The Rutland Trail From Winthrop - Part 1

I was buying grain in the town of Winthrop one day and the owner of the feed store told me about a trail across the road. It turned out to be another section of the Rutland Nature Trail, a former railroad bed, which I had not yet seen. So on the next day we had good weather, I took the dogs there:

We parked behind some old barns and headed out on the trail, passing a small pond along the way:

The trail took us mostly through brushy woodlands, probably former farm fields which were reverting to forest:

But we also walked through some lovely pine forests:

The dogs were rowdy and rambunctious. I had to call them back loudly and repeatedly at the beginning of the hike, but they slowed down and acted better after expending some of their excess energy and enthusiasm:

And once again, I appreciated this level, flat, easy trail because of my leg braces and uncertain gait. The only problem, which I seem to have everywhere on the Rutland Trail, is small gravel from the old railroad bed getting into my shoes and braces. I have to stop occasionally and dump them out:

But the dogs had lots of fun, darting ahead and then running back to me. They splashed wildly through puddles, sniffed interesting smells and rolled in a few unidentified and probably disgusting things:

Fergus understands that I get angry if he runs ahead too wildly, so he now waits for me to say, "Okay, Fergus." Then he runs:

We were all having a good time. Notice the bandannas on Fergus and Seamus. I put them on because it was hunting season and I thought a bright color might help identify them as dogs, not deer or bear:

We proceeded along the trail, investigating the different types of habitat:

And we made a few short excursions off the trail, wherever there was easy walking and no "Posted" signs:

But we hadn't gone too far when we arrived at this locked gate and "No Trespassing" signs. This was a disappointment, but there was nothing to be done but turn around and begin making our way back to the car. But I'll post about that tomorrow:

Elmer And Alburg Roads, Town Of Moira - Part 1

Indian Summer was upon us and our freezing night turned into a gloriously sunny and beautiful day. I did the chores and then headed out in the car to take a driving tour of rural Elmer Road, just over the county line in the town of Moria. I was not disappointed, beginning by snapping a photo of these two barns and silo:

The cattle who belonged with those barns:

I got a shot from a different angle as I began my tour of Elmer Road:

I passed corn fields, forests and this hay field, bordered by a woodland of golden leaves and white birch trunks:

Pine forests:

This lovely log home was right at home, sitting between its split rail fence and the forest trees:

Another hay field, this one bordered by a woodland of mostly White Pine:

Partially harvested cornfields:

And a woodsy home, nestled back in the pines:

This large, well kept barn sat behind a stone wall and barbed wire fence:

I came to an Amish farm with twin silos, a large grain bin and lots of old farm equipment. And there was more yet to see. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

St. Lawrence County Reforestation Area Hike

It turned both cold and rainy one Sunday morning. By the afternoon, the rain had stopped but it was still quite chilly. I decided to take the dogs to the Catherineville State Forest, which had several trails off of Santamont Road, not too far from home. But I got mixed up on the unmarked, rural roads and stumbled onto a County Reforestation Area with a marked trail. I'm glad I stopped, because it was beautiful:

The dogs ran and played. For the last several years, I've been insisting that they stay increasingly close to me, reining them in a bit more with each new hike. They're finally beginning to get the idea and to understand that they can still run and play in spite of the new rules:

This was a fairly mature pine forest, marked with occasional bursts of golden color from the Birch trees:

The loop trail was disappointingly short but the scenery was lovely:

We ventured off the trail for a bit of exploration and I quickly realized how very easy it would be to get lost. I returned to the marked trail and decided to stay there:

Watching my happy dogs proceed up the golden lane, it seemed we should be singing, "We're off to see the wizard:"

The trail looped around and directed us back toward the road and our parked car:

An autumn forest is a fine place to be on a Sunday (or any) afternoon:

And I always enjoy seeing the dogs so happy, alert and alive:

"C'mon, Dad. Let's run:"

Clover loves to hop up on things to look around, but I seldom get my camera out quickly enough to capture it. This time, I did:

I wished this lovely trail had been longer, but was grateful it had been so beautiful. We returned to the car and began trying to find our way home:

Snow Bowl State Forest - Part 1

I'd noticed a sign for the Snow Bowl State Forest when I recently drove to Tupper Lake. I looked it up online when I got home and learned that it was a popular destination for rock climbers. So one fine day I took the dogs there to investigate:

The old road, now a foot trail, took us through both hardwood and pine forests:

And then the trail angled off to the left and down into a deep valley, likely the Snow Bowl:

A happy Daphne clowned around on the soft moss:

And then, right there in front of us, was a rock wall. For size comparison, notice Fergus on the bottom left of the photo:

Of course we all got up close to the base of the wall:

I quickly discovered (again) that my braces rendered me quite clumsy, so I didn't do any rock climbing. Seamus and I stayed at the base of the wall, but Clover, Fergus and Daphne had a grand time, climbing like mountain goats:

The shear face of the wall was broad as well as tall, so we walked farther along to investigate:

There was a sort of trail along the base:

Fergus, king of the canine rock climbers:

The scenery was exquisite:

But the trail which took us along the wall also went in another direction. I wasn't going to leave until we'd investigated that also, but I'll post about that tomorrow: