Although this is a very beautiful 3168 foot high mountain, with great views, I would not recommend it for hiking doggies, unless perhaps they are as good at climbing as mountain goats. 
     We arrived at 11:37 AM and arrived at  a rushing mountain stream at 12:01 PM. This is the only water source on the trail.   After the stream,  the trail goes up very steeply and there are many areas of cliffs and high boulders to climb up.  There is also one very narrow rock chimney that one has to pull onesself through. 
     There is another place with no hand, foot or paw holds where one has to simultaneously push on two boulders and shimmy one's way up in the middle between them.   Bruce lifted me up over his head to get over that one.
     In view of all the areas where one has to climb up precipitous rock slopes, this is not a trail to climb in wet conditions.   Or for people who don't have adequate life insurance.
     Along the trail we met some friendly hikers from Quebec who told us they decided to come here because today is a holiday for them, St. John the Baptist's day.
     We had the top all to ourselves and took many photos of nearby Whiteface Mtn, the Saranac River, and the views out towards Lake Champlain.   The entire summit was festooned with flowering diapensia. 
     In view of all the strenuous climbing, we didn't get back out until 6:08 PM.    

     On a sunny Memorial Day, Bruce and I arrived at the trailhead at Dalton MA at 11:05 AM.    We were the only car there, but as we went uphill we saw another car below us arrive and park.  Our route was on the Appalachian Trail heading south for three miles, then back for a six mile round trip.
     We climbed up and over three knolls, then over Tully Mtn (which some books say is 2035 feet and others say is 2085 feet), then up and over three more knolls, then over a large rounded knoll which I will call North Warner Hill, then up to the summit of Warner Hill (2050 feet). 
     Since we went back the way we came, we climbed everything twice except Warner Hill.  This means we climbed five low mountains and 12 knolls.
     A bad ice storm in December 2008 had caused large numbers of blowdowns and broken limbs on trees, but since this was the AT a great deal of trailwork had been done to make the route passable once more.  In fact, this trail was almost as good as new.
     Due to sufficient rain this spring there were some intermittent streams along the way which were very useful for a hiking Welsh terrier such as myself.  Once we went over a couple of knolls which form buttresses to the north of Tully Mtn, the rounded dome of Tully Mtn was hardly noticeable; from the south it is much steeper.  The reality is quite the opposite of all the maps.  The maps make Tully Mtn look steep on the north and gradual on the south.  In fact, the reverse is true.
     In time a couple from Connecticut caught up and passed us, the people that we had seem park after us.   Along our route we saw violets and a couple trilliums, several spring peepers, and a toad.  We startled a spruce grouse.  On the trip back we saw a wood frog.   The forest consists of maples, oaks and beeches, with some cherries and birches thrown in, and a few white pines.  In one damp area there is a stand of hemlocks.   Near Warner Hill there are some old stone walls and apple trees. 
     Finally we came out of the forest onto the bald, fern covered slopes of Warner Hill.  We arrived at the summit at 1:12 PM.  The couple from Connecticut were there, but soon left.  We had lunch and enjoyed the views.  From the top there is a great view of Mt Greylock off to our right.  To our left we could see parts of Pittsfield and the Taconic mountains beyond it.  In front of us we could see the wooded slope of Tully Mtn. 
     There are plenty of comfortable boulders on the top to rest on.  We noticed some high blueberry bushes and a few butterflies.  On a nearby tree we saw a hummingbird. 
     We left the summit at 1:55 PM and were back out at 3:49 PM.  It is a very enjoyable hike and a good one to go on when other trails might be in bad condition from a rough winter.

     In search of good weather, Bruce and I went south to Connecticut to climb Ragged Mtn., which was to be the 376th mountain that Bruce has climbed.   Since dogs don't have as long a life to climb mountains, perhaps people should multiply my mountains by seven to get a comparable total.
     We started out at 11:20 AM on the "Red Dot" trail which has rectangular blue blazes with a red dot in the middle.  The trail goes up and along a large traprock ridge, with many ups and downs.  If you like lots of exercise, this trail is perfect for you.
     Some of the wildflowers that were out were wild columbine, pale corydalis, blue violets, hobblebush, field pussytoes, and mountain sandwort. 
     We reached the first of a long series of lookouts at 11:47 AM with interesting views of a lake/reservoir down below.  By 12:30 PM we arrived at the Big Boulder lookout and had lunch.  After we finished we met a man with a very large expensive-looking camera who told us that he used to live in Isle La Motte, VT. 
     By 1:06 PM we reached the lookout where the trail stops going west and turns north.  Here we met a man and two teenage boys with very short military haircuts.  One of the sons told us that this was indeed the summit of Ragged Mountain. 
     Between 1:00 and 2:15 many clouds rolled in and it became mostly cloudy, but then after that the skies cleared up again.  Heading north, we went down gulleys and up steep knobs.  We ascended a good 100 to 200 feet from the supposed "summit" of Ragged Mtn.  By 1:30 we reached a knob with no views that we think is the actual summit of the mountain. 
     The trail then turns and comes back out to two overlooks above Wessel Reservoir.  Here there was a terrific boisterous wind, as you can see from our photos.  We arrived at the second lookout at 1:53 PM.  You can see Hartford CT off in the distance from here.
     Shortly after that we met a man and wife and three pretty teenage daughters who were doing a loop in the opposite direction as we were.  They were happy that we could confirm to them that they were on the right trail.  The daughters petted me and said what a good dog I am.  It's always nice for us dogs to meet friendly humans on the trail.
     The plan was to go past the Yellow Dot trail and then take the White Blue trail to complete the loop.  But we missed both of them.  We even passed the next one, the Green dot trail, but then doubled back and found it.  The Green dot trail has blue blazes with a green dot in the middle.  Where the trail intersects with the blue blazed Metacomet Monadnock trail we were on, the green had faded and the blue had faded and it looked at first like an abandoned portion of the blue trail.  But we figured it had to be the side trail because at 2:34 PM we were coming up to a swamp which was beyond it.
     Going back a little way, we took the Green Dot trail, which goes on an old logging road and is not all that scenic.  Many areas were flooded and would be buggy later in the season, but today there were not many bugs out at all.  The one redeeming quality of this trail was the very clever bridge it has at the end of it, a photo of which is in our picture section under "The Psi Guys".  Near the way out we saw some very noisy ATVs going down the Red Blue trail.  We continued on towards the parking area.  Here we  met a man and a large brown dog named Ben.  We were back out at 3:15 PM.
     We only did one loop, leaving several other possibilities to pursue on another trip.
     
    

     We arrived at the trailhead at 10:15 AM, the first car there.  Our expedition consisted of me, Dickens, the hiking dog host of this site, and my human Bruce, along with his friend Fred Bump. 
     At the start of the trail we saw an ominous sign warning that the trail had been damaged by the ice storm of December 2008 and that the trail was hard to follow in places.  A mere bagatelle for hiking veterans such as ourselves!
     It was a beautiful day for hiking.  The weathermen erroneously missed predicting rain the night before, but by Saturday morning the clouds began  to dispel, and it soon became sunny with temperatures up as high as 83 degrees F.
     Soon we came to a large, grassy field where we saw a turkey fly away to our right.  After that we went into the woods, passed some private buildings and crossed a private dirt road, then ascended to an open area with views off into the distance.  We could see Mt Monadnock to our west and the Wapack Range to our south.   Bruce saw an osprey and we also saw a few other birds that we couldn't identify before they zoomed out of signt.
     Going back into the woods there were many blowdowns to try to bypass.  When we came to the stream I had a refreshing bath.  Here, the trail was hard to find.  It crosses the stream and then bears slightly to the left and up a wet area which looks like a streambed but is actually the trail. 
     Our trail was named the Shannon trail and Bruce wondered if it were named after singer Del Shannon.  This part of the trail began ascending steeply.  We passed another nice lookout, a large area with flat rocks and grass.  But we decided to continue to the top and have lunch there.   This proved a wise choice because the view on the top was better, and there was a nice breeze there and some shade. 
