Madawaska Pond, Part 2

The dogs and I were exploring the trail at Madawaska Pond and had stopped at a beaver canal, dug by beavers (how ever do they accomplish that?!?), by which they drag logs into the pond:

And then we walked into a clearing adjacent to the main body of water. I heard what I thought was the roar of bulldozers and went to investigate:

And right up to the shoreline which consisted mostly of giant, lichen covered rocks:

Little Daphne got a drink of water and lots of play time around the edge of the pond:

Seamus was posing for a photo when I saw, right behind him, the dam which had created Madawaska Pond:

We walked over to the dam and discovered that it was built of old logs and earth. The roaring sound which I'd thought might be bulldozers turned out to be the water cascading over the dam, the sound echoing through the trees:

Madawaska Pond, I later read, was formed by damming up Quebec Brook. On the downside of the pond, Quebec Brook continued on in all its wild, serene beauty:

And then we turned around and began making our way back the way we'd come, aiming for the trail head:

Tiny white violets bloomed all along the trail:

We went through a section of deciduous forest:

And then back to coniferous forest as we skirted Madawaska Pond:

"I'm having fun, Dad. Can we go in the mud again, please?":

Madawaska Pond, Part 1

I parked at the trail head to Madawaska Pond, let the dogs out and signed the register. There were no other cars or people in sight anywhere. I'd feared an attack by black flies, but I didn't see any of them either so I left my bug spray in the car:

The trail was broad, smooth and level, taking us through a lovely coniferous forest:

And the trees became older and taller as we walked:

In no time at all I caught my first glimpse of Madawaska Pond through the trees:

There was what appeared to be an extensive peat bog covering one whole side of the pond. Mountains watched over us from the horizon:

The "grassy" slope leading down to the pond was largely filled with Reindeer Lichens, Wild Strawberries and Lowbush Blueberries in bloom:

But the trail continued around the edge of Madawaska Pond, so we walked back up to it and continued on our way:

The pond was indeed lovely, peaceful and much larger than it at first appeared, The Shadblow was in bloom that weekend:

There were sunny openings in the forest and I guessed that cabins once stood in those clearings:

And the dogs were happy. For that matter, so was I. I decided that this was one of the most beautiful places in the Adirondacks:

We came upon a beaver canal, which they'd dug to float trees to the pond. The drag marks to the canal were clear to see. The dogs were fascinated and so was I so we walked alongside it toward Madawaska Pond:

Well, actually Seamus walked right through the water. This was a wonderful experience and I was sure glad I'd finally made it. I'll post more tomorrow: