Santa Clara St. Regis Canoe Carry - Part 4

I'd explored off the trail with the dogs and gotten lost (see previous posts), finding myself without my bearings in the Santa Clara Tract of the Adirondacks:

Walking in the mature forests was relatively easy, but thick stands of ferns and Balsams were difficult to walk through - sometimes impossible:

I traveled downhill and eventually found the river again, thinking that would save us:

There was an old kiosk denoting it as the end of the canoe carry trail. Clearly, however, this trail hadn't been used in decades and there was nowhere on the river which I recognized. Furthermore, the brush was so think along the water that I couldn't push my way through:

The solution, it seemed, was obvious. I'd follow the old trail back to the road. So off we went:

And it was easy walking for awhile. Then the trail ended. But we'd gone so far that I thought it best to keep going, keeping the sun always on my right. We walked for hours, old trails sometimes appearing in the forest and then just ending. Eventually it was obvious that we were lost again. I was 10 to 20 miles from the highway and everywhere began to look like everywhere else. It was predicted to drop into the 30s overnight and no one would notice that I hadn't made it home. There was no cell phone coverage. Eventually, I tried walking back the way we'd come, this time by keeping the sun always on my left. Clover seemed to be the only dog who understood the goal of returning to our starting point and she led the way. We stumbled onto the main trail and, with great relief, turned down it toward the trail head:

I took no pictures during our lost time. I was too focused on the task at hand. Once back on the right trail, however, I got out my camera again. The only problem? I'd turned the wrong way on the trail and wound up back at the St. Regis River. There was nothing for it but turn back and keep hobbling:

It's a lovely landscape and an easy trail. But I was limping and my braces had accumulated pine needles. Poor Seamus had slowed down also:

We passed by the pond and peat bog:

I was much relieved and happy once again, albeit exhausted:

I can't remember when I've ever been so happy to see our little red car:

We all piled in and began the drive home. It took both Seamus and me a couple of days to recover, but we were soon fine again. I won't, however, be straying so far off the trails ever again:

Santa Clara St. Regis Canoe Carry - Part 3

I was hiking with the dogs on the St. Regis River canoe carry trail (see Parts 1 and 2, posted previously). Little Jack had never seen such a wonderful place before:

The low water level in the St. Regis River made it an even better place for the dogs to play than usual:

And play, they did:

When it was time to return the way we'd come, I decided to first explore along the shoreline and gave the dogs a call:

It was a happy day:

We began walking downstream. The walking was difficult but the scenery was outstanding:

Soon we were on what looked to once have been a road:

So we continued on. We were headed in more or less the correct direction to reconnect with the main trail, so I thought that's probably where it would take us:

We followed the old road until it just ended in the forest:

We'd gone so far already that I didn't want to turn back. So I thought we'd just walk ahead a bit more and see where it lead:

Sure enough, we found a trail - not the trail we wanted, but a trail nonetheless:

But after awhile, this trail also just ended. And there we were, lost in the wilderness. I'll post Part 4 tomorrow:

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 3

We'd hiked the short distance to the St. Regis River and then decided to follow the shoreline through the forest, a bit of exploration:

It was a glorious day and I was happy:

But there wasn't much else to see, so we cut back to the main trail and began our journey back to the parked car:

This was a lovely forest and an easy trail, just what I needed with my new ankle braces:

And the dogs were well behaved. They finally seemed to have some understanding of not running too far ahead. They were pretty darn good about sticking close to me:

Through the forest we traveled:

And through the wet spots. You can see the earnestness on the faces of Daphne and Fergus. As for Clover, she was once again trying to keep her tootsies dry:

The pines gave way to balsams, and the air was again filled with their aroma:

Old Man's Beard, or Usnea - a lichen which hangs from tree branches:

We were almost back to the car:

We passed by the unnamed pond once again just before we arrived at the car. It had been a wonderful short hike and a great day to be alive and experiencing the wild forest. I hope that I was able to convey the joy of it to you in these posts:

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: