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1 November ~2008

Amy was happy how her border collie Drift did at his agility trials last weekend, and said as a reward he could go backpacking with me.  I took him and my three borders - Maggie, Mollie, and Ben, and we went down to my winter backpacking wilderness area.

Having four dogs along on a backpack trip is not my record.  One time Janet and the girls realized I was good for something after all, and let me dog-sit while they went to an out-of-state horse event.   I took all 5 of them backpacking - Ben, Maggie, Bud, Cody, and Boogie.  It went fine except on the single occasion that I met someone on the trail, which was a tad embarrassing, especially when they asked if I might need a couple more dogs.

I had a mind to go somewhere off trail on the trip last week, so I wouldn't have to leash the dogs.  I found a foot-wide creek and figured that would do for water, then followed it up to its head, and set up camp on a ridgetop at 8800 feet.

The days were warm, but nights were cold enough that I had a fire every evening and morning in the rock fire pit I set up.  It was damn nice sitting next to the warmed up rocks with just embers in the fire and taking in the peace and spirit of the wilderness.  When I turned off my headlamp I could see the milky way.

One day we climbed to the mountain saddle above us, then circled down on the other side of the valley.  It was something I might not have tried without having my GPS satellite locater.  The GPS told my exactly where my camp was on the way back.  I can't say for certain that I would have found it right off without it, since my route was entirely off trail in the pine woods, without any landmarks to easily mark my way back.

More than once I have found my camp after dark by headlamp using a GPS unit. Pine and spruce forests take on a different look with artificial light.

Little Mollie learned plenty on this trip -  like that she should come when I whistled.  She picked that up from the other dogs heading back and leaving her alone every time I whistled.

By the end of the trip she was getting into the attitude Ben has always has regarding boulders, cliffs, or ridges.  If one is around you have to climb it and look out from it.  Because.  That is what you do.

A few times she couldn't make it, but I got some photos where she climbed up next to Ben.  Is it just me or do I detect of hint of puppy pride in her look, as if to say you are small down there but me and Ben are big.  Yeah.

In the mornings Mollie and Maggie had long bouts of play time, which I was lucky enough to photograph.

It all shows what a sweet heart Maggie has, from the day she entered my life as  a six week old puppy almost eight years ago.

Having Mollie has made me realize what a deep and unending love me and Ben and Maggie have for each other, from years without a night apart and scores of mountain adventures.  

Mollie will get to the point also, but she is a puppy, and has been with us just one month now.  She already has been on two backpack trips however.

Today when the neighborhood kids came down I said they could take Mollie back to their house for a little while, three doors away.  Mollie wouldn't go with them, pulling back on her leash to stay with me.  They had to carry her to get her over there.  I looked  a  few minutes later and saw  Mollie playing with the four children on their lawn.  

When the kids brought her back we put Mollie in the big pile of brown oak leaves I was raking up.  She thought that was pretty fun and jumped around then lied down in the middle of the leaves.

Drift had the time of his life on our backpack trip.  He minded when I insisted he stay close, considering it was hunting season and we were in mountain lion country.

On the last night I heard Elk bugling, and again in the morning.  I picked up camp and started down the ridge around 9am.    On our descent I heard elk bugling again, and then noticed Ben out in front looking like he had spotted something.  I called him back and we witnessed 40 or 50 elk past us on their way uphill, no more than 100 yards away.  It took at least five minutes for all of them to move by us.

I was proud that none of my dogs broke to  chase the elk, and that testifies to the effectiveness of training collars.  A few years ago there would have been no way I could have got Ben to stand and watch elk or deer pass by us.

I noticed several large bulls in the herd, as well as a bunch of calves of the year.  I have never seen som many elk during hunting season.  I think they were not expecting somebody to be above them.

They elk had been down feeding on the thick grass that has some in since the Harriman burn in 2003.   The immediate aftereffect of a fire is one of shock and loss, but given a few years the benefits become obvious.  The same thing happened in Yellowstone.

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