     After going up, the trail then went down for a long section, which was confusing.  But Fred said, if it goes down, it will surely go up again later, and so it did.  It kind of winded to the right around the back of some high points. 
     One more step pitch up and we arrived at the top ledges at 12:02 PM.  There was a wonderful view of Mt. Monadnock and the four lakes below it.  To the south we could see North Pack Monadnock and a series of Wapack Range mountains behind it.  To the east we could see a few low mountains.  The north view was blocked by trees. 
     While we were having lunch a couple of crows flew by.  Bruce also saw a merlin and a couple of other birds which went by too fast for us to get a good look at them. 
     After lunch Bruce and I explored a bit.  Following the yellow blazes of the Shannon trail, we went up to a knob above the lookout where there was a  tall cairn.  We took this to be the actually summit of Crotched Mtn (2055 feet).  This was the 375th mountain which Bruce has climbed.  In fact, it was a first ascent for all three of us.
     After that, the three of us went a little ways down a blue blazed side trail nearby.  However, we didn't want to overdo it on an early season hike, and we decided just to return the way we came. 
     When we had decended a little ways, we met a man, about 40, and two young ladies about 17 and 15 with him.  He told us that he had climbed this mountain frequently. 
     Arriving back at the lower lookout, we stopped to drink and munch on some pretzels.  We saw a fuzzy brown caterpillar.  Fred asked Bruce why Texas has a long panhandle but Oklahoma has a very long strip of land stretching out north of it.  Wouldn't it have made more sense, Fred said, to have Oklahoma own all the way across or to have the Texas panhandle go all the way north to get rid of the long narrow strip of Oklahoma land.
     "You are lucky to ask me that question," Bruce said, "because I happen to know the answer.  Many years ago when the boundaries were being delineated, they had a popular game called  'Game of the States' where you had tokens and would buy goods of one kind, and then throw the dice and move on a map from state to state to deliver the goods in other states.  It helped speed up these deliveries wonderfully if you could move from New Mexico by way of the strip of land in Oklahoma all the way to Arkansas without having to stop and go through Texas.  And that's why they made the boundaries the way they did."
     After stopping here we proceeded downhill and arrived back at the bottom at 2:15 PM. Overall this was a beautiful mountain and worth returning to in order to complete the ridge walk on the top.

     What a long snowy winter we had!  But now, finally, it's time for me, Dickens, to resume my role as the  world's first Welsh terrier to blog about hikes here in the Northeast USA.
     For our first hike of 2009, my human companion Bruce and I decided to go with one of our favorite early season hikes, Mt. Holyoke MA from the west along the Metacomet Monadnock trail.  When we arrived at the trailhead at 11 AM we had the only car there, but, given the popularity of the Holyoke Range, we knew more hikers would soon show up.  It was a beautiful sunny day, getting up to about 70 degrees F.  Very comfortable hiking weather.
     Very early on we met a young hiker coming down from the mountain who asked Bruce, "Can your dog hike all the way to the top?"  Lucky for him we dogs don't know how to snicker. 
     The trail goes up along a number of rocky ledges, coming to an area where you can look out into the distance and see Springfield MA and Harford CT off to the south.  A large raven flew overhead.
     As we approached the summit we met a series of hikers.  A pair of young ladies came over and greeted me.  Then after that we met a family with two young children.  Finally, we arrived at the summit at 12:15 PM and had lunch in the picnic area to the east of the stately white summit house.  The summit house is closed until May but it does have porches that you can roam around.
     The view from the summit is outstanding, taking in the Connecticut River, Northampton, the Berkshires, the Green Mountains, Amherst.... you can even see the Peace Pagoda up in the hills in Leverett MA.  For lunch, I had a bowl of water and a roast beef sandwich, plus a bit of Bruce's ham and cheese sandwich.  Yummy.
     Since there was no one at the summit house then, after lunch we went up and walked around the porches and took in the view.  It was breezy and almost blew Bruce's hat away.
     Leaving the summit at 1 PM we started off towards the Dry Brook trail.  Here we met a young man about 30 years old with a long black beard.  Keeping him company was a thin, medium sized black dog.  
     Bruce asked, "What is the name of your dog?"
     "Reus," he said.
     "Oh you mean like actus reus?"  (a legal term, for you laymen)
     "No, like Jose Reyes, the Mets' shortstop."
     In this area we saw some beautiful flowering bloodroot.  A runner came flying by us.  This was the second runner we had met on the trail.  I shouldn't say met, because they just went zooming by.
The Dry Brook trail was a little wet at the start and near the end, but mostly was in fine condition.  The Metacomet Monadnock trail is rocky and had no wet spots on it.  When we got near Dry Brook the trail was very shady due to all the tall hemlocks there.  I went for a few baths in Dry Brook which was very refreshing.  Despite its name we have never seen it when it was actually dried up.
     Near the end we met a young man who had never been in this area before.  Bruce talked to him about some of the trails in the area, and he decided to head off to Black Rock, which is a spot we visited in April of 2008. 
     We finished the hike at 2:15 PM and  saw that there were five more cars parked at the trailhead.
Lots of people were able to take today off, a Friday, to enjoy the first warm sunny day of the year.  A good move since the predictions were that the weekend might be cool and rainy.  But today was just  perfect for hiking.

     Mt. Wantastiquet NH has a fine view of Brattleboro VT.  Most people climb it from the west, Connecticut River, side, but that is a a steep, boring jeep trail.  There is a much better meandering trail from the east, and it has many scenic attractions. 
     I, Dickens, an enthusiastic hiking dog, and my good friend Bruce, arrived at the Madame Sherri's parking lot at 10:30 AM.  The morning was still quite chilly, although by 1 PM it would warm up to about 62 degrees.  It was in the 30's early this morning, making me glad I have a good thick layer of fur.
     Madame Sherri's park contains the ruins of a mansion built in the Roaring Twenties by a NYC costume designer who entertained many showgirls and producers of her day. But the park is much more than just this; it is a very extensive area to explore.   We took the trail up to Indian Lake, a scenic pond which has beaver lodges on it.  From here the trail goes up steeply heading west. 
     Amid the boulders we saw a cute garter snake out enjoying the sun. 
     Once we got to the top of the hill overlooking Indian Lake, the trail began to level off and we hiked along a long plateau which eventually ends at Mt Wantastiquet.  I stopped and explored a cairn not far off the trail.  We saw a couple of birds we think were juncos. 
     In time we came up to Mine Ledges, which is a boulder-filled cleft in the plateau with views out along the Connecticut River towards the south of Brattleboro and Vernon.  There is also a nice view here of the ubiquitous Mt Monadnock.  There are cliffs down to a depression, and on the other side there is the continuation of the plateau where one can come to the summit of Mt Wantastiquet which overlooks Brattleboro and the hills to the west.  
     We stopped here and had lunch, enjoying the sunshine, the fall colors, and the various viewpoints.  I had a delightful turkey sandwich, and some of Bruce's ham and cheese sandwich.  I also had a refreshing dish of water. 
     We didn't get to go all the way to Wantastiquet, because Bruce had to get to his office to do some work in the afternoon.  So we started back.  Along the way, we met two groups of hikers.  The first group asked if I were an Airedale.  Bruce explained that I am a Welsh terrier named Dickens.  They said that this is a good name for a Welsh terrier.  I think so too! 
     We were back out at 1:30 PM.

     Hi, I'm Dickens the peripatetic Welsh terrier and this is one of my favorite hikes.  It didn't hurt that the weather was sunny and mild, perfect for hiking.  We arrived at Thirteenth Lake at 9:54 AM.  The 6.2 mile trail to Peaked Mtn (2919') goes along the shore of Thirteenth Lake, then up Peaked Mtn Brook to a remote pond, then steeply up to the rocky summit of a high, pointy mountain. 
     The sunlight danced on the waters and we saw a lone canoe out on the lake, with forested Balm of Gilead Mtn. in the distance.  This made us think of the hymn, "There is a balm in Gilead..."  But suddenly we met a tall, blue-eyed man with a large Samoyed type dog named Little Bear.  He told us there was a family of mergansers out on the lake, and soon we saw them for ourselves.  We think they were hooded mergansers, although they could have been common mergansers.
     Farther down along the shore, before we turned to go upstream, we heard yodeling and, to our surprise, we saw three loons swimming out on the lake. 
     By 10:42 we started up Peaked Mtn Brook.  It was steep at first and had a series of small waterfalls and one flume.  At 11:11 we crossed the brook and started going past a series of large, overgrown and filled in former beaver ponds.  As we approached Peaked Mtn Pond there were some good views of the precipitous rock cliffs on the summit of the mountain ahead. 
     We met a young couple heading towards Thirteenth Lake with a large black dog named Joe.  After that we met two pretty young ladies from East Rockaway and Syosset. Long Island, who were heading back to a family campsite onThirteenth Lake.  Shortly thereafter we came out onto the shore of Peaked Mtn Pond where a former beaver dam creates a small bay at the extreme south end.   We reached this pond at noon but Bruce decided to press on and have lunch on the summit.
      The trail to the pond had been  fairly primitive with an endless succession of ups and downs and innumerable rocks and roots to negotiate, but the trail up to the top of the mountain was even more primitive than that.  It is very steep with no switchbacks or rock steps and a few slant rock faces to try to clamber up.  Since today was quite dry these were fine, but in wet conditions they could be difficult.
     By 12:50 PM we arrived at the top which has three main ledges with great views.  We sat on the rocks on the highest, central ledge and had lunch.  This ledge has great views of the route in from Thirteenth Lake as well as lofty Gore Mtn off to the left. 
     While we were here soaking up the sunshine and views, a man and woman about 45-50 or so came up and told us that they had had lunch on the ledge to the right of us and had seen a moose crossing Peaked Mtn Pond.  Evidently they had been on the top before us and when we arrived we had not noticed them.
     We then explored the other two lookouts on the summit.  Where the couple had been is a great view of the pond down below as well as some mountains to the west, one of which we assume is Snowy Mountain.  You can also see Blue Mtn off to the northwest.
     We also went over to the lookout off to the left of the central one.  This has views of Gore Mtn but, more spectacularly, in two spots,  there are marvellous views of the high peaks, including Marcy and Gothics.  We could see Dix Mtn which Bruce has climbed four times.  We could also see Killington and Pico faintly off on the horizon in far off Vermont.
     A family came up to the summit with two young children, ages 12 and 10 or so.  The husband told us that they had been down on the shore of the pond when the moose appeared.   After them a young couple came up onto the summit.  They had not seen or heard anything about the moose. 
     The two of us started back down at 1:32 PM.  In trees on the slopes of the mountain, we saw a Nashville warbler, a species rumored to nest in abandoned guitars.
     We were back at the pond at 2:20 PM, nary a moose in sight.  On the way back, however, we did see a clublike tuning fork mushroom.  We also spotted two toads and a spring peeper, and lots of whorled wood asters, a sure sign of coming autumn.  We also met up with Joe again as he and the young couple returned to the pond. 
     When we got back down to Thirteenth Pond we noticed that the loons were gone and in their place there were a large number of kayakers and canoers out enjoying the pretty lake.  But, alas, none of these were yodeling.   We saw the family of mergansers again near our shore.  While we were looking out at the lake a green winged teal flew by us, heading northeast.  This was the first time we had ever seen a teal. 
     We took our time  ambling back along the lake and arrived back at the car at 4:50 PM.   Overall this was a really gorgeous hike with wonderful views and lots of interesting wildlife.

     Even I, Dickens, a devoted hiking dog, have had trouble getting outside this year due to constant rain or predictions of rain in Northern New England and the Adirondacks.  On Saturday, 8/16/08, we even had a severe hailstorm here in Newfane, with hail a bit smaller than grapes.  Afterward, the ground looked like it was covered in snow.
     Because the weather predictions were better on Sunday and further south, Bruce and I went to the Catskills 8/17/08 to climb Windham High Peak (3524 feet).  (Earlier this year Bruce had climbed Overlook Mtn in the Catskills but he didn't think that was a good hike for dogs and hence I didn't get to go to that one.  He felt that exploring the ruined hotel near the summit would expose dogs to broken glass, and that seems fair enough). 
     We arrived at the Peck Road trail parking area at 10:25 AM.  The weather all morning was sunny and about 72 degrees with a pleasant breeze.  The trail to the top is 3.3 miles each way, and it was very drenched.  As we neared the leanto, we met two women and a young man about 13 years old, all of whom were from Durham, a nearby town.  They told us that there had been a huge downpour here on Saturday; hence the wet trail. 
     Although the trail was wet, in many places it goes over rocks instead of soil, which helps reduce the amount of mud.  The rocks in the Catskills are very pretty and distinctive,  being flat and often purple or light brown.  The soil seems to be a thin layer of iron-rich clay. 
     Before arriving at the leanto, we saw a newt.  The leanto itself is in good shape but it had no trailbook to write in.  There is a large tenting area behind it.  The forest beyond the leanto is pretty and we saw a few nonflowering wild columbines there.  We also saw a scarlet waxy cap mushroom which was a first sighting for us.
     After that the trail goes up into what I call "The Black Mana Forest" because the eerie, dying trees with entangling, grasping roots remind me of blasted lands in the Magic The Gathering card game.
     Beyond that there is a pretty forest with a lush layer of long grass under it.  There was a nice flowing watercourse here for me to drink from.
     After that the trail goes up very steadily into what I call "The Vine Forest" because many of the trees and shrubs were overgrown by vines.  Here the trail was very narrow and overgrown, bordered by goldenrod, raspberries, black cohosh, and a few stinging nettles (which are not hard to avoid if you know what to look for).
     We arrived at the south lookout at 12:34 PM and had lunch.  This lookout has an outstanding, dramatic view of nearby Black Dome, Blackhead and Cole Mtns, all over 3900 feet, the most distinctive sight in all of the Catskills.  You can see this Blackhead Range from tall buildings in Albany as well as many of the main summits in the Catskills. 
     After that we wandered over to the other two lookouts, which have views to the north.  Because of clouds and haze we didn't see Albany.  We did see a glider or small private plane quietly zooming around over the plains far below us.  We started back from the last lookout at 1:05 PM, but then after that Bruce went back again to the south lookout to rest and take more photos.  We didn't meet any other hikers while we were at the summit.
     After we started back down, however, we met a number of hikers coming up.  We talked with a nice couple from Poughkeepsie.  After them we met a young couple with a very friendly beagle named Baxter.  In fact, Baxter wanted to come down with me and his owners had to call him a couple of times to get him to continue climbing the mountain with them. 
     We were coming back down to the leanto when I heard a noise and looked uphill, and there was the trio from Durham, coming back down.  We were all surprised that we somehow missed each other on the summit.    It was good that we got a reasonably early start today.  After 2 PM the sky got a lot cloudier to the point where it was about 65% clouds and 35% sun. 
     We saw a second newt on the way out and a few pretty coral mushrooms.
     We were back out at 3:40 PM.  What I especially liked about this hike was the dramatic view from the south lookout which so impressive.

     Hi everybody, this is Dickens the hiking terrier coming direct to you from scenic Vermont where I just completed a new hike with Bruce and his friend Fred Bump.
     Bald Top Mtn, which just appeared for the first time in the last edition of the Day Hikers Guide
to Vermont, is a 1765 foot mountain rising up from Lake Morey and the Connecticut River Valley, with views across the river into New Hampshire of some pretty mountains including Mt Moosilauke and Mt Cube.  The Rivendell trail to the summit is 3.3 miles one way and a reported 1350 feet ascent.
     We arrived at the parking area at 10:56 AM and we were the second car there.  The trail is pretty and not heavily used.  It is fairly steep at the beginning.  We hadn't gone very far when a large black dog came charging downhill, running at us with a breakneck speed.  I held my ground and did not bark at her.  Once she arrived she proved to be friendly.  Her name was Dixie.  A young lady had been walking her on a leash to Echo Mtn, but she got away.  The lady told us she and her dog had never been to Bald Top, just the nearer Echo Mtn.
     We continued uphill to a lookout over Lake Morey.  After this we passed by three small streams, not flowing very much, and hiked up onto a ridge.  While up on the ridge we climbed up and past many false summits which represented large lumps on the ridge.  With all the ups and downs it seemed like we actually climbed at least 1500 feet instead of the reported 1350 feet.
     The weathermen were wrong in predicting a sunny day.  Actually it was partly to mostly cloudy.  The temperature was about 83 degrees and it felt rather humid.  We didn't have any trouble with bugs, fortunately.  We saw a couple of spring peepers, a toad and a frog.  We heard birds singing the whole route, particularly chickadees and hermit thrushes, but we didn't see any birds.
     Finally at 1:30 PM we arrived at the summit.  Several ATVs were there but they left right after we arrived, and they went off towards the west.  We had lunch.
     There are nice views of Mt Moosilauke and Mt Cube, but the view of Smarts Mtn is blocked by trees.  Clearly, trees have been growing up all around and obscuring the views.  The summit really needs a lot of clearing to restore its value as a great lookout.   Mt. Moosilauke was largely obscured in clouds and haze but it would have been a great view on a clearer day.
     All around the grassy summit were patches of pretty flowering white ceanothus.  There was also some milkweed and pearly everlasting, and a couple of very large honeysuckle bushes full of red berries.
     On the way down we came upon a large xylophone installed on a tree not too far from the start of the trail.  Bruce played a tune on it.
     We were back at the parking lot at 4:42 PM.

     This was Bruce's third ascent of Noonmark (3556') but the first time that I , Dickens, had ever attempted it.  I can see why it is one of his favorites, since it is a very scenic mountain. 
     We arrived at 9:45 AM at the parking lot on Route 73 where we met a bunch of people going all the way to Dix Mtn.  They had a border collie with them named Shiraz.  Bruce was skeptical about them starting so late for a 13.6 mile trek, since the four times he climbed Dix he always started at dawn. 
     The weathermen predicted a sunny day, and it started out sunny, but by late afternoon it became mostly cloudy.  It got up to 80 degrees F. with a sporadic and pleasant light wind.
      Round Pond was pretty.  When Bruce arrived there at dawn on past trips he has seen beavers and a loon, but this late in the day we didn't see any wildlife on the pond.  The lower part of the trail was very humid and we did see three spring peepers off the sides of the trail.  We were making decent time and we passed two young men about 25 years of age who seemed to be going rather slowly.
     By 11:15 we reached Boquet River.  The flow of it was very dried up although there was enough for me to drink and bath in. 
     After that the trail gets steep and there are a series of interesting rockfaces to clamber up.  We met some friendly hikers.   The people on this trip were very nice to me, petting me, calling me a well behaved dog, and saying I am "gregarious." 
     By 1:00 PM we reached the summit and had lunch at a lookout towards Marcy and Gothics.  I had a sandwich and part of Bruce's sandwich too.  While we were eating a party of about 12 young people came up and occupied the highest boulder area on the summit.  They seemed to be having a great time and they thought it was very funny to see me take a bath in one of the pools of rainwater on the summit.
     Bruce did also have a dish of clear water for me to drink out of.
     Two young people came up with their very well behaved German shepherd named Kira. 
     The views were gorgeous and Bruce and I roamed all around taking photos.  Noonmark is surrounded by dramatic high mountains such as Gothics, Dix, and Giant.  Bruce especially enjoyed the views because he has climbed these high peaks and made friends with them.
     At 1:40 PM we left the summit and started back.  When we reached the stream we met up with the two young men we had seen before.  They had only made it this far and were going to give up and go back.  They said they were from Manhattan and were on vacation here.  Tomorrow they were planning to take a canoe trip on Indian Lake.
     We went back down the trail and Bruce took a picture of a large split boulder.  He said the photo should stand as an allegory of his broken tooth.  He is getting this tooth pulled July 9.  Poor fellow!   He'll have to subsist on mushy food for awhile.
     Down near Round Pond we came across a large Green frog, about four inches long, with a green head and a brown body.  This seemed very odd, like the hero in Iolanthe who was a fairy down to the waist but whose legs were mortal. 
     We were back out at 5:10 PM.