Snowy Adventure At Whiskey Flats - Part 2

The dogs and I were exploring a logging road in Whiskey Flats State Forest and had been forced to turn around when our trail ended (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). It was plenty cold and snowy anyway, so I was OK with turning back:

The logging road was old and filling up with Scotch Pine saplings. The dogs just bounced around between them without a care:

Jack and Fergus love to run, and you can see Fergus on the right in this picture, running so fast that his ears were flopping:

We took a secondary logging road which was parallel to the first one, but it was nearly identical, so it provided no new scenery. Jack continued to run full speed:

Even Seamus did some running:

There were some nice pine forests all around us but I was in no mood to set off through the trees without a trail. Instead, I stuck to the logging road:

The dogs ran for awhile and then split up to investigate interesting smells and pee on pine saplings:

Almost back to the power line clearing, I figured it had been a short but worthwhile hike:

My merry band of misfit dogs were having the time of their lives:

Before returning to our car, I decided to follow the power line clearing to look for the trail I'd been unable to find when we began, so off we went - with Jack running on ahead as he usually does:

And that's when the crisis happened. I heard some animal screaming and saw, up ahead, what looked like Jack killing some small animal. I hollered and hurried to get there, only to find my little Jack with his leg in a steel trap. Lest you wonder why I took the time to snap a picture, I already had the camera out and ready. Also, I figured I might need evidence in case of legal action. I pulled off my gloves and tried to open the trap, but a terror stricken Jack bit me hard. I put the gloves back on and opened the trap, but by then Jack understood that I was there to help him. As you can see, the trap was set next to a Woodchuck hole. I tried to remove the trap to throw it away, but it was firmly anchored to the frozen ground and I was in a hurry to get Jack to the vet:

We returned to the car and hurried back home so I could call the vet. After examining him, the vet said no bones were broken and Jack should be fine. He gave me antibiotic and pain killer pills to help him through the coming week, but by that evening Jack was walking normally and apparently had forgotten all about his harrowing ordeal. One never knows when a pleasant hike can turn to crisis:

Snowy Adventure At Whiskey Flats - Part 1

It was a cold and snowy morning, but even more cold and snow was predicted for the coming week - so I took the pooches for a romp in Whiskey Flats State Forest, only 7 miles from my door. I pulled off the road and parked as safely as possible. I knew from past experience that the soil here was almost pure sand and easy to get stuck in:

The dogs exploded out of the car door with predictable abandon, anxious to explore - but the first thing we came to was a power line clearing. I vaguely remembered that there was a trail just up a little, so we headed off to the right:

Alas, I'd parked at the wrong access lane (there are lots of them) and we had to settle for an old logging road, now filled with many Scotch Pine saplings:

And underfoot were millions of Scotch Pine cones. They combined with the bed of old pine needles, snow and Adirondack sand to make walking a soft, cushioned experience:


I'd put a colorful bandanna on Seamus (and Fergus too) to help make him visible and, in case we met any people, to look more friendly and approachable:

Clover and Seamus led the way, sniffing for dragons, lions, bears and ogres:

Then little Daphne led the way, followed by Seamus, as we approached some taller trees:

But mostly the dogs just played and explored. Jack, as always, ran in big circles, then back and forth, up and down the logging road:

The snow continued to fall and it was colder than I'd expected. My right hand was becoming numb because I'd taken off my glove so I could operate the camera:

The dogs were pretty good and needed much less hollering by me than usual:

You can see little orange Jack running in this photo. It's a wonder I ever get any pictures of him which are not blurred. Snow continued to fall - big, fat, fluffy flakes which you can see against the green of the trees in this picture:

The logging road ended at signs, designating the adjoining property as County Conservation Lands. The area was open to the public but I saw no trail and had no intention of getting lost. We turned around at that point and began heading back - but I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

A Return To The Hiking Trail That Isn't A Trail

I got directions off the internet for the Riverside Trail in Parishville. I followed the directions and, when I arrived at the trail head, immediately realized it was the same "trail" (I use the term loosely) which I attempted last year, thinking it was the Sylvan Falls Trail. It wasn't. In fact, it wasn't even a trail, just an old logging road which ended in the middle of the forest. But ever the optimist, I figured maybe the county had improved and renamed it. They had, after all, tacked a road map up on the kiosk:

So off we went on the old logging road. The footing was tricky because of all the branches on the ground:

I was hoping that I'd see where the trail supposedly branched off to the right, taking us down to the river. But we walked quite a way, and I saw nothing. Furthermore, there were no trail markers - no, not a single one:

I saw what may have been a trail, but was probably a deer path, off through the wild blackberries. So off we went, hoping it would take us to the river:

Pretty soon we were kind of lost. Walking through the brambles was very hard on my bare legs, so I tried pushing through the ferns instead. Alas, they were so thick that I couldn't see branches and logs on the ground. In the end, walking anywhere was difficult:

When it became obvious that we were not on a trail and weren't going to stumble onto one, I tried to retrace our steps back to the old logging road:

We did indeed find the logging road and began walking back to the car:

The day was still young and I was already forming plans for another hike somewhere else:

The scenery was pretty but the footing was tricky and there was no destination on this so called trail. I was, I admit, irritated:

But soon the dogs saw our car ahead of us and their joy was boundless:

But this hike was a bust - again. You'd think I'd learn. But stay tuned for tomorrow's post, because this does have a happy ending: