Our Favorite St. Regis River Waterfall - Part 1

My sister and brother-in-law had come to visit from Ohio, hoping to see some Adirondack scenery and autumn foliage. So of course we headed right out to see the waterfall near home. We hit the short trail which would take us there and the dogs began running for joy:

The pooches could barely contain their enthusiasm. Even old Seamus did a bit of wobbly running:

They'd run ahead, then I'd call them back, which is why you see Jack running toward me while the others are running ahead:

And of course the autumn scenery was lovely:

As we neared the falls, we could hear its roar and we had to step over a number of fallen logs (I had to lift Seamus over them, first his front half, then his back half). This log was covered with what I believe was orange Slime Mold:

And then we arrived at the base of the falls. My sister, Lynn, got there first, along with Daphne and Fergus:

Then my brother-in-law, Tim, arrived and they took pictures:

It's not a high waterfall but it's a roaring cascade of many levels. Furthermore, it's not well known and no one else is ever there:

Tim and a couple of the dogs walked out onto some flat rocks for a better view:

And what a view it was!

Lynn busied herself taking photos, a trait we share. But there was yet more to see, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

The Leonard Pond Trail - Part 2

The dogs and I were hiking the Leonard Pond trail but not having much success in finding the spur trail which would take us to Leonard Pond (see also yesterday's post). No matter, the forest was magnificent and the dogs were happy:

This brilliant spot of orange caught my attention and I believe it was a slime mold:

We never did find the spur trail to Leonard Pond and my injured ankles were getting painful, so we turned around and began heading back toward the car:

Back through the variety of forest types:

Fergus seemed even more playful than usual and poked his head out of the ferns, trying to get me to play. Alas, I've gotten too old and decrepit for very much playing. But I did give him a friendly word or two for his effort:

When we got to this amazing, undulating, emerald carpet of moss, I positioned the dogs together for a "family portrait." They had worn themselves out sufficiently at that point to hold still, at least briefly:

Back through the forest of Red Pines:

In some places, things looked magical. Even the dogs seemed to sense it:

The dogs had slowed down enough to stop and investigate every smell, making small side trips into the forest and then back out onto the trail:

After a while, the dogs could tell that we were getting close to the car and picked up their speed:

Returning to the car always seems to be as exciting for the dogs as getting out of the car to embark on a new hike. I guess dogs are just happy to out and doing something with their family:

Once everybody was back in the car, we drove back out to the highway and began the journey home:

The Last Leg Of The Jug End Ridge Hike

It'd been a glorious hike to the Jug End Ridge and we were making the return trip back to the trail head. We arrived at a split log water crossing though my four dogs ignored it and simply trudged through the water:

And then a plank walkway over a muddy spot. I found it quite lovely, actually, as it snaked its way through the forest. But then I was extremely tired so perhaps my judgments were not to be trusted:

By this time even lively little Daphne was wearing out and stopped in the middle of the planks to look up at me plaintively. Sorry, Daphne, there's nothing to be done but keep on hiking:

But we of course did reach the trail head at beautiful Guilder Pond. I estimated that we'd hiked ten miles so far and our car was parked another two miles down the road:

In spite of all the colorful and varied mushrooms I'd found on the hike, I was a little disappointed that I'd seen no slime molds. Then I saw this tree trunk on the shore of Guilder Pond:

Was this a slime mold? I'm not sure, but the answer is a definite maybe:

We began walking down the washed out gravel road. Fergus suddenly felt a burst of renewed energy and ran around the edge of the pond to explore:

Seamus took a side trip also, apparently feeling the need to check for whatever it is dogs check for:

But as for me, I slogged tiredly down the gravel road. My toes hurt from jamming into the front of my shoes on the sharp declines in the trail, so much so that I tried walking down the road backwards. That, as you may guess, did not go well. You can certainly see here how much damage Tropical Storm Irene did to the road and why it'd been closed to vehicles:

And then I spotted a florescent orange slime mold on a tree stump. At least I'm pretty sure that's what this was. Luckily, it was right next to the road because I would have been too sore and tired to walk into the woods to take a picture:

And eventually we reached the locked gate and my parked car. Several other vehicles had been parking there but were just leaving. The dogs weren't even interested. They just wanted to get into the car and lie down. Me too, but I first had an hour and a half drive. But I'd been promising myself to return to Jug End Loop for a decade and I'd finally made it. Well, almost. But this would have to do for the time being: