Five Overexcited Dogs In The Wild Forest - Part 2

The dogs and I were hiking the Indian Rock Waterway Access trail (see also Part 1, posted yesterday) and the dogs were beside themselves with joy:

The pooches ran ahead, then I'd call them back, then they'd run ahead again:

Most of the dead trees were covered with Usnea, or Old Man's Beard, a lichen which grows in forests where the air is clean. They grow on dead or dying trees because the lack of foliage allows them more sun:

There were patches of Shining Clubmoss along the path. That's Clover's snout in the lower right of the photo. She likes to be right in the middle of things:

Daphne and Fergus ran too far ahead, then returned to me when called. They were happy and smiling:

And onward we proceeded, headed for a bend in the St. Regis River:

And everybody was busy sniffing the interesting smells. As for me, I was sniffing the aromas of Balsam, Pine, Spruce and Fir which filled the air:

The trail narrowed toward the end:

I spotted this, the largest patch of Indian Pipe (a parasitic flowering plant without chlorophyll) I've ever seen, along the way:

And then we walked out into a clearing. The dogs took off as if shot from canons, for they knew there was water ahead:

By the time I'd caught up with them, they were already enjoying the waters of the wild St. Regis River:

It wasn't a hot day, but these pooches have learned to love the water:

Seamus came down to join his little buddies. I'll post Part 3 tomorrow:

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:

Big, Beautiful Bloomingdale Bog Trail - Part 3

My damaged ankles had begun to hurt and I was just about to turn around and return to the trail head when Daphne discovered this old railroad car off in the forest on its side. I examined it and it looked to me like an old passenger car. It even had the remnants of seats inside. That old sofa might have indicated that the railroad car was used as a hunting camp for some time after the railroad abandoned the line. I could only guess at the history:

But at that point we did turn around and begin our journey back to our parked car:

I thought those waxy, white blossoms were blueberries and knelt down to get a photo. Madeline and Clover got smack dab in the way of a good photo, but it turned out to be a blessing. I ended up with a poor photo of the flowers (which weren't blueberries) and a good photo of the dogs:

And there was plenty of Usnea, or Tree Moss (actually, it's a lichen):

The dogs seemed to have understood my insistence that they stay closer to me and were doing quite well. Of course I'll probably have to repeat the lesson again and again on future hikes:

Every so often they'd break into a run and I'd yell, "Stop!" Then I'd call them back and give them both petting and praise. They were having a great time and I was enjoying their company - and also the scenery:

I don't know what our altitude was there, but given the lateness of springtime to the forest, I'd guess we were already pretty high up in the mountains:

Seamus and Daphne made a few more excursions into the water, Seamus to get a drink and Daphne to frolic. That's what she was doing when I snapped this photo, running back and forth between the water and the shore:

And then we marched onward. I was truly liking keeping the dogs close at hand:

We met a bird watcher and, having seen him coming from far off, I had the dogs on leashes when we met. Once past, I gave them their freedom again:

When we reached the pond near the trail head, I reflected on the spectacular beauty all around me and the pleasant company of my dogs:

Madeline toddled down to the water's edge for a drink and then I put them all back on their leashes to finish the hike back to our car. After that, I just had to finish the long drive home - and I did so without taking any more pictures:

Chapter 3, Cathedral Rock Fire Tower

We were on our way back down the trail from the Cathedral Rock fire tower on a beautifully perfect day in the Cranberry Lake Wild Forest. I was happy and the dogs were happy. Fergus trotted down the trail:

The wild blackberries would be ripe soon and it looked to me like there would be a bumper crop:

The wild raspberries were already ripe and I helped myself:

Happy dogs, perfect weather, idyllic forest scenery. Life was good:

Usnea, also known as Old Man's Beard or Treemoss, hung from dead branches along the trail:

There were lots of Tamaracks along the trail, a tree which is a favorite of mine but which I don't often see:

We continued happily along the smooth trail through a canyon of trees:

We never saw another person the whole time we were there, but I insisted the dogs stick close to me in an effort to improve their "trail manners:"

Clover and Daphne were especially keen explorers, investigating everything:

We arrived back at the wetlands area where I noticed the same white flowers which had been blooming back at my place. I still suspect they were Elderberries:

When we got to the water, Seamus walked right in:

The Papillons and I followed him, but Fergus was nervous about the unsteady footing. He was wise to be cautious as I slipped and got my feet soaked. But our car was just ahead and our hike to the Cathedral Rock fire tower was over. But the day was young and there were several hamlets I wanted to explore before driving home. I'll post more about them in days to come:

The Hike To Duck Pond, Part 5

The dogs and I were hiking the Duck Pond Trail in the Adirondacks. The ground was littered with seeds which I guessed were from the Norway Spruces and marveled at how much food they would provide for wildlife. I shot a photo of a couple of them and have concluded that I was wrong on three counts: 1.They are apparently from Balsam Firs, not Norway Spruces. 2.They are cone scales, not seeds. 3.Since they're not seeds, there was much less food for wildlife than I'd thought. Well, zero out of three is pretty bad, but at least I looked it up when I got home:

And while November is no time to be looking for wildflowers, I was treated to several grand displays of Pearly Everlasting, Anaphalis margaritacea. I don't know how long these dried white bracts last, but I'll bet they'll be here in the spring if the snow doesn't crush them:

And all along the trail were brilliantly emerald beds of mosses:

We were almost back to the trail head and I was enjoying the beauty of it all:

The dead branches along the way were sprouting populations of various lichens:

This long, flowing lichen is common on trees at the tops of the high peaks and we've always called it Spanish Moss. It isn't, though. Its more correct name is Old Man's Beard, Treemoss or Usnea. You can read more about it here:

Seamus by this time had lost his get-up-and-go. He just plodded along my side. He's just the right height for patting on the head as we walk. I don't even have to bend over:

Another pine species (besides White Pine) began to appear. It had long needles, two per bundle. I looked in my field guides when I got home and the ID was not difficult since so few pines are native to this area. I decided that they had to be Red Pines, Pinus resinosa:

And a Blue-jay feather appeared on the trail like an omen of good fortune:

I kept thinking we were almost back to the car, rounding a bend and finding we had much longer to go:

But we did reach the car and the dogs were, as always, overjoyed. I noticed that I hadn't closed the rear window though I'd left my wallet in the car (oops).You can see the dirt road continued on past where we'd parked. It was pretty flat and safe at that point so I drove on another half mile and discovered it ended at yet another gate, probably signaling the REAL hike to Duck Pond. Well, that will just have to wait for another time: