We get an entire week for Thanksgiving now. Like last year, I will head out to the Phoenix area and hike a few new-to-me trails in several of Maricopa County's regional parks like Usery and McDowell. I will take Gretel and Sahne. I will leave next Sunday and be back home Wednesday afternoon. One hike I want to do is the Pass Mountain Trail with the Wind Cave. This would be over nine miles.
I took Fritz on a quick two-mile walk at sunrise, but then at 9:23am I was on Carr Canyon Road with both Gretel and Sahne to see how they would handle being around other dogs, specifically with dogs of my fellow hiking partners. I gave them a 20-minute head start so that at the beginning both dogs could be used to being on leash. This is a four-mile walk on a dirt road going out and back. The group turns around at the middle falls after a short break. This takes about two hours, with time to chat and enjoy the view over the valley. The hike has a 937 feet elevation gain.
It was a pleasant, cool hike. Temperature was 54F. I didn't bring a backpack, nor water for the dogs. This was a training hike for them.
There was little traffic this morning, but there were two campers off the side of the road with dogs. Seeing the dogs got both of mine excited and they pulled. Not good. But the worst part is that both dogs got agitated when I reached the middle falls and the group was waiting there...with four dogs. I had to use all my strength to restrain both dogs. I momentarily distracted them by taking them down to the creek to lap up some water, but both dogs resumed their barking and lunging when we got back to the road. I had no choice but to apologize and go straight back down the road and back to the car.
Taking both dogs is not the best choice for my trip to Phoenix, but Gretel and Sahne are two of the more rambunctious dogs. Taking them will give Kevin a break for the time I'm gone, having to deal with two less dogs, but now I'm wondering if taking these two dogs is a wise decision.
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