Hiking Hadley Mountain, Part 1

I've been saying for quite a while that my soul yearned for a mountain trail experience, that I needed time in the woods for healing and revitalization. We'd had a surprisingly warm spell and I decided that it was time for a hike. But by the time Sunday arrived, it had turned cold once again. I put Seamus and Fergus in the back of the car and drove to the trail head anyway.

We went to Hadley Mountain in the Adirondacks, just above Lake Luzerne, New York. Even with the colder temperatures, I found 5 or 6 cars parked there. We signed the log-in book and began our hike up the mountain:

The trail was quite rocky and I made a mental note to step carefully in an attempt to avoid any twisted ankles. Dogs, of course, don't worry about such things:

The forest at the base of the mountain was mostly Hemlocks and it was a beautiful, peaceful scene - just what I'd been hoping for:

As the trail began to turn upwards, we ascended some steps made by an energetic and thoughtful work crew. Also, as the trail turned upwards, I no longer felt chilled. In fact, walking up a mountain can make one feel quite toasty:

Fergus and Seamus have heard some sound and are alert to all possibilities:

But it was a false alarm and we once again began climbing upwards. Notice that the Hemlocks have disappeared and the forest has become hardwoods, primarily Beech, Maple and Oak:

We got occasional glimpses of more Adirondack mountains through the trees:

Many Beech trees had held their leaves all winter long. As I remember from college, Beech leaf litter (and Dogwood) tend to make the soil more alkaline. Oak leaf litter tends to acidify the soil. This forest had lots of both. You may notice that the trees are relatively small. That's because of the forest fires this mountain has experienced over the years:

The spring rains and snow melt had occasioned a mountain stream which was rushing down hill parallel to the trail and its bubbling and gurgling was our music as we hiked upwards. Curiously, as you can almost see here, the bedrock was only inches below the soil. Those trees must not have very deep roots and I suppose that would explain all the large wind-fallen trees we passed:

We walked over to the stream and found a deeper spot where the dogs could get a drink of very cold fresh water:

A small Birch had fallen across the stream and created an artistic arrangement:

Large rock outcroppings began to appear all around us as we climbed ever higher. I began to think that this mountain looked more like it belonged in the Catskills than the Adirondacks:

And here's a quick video of Seamus and Fergus enjoying a chilly drink of water and some very cold feet. The shallow bedrock shows up well on this video:

A New Arrival, A New Pack Member

I'd known for some time that my beloved old Casey was failing and, though I knew I'd be heartbroken, I also knew myself well enough to realize that her place in the pack would soon be filled. As I did with cattle breeds, I began searching the internet for dog breeds. Of course I knew a lot more about dogs than I did about cattle, but there were a lot of dog breeds out there which I'd never seen.

I narrowed down the field to three breeds. The first was Havanese, a bit like a Maltese, but sturdier and multicolored. But I could find few Havanese puppies and those I did find were very expensive and the breeders were - well, strange. I considered Papillons, the butterfly dog. Like the Red Poll cattle, they sounded absolutely perfect. My niece has one and my aunt has one. But I kept remembering the dog of my childhood, a Scottish Terrier, and began searching for Scottie pups. They were all sold and besides, the breed has a reputation for being a little bit snarky with other animals and requires professional clipping.

But then one night I saw an ad for one female Papillon for sale in Rotterdam. I drove out to visit her, and this is what I found:

A suburban family owned the mother and father Papillons. They'd had a litter of 3 and only 1 remained. From left to right, this is the puppy, the mother and the father. All were exceeding happy, lively, friendly and playful:

Papillons are counted as being in the top 10 most intelligent breeds of dogs (out of about 70 breeds which were rated). They've excelled as service dogs for the handicapped, as circus dogs - and even been been trained to herd sheep. Their coats require little grooming and I'm sure they'd make marvelous hiking dogs. Well, as you've already guessed, I purchased this little puppy and we began the drive home through the heavy rains:

When we first arrived at my house, the poor little pup was quite frightened by all the other dogs and cats crowding around to sniff her. Then I took all the dogs outdoors in the mud and rain. The puppy didn't do anything out there but get wet. When we returned inside, a bedraggled and bewildered puppy stood atop Seamus' giant muddy footprints. Is it any wonder my house is nearly impossible to keep clean?:

Wren, Wally, and Winky ( the three Ws) all lost interest in the puppy quickly but the younger Seamus and Fergus just wanted to play. I kept them mostly at arm's length which, I fear, only increased their fascination:

Seamus and the puppy check each other out, trying not to appear too interested:

"Hey, are those MORE dogs and cats in that room?!? Is it safe in there?":

This is my favorite photo. Be sure to click on it to enlarge it so you can take a close look at the puppy's eyes as they look with horror and fascination at that monster beside her. She seems to wondering if that's a genuine Sasquatch:

I've named her Daphne, though I'm not sure quite why. I listed about 8 possible names but kept using that one and she kept answering it. Of course, she'd have answered enthusiastically even if I'd called her 'Spaghetti:'

Even at this early age (4 months), and even on her first night in this house full of dogs and cats Daphne exhibited the classic Papillon look and the butterfly ears/head. I think this little girl will have a happy life and bring joy to everyone who meets her: