Happy Dogs At The St. Regis River Canoe Access - Part 2

The dogs and I had just investigated an unnamed pond (see yesterday's post) and returned to the trail, headed for the St. Regis River:

We came to a clearing where, I have read, an Adirondack Lodge once stood - the Indian Rock Rod And Gun Club. The dogs broke into a run, and this time I didn't object:

This part of the Adirondacks is in the Santa Clara Tract, accessed from Blue Mountain Road, and it's very scenic. That mountain ahead is St. Regis Mountain and there is a fire tower at the top of it:

Jack discovered the joys of rolling in the sand:

Seamus and Daphne went wading in the water. The water level was quite low and that was helpful for little Daphne as she could venture farther out into it:

Fergus got his feet wet and muddy, but that was as adventurous as he would get:

And then, while Seamus enjoyed the water, the smaller dogs ran up and down the shoreline:

This is a slow moving, wide bend in the St. Regis River, a natural place to put in a canoe - or, if you are a small dog, to go wading:

I stayed there and watched the dogs play for quite awhile:

But eventually it was time to go. I called the dogs back up toward the trail, stopping only to photograph these wild strawberries, growing in the sand:

We followed the trail back toward our parked car, again passing the small, unnamed pond along the way:

The dogs had a grand time and soon we reached the car. This is a short, easy and scenic hike - one of my favorites:

St. Regis Canoe Carry Trail - Part 2

The trail was a short one, and soon we passed another unnamed pond. It's amazing to be surrounded by such exquisite beauty, with the balsams scenting the air and birds singing all around:

Fergus was a very good dog and kept coming back to me for approval. He got it:

But mostly it was a fun hike, with the dogs trotting happily just ahead of me:

When we were almost to the St. Regis River, I called the dogs back to me in case we found someone else there when we arrived:

We broke into the clearing and saw this lovely scene:

The St. Regis is wide and calm at this lovely spot. That mountain, I believe, is St. Regis Mountain:

The Silly Sisters ran down to the water's edge to play:

And then Seamus arrived for some serious water play. Clover took off, but Daphne stayed for a bit of splashing fun with her gigantic buddy:

I looked downstream:

And upstream:

And then we set off upstream to follow the shoreline and see the sights. But I'll post about that tomorrow:

Part 2, St. Regis River Canoe Carry

We'd hiked in to the quiet (quiet here, at least) waters of the St. Regis River and the dogs ran excitedly down to the shore. Seamus, Fergus and Daphne went right in but only Seamus remained in the water when I caught up with them:

Lowbush Blueberries grew everywhere across the sandy shores and it looked like there would be a bumper crop this year:

We walked over to another spot on the shore and had to walk through the Pale Laurels to get to the water. The dogs seemed to find this to be great fun:

Seamus smiled. His joy was as great as his bulk:

And this is what we'd come to see, the quiet waters of the St. Regis, set amidst the Boreal forest with St. Regis Mountain (I think) as a backdrop. Who could ask for more?:

And I was very happy:

We took another swing by the dogs' favorite swimming spot before beginning our walk back to the car:

And the walk back was as lovely as everything else about this short hike. The Pale Laurels bloomed happily along the edges of the trail and Pines, Balsams and Spruce towered overhead:

It had been a great afternoon and I was ready to go home and rest my weary ankles:

Seamus and Daphne spotted a tiny pond just off the trail and walked through shallow water to get to it. There were Blue Flags (Wild Iris) blooming at one end, again much later than most Blue Flag. This spot must be quite cold, with a shorter and later growing season:

The only mushrooms I saw were these amazingly wood-toned fungi, but there were quite a few of them:

The dogs had by this point pretty much understood my new rule of staying close to me. But if I stopped to focus on a flower or mushroom, I'd then look up and see the pooches racing on ahead. Sigh. At least they came when called. But we soon reached the car and our hiking for the day came to an end:

Part 1, St. Regis River Canoe Carry

The afternoon was hot and humid. The dogs and I had just hiked the Quebec Brook trail, but I knew of another short, easy, scenic hike just a couple of miles down the road. I let the dogs out of the car amidst wildflowers galore:

And then we followed the trail into the forest:

The "soil" looked like pure sand to me, but the Boreal forest grew on it. On the other hand, the trail was easy on my injured ankles and the dogs were ecstatic to be out in nature once again:

Clover and Madeline sniffed around in the mosses and lichens with a large pond nearby, just behind those trees:

The shores of this pond are so marshy that one can't get near it, but I got close enough to take a quick photo. This is just about as wild as a pond and forest can get:

The Pale Laurels were still in bloom here, weeks behind other places. We continued on down the trail toward the St. Regis River. This trail was intended as a canoe carry:

I stopped for a close-up of British Soldier Lichens, so tiny that the mosses were bigger and pine needles looked like sticks beside them:

Happy dogs, spectacular scenery, peace and quiet:

Fergus was very happy:

The Papillons tended to hang out together:

We finally arrived at the great clearing. Just ahead lay St. Regis Mountain and the St. Regis River:


And slowly moving across the sand was a very large Eastern Painted Turtle. I didn't want to disturb it by picking it up for a closer look, especially as I had the dogs with me. This was probably a female looking for a sandy spot to lay her eggs. We passed her by and she was gone when we returned. We were almost to the water's edge, but I'll post about that tomorrow:

The East Shore Of Black Pond, Headed South - Part 4

I'd opted to return to the trail head by way of the eastern shore of Black Pond, not realizing that the trail would be much longer and hillier. My legs were weak and sore, causing me to limp painfully. Around every bend I hoped I'd see the parking lot but around every bend I saw only more trail:

On the other hand, this trail was much less used and was more wild and beautiful than the one on the western shore. I could see the fire tower atop St. Regis Mountain across the pond:

I passed by this most amazing fallen tree trunk, obviously a favorite of woodpeckers:

The trail took us away from Black Pond and up a hill:

And into a mixed forest:

I stopped and marveled at this wondrous moss, a filigreed, ferny sort of plant which I don't think I've ever seen before:

And down to the water's edge once again, so close in fact that they'd set down planks for hikers to walk on:

It appeared to me that we were not at the main body of Black Pond but rather at a cove of some sort::

A beautiful cove which no one ever saw except those few who took this lesser used trail:

And then the trail once again took us away from the water and up a steep hill. I was becoming very tired and hobbling like a crippled man. Fergus and Daphne looked back at me, apparently concerned with my strange and slow gait. I'll post more tomorrow: