Climbing The Pinnacle - Part 3

The dogs and I had reached a point in the hike where the trail made a sharp left and we took it. But the trail was poorly marked and the heavy layer of leaves obscured the trial, leaving me unsure of its location. I remembered my recent episode of being lost in the forest and made a decision. I admitted that I was now an old man and simply couldn't do some of the things which used to be so easy for me. So I turned around and we all began descending the trail, back toward the trail head:

It was such a lovely day, especially given the time of year, that I had no regrets:

The views were astounding, even without having reached the summit:

And our descent was just as much fun as our ascent. Certainly the dogs didn't care which way we were heading:

I'd made note of the icy patches on the way up so that I could be extra careful when I reached them on the way down:

So what we had was a wonderful walk through beautiful Adirondack scenery. What's not to be grateful for?:

Clover continued to climb up on rocks and strike poses:

And we all traveled happily through the forest:

A row of mountains was visible through the trees ahead of us, with a broad valley between:

I was thinking here that the trail head must be getting close:

And indeed it was. Jack ran full speed back to the car, overjoyed to see it again. I gave up and let all the dogs run down to the car. There was no traffic, after all. It had been an unexpected treat to get outdoors this late in the year and I was grateful:

The dogs all jumped up into the car, I snapped one last photo and we all began heading for home:

Climbing The Pinnacle - Part 2

I was hiking up to The Pinnacle with the dogs (see part 1, posted yesterday) and it was great fun:

We had climbed high enough that there were views off across a deep valley to the mountains beyond:

Fergus, once a problem on the trail, wants so badly to please me that he now often walks at my feet. And he watches me closely to be sure he can figure out what I want:

As for Jack, Daphne and Clover, they just like to run:

All five of the pooches did some running:

Clover and Daphne climbed up on rocks:

I didn't pose them for this picture. They did it on their own:

And the views were getting better as we climbed higher and higher:

I could see a big rock ledge up ahead of us:

But the trail made a turn and brought us to a smaller ledge:

I approached it cautiously because the thick layer of leaves on the trail concealed holes, rocks and ice, all of which could cause me problems. The dogs, needless to say, had no such concerns:

The trail seemed to continue up along the right hand edge of the rock ledge, but I'd been here before and was quite sure the trail was supposed to turn to the left. It was time for a decision, but I'll post about that tomorrow:

A Surprise Thaw And A Hike To Moose Pond - Part 1

We had lots of snow and cold, followed by a warmer day with rain. Then it turned even warmer, an amazing 67 degrees. Well, I figured I needed to take the dogs on a pleasant hike and I already had a new one in mind to explore - Moose Pond, in the town of Bloomingdale. We parked at the trail head and crossed the Saranac River on a footbridge:

Entering the forest, the dogs began to run gleefully:

And I enjoyed the miniature "forests" of Princess Pines (AKA Tree Club Moss) and the smell of Balsams:

The trail was smooth and easy walking:

We only saw one other hiker, and that was at the beginning of our walk. A man with a rifle was just coming out of the forest to get into his car and go home. The rest of the time, we had the entire forest to ourselves:

This trail, I had read, was once a dirt road which led to Moose Pond. It was still in fine shape and no trail markers were needed (which was a good thing, because there weren't any):

I set Clover up on this old log for a photo, but she couldn't hold still very long:

The dogs drank from clear mountain streams:

And the air in many places smelled strongly of Balsams. That wonderful aroma seemed to me to be as sweet as candy. And because it was intermittent, it always came as a wonderful surprise:

These rocky ledges rose up on the left and continued on for a considerable distance. I knew we were getting close to Moose Pond, but I'll post about that tomorrow:

Mount Baker On A November Day - Part 3

We arrived at the summit of Mount Baker and the views were as advertised:

I could see out over the valleys, forests and lakes below. I could even see Lake Flower and the village of Saranac Lake down below:

We walked around on the summit and explored:

And looked out over the landscape in all directions:

Someone had put up prayer flags to bless the surrounding countryside and I found it a welcome, even touching, gesture:

The dogs continued to investigate as I snapped pictures:

Clover is quite fearless in such places:

Daphne is slightly more reserved, but still a little too reckless for my comfort:

But I stayed away from the edge and enjoyed the beauty from a safe place:

The high peaks in the distance, I have read, were the Adirondacks' McKenzie Range:

But of course the time soon came to begin the downhill climb. I started descending the rocky ledges very carefully:

My hands and attention were fully engaged in keeping me from slipping and falling, so I took no pictures all the way down - at least until we reached the level, easy walking near the trail head. It had been a lovely, invigorating hike and I hope that you enjoyed the photos:

Mount Baker On A November Day - Part 2

The trail up Mount Baker, which had begun as such easy walking, had turned more rocky and more steep. The small dogs found it great fun to run and play on the rocky ledges, but Seamus and I were slowing down a little more with each climb:

But always the bare trees afforded us spectacular views off into the valley below and the blue sky overhead. It felt good to be alive:

Seamus was slowing down and stopped at this ledge as if to say, "Really? How am I supposed to get up there?":

The three smaller dogs walked to the edge as if to encourage him. And, in the end, Seamus maneuvered the ledge with a bit of help from me. I did also, though my leg braces made climbing a bit awkward:

We'd reached a height which made it increasingly easy to see through the trees to the valley below:

We kept climbing. There were more rock ledges:

And the winds suddenly picked up, blowing hard enough that I wondered if we were in for a major windstorm. Little Daphne and Clover braced themselves against the wind and a dead tree crashed down right behind us, startling us all:

But we stayed on the trail and kept climbing upward:

It was a wonderful day in a beautiful place:

I could tell that we were nearing the summit:

There were some steep ledges to negotiate as we got closer to the peak, some of them a little worrisome because my braces made me clumsy and there were steep drop offs below:

But we continued to climb. Seamus appeared apprehensive as well, and stayed right by my side most of the time. The little dogs, as you can see, waited for us at the top. We were almost to the summit and I'll post photos of that in Part 3, tomorrow: