Hiking In Elachee And Hiking My Leg

Sunday, as promised, jc took me to Elachee Nature Science Center, along with Cindy and Moon, where we went hiking.

It was a beautiful day for walking, with the sun out, and the temperature around 60 degrees. The trails were dry, and there was a nice breeze.

Cindy and Moon walked part of the Mathis Trail, shown in blue on the right side of the map. Moon's not as spry as I am (she's at least 8), so they stuck to the shorter, easier trail for her benefit.

jc and I took the long route. We took the Elachee Trail to the Mathis Trail, then picked up the East Lake Trail, around to the Aquatic Studies Center, then took the West Lake Trail back up to the Lake Trailhead, took that short cut-over back to Mathis, and then left back on to Elachee.

jc added up the distance we walked, and it looks like it was about 5.25 miles. My feet claim it's longer! It seemed a lot further to me than the 6 times around the park, which is 5 miles. I wasn't sore, 'cause I'm in pretty good shape with all the walking we do, but it was a haul.

There were lots of cool smells, and I think I tried to pee on just about everything. jc was getting tired of waiting for me, so sometimes I'd suddenly be dragged by my neck 10 feet up the trail before I caught up. You humans just don't appreciate that we dogs need to tell everyone else we've been here!

We're all supposed to wear leashes while we're in the park, but some people aren't as responsible as mine. I got sorta charged at by an old, mostly black German Shepherd, but luckily he pulled up short before I had to pull out a can of whoopass and let him have it. I think jc was pretty proud of me, because you know how I can be around other dogs, and I just kinda stood there. Didn't even bark! His people were real apologetic that he wasn't on his leash, and we all talked for a couple minutes.

We went on our way and ran into a Springer Spaniel (those are dumb looking dogs. I'm embarrassed they're of the same species), but he/she/it didn't get close enough for me to have to protect jc.

A little further on there was a golden lab that I had to bark at. At first I thought it might be Beckett, because he looked similar. If I knew what Beckett smelled like, I'd have known right away, but I've only seen pictures. jc told me to hush, and then I realized that the odds of Beckett being 600 miles away from home on the weekend we happened to go to Elachee were pretty slim. I saw some other dogs here and there, but we all pretty much ignored each other.

This picture is of the Aquatic Studies Center. I don't know what all exactly goes on there, but it's an artificial wetlands of some sort. I heard someone saying they have educational programs there for kids.

We didn't go down to the water, but circled around the lake. The picture is taken from an earthen dam that forms one edge of the lake. There's lots of tall grass there, and some really good smelling things.

You probably know we dogs don't see in color very well, but jc said the trees were really bright and colorful. He was happy, so I was happy.

OK, this thing on the right is a suspension bridge, and quite frankly, it scared the pee out of me. Well, not literally, because after marking 45,682 trees and bushes, I was dry.

It's narrow, 150 feet long, and when you walk on it, it starts bouncing. jc says it's sturdy and safe, and I crossed it, but the first time we crossed it, I stopped in the middle, and was thinking about not going any further.

But I'm a Brave German Shepherd(tm), so after jc petted me and told me I'd be fine, I went all the way across, and then back again. I don't really like it, but I need to get over any fears of the unknown if I'm going to set a good example for other GSDs.

While none of the trails were hard (I've got 4-paw drive!), the West Lake Trail seems to not be maintained as well. There were a lot more trees down across the trail, and some I had to go under, and some I jumped over.

There were some ditches that had logs cut in half and laid across them to walk on, but I went through the ditches. jc said if I ever want to do agility work, I'm going to have to learn to walk on them. I think next time he's going to try to get me to walk across the boards. If he has some treats with him, I'd be more inclined to give it a shot, I think. *grin*

We had a really nice day, and when we got home, I was ready for a nap. Oh, I forgot to mention, since Moon went with us, Makeeta had to stay home. And, boy, was she mad! She was making all sorts of racket when we left, and when we got back she gave me a 200% inspection, to see where I'd been and what I'd been doing. Maybe next time we'll leave Moon at home, and Makeeta will get to go with me.

Bark at you later!