Backpacking into the Trinity Alps
With training and planning dogs make the ultimate adventure companions!
On the ridge line above Upper Deadfall Lake on the way to the summit of Mt Eddy
Summer time means backpacking for us, escaping the summer heat heading up into the backcountry. It is on these excursions that I often see all our hard work training when Em was a pup payoff. She is just a pleasure to share adventures with and I couldn't imagine backpacking without her.
Now that's a perfect view!
I often head off into the wilderness solo since my husband works on weekends during the summer months, and it gives me such comfort having a dog along to warn me of the things in the environment around our camp. She announces to shuffling bears maybe they should shuffle elsewhere with a simple bark or two as she picks up their scent long before I could know of their approach. She also polices the camp of marauding chipmunks and other snack stealing critters. And yet, otherwise she is silent and at my side, the true example of Man's best friend and how that whole title came about.
Upper Deadfall Lake, Shasta-Trinity National Forest
Having invested so much into our relationship we have a bond where leashes are not needed, in all the photos or videos to capture her adventures I have to create distance by asking her to stay and then calling her to me, otherwise she is always just at my feet. We mostly move in silence, just the sound of our footsteps, which means we get to enjoy many wildlife viewings and get to hear the sounds of nature instead of our voices. After a long stint in the wilderness alone with her, we each get a bit startled when we hear the sound of voices and it is only then I realize we have gone days without me needing to give her a single direction.
Trekking down from Mt Eddy
Her needs are simple on an adventure, some food, a dish, everything else we improvise. She sleeps on my backpack. While she has a leash it rarely comes out, only in places where it's required by law.
The Summit of Mt Eddy, Mt Shasta in the background...
If I can inspire others, I would say, invest in that come command, find out the things that bring joy to your dog's day and share in that with them, create a bond where they want to be at your side above all other choices, the life you can live together with that bond will be richer!
