We got up early the other day to try to beat others to this popular trailhead. It wasn’t too crowded nor too hot. Sky can’t go far in the heat so we try to take it easy for her sake. Willow goes and goes, probably twice as far as me and Sky! It wasn’t that long ago that Sky could go and go. This is the trail where Sky had her first hike and drank out of her first creek. She may have been carried for part of that hike. She was still a little pup.
Willow and her friend, Gretta, and their Good Girl drivers got out for a very nice hike early this week. They started early and did not encounter too many people on the trails – a few through hikers and some day hikers along with a few dogs. Everyone was quite pleasant. The weather was mostly overcast for the first half of the hike which was a relief since it was all uphill. At the top, there was a breeze to keep the bugs away. The downhill part, with its relentless switchbacks, was dusty and dry. Willow and Gretta needed extra water. Fortunately Gretta’s drive brought two extra liters. Willow’s driver will know to bring more next time. Everyone was tickled when we finally reached the creeks near the lake and managed to cool off for the last two miles back to a car.
If you’ve ever walked with an off leash dog, you know that they will go at least twice and probably three times, as far as you. They need to run up there and sniff something and then check in before heading in the other direction to sniff something else. And on and on it goes. Willow is pretty good at checking in and not getting too far away. However, if she finds something to eat, she becomes unresponsive. I don’t know how to solve that training issue.
We were invited to join two friends on an eleven mile hike, up and over a mountain pass with 2000′ of elevation gain. It’s a great hike to do with two cars so you can start at one trailhead and end at the other one. It was a cool and cloudy morning with a forecast that included sunshine and no rain. Hmmm, those forecasts.
There’s been a fair amount of rain recently and we saw many mushrooms of various kinds. Nothing that we wanted to pick and eat. The fall colors were just getting started with a few subalpine larch showing lighter green or yellow. The huckleberry and mountain ash were in full fall color.
When we were about eight miles into the hike, Willow actually sat down on the trail when we stopped. That may be a first – her showing any sign of being tired. But shortly after that, we approached a lake we have visited before and suddenly she was full of energy and anxious to get in the water. After that she knew where we were going and how to find the car. She probably walked/trotted/ran thirty miles or more. We had few sun breaks and even a little bit of rain. So much for weather forecasts.
It was a good day.
But we mostly had it to ourselves because the highway was closed! It was so green and refreshing. The new bridges are getting installed and looking good. They still need one more. The trail to the pass was closed because of a nearby fire.
This was almost two weeks ago when the high temperatures here in the valley were over 100. I had hoped we’d find some relief in the mountains and chose a hike that took us to 8000′. It still felt hot and very exposed. The wildflowers were beautiful. The bugs were brutal. Willow agreed. On the way home, we stopped to cool off in the creek and Willow was very grateful. Sky didn’t get to go. She is facing some health issues so I won’t be taking her on longer summer hikes. It’s hard to get old and miss out on the fun.
My Everyday Photos 