San Pedro River

Time flies when you spend it in bed reading.  At 3pm I finally decided to get active and took all four dogs down to the river.    I wanted to get some distance today.  Yesterday I was down here with Susan and the pack and met Bob on the return stretch, but a dog fight between his dogs Cooper and Baxter, and then Sweetie and Minnie, ruined the peace.   The fight caused cuts on Bob's calf and left hand, but we don't know if my dogs were responsible for his cuts.  I do know Sweetie attacked the older dog Baxter and cut him above his left eye.

So today I would go alone, avoiding any confrontations.  The fight started between Cooper and Baxter over the stick I was throwing and they were retrieving.  Cooper, the spry three-year-old, competes with eight-year-old Baxter.  Bob and I were able to pull the dogs apart by their hind legs, but not before my dogs joined in.  I think they joined in because they wanted to protect me from the other dogs.

I parked at the Casa de San Pedro B&B and walked north along the river for a mile, then got on the official path to what Susan and I call the beaver dam, but from where no beaver dam is visible anymore although the tree damage is.

Dead grass is still overturned and leaning north, all from that winter storm that blew through in late December while I was still in Indiana.

It was overcast and calm and in the low 60s.  I only had my tshirt and hiking shirt on as top, and the jeans I wore yesterday.  I never came across another soul.

It's 1.85 miles to the "beaver dam," where the water is 2-3 feet across the bank.  I stopped here and rested for 15 minutes while the dogs splashed around in the water.  I could hear various birds chirp but only saw hawks and ravens.

Minnie did well on this hike.  Having the water nearby helps her.  Once we got on the path for the return hike, she quickly panted again until I stopped one more time at the river before that final last mile back to the car.

Sweetie has been slowing down this past week.  She is normally up front ahead of the pack, but this past week she has been in the rear with Minnie.  I will try to watch her to make sure she is not suffering from an injury or illness.  She is due a health check and will get that done in March when her shots are all due.

"Wanna go out for breakfast tomorrow?" asked Kevin later in the evening.
"Yes, after I walk the dogs at sunrise.  I'm also wanting to hike up Miller Peak.  I decided to do Miller after a lazy Saturday.  The hiking club went up Mercury Peak in the Whetstones today and I didn't go because I don't have a high-clearance car anymore.  It's a pleasant bushwhack with views of the valley but getting to the trailhead is challenging.