slush Pond - Part 2

I was exploring a remote lane into the forest off of scenic Route 30 and had stopped at Slush Pond. I let the younger dogs out to explore the floating peat along the edges of Slush Pond with me:

The peat bounced as we walked, but it didn't seem to slow the dogs down at all:

The young Papillons raced through the grass:

When the grass became too tall for simple running, they hopped like kangaroos:

Fergus was rather timid about walking out onto that floating peat, but I kept calling him and eventually he came out to be with us:

We walked back toward the forest just to see what was there:

And then turned back toward the lovely waters of Slush Pond:

I looked back and saw our car parked quietly with Wally and Winky snoozing inside:

But we'd dallied long enough, and I gave the dogs a call to start moving back toward the car:

We all hopped up into the car and I began driving back toward the highway:

But I stopped and got out when I saw a father and son, just bringing in their canoe. I asked if I could take their picture:

And then I questioned them about Slush Pond and any surrounding trails. It seemed like a place to which I'd like to return. But we were close to the farm by this time, so I thanked the canoeists and continued on my way:

Slush Pond - Part 1

On our way to the farm, we left Frontier Town and passed through Lake Placid and Saranac Lake. We headed north onto scenic Route 30 and, on a whim, I turned down an unmarked dirt lane leading into the forest. I was surprised to find it completely drivable and continued on it for about 3 miles. Then I stopped and let the dogs out:

Happy dogs, they ran and sniffed and played:

They walked around alone or in little doggy clusters, smelling all the interesting odors:

Wally came with us, but Winky wanted to stay in the car. I lifted him out to pee and then helped him up into the car once more so he could go back to sleep:

The rest of the dogs and I enjoyed our outing:

The "Silly Sisters," Daphne and Clover, continued their usual active play style:

I got them to hold still only momentarily for a photo:

And then we began making our way back to the car. Wally had been lagging behind, and seemed happy to be close to us again:

Dogs are happy about everything, and they were again happy to be back at the car. We all got back inside and began driving through the forest once again:

We stopped, however, when we arrived at Slush Pond, about as remote and pretty a lake as you could find anywhere:

There were floating peat bogs all along the edges of Slush Pond:

So I left Winky and Wally in the car and let the younger dogs out to explore. But I'll post about that tomorrow:

Route 458, The High Northern Plain

We were almost to the farm and had reached Route 458, which runs between Route 30 (north of Paul Smiths) and the town of Hopkinton. Route 458 is on a high northern plain, still part of the Adirondacks and with mountains visible all around, but rather flat compared to most of the area. It is surrounded by boreal forests and wetlands. There was no snow on the ground that December day but the surrounding mountains all looked sugar coated:

Madeline and Clover figured that if I'd stopped the car and rolled down the window, there must be something interesting out there. Notice little Madeline's reflection in the car's side-view mirror:

Broad wetlands stretched alongside the road in many places, interspersed with northern forests, and some of the wetlands had nearly completed the sphagnum caused return to solid ground:

I've passed by this sign many times without so much as slowing down, but on that day I stopped for a look. Jennings Road. Did that refer to Route 458 or that little dirt lane into the forest? I can find no answer on Google. The next photo is enlarged and easier to read:

Here is a closeup of the sign. This area was important in the war of 1812. I found references to the "Jennings Clearing" or "Jenning's Place," both referring to an encampment of U.S. troops during the war. Perhaps I'll just have to walk that road. There's a gate there, but I can still walk it if there's no "No Trespassing" signs:

A look at what may or may not be the old Jennings Road. If that's it, there should be a clearing back there with grave sites. But on that day I was in a hurry to get the farm and we'd already done enough exploring along the way. So I continued on Route 458 and left this mystery for another day:

A New Discovery At Barnam Pond

We were on our way up to the farm for the weekend and had made it all the way to Route 30 north of Paul Smiths. I stopped to snap a photo of Barnam Pond, whose water's come within a foot or two of the highway's edge, and the lovely snow-dusted mountains in the background. I noticed, for the first time, a dirt lane leading into the forest across the road from Barnam Pond:

I continued on my way toward the farm but then changed my mind, turned around and came back to that little dirt lane. I drove into the forest, found a campsite and let the dogs out. Little Winky was very happy to be out in the woods exploring:

The younger dogs bounded into the forest with great joy:

And a beautiful forest it was, mature enough to have little underbrush:

Winky and Wally, my two old-timers, were slow and I had to keep stopping to urge them on. Wally is nearly blind and Winky is deaf, so it was important that I not let them out of my sight. Nevertheless, they always have a grand time as they toddle through the forest:

I walked ahead a little bit to check on the younger dogs. They were running, playing and sniffing and doing the usual doggy things:

I told little Madeline to sit so that I could get a photo of her. It's difficult when she's on the move because she keeps her head down and her nose to the ground. I think she was a Beagle in a past life:

Seamus, Fergus, Daphne and Clover had gotten too far afield and had to be called back:

When I had all the dogs back together in a group, we started moving back toward the car. This was, after all, just a rest stop and I was in a hurry. I had a lot of things to do when we got to the farm. This was going to be a busy weekend. I would be moving from the apartment into the house and - well, I'll post all about it in the next several days:

Look just to the right of those big rocks and you'll see blind old Wally making his way back toward the car. He had a problem when he reached that pile of old tree limbs. He made it, though, with a little guidance from me:

I got all the dogs back into the car , counted several times to put my mind at ease that they were all there, and continued on our way:

I got another nice view of Barnum Pond as we pulled back out onto Route 30. We'd be at the farm in about 30 minutes:

Chapter One, Panther Mountain (Going Up!)

It was Tuesday morning and still very early. I'd taken a photo tour of the hamlet of Keese Mill (previous two posts) and then continued south on Route 30 to where it intersects with Route 3 just above Tupper Lake. I turned east on Route 3 for 1.6 miles and found the trail head parking, just as the guide book promised! I could only wish that finding trail heads had always been that easy. The dogs and I crossed Route 3 and began the rather steep ascent:

This was mature forest, but showing some signs of erosion on its steep slope:

But we were all happy and the day was exquisitely beautiful. The bug season was behind us and life was good:

This was a short hike but every bit as steep as the guide book had promised. We walked up, up, up - and then up some more:

Daphne hopped up on a rock to take a look around. Perhaps she was wondering why I was moving so much more slowly than she wanted to go:

Seamus has lost weight, but is still quite a chunky monkey. He was happy to go as slowly as I wanted and take a rest as often as I deemed appropriate:

Up we climbed, and then up some more. Past old growth forest and glacial erratics:

Hi Dad. Isn't this fun? Can't you walk any faster?:

And then we arrived at the summit. It had a breathtaking view:

Clover and Daphne trotted right out to the edge, exploring everything. I was more interested in the long range scenic overlook:

I followed them out to edge:

I was feeling happy and awed by all that beauty. I'll post more tomorrow: