Jake did his first hike today, a full 4.5-mile loop. For a 3.5 month-old puppy I sure was impressed.
We first went up Mill Creek Canyon and walked a bit along the Pipeline Trail with both Buddy and Mrs. Admin before we moved to the Little Water Gulch trailhead to let them play in the stream.
But Buddy's stamina is short these days so I drove Patricia and Buddy home and returned to take Jake on his first hike.
I wasn't sure how far we'd go, but by parking at the Big Water Gulch trailhead we had a choice of loops ranging from 2 miles to 4.5 miles. The trail up Big Water is very pleasant through a conifer forest with a trail composed of dark, rich soil with few rocks.
By the time we reached the overlook a little over a mile out, though, Jake was still doing well so I decided to push on all the way to Dog Lake for the full 4.5 miles.
Jake was an exceptional dog to hike with. He stayed right by my side nearly the entire way, as if on an invisible leash. It was a great father/dog bonding experience. The trail was quite busy and virtually every group we encountered had a dog along. The only time Jake was distracted was when we encountered other dogs and he often seemed more interested in tagging along with them rather than continue up the trail.
There were several other groups with dogs when we reached the lake. Jake swam for a bit and we split a Clif Bar before he swam with a few of the other dogs when it was time to leave.
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We opted to make a loop of it, returning via Little Water Gulch back to the car. Once there, though, Jake sacked out on the passenger seat and slept the whole way home. He's one pooped puppy tonight.
We first went up Mill Creek Canyon and walked a bit along the Pipeline Trail with both Buddy and Mrs. Admin before we moved to the Little Water Gulch trailhead to let them play in the stream.
But Buddy's stamina is short these days so I drove Patricia and Buddy home and returned to take Jake on his first hike.
I wasn't sure how far we'd go, but by parking at the Big Water Gulch trailhead we had a choice of loops ranging from 2 miles to 4.5 miles. The trail up Big Water is very pleasant through a conifer forest with a trail composed of dark, rich soil with few rocks.
By the time we reached the overlook a little over a mile out, though, Jake was still doing well so I decided to push on all the way to Dog Lake for the full 4.5 miles.
Jake was an exceptional dog to hike with. He stayed right by my side nearly the entire way, as if on an invisible leash. It was a great father/dog bonding experience. The trail was quite busy and virtually every group we encountered had a dog along. The only time Jake was distracted was when we encountered other dogs and he often seemed more interested in tagging along with them rather than continue up the trail.
There were several other groups with dogs when we reached the lake. Jake swam for a bit and we split a Clif Bar before he swam with a few of the other dogs when it was time to leave.
[facebookvideo]http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150291957778922[/facebookvideo]
We opted to make a loop of it, returning via Little Water Gulch back to the car. Once there, though, Jake sacked out on the passenger seat and slept the whole way home. He's one pooped puppy tonight.