MikeB
Member
Sunday was a beautiful day, clear, low 20's, no wind. Perfect for a ski, but lacking snow decided on a hike instead.
Mia (my four-footed hiking companion) and I intended to climb Mt. Isolation (she "needed" it for her canine 4K - what a great excuse to hike), but we didn't quite make it...
No snow at the trailhead to maybe 2-4 inches higher up Rocky Branch Tr. For the most part trail was dry and easy hiking. The short section along the old logging road was boggy and not totally frozen over yet, so that was pretty muddy. The final downhill to the river had a lot of running water. Slick but bare bootable. Poles would've been handy for balance.
The river was running much higher than I expected, though. It would've been a wade for me and a swim for Mia, and then again on the return. I was concerned about Mia getting totally soaked in the cold weather, so we turned around there.
The sections of water and mud were causing a lot of mud-sicles to build up like beads around Mia's paws (which then made funny "clacking" noises). We use Musher's Secret (waxy stuff) on her pads and between her toes, which works great in normal winter conditions, but not as effective with liquid mud/water and cold air. I'm wondering how other hiking dogs deal with this?
Only met two other hikers, backpackers heading up while we were going down. They saw three bears running across the hillside just before we met them.
Beautiful day and a nice hike in the woods, just not the original plan... Oh well, the mountain will still be there next time!
Mia (my four-footed hiking companion) and I intended to climb Mt. Isolation (she "needed" it for her canine 4K - what a great excuse to hike), but we didn't quite make it...
No snow at the trailhead to maybe 2-4 inches higher up Rocky Branch Tr. For the most part trail was dry and easy hiking. The short section along the old logging road was boggy and not totally frozen over yet, so that was pretty muddy. The final downhill to the river had a lot of running water. Slick but bare bootable. Poles would've been handy for balance.
The river was running much higher than I expected, though. It would've been a wade for me and a swim for Mia, and then again on the return. I was concerned about Mia getting totally soaked in the cold weather, so we turned around there.
The sections of water and mud were causing a lot of mud-sicles to build up like beads around Mia's paws (which then made funny "clacking" noises). We use Musher's Secret (waxy stuff) on her pads and between her toes, which works great in normal winter conditions, but not as effective with liquid mud/water and cold air. I'm wondering how other hiking dogs deal with this?
Only met two other hikers, backpackers heading up while we were going down. They saw three bears running across the hillside just before we met them.
Beautiful day and a nice hike in the woods, just not the original plan... Oh well, the mountain will still be there next time!
