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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 12/10/2026

I've had this video open in a browser tab for the longest time "to watch later". I've finally done so, and I'm SO glad I did! Emily Ford is a wonderful person and her experiences during this trip with Diggins completing the Ice Age Trail in winter has so many interesting insights and lessons. If […]

mountains.social

Original post on mountains.social

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 04/10/2026

Back at home after our recent vacation, we find that spooky things have begun to appear in the local woods! #Huskies #DogsOfMastodon #Fungi #Spooky

Husky Tonttu cranes his neck out to sniff cautiously at a large white orb on the forest floor, its dimensions greater than his own head! Several other orbs, not quite so large, sit nearby, and one in the foreground has been split apart, revealing smooth white flesh inside.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2026

UP Vacation: the end. Thursday night was our last in this cozy little cabin in the woods. We'd have loved to stay longer, but we had to make room for new guests moving in over the weekend. So, Friday morning we packed up and cleaned up, removing the husky […] [Original post on mountains.social]

Zeena rests on her dog mat to the side of the arched fireplace in the cabin. The scene is dark, lit only by the gas fire burning brightly.

A narrow tripod light stand with shelves holding knick-knacks. The top shelf holds a wooden tree cutout with a moose in front and a laser-etched block of clear plastic with trees and a bear. The middle shelf holds a Tonttu, a house elf with a traditional tall pointy red hat showing only their big nose poking out underneath and two long braids of yarn. the body is squat, made of Nordic sweater patterned material, and a couple of wooden paddle feet sticking out the bottom. The bottom shelf holds a stuffed deer with tall stick legs, the body made out of black and white gingham fabric and a white scarf around its neck. This animal was one of the toys Zeena decided to play with on arrival, and survived vivisection only by spending the rest of our trip on the top of the refrigerator.

The creepy unfinished basement under the cabin we stayed. At the bottom of the bare wood stairs is a washing machine and two dryers, a cheap fake wooden cabinet and a round wooden table with a plastic card game surface on top, 8-sided, with a green fabric center and indentations on each of the 8 sides for players' chips and a drink.

The other corner of the creepy cabin basement has a low octagonal bumper pool table, a foosball table, a dart board mounted to the cinder block wall, surrounded by carpet foam (whether to protect the wall or the darts or both, who knows), an old stacked tool chest with wide drawers & other junk.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2026

Honestly not much more to be said about the final bit! A long steady hike up through the forest, following a small stream that was much lower than in previous years (not enough for Tonttu to soak in!) and then suddenly you're back at the parking lot bustling […] [Original post on mountains.social]

Jeff stands on the edge of a small ravine, with Zeena and Tonttu at the bottom, noses down in a bit of water just deep enough to lap at. Trees here are young and deciduous, making a glowing yellow-green canopy over everyone.

Jeff leads the way down the trail, seemingly alone, though he has both Zeena and Tonttu attached to his belt, somewhere out of view ahead of him. Here you can appreciate his burgundy red canvas hat, walking stick with his phone mounted on top, and beige field vest, which has a peculiar lump in the middle because he's wearing it over a day pack. Vegetation surrounds him on all sides in a jubilant array of reds, oranges and yellows of maple and oak, greens of spruce and balsam fir, white stems of aspen and birch, and a cluster of faded golden bracken ferns.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2026

After that, there's another bit of colorful deciduous forest until you cross back towards the Peak on a boardwalk across a beaver-maintained wetland. Stairs on the other side start the final climb back to the trailhead. 🧵 5/x

A fallen tree trunk is scattered by bulbous tan puff mushrooms, some tracings of moss, and a couple maple leaves. Out of focus behind and to the left, husky Zeena waits for the humans to stop taking pictures and continue the hike. The trail here is a foot path covered in bright reddish-orange and yellow leaves, while the undergrowth of the forest is a limey yellow green.

A closeup photo of leaves on dark ground of grayish brown oak leaves, rocks, twigs, pine needles and dirt. The highlight is a round birch or aspen leaf, flattish at the base by the stem and with a small point. Its color is overall yellow, fading to orange at the tip, but along the veins the color remains dark green, creating a bold branching pattern off the central vein. There is also a dark red maple leaf with a somewhat inverted pattern, having lighter yellow colors along its veins.

Jeff and Zeena pause on a wide, elevated boardwalk across a wetland covered in tall asters and Joe Pye Weed, with a bit of beaver pond visible on the far right. They've just descended to the walk way on some stairs where the path passes over a small mound of an island in the middle of the large wetland. The island is wooded with about a dozen spiky spruce trees and some young maples, most nearly bare of leaves, but one in the middle stubbornly holds on to its crown of yellow with an orange top. Across the wetland to the right is alder swamp, and beyond that, a hill rises, lower swampy spruce transitioning to more brilliant red and orange maples.

Husky Tonttu follows hiker Jeff up a wooden staircase, with Zeena out of view in front of them both, as they ascend from the swamp boardwalk to the final slope back towards the trailhead. Brilliant red maple leaves frame the scene from young trees on either side: pointy red maple leaves on the left, and rounded mountain maple on the left. The colors become more jumbled, mixing in yellows and oranges and greens up the slope.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2026

Betcha didn't know that pasties grow naturally here in northern Michigan and Wisconsin! They're harvested when fully grown to be baked and sold to tourists as a local staple. 😉 🧵 4/x #Hiking #UPMichigan #Pasties

A moss-covered branch on the forest floor has three whitish crescent-shaped blobs with fluted edges growing out of it, like fungi.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2026

The trail meets up with others at Mirror Lake, which hosts campsites (with bear poles!) on the near side and rustic cabins on the other. We crossed the stream that feeds the lake on a makeshift bridge parallel to a new footbridge under construction to […] [Original post on mountains.social]

Tonttu stands in the shallow water on the shady side of a narrow part of Mirror Lake, head up to look at something on the shoreline, tail curled in a circle over his back -- a rare position to see him in when there's water deep enough to lie in! There's a big old tree trunk fallen and half submerged in the water behind him, and the far shore beyond that is a brilliant mix of deep red red maples, fiery orange and yellow sugar maples, and various shades of green from pines and hemlocks. The colors are mirrored in Mirror Lake, lightly distorted by ripples on the surface.

Jeff and Tonttu pause for a snack along the trail. Jeff is sitting on a fallen and partly rotten tree trunk. Tonttu sits at attention at his left, his hiking lead attached to a tree to the side, to keep him from disappearing after errant squirrels and chipmunks. But that's not currently a concern, as Jeff is holding a bit of trail mix out to Tonttu, whose nose is up and attention focused on the bit of food just inches away.

A carpet of leaves in this bare spot along the trail covered in a jumbled layer of maple leaves in shades from dark reddish brown to orange and yellow, to grayish white where their shiny undersides are turned upwards.

Husky Zeena has been happily exploring a small bit of beach next to the other hikers' rest stop, her lead attached to a branch on a tree near the edge of the beach. Bright red and yellow leaves of young trees on the edge of the water are screened by lacy hemlock branches hanging over the scene. Zeena is looking in, away from the beach, alert to the fact that treats are being had and perhaps she should come investigate those now.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2026

The descent from the peak is initially steep and challenging, but soon you join up with an old roadbed, which can be a river at times, but there are boardwalks for some of the worst sections. 🧵 2/x #Hiking #Huskies

The camera, held down at dog-level and off kilter, captures hikers Jeff and Tonttu walking down a wide trail through young maple forest, which forms a bright yellow backdrop behind them. There's yellow and orange leaves on the dark trail, and a snaking bit of 2-board walkway behind them.

Another shot of Tonttu leading Jeff through the yellow colored maples down a double-wide boardwalk. Tonttu is up close to the camera, long tongue hanging out in an easy pant.

Zeena leads the way down the same trail as in the previous photos through mostly yellow young maple forest. Here, the hiking path follows the right side of the old road, with a couple short sections of narrow boardwalk ahead, with wider muddy ruts on the left. The whole trail slopes gently downhill ahead.

One more shot of the trail down from the Peak, with Zeena catching up to Jeff and Tonttu in the lead. The path is narrower here, with more prominent orange leaves in the canopy, but with a green layer of shrubs and young trees under the canopy, including some evergreens.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2026

UP Vacation Day #4! We're a couple days behind. Thursday was our last full day of vacation, and we headed east to the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness for a hike around Summit Peak. This is a familiar 5-mile loop that can be sloppy in wet weather, but was […] [Original post on mountains.social]

A Toyota 4-Runner covered in stickers and hand-painted designs is parked in a busy lot at the trailhead to Summit Peak. "More Zessin Less Stressin" is painted across the rear window. "S P A G H E T T I" is spelled in individual letter stickers on the tailgate under Wisconsin license plates. Also a selection of bumper stickers reading "Time isn't real. Money isn't real. Raccoons are real." and "Whatever happens to the water happens to the people." and "Reform Pangea" and "We are here to awaken from the illusion of our separateness." There's also a big round sticker with Jake the dog from Adventure Time "Makin' bacon pancakes."

Husky Zeena leads the way down a wooden walkway with hand rails and a set of stairs that descend out of a forest opening to a platform looking out over wide low hills, the remains of ancient mountains, covered in dazzling orange and yellow leaves with scattered evergreen patches. Beyond the hills, Lake Superior can be seen, a wide blue-gray expanse to the horizon. A handful of people enjoy the view, one looking out through heavy metal binoculars mounted to the railing.

Another shot of the view from the observation platform, taken a bit farther out so you can see more of the vista and less of the trees on either side. The sky is covered in wispy horizontal clouds, but the sun shines bright from the left onto the autumn colors below.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2026

@cdf1982 They had a good chase yesterday when one bunny hiding in the wildflower patch popped out, but didn't immediately head for the gap in the gate, but went back into the weeds to be flushed out again. Bunny thankfully escaped and there was no bloodshed.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2026

@cdf1982 Zeena is happy to settle in pretty much anywhere with us. Tonttu on the other hand clearly reaches a point where he starts to wonder when we're heading back to home and lunch (or lunch and then home), which can be problematic on longer treks.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2026

@cdf1982 We'd like to try camping, but we fear our huskies' instincts would not be contained by a simple tent with all the nighttime critter activity around. 🦨 🦔 🐿️

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2026

@cdf1982 They do, on both accounts! Tonttu happily sleeps on the bed with his humans (even if the bed isn't big enough for everyone). Zeena checks the beds to see if she can fit under any of them (her usual sleeping spot at home), and since there's rarely […] [Original post on mountains.social]

Zeena curled up on a dog pad on the floor near the fireplace in our cabin for the last week. The fireplace is blazing with a cozy gas-powered fire, which got turned off at night.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2026

@cdf1982 It was! Sadly it's over now. Just have to finish posting photos and then get back to the usual routine at home...

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 02/10/2026

From there, we wound our way back downwards to our trailhead. Come winter, there will definitely be some challenging hills to navigate on skis with dogs attached, and one in particular that has a fast curve in the middle, but in general this looks like a fun […] [Original post on mountains.social]

Husky Tonttu leads the way down a wide trail covered in red maple leaves under a canopy of yellows, oranges and occasional greens. The sun is bright, making the canopy glow and casting dappled shadows on the trail.

Looking back from the previous photo, Hikers Zeena and Jeff bring up the rear, both caught in shafts of sunlight on a mostly shaded trail. Here, one understory tree with leaves of lime green stands out against a background of yellow-orange, and a strip of blue sky overhead where the trail parts the trees.

Back at home base cabin, Jeff sits at the dining room table, a dark wooden slab, backlit by a large picture window with bright yellow and green trees beyond. His plate holds two halves of pasties, one with rutabaga and one without (though you'd be hard pressed to tell which was which, even on close inspection). Wine glasses hold drinks for him and his dining companion, the photographer, which glow in cloudy shades of yellow and rose, holding various flavors of hard cider.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 02/10/2026

The climb was worth it for the view of the decaying wooden ski jump, and a glimpse of the northland in full autumnal splendor beyond. It's too bad we couldn't climb the jump for a better view, but we followed the warning signs and stayed on safe ground. #Hiking #SkiJumping

An old, decrepit wooden ski jump sits on a hill surrounded by deciduous woods in autumn splendor. The structure is several stories high at the near end and slopes down the hill and out of view on the far side. It's made of tall timbers planted in the ground, holding up platforms underneath and the top where skiers used to prepare their jumps. The remains of a wooden staircase lead to the top from underneath.

Another view of the ski jump, but pulled back to reveal the wide Nordic ski track that curves past on the left, where two huskies wait for their hike to resume. A snow fence and "Danger! Keep out!" sign make an effort to keep the local kids from hurting themselves on the structure.

One last view, this time on the left side of the ski jump, with tall wooden supports on the right (and another Danger, Keep Out sign), with a gap before the orange autumn forest trees start up to the left. Between, far out in the distance, you can see the landscape below the jump spreading out to the horizon, striped with patches of red and orange autumn woods, under a cloudy sky.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 02/10/2026

From the chalet at the bottom of the ski hill we climbed UP the "Hospital Loop" trail to the top of the hill behind the ski jump. Given the steep slope and the pointy, slippery, moss-covered rocks in some areas, it's a good thing there's a hospital nearby! […] [Original post on mountains.social]

Huskies Zeena and Tonttu pursue a critter (a chipmunk) sequestered in its hole under and between moss-covered rocks amid ferns along the hiking trail. Tonttu's head is completely under one rock, while his body perches on another, and Zeena looks on, head tilted for exciting sounds underground.

Tonttu waits for the rest of his hiking pack to catch up in a wide angled show that shows a great face of rock rising out of the ground, under the trees of the forest through which his path passes. The ground is a swath of low woodland plants, with leaves of various shades of green and yellow, above a base layer of fallen maple leaves of darker red and orange. Above, a youngish stand of deciduous trees is mostly yellow, the red maples already having shed their leaves for winter.

Looking back from the previous photo, we see hikers Jeff and Zeena approaching the camera down a trail that's not exactly visible, marked by blue flagging tied to trees here and there. The tall, dark rocky ledge is on the left and descends behind them into the yellow trees, backlit by the sun.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 02/10/2026

UP Vacation Day #3! Yesterday we decided to scope out the Wolverine Nordic Ski Trails in Ironwood MI. They're one of the VERY few places that allow dogs on all trails! The trails are open to hiking and mountain biking in the summer. This was a great chance […] [Original post on mountains.social]

A wide trail heads straight away from the viewer from a field into woodlands that are orange and yellow with autumn color. Three orange traffic cones block the way, we presume to keep mountain bikers from this particular trail, though we're not sure. We hiked through anyway!

A wooden sign along a trail, consisting of three horizontal slats reading "Stairway", "To Heaven", "Jack Polich 1953 - 2008". The lettering is in vibrant blue paint that seems to shimmer against the polished/lacquered wood and the yellow autumn leaves that form the background.

Hikers Jeff and Zeena casually descend a wide trail towards the viewer, surrounded by bright yellow leaves with hints of green, and a coating of red and brown leaves on the trail. It's a wide, flat ski trail, waiting for snow.

Hiker Jeff pauses on a green field at the base of a steep hill covered in trees of various autumn shades of red, orange and green, with a vertical cut through it, up to a wooden structure that is an ancient, gray ski jump, no longer in surface, that barely can be seen through the wedge of trees at the top. The sky behind is bright blue, with a few white clouds, and the sun lights the foreground brightly. Jeff is hiking with Zeena, who can't be seen, pulling the lead attached to his belt tight off to the right.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 02/10/2026

When you're comfy, but you also don't want to miss out on any snack-related opportunities. #Huskies #Snacks #DogsOfMastodon

Tonttu, an Alaskan husky with dark markings on his white face and outlining his big white triangular ears, stares at the camera with his icy blue eyes from behind a pile of pillows on a couch, nose alert for olfactory information on food. The couch is covered in a blue and red plaid sheet to protect it from husky fluff during his short stay in this rental cottage.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 01/10/2026

Finally, a couple of colorful parting shots from our return trip back upstream to the trailhead. End 🧵

A trio of dark, straight vertical tree trunks form a screen through which a chocolate brown river can be seen in the background. Two trunks are aligned on the left and one on the right has a rotten fallen tree trunk at the base, angled down towards the river. The tree on the right has drooping branches of lacy green hemlock needles. Through the gap between the trunks, patches of bright orange-yellow and red trees can be seen across the water.

Maple seedlings shine in bright autumn colors, in contrast with the broken stumps and temps of old trees just behind them. A tall, thick stump with jagged top frames the left, while a thick, pointed bit of trunk is middle right. A thin stem of bright red maple leaves parallels the trunk on the right, while a spreading clump of yellow-orange sugar maple leaves fills the gap in the center-left. Behind is the rocky Black River and green trees on the far shore, also decorated with yellows and reds of autumn color.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 01/10/2026

Our destination was Conglomerate Falls, which were impressive to see from the viewing platform below, but even more to explore on the flats above the falls! Especially with low water levels. 🧵 5/x

Zeena stands on a rocky ledge overlooking Conglomerate Falls, as seen from the viewing platform built just below the falls. Here, water falls in several thin streams over a bulging ledge of rock made of rounded stones embedded in a sandstone-like aggregate matrix. There's a large nose of sorts in the middle of the ledge, with rippling trails of water on either side. More water goes to the left, while on the right it is split into multiple thin rivulets before falling into a pool below. Zeena has her head up, smelling smells coming on the wind down river. On the far side, trees are mostly green evergreens, with scattered deciduous trees in yellow autumn colors in between.

Husky Tonttu stands in very shallow water spread across an expanse of conglomerate stones above the falls in the previous photo. He looks like he's pulling the viewer towards the descent over the left side of the falls. There's a mound to the right, the "nose" in the previous photo that divides the falls into left and right streams. he seems unconcerned about the prospect of going over the falls! The ground is so pebbly that he has plenty of foot-holds to keep him in place.

Tonttu is now exploring the flat expanse of a layer of conglomerate stone bedrock that forms the base of the river above the falls in the previous photos. The rocks are a lumpy floor of gray, reddish brown and green moss and slime with scattered pools of iron red water. Some larger lumps of conglomerate formations are visible in the river valley upstream, and forests of evergreen and autumn yellows rise on either side.

Hiking pair Jeff and Zeena pause at the far side of the Black River just above Conglomerate Falls. They're standing on the lumpy bedrock of conglomerate that forms the falls with a thin stream of water passing behind them, along the far edge of the river. In the foreground, it's just a flat expanse of rounded rocks embedded in a sandstone-like substrate. Jeff pauses to take a photo with his phone mounted to the top of his walking stick, While Zeena looks back in his direction, seeming inpatient to get moving again. The far shore is a vibrant cluster of yellows and oranges against a pointy backdrop of evergreens.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 01/10/2026

Zeena was in her element, happily exploring the sights, sounds and smells along the way! Still plenty of energy and joie de vivre at 11 years! 🧵 4/x #Hiking #Huskies #DogsOfMastodon

Gray and white husky Zeena explores a flat, wide, shallow river which breaks into gentle rapids downstream to her left. She's splashing through the transition between calm and turbulent water, muzzle turned up to the right as she takes in scents blowing downriver, eyes closed as she focuses on what her nose is telling her.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 01/10/2026

Tonttu, being Tonttu, managed to find multiple places to cool off along the hike, including a roll in a patch of Partridgeberry (Mitchella repens) along the way. The weather definitely wasn't hot, but it was damp and warm for the end of September. 🧵 3/x

Husky Tonttu cools off in a small stream that is crossed by the hiking trail via a single thick plank of wood, suspended over the narrow sides and rocks. He's hunkered down, chest deep in a small pool below the bridge, and he looks up, somewhat questioningly at his hiking partner, Jeff, to whom he's connected by a lead attached to Jeff's waist. Husky Zeena has paused behind them, waiting for Tonttu to finish his bath.

Tonttu is rolling in a patch of low plants, Partridgeberry, can't be easily seen here but consist of low vines with oval variegated evergreen leaves and little red berries. The patch is surrounded by low forbes and especially sugar maple seedlings.

Tonttu pauses for another cooldown in a small creek over which the hiking trail passes without so much as a stepping stone. Fallen maple leaves on the ground and floating on the surface of the water make it difficult to differentiate forest floor from stream. Hiking partner Jeff waits patiently to the side for Tonttu to finish his soak.

Hiking pair Jeff and Tonttu have paused while exploring the flat, rocky expanse of the Black River. The river bed is a flat jumble of rounded stones in shades of gray and beige with calm water flowing between. Humans can easily hop from rock to rock across the expanse towards the far shore where green evergreens are broken up by occasional yellows and oranges of autumn deciduous color. Tonttu, as usual, has paused to lie down in the water to cool off. The water is shallow enough that most of his back and hiking harness are not even wet.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 01/10/2026

Much color and scenery along the way! 🧵 2/x

Husky Zeena leads the photographer, following the hiking pair of Jeff and Tonttu, through colorful autumn woods, around a large dark pair of tree trunks, past a backdrop of vibrant greens, yellows and a patch of bright red in the upper right. The ground is a layer of darker reddish brown fallen leaves.

Looking out from the edge of the forest over a wide wetland with a hill rising to the left on the horizon. The wetland is starting to go reddish brown with all the standing cattails and other plants preparing for fall, but a Y shaped bit of water is visible in the foreground. The hill in the background is a mottled mix of evergreens and maple oranges. The sky is largely overcast, but a variety of cloudy textures with bits of blue sky poking through.

Zeena continues to follow Jeff and Tonttu down a hiking path, but here, tall ferns of light green at the base fading to yellow with a touch of orange border the trail, nearly hiding Zeena from view.

A thick tree branch or slender trunk lies on the forest floor, covered in scalloped white fungi. Green thimbleweed leaves border it on either side, and a single bright red Red Maple leaf has come to rest in the middle of the otherwise white branch. An autumnal Bûche de Noël, perhaps.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 01/10/2026

UP Vacation Day #2! Another day along the Black River: this time we entered at the North Country Scenic Trail trailhead just north of the Copper Mountain ski jump and the headed north, downstream towards Lake Superior. It was a very pretty hike through […] [Original post on mountains.social]

Husky Tonttu pauses on the trail next to a Solomon's Seal plant, dressed up like a series of banana slugs for Halloween.

A trio of hikers follow a wooded trail that parallels a river on the left bank. The woods are green hemlock with low maple seedlings showing autumn colors that range from green to orange and red. The hikers consist of two huskies, Tonttu and Zeena, with human hiker Jeff in the middle, being led by Tonttu. Zeena leads the photographer.

The hikers are further down from the previous photo. More maple colors fill the scene, though lacy green hemlock still border the trail in the foreground. More of the river can be seen, wide and flat, with the bed a flat jumble of reddish-brown rocks between which the low reiver flows.

The hikers have ventured out into the middle of the wide shallow river, which is bordered by green evergreens and maples just turning to yellow here. Fluffy white and gray husky Zeena skips through the shallow water, throwing up splashes with her feet.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 01/10/2026

My phone's wide-angle lens is intent on turning Tonttu into a borzoi. #DogsOfMastodon #Huskies

Wolfish Alaskan husky Tonttu stands on a flat swath of conglomerate rocks that make up the Black River above Conglomerate Falls: it's a bunch of large rounded pebbles set into a sandy substrate and compressed into stone, over which the river flows, on the right and the left. Green and yellow trees rise from the bank on either side. Tonttu's butt is in the middle of the frame, and he's angled to the right edge, the exaggeration of the wide-angle lens stretching out his nose to near-borzoi-proportions.

Tonttu hikes along a very primitive trail at the base of a wall of stone rising amid deciduous woods in autumn colors. His nose points just out of screen to the lower left, the wide-angel lens exaggerating its length to full-borzoi proportions! He has a happy doggy smile and doesn't seem to care.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 29/09/2026

One last time across the Black River and then it was south on Black River Road (Hwy 513) to home. From the road we got a brief glimpse of Copper Peak's ski jump, currently undergoing reconstruction. If you're here on Sundays (sadly we won't be!) you can […] [Original post on mountains.social]

Husky Zeena follows hikers Jeff and Tonttu across a wooden suspension foot bridge across a calm river that curves out of view to the left. Mist makes the far side of the bridge and river mysterious looking, but huskies don't seem to notice!

Driving down a 2-lane rural road bordered by autumn-color trees, a ski jump appears on the horizon, beyond the curve in the road. It's an off-kilter T shape, a single support rising above the tree tops, with the jump itself a straight line angled down to the left, supported by the central pillar mid-way.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 29/09/2026

We continued down the beach, past mysterious things like fuzzy growths on alder stems and a driftwood shelter that would have accommodated a very small person on rather damp soil. After a little over 2 miles from the start, and having passed all the agate […] [Original post on mountains.social]

Fuzzy white clumps on the base of an alder branch look like hair ice, but it's too warm for that! These are woolly aphids, clustering together for the winter.

A lean-to of sorts extends from the steep bank on the edge of the beach along Lake Superior. A single horizontal branch supports a dense wall of beach wood jutting out from the slope on the left. A bit of sandy and pebbly beach separate it from the calm, gray waters of Lake Superior, to the right. Hikers Jeff and Tonttu follow the edge of the water in the distance.

A close-up view of the opening at the end of the driftwood-lean-to structure. There's straight bits of driftwood creating an A-frame on either side, with a triangular opening at the near end. A scattering of smaller driftwood branches can be seen in the foreground of the inside, with a smooth, damp, sandy area beyond in the shadows. Scale is difficult to tell, but it's really only suitable for children or perhaps their dogs.

Jeff and Tonttu pause along the shore of Lake Superior. Jeff is standing on the pebbly edge, looking out over the misty water, while Tonttu, attached to a pack around Jeff's waist by a moderately-long lead, rests in the cool water up to his chest. The beach beyond fades into fog that has come in off the lake, but one last agate-hunting hiker is visible in the distance.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 29/09/2026

While most humans were focused on finding agates, we were more intrigued by the geology/geomorphology at the edge of the beach, where great mounds of clay were exposed, eaten away by erosion and winter storms. If one were into working with natural clays for […] [Original post on mountains.social]

A bit of eroded slope at the edge of the beach reveals reddish clay deposits, breaking off in clean chunks, practically ready for pottery making!

A large mound of land made nearly entirely of clay, the size of a small house, erodes at the edge of Lake Superior. Reddish clay can be seen under the overhang of soil and tree roots, which are slowly drooping towards the beach. You can tell it's a slow process by the fact that decent sized trees hanging over the edge have had time to curve back upwards towards the sky. In the background, the rest of the forest glows yellow in autumn splendor.

A single footprint, from Tonttu the husky, is made in damp clay that has washed out of the slope on the edge of Lake Superior. If you zoom in, you can see the individual dimples of his foot pads, with streaks in a series of parallel lines to the top and right where his paw stroked the ground before planting in, and two deep claw marks at his middle two toes.

A small, rough pinch pot made of wild clay sits on a wide smooth gray rock in front of the wild clay deposit shown in the first photo of this series. A single rounded pebble has been placed in the pot. One overhanging root/branch curves across the scene above.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 29/09/2026

This is clearly Agate Hunting Land: despite it being a Monday, there were multiple groups of people down the beach looking for special rocks. We walked by, humans admiring the scenery and huskies exploring the scents and splashes, both in the water and […] [Original post on mountains.social]

Our husky hiking ensemble approaches a gentle curve of beach with trees rising on the right and several clusters of beachcombers along the edge of the water. While the sun is shining in the foreground, a heavy mist hangs over the water and clouds the far end of the beach.

Zeena hops down from having explored the plants on the edge of the beach, on the right. A single overhanging branch holds two tight clusters of bright red maple leaves, in contrast to the other green plants along the shoreline.

Mostly white husky Zeena prowls the shallow waters of lake superior. The shallows are covered in rounded pebbles, perhaps agates that will excite the humans, while a large flat rock rises from behind her on the edge of the water, and another flat rock lurks just under the surface beyond her. Lake Superior is calm, with only small ripples on the surface, and the horizon is a fuzzy haze, while Zeena and the foreground are in full sunlight.

Hikers Jeff and Tonttu stand on a flat rock on the edge of the pebbly shore of Lake Superior, both smiling at the camera. The vertical photo is framed perfectly as-is, not retouching or cropping necessary! Jeff holds a walking staff with his phone mounted on the end like a monopod.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 29/09/2026

UP Vacation Day #1! Today we drove straight north from our cabin to Black River Harbor, where the Black R. empties into Lake Superior. It's just West of the Porcupine Mountain Wilderness where we've done a LOT of hiking over the years, but a place we've […] [Original post on mountains.social]

Zeena approaches the Black River Harbor suspension bridge. Tall wooden supports on the near end are anchored in stone bases, while a foot bridge with a gentle arch disappears into forest on the other side, highlighted with spots of bright red autumn color.

Pretty, but do not touch! Tonttu passes some poison ivy along the stone retention wall on the far side of the suspension bridge. The triplet leaf clusters are bright shades of orange and red.

Zeena wades in the eastern (right) side of the Black River, heading toward Lake Superior in the distance. A breakwall of the harbor creates a barrier on the horizon between the harbor and the lake. Low scrubby plants line the shore on the near (right) side.

A trio of hikers explore a bit of bedrock exposed in the harbor at the end of Black River, before it enters Lake Superior. The rocks are low and flat, barely poking out of the calm water. Hiker Jeff stands in the middle, watching his charge, husky Tonttu in the shallows on the left, while husky Zeena explores the rock on the right. Jeff just happens to be posed between the east and west breakwalls of the harbor, where access to Lake Superior can be had.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 28/09/2026

The inside is charmingly thematic, just the right size for us, and husky approved! And the yard has GROUSE which is of particular interest to the huskies, when they're not distracted with tussling. That's all for now. Huskies are getting restless, so it's […] [Original post on mountains.social]

The inside of the Husky House showing a tall living room under a peaked roof to help shed heavy winter snows. There is a railing up to dormer bedrooms above, over a small kitchen and dining area to the right. Over the kitchen is a signboard reading "Husky House", above which is a wolfish head metal cutout and a print of a wolf peering out from birch trees. A metal wireframe deer head is mounted to the left over another print of wolves in snow.

A dome-shaped fireplace sits inset in a wide brick chimney that rises to the tall ceiling, with the gas fire lit. Hanging high on the chimney is a coppery cutout of the Michigan Upper Peninsula mounted to a panel made of rustic boards.

Two huskies play on the master bedroom, Zeena on the bed, pouncing at Tonttu, on the floor, with her forepaws up and spread out. The bed is covered in an old sheet to protect it from husky fur and mud. There is a big window beyond where squirrels and grouse can be watched with great excitement.

Zeena and Tonttu have lazy tussles on the floor in front of the fireplace. Zeena lies on her side on a doggy mat, one paw raised in defense of Tonttu whose head is a slight blur of action as they bite at one another. Driftwood decorations include a tree on the mantle and a wall decoration behind a tripod lamp that holds other brick-a-brack.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 28/09/2026

We're staying at a cabin by Big Powderhorn Mountain, which has a more respectable 600 feet of vertical, though fewer runs. There's a little community of homes and rentals at the base. When we discovered that "Husky House" was available for the week of our […] [Original post on mountains.social]

Zeena and Tonttu lead the photographer down a gravel driveway towards a small house with a tall peaked roof where Jeff is unloading the car. The home sites in a small opening, surrounded by trees, mostly green with a touch of fall color.

An advertisement for Big Powderhorn Mountain Resort rises to the left of Hwy 2 under cloudy skies but backed by a row of trees a bright mix of greens, reds and oranges. There is a large statue of a downhill skier descending a tiny slope on a stone plinth, frozen in action.

The sign for Husky House cabin on a wooden T-shaped frame. House number E6331 sits above a white rectangle with a large husky head, black and white with blue eyes and the words "Husky House" only the "o" is replaced by the Michigan Tech seal. A border of simple snowflakes decorates the outer edge.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 28/09/2026

Entering ski country! We stopped at a little county park to feed the pups a late lunch and discovered Whitecap Mountains Resort on the other side of the lake. Not much skiing going on here yet! Some skiers may snicker at Whitecap's 400 feet of vertical, but […] [Original post on mountains.social]

Human Jeff and huskies Zeena and Tonttu stand outside a picnic shelter as lunch hydrates on a picnic table behind them. A steep slope behind the shelter is full of bright autumn hues.

A hill covered in autumn oranges, reds and browns rises on the far side of a still lake that reflects the scene with slight ripples. There are a couple of ski slopes carved in the trees, with a Swiss-style chalet in between and a ski lift going up to the top.

More autumn trees and shrubs off the side of the entrance road to the county park. Husky Tonttu runs across a bit of grassy lawn in the foreground, about to turn out of frame to the right.

Screenshot of Whitecap Mountain ski resort on Google Maps, revealing a single peak with ski routes cut through the trees on all sides from that peak, and lifts carrying skiers back up from all but the SW side. Iron County Weber Lake Park is off the east end of a lake that curves around the north side of the mountain, and several points of interest, such as a wine hut, chateau and chalet are scattered across the NE side of the hill.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 28/09/2026

We're finally on a proper vacation! Autumn is here, and we appear to have totally lucked out on hitting fall colors as they approach peak brightness. Temps are cool, perfect for hiking. Yesterday we drove from the Twin Cities across Wisconsin to Bessemer MI […] [Original post on mountains.social]

Husky Tonttu, with icy blue eyes, looks excitedly out from the back of the car through the windshield, mouth open and ears alert. He's going on an adventure! Jeff is at the wheel, wearing a plaid shirt and weathered baseball cap . Farm fields under an overcast sky can be seen in the background through his side window.

A sturdy green metal door on the outside of a restroom building in a park. This is the men's entrance, with an appropriate sign, another sign saying "Please No Smoking" and another more verbose and exasperated sign reading "If bathrooms continue to be vandalized / feces not deposited properly, bathrooms will be closed."

Bright red, orange and yellow trees line a rural 2-lane highway on an overcast day. Some trees back from the road are still green, but the edge is full of bright colors.

Bright red, orange and yellow deciduous trees line the sides of a rural 2-lane highway, as seen through the windshield of a car. A few green evergreens break up the warm colors, as well as a few deciduous trees not yet turned.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 23/09/2026

It's nice to have a bed warmer on these crisp autumn nights before we turn the furnace on.

Alaskan husky Tonttu lies on the left side of the bed, with another human cropped out of sight on the right. He's relaxing happily with his head on the pillow, facing the warm light of a bedside lamp, out of view, but illuminating the scene from the left.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 21/09/2026

And if they were lucky, the hikers all got something special on the way back home! End 🧵 ! #hiking #huskies #DogsOfMastodon

Siberian husky Zeena, with one brown and one blue eye, gives a doggy smile while poking her head over the mesh border between her and the front of the car.

Alaskan husky Tonttu's blue eyes are 100% focused on the French fry being held just out of reach above him as he sits patiently at the border between the back and the front of the car.

The tempting fry in the previous photo has moved down, just in front of Tonttu's nose. His eyes remain laser focused on the fry. Zeena has popped up and is also keeping a close watch on the fry from behind Tonttu's right ear.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 21/09/2026

There have been interesting plants and things to look at along the way! Perhaps some a little TOO closely... 🧵 4/x

Three tall, prickly plants rise out of a grassy bit of prairie. They're compass plants, a native sunflower, but all that remains are the thick stalks, spiky shriveled-star seed pods on short stalks along the side, and shriveled fern-like leaves at the base. Hiker Jeff is lead by huskies Zeena and Tonttu in the background, slightly out of focus, following the mowed trail through mostly bluestem prairie at Nerstrand Big Woods State Park.

Zeena investigates an impressively large fungus rising from a fallen tree trunk in the woods at Nerstrand State Park. It's round and slighlty cupped, yellowish beige around the outside, but dark rotten brown in the middle where water gathers and a couple of fallen leaves have collected. If it were a serving tray it could hold a whole roast turkey!

A trio of bulbous seed pods branch out from a single central stalk amid grasses and native sunflowers and other plants in a prairie. The pod shape and branching arrangement suggests a lily. Which species? Who knows!

Back at home, Zeena stands on a hardwdood floor, showing off her crown of thorns. Or perhaps her diadem of sticker-seeds is a better descriptor: a stalk of plant with tiny round barb-covered seeds has become attached to her head, spreading from ear to ear.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 21/09/2026

We've been in a drought all summer, which caused local ponds to dry up. Thirsty dogs became muddy dogs at Lebanon Hills (though we know one secret beach with a sandy bottom to clean off before returning to the car!). But over the last week, weather patterns […] [Original post on mountains.social]

Tonttu and Zeena explore the muddy edge of a local lake where low water levels have exposed the bottom and lily pads stick in the air more than usual. This is a canoe portage, and the logs placed to help canoers keep their feet dry are embedded in the mud.

Zeena is caught exiting the mud of the previous photo. Her feet up to her elbows and knees are dark with mud. She is of course quite happy about the state of things.

A sandwich board sign advertising Music in the Park sits on a shiny wet sidewalk at the edge of a parking lot. The sign has a cartoon dancing rabbit, deer and bird with a schedule for upcoming events as part of the "Fun, Frolic and Food Trucks" that are part of a summer concert series in Whitetail Woods Regional Park. Tonttu investigates a puddle in the distance.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 21/09/2026

We've also been hiking in forests and along beaches! 🧵 2/x

Huskies Zeena and Tonttu hike along the shore of the wide St. Croix River at Afton State Park on a gray cloudy day. Zeena looks up at a dead tree ahead that holds a dozen or so Turkey Vultures.

Zeena and Tonttu lead the way through a forest that is shady on the ground but glowing yellow green above as the sun lights up the canopy at Nerstrand Big Woods State Park.

Hiker Jeff is led by Zeena and Tonttu down an old gravel path through UMore park, a.k.a. Vermillion Highlands. Deciduous trees border and partially shade the road, and Tonttu is off in the deep shade on the right side, nose investigating something of interest.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 21/09/2026

Hi! We've been kind of scarce lately because of work, so it's time for an update! As summer turns to fall we've been hiking the open prairies, here UMore Park (Vermillion Highlands), Afton State Park, and Nerstrand Big Woods (which has a prairie as well as woods!). 🧵 1/x #Hiking #Huskies #Prairie

Zeena and Tonttu lead the way down a low hill on a wide mowed trail through prairie with scattered stands of trees. In the right foreground is a tall reddish stand of Big Bluestem grass, and the tracks in the trail show sand underneath: the hill is probably of glacial origin.

Zeena and Tonttu lead the way down another grassy mowed path through a prairie towards a stand of trees on the horizon, and some old stone posts that mark the gate to a former farmstead. Two hikers are approaching from the gate. This is the north eastern corner of Afton State Park.

Hiker Jeff is led by huskies Zeena and Tonttu through yet another prairie, with woods on the left horizon. The sky has scattered bright backlit clouds spreading low across a blue sky.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 04/09/2026

Ugh. The dewpoint is nearly 80F. There's so much moisture in the air, but very little of it has fallen here as rain, so the local lake is very very low. At least the water is still clear and free from algae blooms! The amount of sweat I generated from just […] [Original post on mountains.social]

Huskies Zeena and Tonttu wade in a medium-sized lake with deciduous trees around the far side, green under a blue late-summer sky. The lake is low, exposing mud flats along the shoreline on which lily pads remain, beached. A wooden ramp angles down gently into the water on the right, used in winter for deploying a lake aerator.

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/09/2026

Ironically, only 1 day after I posted the previous video, this happened! Bunny stalking is not actually all that common on our walks. Here, it's @sofawolfone once again, but Zeena in stalk mode. #Huskies #Bunnies

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 01/09/2026

Rediscovered this video of Gypsy (RIP 😢) and @sofawolfone stalking a bunny in the back yard. This was way back in 2015, before we had a proper fence around the yard. #Huskies

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 28/08/2026

@cdf1982 That's impressive! In the first photo, it looks like the holes are connected beneath bridges of soil. She's a proper geotechnical engineer!

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 27/08/2026

@cdf1982 Zeena loves playing with other huskies too, often very rough-and-tumble! No one has pushed her past her limit yet, so I wonder if there is one. But Milla's hole -- if Zeena and she were working together, I bet they could dig you a proper wine cellar, or perhaps even a nuclear bunker […]

mountains.social

Original post on mountains.social

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Paws to Trail @paws2trail.mountains.social.ap.brid.gy · 27/08/2026

@cdf1982 Yes! An important skill in hiking with huskies is knowing where the last clean source of water is before you get back to your car. Milla and Zeena are so much alike! Either they'd be best friends or mortal enemies. I'm not sure which.

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Reposted by Paws to Trail

Cesare Forelli @cdf1982.iosdev.space.ap.brid.gy · 27/08/2026

Thank God for rivers and creeks #Husky

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