The River Loop Trail In St. Regis Falls - Part 2

The dogs and I were hiking the River Loop Trail (see Part 1, yesterday) and had arrived at the banks of the St. Regis River, currently roaring with the spring runoff. Daphne climbed down onto a thin sheet of ice and I began yelling for her to get back up with me before she broke through and plunged into the rapids. She did so, and all was well:

And then we continued on. Clover climbed up on a glacial erratic, queen of all she surveyed:

At this point we were in a Cedar and Hemlock forest, typical of most river valleys around here:

Jack had probably never been so happy in all his life. He behaved pretty well too, though I could see that he imitated everything Clover did. That made me more determined than ever to keep Clover reined in and not running too far ahead:

The trail eventually took us back uphill to the elevated woodland where we had been before, circling around to the trail which had brought us to the river:

It was a gorgeous day and the dogs were happy:

Clover and Jack raced each other through the forest:

Clover ran like a tiny Greyhound and Jack couldn't quite keep up, but he sure tried:

We hiked through several different forest types:

Some sections had trail markers every twenty feet or so, but other sections were sparsely marked and I had to walk slowly and make sure I didn't lose the trail:

But soon we were back on the main trail, headed back to our parked car. The dogs had begun to slow down at this point, having run almost continuously since we'd begun:

The dogs saw the road and our car ahead at just about the same time I did. They wanted to run to it but I made them heel - all of them except Jack who had no idea what "Heel" meant and didn't care, either. But he was waiting for us at the car when we got there:

The River Loop Trail In St. Regis Falls - Part 1

We had a warm, sunny day and I was determined to take the dogs hiking somewhere - but someplace where there weren't a lot of other people. I chose the River Loop Trail in St. Regis Falls, not too far from home and a trail I'd never before tried:

The trail began on an old railroad bed and was straight and level - and unexciting. But I wanted to see what else it had to offer:

It seemed clear to me that people had been driving their quads on this trail, eroding much of the soil:

Nevertheless, it was a beautiful day and the scenery alongside the trail was lovely. We walked off into the woods to see a green patch of Princess Pines and moss:

And the dogs, of course, were having a grand time. Little Daphne led the way when we got off the trail:

Jack, Daphne and Clover were running through the woods in big circles:

We got back on the trail and continued until I saw a marked foot trail veer off to the right, into the forest. The dogs knew immediately that's where we were going and ran excitedly down the new trail:

This was a true foot trail which hadn't been harmed by vehicular traffic. In fact, it was a handsome forest:

We strayed off the trail to see another patch of Princess Pines, this one quite large:

And then continued on through the forest, some of it young trees like these and some of it large, older trees:

We continued on through a grove of pines:

And came, eventually, to the St. Regis River. We were high up on a ridge but could see and hear it roaring below us. I hoped the trail would take us down to the riverbank, so we continued on. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

The Adirondack Village Of St. Regis Falls

Tuesday morning arrived and I shut off the water supply to my little farm apartment, cleaned the floors and packed the dogs up into the car for the drive back home to Albany. I followed the usual route except that I detoured into the little village of St. Regis Falls. When I saw a sign pointing to the left and reading "Waterfalls," I turned to go have a look. I had to enter a private campground, but it was winter and no one was around:

I parked my car and walked close to the riverbank, being very careful of the ice on the ground. The thought of slipping into that frigid water was enough to make me cautious. The first thing I saw was an American flag atop a giant boulder in the middle of the St. Regis River:

The falls themselves were beautiful indeed:

The campground consisted of many rustic cabins, apparently rented by the week during the summertime and looked to me like they'd provide a reasonably priced and friendly vacation for a family:

I drove out of the campground and into the village of St. Regis Falls, stopping to photograph the Adirondack Cafe, located in a sort of geodesic dome:

This classic Adirondack style building was the home office of 21st Century Construction, located right in the center of St. Regis Falls. I looked them up on the Internet when I got home and discovered that they build many Great Camps and high end homes in the Adirondacks. Click here for a gallery of their work:

St. Regis Falls had its own Post Office:

And a big old school which appeared to have been abandoned. I checked on the Internet when I got home and learned that it had indeed been closed due to safety concerns and a new school built nearby (though I didn't notice the new building when I was there):

The village had a bustling gas station and convenience store where I've stopped more than once on my way home from a hike (I'm always extra hungry and thirsty after a hike):

The Riverside appeared to be what used to be called a Bar & Grill:

And St. Regis Falls had its own bank:

I have searched the Internet without much success for an explanation of this dam and building. It appears to be a hydro-power generating dam and part of the Azure Mountain Power Company. It's certainly scenic. But I was on my way home and already dallied far too long. So I pulled back onto Route 458 and pointed my car homeward: