Catskill Forests On Our Way Up Windham Mountain

The broad, level trail up Windham Mountain in the Catskills had changed to a more narrow and steeper path as it ascended. I was beginning to feel as if we were really gaining elevation:

And when the path hugged the side of a steep hill, I could truly get a feel for the vertical rise. The forest became greener and scrubbier:

And then we came to an intersection with a sign post:

And according to the sign, we'd only come 1.16 miles and had 2.20 miles to go. It seemed to me that we'd hiked much farther than that, and if we'd only come one third of the way........ But I decided not to think about it, only to keep on hiking upwards:

We passed out of the hardwood and hemlock forests into spruce plantations:

And up on a hill I saw a lean-to for campers. The dogs saw it too, or perhaps they smelled the history of food cooked (and spilled) up there, for they ran full speed up to it:

Discovering no food, the dogs returned to me and we continued on our way, passing the trail in to the lean-to once we'd reached its elevation:

Spruce forests always remind me of fairy tales set in the Black Forest. Fergus could have been playing a part in Hansel and Gretel:

And Seamus looked like a black bear up ahead as he waited patiently for his slow-poke dad:

The "Silly Sisters" continued to run up and down the hills without regard to the fatigue which I was beginning to feel. Seamus, you may notice in this photo, plopped himself down on a ledge to rest while waiting for me to catch up:

I noticed many mushrooms which looked very much like puffballs on stalks. Indeed, later on I found some which had holes in their tops, indicating that they probably were related to puffballs:

Lovely Forests On Our Way Up Windham Mountain

We were still only at the beginning of our hike up Windham Mountain and so far it had been a pleasant experience on easy trails. But the grade began to increase as we continued on our way:

Clover and Daphne, the two young Papillons, were so full of energy and enthusiasm that they were having a grand time:

Seamus was having fun too, thanks in part to his recent weight loss. He was enjoying his hike in the Catskill forest and so far was keeping up with the younger, lighter weight dogs:

The forest became more and more Hemlock growth and the trail became more rocky as we continued upward:

Little Clover stuck a nice pose near a giant old Hemlock. You'll have to click to enlarge the photo in order to see him, but Fergus was ahead on the trail looking back to see what was taking us slow pokes so long:

And Daphne, not about to outdone, struck her own rather goofy pose:

Clover, however, is the climber of the family and runs across fallen trees and branches like a spotted squirrel:

A very lovely butterscotch mushroom along the trail:

Yes, Daphne, I already pointed out that you can strike goofy poses, and this one looks very much like the last one:

In many places the top layer of soil had been eroded and tree roots had been exposed. This was interesting to look at but made for difficult walking since I was wearing sneakers. I'd worn sturdy boots for the Jug End Ridge hike and came home with sore feet. So this time I wore sneakers thinking they'd be better. I was wrong:

And onward through the lovely Catskill forest. That's a much nicer Papillon pose this time, Daphne. I'll post more about the hike tomorrow: