Its been a while, I know. I apologize. The holidays were crazy, I was sick, there's a lot going on at work, etc, etc. I could throw a million excuses here, but the fact is, I haven't even thought about blogging for a while. But this weekend, we have something worth sharing.

Took the dog on his first camping trip. We left on Saturday the 16th around 9. Got to the parking lot and headed out on the trail at 10:30 or so. Yet again, we neglected to think about the fact that the trails we'd be hiking on may in fact still have snow and were left slipping and sliding our way along the entire time. Eventually we'll remember the Yaktrax. Maybe the third time will be the charm.

The trail was pretty steep for a while and we traveled basically uphill the entire way to the shelter. Got there around 11:30 and decided to have some lunch while we figured out how far we were going to go.



As usual, lunch was salami, cheese, and rolls of some sort. Similar to every lunch we had in the Czech Republic, only not eaten in a parking lot or sidewalk bench :-)

We decided we'd attempt to summit Comptons Peak. We would have to hike approx 5 miles to get there, then come back. After a few hours of stumbling around like drunk people wearing heavy packs, we arrived at Skyline Drive. The peak was still a good mile or so away, but we started up the trail to give it a whirl anyway. Didn't get too far before deciding we should just go back and make camp. It was here that I mentioned that we hadn't seen any deer. On command, a huge doe walked out in front of us. She was not afraid of us in the slightest, although Sawyer really, really wanted to chase her. We watched for a few mintues and the dog let out a few sounds of protest that we wouldn't let him go, then headed back towards the shelter.



The way back was almost all downhill, which was very nice. There was a pretty sketchy rocky section that was challenging on the way up, and really challenging on the way down. But the view was pretty great.



And of course, we had to get a group shot. Not always easy with a dog.



Sawyer was a real trooper for his first time out. He carried a RuffWear Pallisades pack with two 1 liter water pouches, his food, his poop bags, a blanket and a fleece shirt for sleeping, vaseline for his feet, and a bowl. Eventually he carried his prong collar as well, since he was off leash most of the time. Once we got him balanced out, he did great. Forgot how wide he was at times, but still followed his nose when it took him somewhere interesting.



We got back to the shelter around 4:30 and started to set up camp. As usual, I worked on the "domestics" while Ejdo went and collected firewood. This was also our first time out with the new REI Cirque ASL 3 tent, so it was a little more challenging than setting up our old North Face. Luckily, I did it once at home on Friday to remember how it all went.

Sawyer started to get chilly and tired at this point, so I set up his sleeping pad ang put on his fleece to try to make him more comfortable. This is our "home", version 1.0.



Another hiker came up a little after we got our fire started. His trail name is WoodStove and he was a really nice guy. Pushing 60 years old, he travelled 12 miles through tough, snowy terrain that day and was sleeping in a hammock. Tough dude. Had dinner (Backpackers Pantry Chicken Saigon Noodles) and conversation with him, then enjoyed our dessert (BP Peaches and Cream), and our after dinner drink (hot chocolate and peppermint schnapps). The dog was looking pretty cold and tired, so around 8 we decided to hit the hay.

Got snuggled in the tent. Sawyer was on the pad, a blanket, and my fleece jacket, wearing his fleece. Ejdo and I were on our air pads, with down bags (mine was 0deg, his 20), long underwear tops and bottoms with dry socks. The socks were key for me, because my boots were leaking all day and I soaked through two pair of socks. Kinda sucked.



After only a half hour or so, we heard noises and saw lights. Two young guys (maybe college age) were coming in and only had stuff to sleep in the shelter. So we moved our tent over to campsite 3, which became Home version 2.0. No pictures, too tired.

It was a lot colder here, so I put my shell over Sawyer to try to keep him warm. He shivered a lot though :-( Around 4 or 5 it started to rain. Not too hard, just constant. Got up around 7:30, laid around a while avoiding the rain, then Ejdo and WoodStove heated some water for breakfast. Technically, I got breakfast in bed, since Ejdo brought the hot water to me and I had my oatmeal in my sleeping bag. Sawyer enjoyed his warm kibble as well.

Eventually got everything packed up and ready to go around 9:30 or so. Took one last picture from the shelter, signed the log book, and headed back to the car.



Got home around 12 or so. Lots of wet gear to dry out, laundry to do, and sleeping to catch up on. We both have some pretty sore muscles from skidding everywhere, and will be left with bruises I'm sure, but it was fun.



Lessons for next time: The dog doesn't need to carry so much water. He carried much more than he needed, and we could have, and should have, carried some of it. It was also a little too cold for him at night. I think 40 or 45 at night might be a better cutoff for him, rather than 30. He could also use a longer fleece so that more of his body can be covered.

We need to cut weight in our packs. We both had some extra stuff that we didn't really need, but its gonna come down to things like bags for items like the kettle, tent poles, and things like that. We're going to try water bladders rather than multiple Nalegenes next time too, since they weigh a lot less. And don't take both enough water and the water filter. Only one or the other.

All in all we had a good time. It would have been a much more restful night if those two guys hadn't showed up, and I think the dog would have been much warmer too. But thats part of using public spaces to sleep, you've gotta roll with the punches. Final numbers: 9.5 miles hiking, around 2000 ft of elevation. Not too shabby.

I'll try to be better about this whole blogging thing, but no guarantees.