Jamestown Falls

We finished the Moody Falls trail (previous two posts) and drove only one mile up the road to the access road to the Jamestown Falls trail. I pulled into the forest and kept on driving until I arrived at the Raquette River - no hiking required! I let the dogs out and they ran excitedly to the water's edge:

A small tributary was flowing into the Raquette River at that point and I turned to investigate both the stream and the Winterberry Holly bush on its shore:

Indeed, the Winterberry was a beauty, our native species of holly:

Clover and Daphne, on the other hand, were more interested in getting muddy:

We walked over to the sandy shore of the Raquette River and the pooches had a cool drink and chilled feet:

Once again, I saw no waterfalls. Well, there was a small waterfall about a half mile upstream and I used my zoom lens to get a photo of it. I later read that this was indeed Jamestown Falls but there is no trail to it because it's on private land. So we admired it from a distance:

Then we began exploring the shoreline downstream, enjoying the autumn sights and smells:

The Raquette River is a scenic wonder. It's been dammed in places, but the rest of it remains wild and beautiful:

We continued downstream, exploring:

Until Seamus sank down into the mud/quicksand up to his belly. I began to fret, wondering how I'd get him out of there because I'd sink even deeper than he had, but he was able to extricate himself:

We turned back upstream and headed for our parked car. The dogs, as you can see, were just as excited and happy to be going this direction. It didn't matter to them:

We all scrambled back up into the car and I was just pulling out when I saw this beaver dam on the little tributary. I stopped the car and got out to photograph it before continuing on to our next hike (tomorrow's post):

Hiking The Long Pond Canoe Carry - Part 2

We'd hiked the Long Pond Canoe Carry trail as far as Long Pond and then turned back toward our parked car, waiting for us at the trail head. The Adirondack forest all around us was unspoiled and beautiful:

I had to watch out for black bears, who might stick their heads up out of the greenery at any moment:

Fergus and Clover generally led the way. In fact, they were not so well behaved as they had been on the previous trail and I had to keep calling them back to me:

Clover loves to climb up on things and look around:

We passed back across the beaver marsh, with the dam and pond just off to our right:

And then we were again in the deep forest:

There had been a side trail to a small, unnamed pond which we hadn't taken previously, so this time we turned downhill toward the water, just to see what was there:

And it was well worth the walk - a lovely pond which I guessed was another beaver creation:

It looked surprisingly large. There were stumps and dead trees in the water, evidence that this was indeed a beaver pond:

But then we retraced our steps to the main trail and continued on toward the trail head:

As soon as the dogs were all happily back in the car, I snapped one last photo and we began the drive home, where little old PeeWee was waiting for us:

Hiking The Long Pond Canoe Carry - Part 1

We'd just finished hiking a small portion of the Floodwood Loop trail and I drove farther up Floodwood Road to see about possibly hiking another short trail. We crossed the railroad tracks and parked by St. Regis Canoe Outfitters:

I let the dogs out of the car. They were enthusiastically greeted by a large group of school kids and then we entered the forest, after which we never saw another person:

We proceeded through the deep forest until we entered this clearing, a beaver marsh:

The dogs were excited and ran ahead to explore everything:

As for me, I held still and enjoyed the wild, Adirondack beauty:

We followed a boardwalk across the beaver marsh:

Past the beaver dam:

And then the dogs got to splash around a bit in the beaver pond:

But this was not our destination, so we continued on along the trail:

We passed through a variety of forest types:

Daphne was having a grand time:

And then we arrived at our destination, Long Pond. It was quite unspoiled and wild, but with very little access to the water. So I briefly enjoyed its beauty and then turned back toward the car. But I'll post about the return trip tomorrow:

Floodwood Loop Trail, Pollywog Pond To Little Pollywog Pond

From Middle Pond (see yesterday's post), we set off again, this time aiming for Pollywog Pond:

Big, moss covered fallen trees were everywhere, so I set Fergus on one for a photo. He didn't look like he was enjoying it, though:

But he certainly enjoyed the hike, with so much to see, hear, smell and taste:

We crossed over an old beaver dam:

And stopped to photograph this bright red mushroom:

And then, just ahead, we caught a glimpse of Pollywog Pond:

We had to cross over this log to get to it, but I wanted to go down to the water's edge:

Pollywog Pond is, according to the map, quite large. But it consists of a series of loops, bends and bays, so it was impossible to see the entire lake. Nonetheless, it was both wild and beautiful:

But of course there was a lot more to see, so we continued on the trail toward our next destination:

And that next destination was Little Pollywog Pond. This one had a sandy, gradual shoreline so the dogs got to go in and splash around:

My dogs sure have a grand time outdoors, running and playing, sniffing and splashing:

But that was as far as we went. I turned back toward the trail head where we'd parked:

We crossed back over the old beaver dam and through the forest. I'll post Part 3 tomorrow:

Chapter 1 - Wolf Lake State Park

On the last full day of my sister's visit, I wanted to take another hike. My ankles were painful, but I nevertheless suggested the Wolf Lake State Forest Loop. We left PeeWee at home, sleeping, and drove down to Edwards, New York:

The trail began gently uphill, but became increasingly rocky:

The dogs enjoyed the rocks, giving them something to climb and play on. For me, however, they were potential ankle twisters and I had to be very careful:

We climbed down a rocky hill, crossed a bridge made of a log sawed in half lengthwise, then across a field of rocks beside a beaver pond. The dogs were having the time of their lives even though I insisted they stay close to me, even putting them on leashes at times:

There were so many beaver ponds that I lost count, but they were lovely. This one had a large beaver lodge in its center:

And the evidence of beaver activity was easy to find:

I picked up one of the wood chunks at the base of the tree in the previous photo. It showed every tooth mark:

And then we continued on:

We came to another beaver dam, this one easily ten feet high. It was impressive and beautiful until I suggested imaging what it would be like if it suddenly gave way while we were standing below it. I guess I'm always the life of the party with such pleasant thoughts:

The beaver pond above the ten foot high dam was spectacular. Daphne walked over to take a look:

We walked along the rocky shores of more beaver ponds. The dogs ran and played and waded in the water:

I momentarily thought I saw cranberries, but a closer look (and also the habitat) informed me that I was seeing Teaberry. But we'd only just begun and had a lot of hiking ahead of us. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: