Going Down! Descending Azure Mountain

It had been a strenuous climb up Azure Mountain and a gloriously scenic and inspiring visit to the summit, but the time soon came to start back down toward the trail head. The trail was lined with Lowbush Blueberries:

And of course I ate quite a few of them:

I descended slowly, having learned from experience that the downhill hike can be treacherous and damaging to the feet and knees. I stopped whenever I felt the need. At one rest stop I put the camera on self-timer and got a photo of Clover and Daphne in my arms:

When we got down as far as the ledge with the scenic overlook, Clover ran right to it and I, of course followed:

The ledge provided a lovely, albeit hazy, view out over the Adirondacks:

Ever the little athletes, both Papillons wanted to run full speed all the way down the mountain. Can't you just hear Daphne saying, "C'mon, Dad, lets go already!":

Clover did her "She-Wolf, Queen Of The Forest" imitation:

Bright red Mountain Ash berries lit up the open spots in the forest. And the reason it was "open" was because the mountainside was incredibly steep at that point:

Almost at the trail head, near where we'd passed the old fireplace on our way up, I spotted a set of old concrete steps tossed off in the brush. Now I was sure that there had been a cabin here once:

And near the steps grew old fashioned Day-Lilies. Whoever lived in that cabin had planted flowers to remind them of home. But our hike was pretty much concluded at this point. I piled the dogs back into the car and we headed off toward the farm:

A Real Mountaintop Experience On Azure Mountain

We'd reached the summit of Azure Mountain, the dogs and I, and this panorama spread out before me. I headed on down that stony path toward the edge but first stopped and put the dogs on leashes. I'd read that there's a 300 foot drop off that rocky ledge and excited dogs, especially rambunctious young Papillons, could not be trusted to use much caution or good sense:

We all walked down to the behold the spectacular view before us, and then I followed the path along the edge. Having the dogs on leashes also kept them off of the delicate Alpine vegetation:

From where we were walking, I looked back up at the fire tower:

Four or five Vultures drifted lazily on the winds at eye level, though when we walked out to the edge, they lifted up higher - perhaps because they didn't trust me, perhaps to keep an eye on us in case we'd die and provide a good meal. They were a beautiful, graceful and peaceful sight:

Adirondack mountains stretched out before us:

Bunchberry, Cornus canadensis, is a typical plant of high altitudes and it was growing plentifully atop Azure Mountain. Its bunches of berries, from which it gets its name, were evident. I always find it amazing that this tiny plant is in the same genus as the Dogwood tree:

I shot a brief video of the scene spread out around us:

And then, of course, I tied the dogs to the base of the fire tower and climbed up to the top. This is what I saw:

And this:

And this, which is where we'd been standing a few minutes earlier:

But before I climbed down, I turned my camera below me to show Fergus and Seamus tied at the base. Fergus was watching me anxiously, but Seamus was a tired dog and just needed a rest: