Saturday, October 3, 2015

Scenes from an Adirondack Autumn Afternoon

Cloudy, windy, and cold this morning.  Not a good day for the paddle I had planned.  And because my knee was paining me bad, not a good day for a hike, either.  How about a nice drive up the shore of Lake George, then?  Ah, now, that sounds good!  So my husband and I drove up past Lake George Village to Hague, enjoying the views of probably the most beautiful lake in the world, as well as surrounding forests just beginning to turn their gorgeous autumn colors.  When we reached the parking area for the Tongue Mountain trails, a scenic spot where a water-filled quarry perfectly reflects the surrounding rocks and trees, we parked and got out  to explore the surrounding woods.





Just across the road from the parking area, we could hear the roar of a waterfall tumbling down the mountain and coursing through the woods. A short walk brought us out on the rocky banks of a rushing stream.




So lovely!  So peaceful! So quintessentially Adirondacks!




I could have stayed here all afternoon.




I can't quite picture what forces caused this tree trunk to curve so dramatically.





After enjoying both the drama and the tranquility of the coursing stream, we crossed the road again to walk a ways on a forested trail that passed beneath towering White Pines.




Our footsteps quieted by millennia of fallen pine needles, we soon arrived at a bridge that crossed a stream.





Well, it used to be a stream!  Beavers have built a dam directly below the bridge, and the water upstream has spread out to form a pond.  A lovely, quiet scene, with streamside maples turning a beautiful red and gold.


4 comments:

threecollie said...

I thought of you today when Alan and I hiked into Auger Falls above Wells. I wished you could tell us what many of the plants that we didn't know were. It was fun.

Jacqueline Donnelly said...

Oh, what fun it would have been, to hike with you and your son! Judging from your beautiful blog describing your rich life on your farm, you bring such a sense of delight to all you see in nature. When I walk with folks like you, you enhance my own sense of wonder and delight.

Benj said...

Jackie, I took Bastien up to this little area a couple months ago. If you keep walking upstream past the rocky banks you were standing on where the stream bends, there is actually a medium-sized waterfall (I believe Northwest Bay Brook Falls) about 100 yards up. We had to cross the stream to get to it but the water was fairly low and we managed to step over on rocks.

Jacqueline Donnelly said...

Thanks for the waterfall tip, Benj. Yes, we walked that way a bit and could see the falls tumbling down from far up in the rocks. Really beautiful spot. I would have love to walk higher, but my broken kneecap is still fragile and painful, so we just enjoyed the view from a distance. Isn't it wonderful that we can access such wilderness beauty so easily?