Jon BausmanIt’s spring in the Northwest! And everyone, even my pup Lefty, has spring fever. Instead of seeking a more tropical locale, though, we fed our recent springtime hunger to roam with a winter hiking adventure in Southern Oregon.
It was a trip of epic proportions, involving snowshoeing uphill 4 miles in deep powder to stay overnight in a fire lookout that sits atop a lofty peak. Of course, Lefty had the very best time. He lunged through the snow, barked at it, snarfed around in it, and chomped big piles of it when he was thirsty. Also, there were ready-made toys everywhere in the form of freshly packed snowballs.
Everyone learned a few things, too.
- We learned to hit the trail early. Hiking in the deep snow takes a lot longer than simply traipsing over packed dirt. Like, hours.
- Everyone has to protect their paws up there in the high alpine. See, Lefty is a furry-toed man. He’s not ashamed of this. But the toe fluff collects ice chunks that pull at his paws. It hurts! And that’s not even to mention they way the sharp-as-knife springtime slush crystals can have their way with his paw pads…
Aaaanyway, the trees sparkled with powder and the scenery was stunning. We took, like, a million photos. And Lefty? I’ve almost never seen him happier.
I mean what could be better than everyone having to cuddle for warmth at night? And you’re deep in the wilderness, so no pesky leashes—or fences or crates or getting left at home while you know for a fact everyone is going out and having fun without you.
Nope, nothing for Lefty but grand, snowy days rolling with the pack, out on exploratory hikes, out to get firewood, out to take a scenic pee, out to watch the way the peaks turned all pink in the setting sun as they cast long, jagged shadows out over Cascadia …
Thank you for the fun read Jennifer Sherowski, a new member of our Pack!
