Five Overexcited Dogs In The Wild Forest - Part 2

The dogs and I were hiking the Indian Rock Waterway Access trail (see also Part 1, posted yesterday) and the dogs were beside themselves with joy:

The pooches ran ahead, then I'd call them back, then they'd run ahead again:

Most of the dead trees were covered with Usnea, or Old Man's Beard, a lichen which grows in forests where the air is clean. They grow on dead or dying trees because the lack of foliage allows them more sun:

There were patches of Shining Clubmoss along the path. That's Clover's snout in the lower right of the photo. She likes to be right in the middle of things:

Daphne and Fergus ran too far ahead, then returned to me when called. They were happy and smiling:

And onward we proceeded, headed for a bend in the St. Regis River:

And everybody was busy sniffing the interesting smells. As for me, I was sniffing the aromas of Balsam, Pine, Spruce and Fir which filled the air:

The trail narrowed toward the end:

I spotted this, the largest patch of Indian Pipe (a parasitic flowering plant without chlorophyll) I've ever seen, along the way:

And then we walked out into a clearing. The dogs took off as if shot from canons, for they knew there was water ahead:

By the time I'd caught up with them, they were already enjoying the waters of the wild St. Regis River:

It wasn't a hot day, but these pooches have learned to love the water:

Seamus came down to join his little buddies. I'll post Part 3 tomorrow:

Santamont Trail In Catherineville State Forest - Part 2

I was hiking with the dogs in Catherineville State Forest (see also Part 1, posted yesterday):

There used to be people living in this area. In fact, there was a small village, after which the State Forest was named. I haven't yet located the foundations of the homes, but we did find this old kitchen stove. Seamus was very interested. Perhaps he sniffed some hundred year old bacon grease:

There were tiny white violets in bloom. Because of the leaf shape and curled upper petals, I believe this was the Sweet White Violet, Viola blanda:

The dogs frequently collected at certain spots. I'd love to know what they could smell - or perhaps not, given their love of all things putrid:

I spotted this patch of green on a small rise in the woods and began walking over to see what it was:

When we arrived, it turned out to be a big patch of Shining Clubmoss, just right for Daphne to play in:

The dogs were having fun. In this case, Jack and Fergus were racing each other:

We took many short trips off the trail, just to see what we could see:

I didn't get enough in this photo for a species ID, but from what I can see, I suspect this was the Great-Spurred Violet, Viola selkirkii. It's only supposed to have five petals, but so are all violets, so this one must have been an aberration. The long stalked leaves on either side of the violet were Wild Strawberries:

It wouldn't be long before this forest was all leafed out and green. I am anxious to go back and explore farther. I might even drive in a way and begin where I left off since the road was in good condition and I can no longer hike very far:

And speaking of not being able to hike very far, it was soon time for us to turn around and begin our trip back to our parked car:

This was a thoroughly enjoyable hike and there are more photos still. I'll post Part 3 tomorrow:

The Duck Pond Trail - Part 1

It was a lovely April day and I drove the dogs down Blue Mountain Road, planning to take a couple of the short hikes located along its length. I got about 8 miles into the forest when the road became so covered with snow and ice, obviously not plowed all winter long, that I backed up and began returning home. Then I saw this sign and remembered that here was a pleasant hike to a little pothole called Duck Pond:

The "road" (I use the term loosely) was closed, but there was a nice parking spot. By the way, that's Azure Mountain ahead of us:

This was so far from any traffic or other people that I left Jack off leash altogether. He did make a few exuberant runs, just to use up some excess energy, but was otherwise perfectly behaved:

There was no green yet of any kind - except for one large patch of Shining Clubmoss, a most welcome sight:

There were still patches of snow and frozen waters, but not enough to slow us down. Clover thought the snow was there for her to play in:

And Jack delighted in rolling in the snow:

The only other time I'd been here, I drove this road instead of walking. Being on foot was surely better, and it I was surprised, when I saw the Oxbows ahead, at how quickly we'd arrived:

This oxbow is a a portion of the St. Regis River which became severed from the main current when the river washed out a new shortcut. We headed down for a closer view:

There was supposed to be a canoe put-in on the oxbow, but everywhere I looked, I found steep banks:

So we veered to the left, where I thought I detected the overgrown remains of an old path or road:

It took us close to the water but still there was no easy access and, with my damaged ankles and resulting clumsiness, I didn't want to take any chances:

So we simply enjoyed the views and then turned back toward the car. But I'll post about that tomorrow:

Wild And Remote Debar Pond - Part 2

I was hiking with the dogs to Debar Pond, a short walk, much of it on elevated planks through a cedar swamp:

We eventually reached the end of the planks and continued on a trail through the Adirondack forest:

The dogs ran and played. They were having a grand time:

I saw more yellow mushrooms, this one in a miniature "forest" of Shining Clubmoss:

And soon we arrived at Debar Pond, a little known and secluded gem:

The dogs were less interested in the water than usual, perhaps because the weather wasn't very hot that day:

As for me, I luxuriated in the spectacular scenery:

I knew from our last trip here that the trails led to no other scenic overlooks, so I confined my explorations this time to the areas immediately adjacent to our arrival point:

I coaxed Seamus and Daphne into the water and they seemed to enjoy it:

And then we explored a little more for different views of Debar Pond:

On our last trip, I hiked the full length of the pond in a search of more shoreline access but never found any, so this time I didn't even try. I did, however, delight in the scenery:

Clover wouldn't go into the water but she sure enjoyed getting next to it and gazing out over the pond. I'll post Part 3 tomorrow:

White HIll Wild Forest - Part 2

We were hiking in White Hill Wild Forest (see Part 1, posted yesterday). Shining Clubmoss grew in great abundance:

Wood Frogs (I think) were calling from this beaver pond, so we ambled over for a closer look. I never saw any, though, and they stopped calling when we got close:

The dogs' antics probably scared the frogs, but they were sure having fun (the dogs that is, not the frogs. Well, it was mating season, so maybe the frogs were also):

And then we continued on our way:

The trees had not budded yet and the only spring flowers I'd seen so far were the Trout Lily sprouts in yesterday's post:

We descended down into a hollow, cool and fragrant with Balsams, when I saw - Oh no, not snow!:

But the snow was only in that one spot and no problem at all. We climbed back up out of the hollow and continued on our way:

We passed several beaver ponds and marshes. I'd hoped to get as far as Little Rock Pond and Long Pond before turning back, but I secretly hoped to make it all the way to the spectacular Lilypad Pond:

By now Daphne was playing in the water as much as Seamus. Fergus and Clover tried to keep their tootsies dry:

We came to another beaver marsh and I turned off of the trail and walked toward it:

I sat down on a large rock and watched the dogs as they played and explored:

And they kept coming back to say hello to me. But we still hadn't gotten to the turn around point, so there was more trail before us. I'll post Part 3 tomorrow: