Dinkey Lakes Hike

Yes. The Mosquitos are out. Although not yet in full force, the trip required quite a bit of bug spray. Uncle Joe and I took 'the boys' out for Astro's first real hike, Zig was brought along as his ambassador to the wilder world. Hurricane Rosie got some much needed quiet time at home with a friend. Alas, I worry more and more about her joints as she gets older...  Anyway, we loaded the boys up at 7am and made it up to the trailhead around 9:30 after two short stops. Astro was nervous but excited and Zig.... well Zig is an old hand at mountain trips by now....

 Admittedly, after much patience and coaxing, I had to physically haul Astro's big butt across the first two creek crossings. After that, he got the general idea that the water was not going to kill him and he followed Ziggy across with no worries on the way back. He still has to drag the long line or be leashed the whole time since his obedience education has been sorely lacking. All in all, it went way better than I had any right to expect. Go, Astro, Go.

 And, of course, we had to stop at the Hungry Hut in Shaver for grilled cheese and shake for the way home. Yum.

Snowshoe Dogs become Ski Dogs!

Alright, granted I'm still pretty bad at skiing (even 'snowplow' still seems difficult), but I have to say that it was quite satisfying being able to keep up with the pups for a change. We skied in from Swanson and took the logging road down (that snowplow maneuver came in reaaaally handy) to the lake. The descent seems way steeper when you are strapped on to a pair of x-country skis, and I only ate it twice on the way down (clinging to trees doesn't count, right?) When we hit the shoreline I changed out to my snowshoes, mostly because if I'd gone any farther, the odds of an impromptu swim increased dramatically. The skis attach nicely to the side of my pack and I tromped back up the hill with one very tired dog (Sadie) and one very ecstatic dog (the Zig). I hadn't previously considered the fact that, as my endurance increases, so does Ziggys. Thus, what used to wear him out quickly and efficiently is now a cakewalk and longer/more strenuous endeavors are now required. He's still worn out, but mostly because he ran up and down the 2 mile long hill about twenty times more than I did. I also blame him for one of my wipe outs on the way down...