Wherein all sorts of things go wrong, but a good time was had by all. Well,
maybe the humans more than the dogs.

So, we set out on Friday morning, relying on the GPS to get us 'there' -
where 'there' is a nearby town, 'cause apparently the device does not
consider National Forests to be points of interest. Turns out, we took the
long route, which I sorta realized 'cause I saw signs to the campground we
were going to stay in (waitasecond! We shouldn't have seen that yet!), and
then pulled in at the next point. Not part of the plan because it is an
extremely popular hike, but it had been raining in the morning, and there
were like 2 other cars around. So, we did a little impromptu hike. 1.5
miles/1000 ft. up and then back down again. Khan didn't want to do it. Too
hot. The views up top were spectacular. He loved the way back; wanted to
run down.

Since we were so close to the campground, figured we'd go check it out, find
out spot, etc. And then, as long as we were there, we set up the tent (this
was a large, very well developed, organized campground). Timing was
perfect, 'cause as the fly went up, the first few drops of rain came down.
Since we had gotten up early, we decided to take a nap. Good thing too,
'cause it rained some and it poured some for the next 3 hours. And we still
hadn't gotten to the hike that we had planned for the day, so off we went in
the drizzle, driving (more like crawling) down a forest road, covered in
clouds. Turned off it and onto something else (because I had read that it
wouldn't involved crawling along a precipice at least), and the clouds
vanished. Got to the trailhead, and it started pouring buckets. Waited and
waited, got tired of it, and started walking anyhow. The Rocky trail was a
lovely waterfall. Khan wanted to get back to the car. The trail itself was
gorgeous - ferns as far as eyes could see. We decided to turn back because
it was getting dark and we would have to crawl back along the precipice, and
of course, the rain stopped as soon as we left the trailhead.

On the way up, we had seen a truck driving along with a guy with an antenna
in one arm, sticking out. On the way down, we ran into them again, and it
turned out, these folks had lost 4 dogs the night before (he called them his
'bear dogs') when they took off after a bear. He had tracked one down with
its GPS collar, and it was in the back of the truck, but he was hopeful that
his dogs might've approached us because of our dogs. No such luck,
unfortunately.

Anyway, we got back to the camp. It was gorgeous. Took some walks around
the small trails there, enjoying the sunset. Khan kept trying to get back
in the tent, and it had been a long day, so we decided to turn in early,
which is when the firecrackers started going off. Didn't last long,
thankfully. Then it started to rain, and rained well into the morning, so
we didn't start on our long hike until late.

The good thing about the rain is that it keeps people off trails.
Everything looks lovely and fresh and green. Spruce trees look particularly
good with rain drops all along their limbs, reflecting light like little
jewels. The bad thing about rain is that it makes small streams big, and
big streams bigger, and creates lots of mud puddles. The first half of the
hike was beautiful, along a stream, the trail lined with Spruce, and where
there wasn't Spruce were lots and lots of ferns. The terrain was mostly
even, and we made good time even while going at a leisurely pace. We got to
the half-way point, and realized that I had dropped Pan's flexi along the
way somewhere. Just then, along came a guy who was planning on going down
the trail we had just come up, and he promised to leave the leash by the car
if he found it.

We started climbing up, lost the treeline, and climbed onto a very large
meadow. Stunning views all around. Except not much time to enjoy it,
'cause you guessed it, it started to rain very lightly, and it would've been
a really, really bad idea to get caught in an open meadow on top of a
mountain when a storm passed by. We hustled up to the treeline, and made it
just in time for the skies to absolutely open up. It rained big drops.
Then it rained in buckets. Our trail turned into a stream, and Khan refused
to move. We found a small stand of evergreens, he dug a hole in the leaf
litter, and curled up in it (WTF?). Apparently the new home wasn't dry
enough, and he moved to another spot and did the same thing again. Rajesh
took pity on him and stood over him with his rain jacket making a little
umbrella over his head, and so we stood for what seemed like a long time.
Once the rain let up a little, we started walking again, down the trail
which was now a stream. A little later, the standing water was gone, but
was replaced by ankle deep mud.

3 miles is a really short walk, easily doable in an hour. Not when the
trail is rocky, and especially not when you sink ankle deep into mud with
every step. We were oh so close to the road again when the next wave of the
storm hit. This time, with lots of thunder. Khan started to dig a hole in
the leaf litter. Rajesh took off his rain jacket and put it on the dog.
Khan proceeded to lie in his little hole, all curled up in his little rain
jacket. Unfortunately, the thing doesn't fit dogs too well, especially not
pointy eared dogs, so I stook over him with my rain jacket covering his
face. I would've taken a picture of the pathetic dog, except I didn't have
a camera that works well under water. The rain just wasn't letting up, so
Rajesh left his pack with me and ran down to the road (the trail where our
car was parked was 1/2 mile west of where the trail met the road) to go grab
the car. And I realized after he left that I hadn't told him which way to
go once he hit the road (this is the man that gets lost coming home from
work, so I had reason to worry). After giving him sufficient time to get to
the car or realize he had gone the wrong way, I grabbed his pack, the two
dogs, and waded down the trail to the road. We couldn't have waited 5
minutes when he came back with the car. Got in, dried ourselves off, and
yes, the rain stopped at that point.

Overall, it was great fun, although I could've done with a little less rain.
However, the rain did keep things cool, and the trails very people-free.
The dogs did great, and I'm especially proud of Pan because she of all of us
had the most reason to complain. She really was soaked to the skin, and
never once quit or complained. When we were around people, both the dogs
attracted lots and lots of attention, and we couldn't turn around without
having a bunch of kids (or adults) lining up to pet the dogs. Khan even did
well with a particularly obnoxious kid that was trying to smell his eye
(couldn't make that up if I tried). For being such good dogs, some of the
kids shared their roasted goldfish crackers with them.

Definitely doing this again. Some place a little closer to home and/or when
the weather is a little drier/cooler. Oh, and the seam sealer for the tent
absolutely does no good if you don't actually put it on the damn seams.

Suja

"Suja" said in rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

Overall, it was great fun, although I could've done with a
little less rain.

Rain, in itself, I like. But it typically accompanies mud and
cold - which I don't like.

Good story!

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

"Suja" wrote:

A throughly enjoyable read! Thanks.

A few comments/responses follow:

So, we set out on Friday morning, relying on the GPS to get us 'there' -
where 'there' is a nearby town, 'cause apparently the device does not
consider National Forests to be points of interest.

Out of sheer curiosity, what GPS do you have?
I've been using hand-held Garmins for geocaching for several years, and
while I've found them somewhat useful for traveling purposes, as well, I'd
never depend on a GPS as my primary or only navigation tool.


On the way up, we had seen a truck driving along with a guy with an
antenna
in one arm, sticking out. On the way down, we ran into them again, and it
turned out, these folks had lost 4 dogs the night before (he called them
his
'bear dogs') when they took off after a bear. He had tracked one down
with
its GPS collar, and it was in the back of the truck, but he was hopeful
that
his dogs might've approached us because of our dogs. No such luck,
unfortunately.

Wow. I wonder if he ever found them....


We found a small stand of evergreens, he dug a hole in the leaf
litter, and curled up in it (WTF?).

Dafi, the Sibe we had years ago, used to dig himself holes like that.

. Rajesh took pity on him and stood over him with his rain jacket making
a little
umbrella over his head, and so we stood for what seemed like a long time.

Aww. You DO know you're blessed in your hubby, right? ;-D

Got in, dried ourselves off, and
yes, the rain stopped at that point.

A perfect example of the sub-variant of Murphy's Law known as the Umbrella
Law.


Definitely doing this again. Some place a little closer to home

I think I saw this mentioned in another thread.... have you considered
Shenandoah? I have fond memories of hiking there with a friend and my dear
old Pepper, about 15 years ago.

"sionnach" wrote in message:

Out of sheer curiosity, what GPS do you have?

Garmin nuvi 660.

I've been using hand-held Garmins for geocaching for several years, and
while I've found them somewhat useful for traveling purposes, as well, I'd
never depend on a GPS as my primary or only navigation tool.

She usually does really well. Even works for not getting us lost in DC,
which is quite an accomplishment (I'm a very good navigator with a good
sense of direction, and DC is the only place I've ever been lost in).

Wow. I wonder if he ever found them....

He said that they had signals for some of the others. I hope they found the
dogs. They might've been okay as a pack, chasing a bear, but one-one-one,
they probably wouldn't stand a chance.

Dafi, the Sibe we had years ago, used to dig himself holes like that.

I found it to be really interesting behavior. Pan never tried that, as wet
and miserable as she got.

Aww. You DO know you're blessed in your hubby, right? ;-D

He tries to act all tough, but is a softie inside. I didn't think it was
the smartest thing he's done, however. Human ponchos don't fit dogs very
well for instance, and he (and his pack) got soaked, including his wallet.

A perfect example of the sub-variant of Murphy's Law known as the Umbrella
Law.

Apparently.

I think I saw this mentioned in another thread.... have you considered
Shenandoah? I have fond memories of hiking there with a friend and my dear
old Pepper, about 15 years ago.

That's where we go hiking all the time. We've never camped there, so we
might try that next. Or George Washington National Forest, which is also a
closer option.

Suja