Walking The Wetlands On The Rutland Trail - Part 2

The dogs and I were walking the Rutland Trail east from Hallahan Road and enjoying the songs of the spring peepers (see also Part 1, posted yesterday):

Little Daphne kicked up her heels and raced ahead of gigantic Seamus:


There are wetlands all along this section of the trail:

And the dogs were thrilled to be on an outing:

We didn't go far before we turned back toward our parked car. That was fine with the dogs. They're happy as long as they are moving:


Even though it looks like it's all woods here, there was water on both sides of the trail:

We stopped again at the beaver lodge. I suspect that there are no longer any beavers living here. It is also possible that someone tore down a beaver dam elsewhere and dumped the wood here:


The water on the other side of the trail looked inviting, so three of the dogs went down for a closer look. None of them went in, I'm glad to report, not even Seamus:

As for me, I enjoyed the long vistas across the water and the sounds of spring peepers and honking geese:

We were nearing our parked car:

But Fergus took a detour to check out the water's edge. He looked a little sheepish when he returned, as if he thought he might have done something bad (he hadn't):

Little Jack spotted our car ahead and bolted, and Seamus watched him go. But I called, and Jack returned, so I put a leash on him and told the other dogs to heal for the final stretch to the road. The other dogs know that heel means to stay about two feet from me, either side is OK. With five dogs, I can't be too picky:

Walking The Wetlands On The Rutland Trail - Part 1

There was a light rain and it was kind of chilly, but that didn't stop us. This trail is only 5 miles from home and I decided to go hear the spring peepers, which had begun singing only one day earlier. The dogs hit the trail running:

There is water on both sides of the trail, which is beautiful and ideal for hearing spring peepers. It also keeps people on the trail. There's no wandering when on this section of the Rutland Trail:

I began by letting the dogs run and not hollering at them when they went too far. I figured that they surely must know the limits by now. I was wrong. We hadn't gone far before I began calling them back every few minutes. But they love running back as much as they love running forward, so they were still happy:

Daphne, Clover and Jack walked down the water's edge to explore:

Then, of course, they all ran ahead. When I called, they all ran back. Oh, to be so young and energetic:

We stopped at a trailside beaver lodge but the dogs didn't seem to smell anything interesting:

And they explored the water's edge on the other side of the trail:

Little Clover, always the adventurer, climbed up on a rock:

It was a grand time to be near the water:

The trail is where the Rutland railroad tracks used to be and is therefore level and straight:

My ankles were hurting, so I knew we wouldn't go very far. But that was OK because we all enjoyed a quick jaunt out and back:

The scenery was lovely but there were no green leaves or flowers yet. I made a mental note to return here soon to see the plant life come alive. I'll post Part 2 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:

Jenkins Mountain Trail, Part 1

I'd hiked with my four youngest dogs from the trail head near Paul Smiths College north along the western shores of Black Pond and Long Pond. The trail had been exceedingly level and easy. When we reached the intersection with the Jenkins Mountain trail, I had a decision to make. Would my formerly weak legs make it to the summit? I didn't know, but they were feeling fine just then so I turned west toward Jenkins Mountain and began a slow, gradual ascent:

The trail was easy and it appeared we had it all to ourselves. The day was sunny and warm:

As we climbed higher into the hills, the conifers turned to hardwoods. This was on April 30 and none of the trees had yet leafed out. I guess those northern trees knew better than to be fooled by an early spring. I could see several mountains just ahead. Could one of those be Jenkins Mountain?:

There were plenty of Trout Lilies but even they were just beginning. Only one or two had flowers beginning to open:

There were Red TrilliumsTrout also, but they were either past their prime or not particularly pretty for some other reason:

The trail took us to the top of a long series of glacial eskers which had beaver ponds on both sides and mountains just ahead:

One mountain had a particularly rocky and open top, and I guessed that must be Jenkins Mountain:

We continued along the crest of eskers with the beaver ponds comfortably below us:

There were beaver lodges out in the water and several dams of considerable length and complexity. Sadly, my photo of the biggest dam did not turn out well:

I was getting better views by then of that rocky mountain top:

I zoomed in for a closer look. Yes, I was sure that the scenic vistas from atop that rocky peak would be wonderful. But we were just getting started. I'll post more tomorrow: