A Trail of Life at Blue Mountain

A winding trail which resembles a dry creek bed is the well worn path up Blue Mountain at Blue Mountain Lake,  New York.  It resembles a dry creek bed until it rains, when promptly becomes a live creek bed.

The beauty of this trail is not to be missed.  It was a huge relief not to climb this difficult trail in the dark (as in searching for Bicknell's), but rather to leisurely enjoy the great beauty offered along the way.

Fungus, ferns and flowers greeted our every step.

Peeling birch bark created a contrast of light and dark; the deep woods echoed with the musical tinkling of Winter Wrens.

A Black-throated Green gave us the eye as we passed too close to his nest along the trail.

Water beads on the fronds of the Interrupted Fern, Osmunda claytoniana.  The vegetation was deep and dense.

A flower of the boreal forest,: Bluebead lily, Clintonia borealis.  This is a species that says, "You are not in Ohio anymore."  My childhood  Peterson Wildflower Guide was creased to its page; this is the plant I longed to see.

The occasional hardy souls blasted past as we slowly picked our way up the trail.  This could be called the Blue Mountain TRIAL instead.



Climbing nearly 1,800 feet this slick rock path was a real challenge to "flat-landers."  The rain made the slippery rock hazardous, but these young men were having no trouble bounding up the trail.  Trail running and peak- climbing are very popular sports among the young folks in the area, and the log at the trail head claims 15,000 hikers register each year.

A whimsical face peers down from a hollowed tree.  Shelf fungus forms eyes and nose, reminiscent of the nail -on variety in mail-order magazines.  I have never seen the the appeal of them, but this countenance made me chuckle and made the path seem lighter.

Life- it is all about the journey, and I am glad we never made it to the peak.  The beauty along the trail is what will always be remembered.