A Wet Time At Slush Pond - Part 2

The dogs and I were exploring the floating peat bog at Slush Pond, a magical place of wild splendor (see also Part 1, posted yesterday):


Ripe, red cranberries were scattered atop the Sphagnum:

And of course I had to taste them. They weren't quite ripe yet but had lots of flavor. They were sour, but let's face it - cranberries are sour even when ripe:

The brush was treacherous and tall enough that I often couldn't see the dogs and had to trust them to come with me. Besides, I was up to my ankles in water and struggling to keep from tripping and falling:

We made it back to solid ground and began making our way back through the forest:

And arrived at our car, which was parked in an empty campsite. I felt let down that our visit had been so brief:


But I knew we passed two more access points along the road back to the highway and decided to stop at both of them. That made the dogs happy once again:

There wasn't much walking I could do at either spot, but the scenery was wonderful:

Seamus stood atop some red and yellow floating sphagnum and smiled:

We traveled on to another access point and I snapped a photo of the narrow channel leading back toward where we'd begun:

Daphne went right into the water and splashed around a bit. It didn't matter, for we were all soaking wet already anyway:

We carefully made our way back to the parked car. As you can see, the road was very narrow. I called the dogs back into the car, counted them several times to be sure I hadn't left anyone behind, and began the two mile drive back to the highway:

A Wet Time At Slush Pond - Part 1

It had been a few years since I'd been to Slush Pond, and it was only 32 miles from home. One morning I decided to take the dogs down for another look. I parked in the last campsite (none of them were occupied) and let the dogs run through the trees, headed toward the Slush Pond:

Slush Pond is truly wild and lovely, a wonderful place for a boy and his dogs:

With lots of interesting smells to keep the canines sniffing:

But the main attraction for me was the floating peat bog. I walked out onto it and discovered that the driest places I could walk were those where the water only reached my ankles. I was looking for the sphagnum moss which comprised this floating bog. I came in three colors - yellow, red and green, which I've read are three distinct species. Ripe, red cranberries dotted the surface:

The peat bog was more overgrown than I remembered it and I could not find a single Pitcher Plant or Sundew plant. Nonetheless, how could a person complain in such a magical place?:

Tamaracks had taken root in some places and Fergus led us straight toward the water:

I figured that the floating peat would be shallower and less likely to hold my weight as we approached the edge, so I walked carefully. I'd long since given up trying to keep my feet dry:

This would have been perfect moose country, though we never saw one:

Closer and closer to the edge:

C'mon, Dad. Don't be chicken. Walk right out here with us:

Yikes! Fergus fell right in, though I didn't see exactly how it happened. It took a bit of effort, but he was able to climb back up on the floating mass of sphagnum without my assistance:

Jack simply ran, first one way and then the other, disappearing into the tall brush and then back out again. This was all new to him and he was enjoying it. But there was still more to see and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Santa Clara St. Regis Canoe Carry - Part 1

The weather was perfect and I decided to drive down into the Santa Clara Tract lands of the Adirondacks to walk the dogs on the St. Regis canoe carry trail. I knew that it was a short, easy and scenic trail:

Our first stop along the way was at this gem of a pond, surrounded by peat bog:

There were the usual peat bog plants, such as Bog Rosemary and Lowbush Blueberries:

And of course Sphagnum Moss and Reindeer Lichens:

The ground, away from the floating sphagnum, was almost pure sand. Little Jack trotted along with enthusiasm:

Princess Pines usually stay green through the winter, so I think these were turning yellow due to too little rain:

Seamus has been on his diet long enough to have lost considerable weight. He was feeling young and frisky again:

We returned to the main trail, getting one more nice view of the pond as we headed toward the St. Regis River:

It was a gorgeous day. I accidentally snapped this photo of myself and was surprised when I later saw that it was usable. I looked happy because I was:

Daphne took a few exploratory excursions along the way. The smell of Pines and Balsam Firs was in the air:

Just as I'd planned, this would be a brief walk in lovely scenery to a beautiful destination:

We were almost to the river, but I'll post about that in Part 2, tomorrow:

Peat Bog At Benz Pond

We were driving home from our short hike on the Madawaska Pond Trail (see yesterday's post) when I noticed Benz Pond through the trees. I parked on the side of the road (there was no traffic to worry about) and let the dogs out. They ran and I walked the short distance down to the pond:

Besides being a lovely Adirondack pond, Benz Pond offers a very nice floating peat bog. And this one floats in a very real sense. When I stepped onto the sphagnum mat to snap this picture, the whole floating mass bounced, clear out to where Clover was standing:

I saw no Pitcher Plants, Cranberries or Bog Rosemary, but it was scenic, with Azure Mountain in the background:

And there were plenty of Pale Laurels in bloom:

The dogs ran and played. No one fell into the water this time - not even Seamus:

Little Daphne looked dainty and cute as she strolled through the Pale Laurel blossoms:

Seamus was certainly not dainty, but he too looked good with the pink flowers and wild waters behind him:

Fergus, Daphne and Clover ran and played:

And then we all began moving back toward solid land:

The footing here is indeed boggy and my feet got quite wet. The little dogs had no such problem:

Daphne took one last drink of water before we climbed up the bank to our car:

I tried to entice them all to look out the window for a group photo but this was the best I could do - Daphne, Jack and Seamus. Clover and Fergus were occupied with other things at the time. But our hiking had ended for the day and I got back into the car and headed for home:

Happy Dogs At The St. Regis River Canoe Access - Part 1

I decided one morning to take the dogs for a walk and drove down Blue Mountain Road to the St. Regis River Canoe Access trail, in the Santa Clara Tract of the Adirondacks. The dogs were happy and it was a lovely day for a walk:

Lowbush blueberries were blooming all along the edges of the trail:

The aromas of Balsam and White Pine filled the air as we turned down a side trail toward a small pond. Daphne led the way:

The path was very narrow, and Clover and Fergus squeezed side by side, following behind me. Seamus (you can see his feet in the background) was behind them. Jack never followed us down this side trail, but was waiting for us back on the main trail when we rejoined it:

And there it was, an unnamed pond of exquisite beauty. There was no way, however, of getting any closer to it than this - at least here, so we turned around and headed back to the main trail:

Jack was happy to see us and I never did figure out why he hadn't come with us. The day was going to be very hot but it was still morning. I wanted to finish our walk before it became oppressive. The trails were dry and almost all sand:

I saw a new side trail which led to the opposite shore of the unnamed pond we'd visited earlier, so we headed down it. It was across a peat bog but reasonably walkable, and led to a lovely view of the lake:


Pink Laurels were blooming along the edge of the pond, and I recognized them as Pale Laurel, the same plant I'd seen blooming on the peat bog at Slush Pond. Those plants were only about 8" tall but these were about 24":

The small dogs ran out to the edge of the peat bog for a drink of water:

Daphne has become a water lover lately, but this was too deep for her. She enjoyed playing along the edges, though, and looked awfully cute, surrounded by the pink Pale Laurel flowers:

The Sphagnum moss we were walking on was mostly green, but the red and yellow varieties also grew there:

Wintergreen was growing there and I wish now that I'd have checked for its classic aroma - but I didn't. But we were still off of the main trail and needed to get back to it so we could get to the St. Regis River. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: