Climbing The Pinnacle - Part 3

The dogs and I had reached a point in the hike where the trail made a sharp left and we took it. But the trail was poorly marked and the heavy layer of leaves obscured the trial, leaving me unsure of its location. I remembered my recent episode of being lost in the forest and made a decision. I admitted that I was now an old man and simply couldn't do some of the things which used to be so easy for me. So I turned around and we all began descending the trail, back toward the trail head:

It was such a lovely day, especially given the time of year, that I had no regrets:

The views were astounding, even without having reached the summit:

And our descent was just as much fun as our ascent. Certainly the dogs didn't care which way we were heading:

I'd made note of the icy patches on the way up so that I could be extra careful when I reached them on the way down:

So what we had was a wonderful walk through beautiful Adirondack scenery. What's not to be grateful for?:

Clover continued to climb up on rocks and strike poses:

And we all traveled happily through the forest:

A row of mountains was visible through the trees ahead of us, with a broad valley between:

I was thinking here that the trail head must be getting close:

And indeed it was. Jack ran full speed back to the car, overjoyed to see it again. I gave up and let all the dogs run down to the car. There was no traffic, after all. It had been an unexpected treat to get outdoors this late in the year and I was grateful:

The dogs all jumped up into the car, I snapped one last photo and we all began heading for home:

Climbing The Pinnacle - Part 2

I was hiking up to The Pinnacle with the dogs (see part 1, posted yesterday) and it was great fun:

We had climbed high enough that there were views off across a deep valley to the mountains beyond:

Fergus, once a problem on the trail, wants so badly to please me that he now often walks at my feet. And he watches me closely to be sure he can figure out what I want:

As for Jack, Daphne and Clover, they just like to run:

All five of the pooches did some running:

Clover and Daphne climbed up on rocks:

I didn't pose them for this picture. They did it on their own:

And the views were getting better as we climbed higher and higher:

I could see a big rock ledge up ahead of us:

But the trail made a turn and brought us to a smaller ledge:

I approached it cautiously because the thick layer of leaves on the trail concealed holes, rocks and ice, all of which could cause me problems. The dogs, needless to say, had no such concerns:

The trail seemed to continue up along the right hand edge of the rock ledge, but I'd been here before and was quite sure the trail was supposed to turn to the left. It was time for a decision, but I'll post about that tomorrow:

Climbing The Pinnacle - Part 1

We are near the Canadian border and it's supposed to be winter, but we recently had a sunny day with highs near 55 F. It seemed otherworldly for this part of the world. To celebrate, I took the dogs on the trail which led to "The Pinnacle." The trail head is 18 miles south of my house and then 1.6 miles into the Adirondack forest. It was an easy drive. I parked, and we all hit the leaf strewn trail:

The new, more slender version of Seamus had much more energy than he used to have:

And all the dogs ran and played - and then ran some more. As for me, I spent a lot of time hollering at them to "Get back here!"

"Who, me?"

"I'm having too much fun. I'll come back when you're really, really mad"

But aside from the dogs running too far ahead, it was great fun and we progressed uphill until I could see the mountains off through the trees, on the other side of a deep valley:

Clover and Daphne ran and wrestled and played Queen Of The Hill:

I can almost hear them giggling when I look at this picture. Five dogs in the forest is a fun experience for them. I was more cautious, with leg braces, painful ankles and nitro glycerine in case of heart problems - but I was having fun too:

This was a rocky landscape, reminiscent of the Catskills but a bit unusual for the Adirondacks. Clover and Daphne found all those rocks to be great playground equipment:

Did you notice the leafy growths on the rock in the above photo? I've been seeing them for years and kept trying to identify them. I believed them to be Liverworts. Well, I've finally got them figured out and they are called Rock Tripe, a form of Lichen. A lichen is a combination of fungi and algae, living together in a mutually beneficial relationship. Rock Tripe lives in the coldest climates and is "green" all year long. Furthermore, it grows up high on rocks where it won't be buried in snow. For these reasons, I have read, the Native Americans used them for emergency survival food (apparently they aren't at all tasty):

The trail took us gradually uphill, zigzagging across the face of the mountain:

But we were just getting started. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Part 2 - The Pinnacle, With My Sister and The Dogs

We'd reached the top of the trail, the scenic overlook called The Pinnacle. While the Papillons were out exploring the rocky precipice, Fergus found a safer rock to climb, away from the edge:

Clover, always the little adventuress, was taking a walk on the wild (and scenic) side:

And the view was stunning. We could see two broad sections of the St. Regis River Flow, both of which we'd also seen from below as we traveled to the trail head:

There was also a beaver pond at the base of the precipice. A stone thrown off the edge here might well have landed in the beaver pond:

Daphne and Clover found a place for a quick drink at the very top - but didn't drink any because I immediately called them back to me:

There were Mountain Ash berries:

And scarlet Maple leaves:

The weather was perfect, the view was magnificent, the autumn color was ideal. It was a good day:

It's difficult to get good photos of Seamus, my gentle giant. He's solid black and the pictures tend to make him look like an inky blob. But he's a happy boy who loves getting outdoors and I was happy to find a photo where you could get a better look at him:

But it was soon time to head back downhill to our parked car:

The forest floor was covered with Mountain Maple leaves. Their variegated and multicolor autumn colors are my favorites every year:

And almost to the trail head, we stepped over this brilliantly scarlet mushroom, edged in gold. It was right in the middle of the trail and I was delighted that neither dog nor person had stepped on it. I hope it survives to produce more little, scarlet mushrooms to brighten the forest floor in the future:

Part 1 - The Pinnacle, With My Sister and The Dogs

On the second day of my sister's visit, I decided that a hike up to The Pinnacle would be in order. We drove down Route 458 to this turn off and then 1.7 miles on a one lane dirt road uphill to the trail head. And for you alert readers - yes, the state sign maker did indeed spell "pinnacle" incorrectly:

We signed in at the kiosk, a bit of a tricky job because someone had fired about 6 large bullets through the sign-in book. Then we gave a call to all five dogs (PeeWee was home, sleeping) and began ascending the trail:

The trail zig-zagged uphill and we walked over lots of rocks and colorful, fallen leaves:

The Papillons all climbed up on this rock but, restless souls that they are, were long gone by the time I got my camera lifted and aimed in the right direction. I did, however, manage to get a photo of Fergus, my sister and Seamus:

The trail took us by large ledges and Daphne waited patiently for us to catch up:

Woo, Woo! Running through the woods full speed!:

Can't you walk any faster, Dad?:

My sister likes to hike in Ohio, and we grew up hiking in Oregon. But there is something unique and embracing about Adirondack forests. She felt it also:

The trail up to The Pinnacle is not long and we were soon at the top. Madeline and Daphne ran right out to the edge:

As you can see, the autumn view was breathtaking:

Clover and Daphne liked to live dangerously, but they were surefooted and I began to relax. If big ol' clumsy Seamus had walked out there, I'd surely have panicked:

And speaking of Seamus, this was as close to the edge as he got. He seemed to know better than to go any farther. But there was still more for us to see, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: