Hiking Vroman's Nose, Part 5

The dogs and I were on our way down the side of Vroman's Nose. I'd seen some incredible scenic views from the rocky crags atop the mountain but now it was time to go home:

I love this picture because it shows the dogs running for joy with Fergus' ears flopping:

There were moss covered logs on the forest floor which silently collected tiny bits of snow which fell from above. These were not snow "flakes" but small grains similar to what I've heard called corn snow:

The woods were silent when the dogs held still for a moment:

But then the rustling of oak leaves and the huffing of "dog laughter" once again filled the air:

The Vroman's Nose trail is a loop and we soon arrived back at the junction:

I put the dogs back on their leashes when we hit the farm fields and it was a good thing I did as a family was just beginning their ascent with two large dogs. Their dogs were on leashes. The big brown Pit-Bull type dog appeared friendly but the Dalmatian did not. I took a wide arc around them:

And back to my parked car. That's Line Creek, a tributary of the notorious Schoharie Creek, next to the road. There was still much evidence of terrible flooding left over from last August's Tropical Storm Irene:

I took a couple of photos of the local scenery as I drove away. This was a typical Schoharie Valley scene, though it was not Vroman's Nose:

I noticed a covered bridge just off the road and turned in to the parking area to take a closer look:

This, I learned, was the 115 foot long Fox Creek Bridge. It was not open for traffic so I parked and walked around and through it:

Right next to the covered bridge was the historic homestead of the Revolutionary War Colonel, Peter Vroman. I've searched the web to find out if Vroman's Nose was so named because he really had a nose shaped like that or just because it was near his home. But I could find no answer:

Hiking Vroman's Nose, Part 4

We'd reached to top of Vroman's Nose, the dogs and I, and were traversing the trail which ran alarmingly close to the edge of the cliff. The dogs were on their leashes and told to "Heel.". I wasn't taking any chances:

When we reached a crest where I could see the other direction across the Schoharie Valley, I also saw a photographer setting up his equipment out on a ledge. Another photographer was nearby in the woods:

Both were young men who were friendly and liked the dogs, but I was really glad I had all four pooches on leashes. I could just imagine a tripod getting knocked off that ledge:

I can't be sure, but I think that's the town of Middleburgh, New York down in the valley:

And then the trail dropped down the mountain through the forest and I felt safe letting the dogs off their leashes again. I could see the valley floor through the trees as we made our descent:

The descent was quite steep in some places, more gentle in others. The dogs were happy and the scenery was grand:

I let the dogs run around and get some exercise as they checked everything out:

We dropped lower and lower:

And kept going down, with the valley visible through the trees in many places:

Seamus trotted on ahead but I insisted the youngsters stay closer:

The trail leveled out and the forest became comfortable, friendly and welcoming:

Daphne considered herself the main dog and made sure everybody was accounted for. We were almost to the trail head, but I'll post more about that tomorrow: