Charlotte's First Hike!

October 18, 2014

Hiking season is HERE! We are so excited to be outside and actively enjoying the beauty all around us! We have a big hiking trip coming up in the next month, and need to be out as much as we can to get ready. The only concern was our puppy, Charlotte...it seemed crazy to take a 13 week old puppy on a long peak hike, but it seemed equally unfair to leave her at home all day long. After thinking long and hard, we finally decided: We were bringing our puppy!

We didn't exactly choose the easiest trail to start her off on. We were hiking to Mt. Wrightson in the Santa Rita mountain range, South of Tucson and the highest peak in the Tucson area. It's 10 miles round trip and gains almost 4000 feet. Curtis and I did it together in May, and he's done it 4 times before that. So we decided we needed a new challenge: a puppy, which we may very well end up carrying up and down the mountain!

We left early, and Charlotte fell asleep on the 45 minute drive there. Thankfully, she does very well in vehicles - I've always been there to hold her so she doesn't disrupt the driver, but she is very well behaved and likes to either look out the window, sit between us, or sleep on my lap. This will be very helpful when it comes to taking longer trips together! 

Shadow and Charlotte meet for the first time

We arrived at the trailhead at 7:15 and met with some friends, including Mitch's labrador, Shadow.  The dogs had a brief moment of introduction before Shadow decided that she was too good for a little puppy, and ignored Charlotte for the rest of the day. Charlie, however, saw Shadow as a role model, and tried to keep up with her all day. All the way up the mountain!

Aside from worrying that Charlotte wouldn't make it up, we were also concerned that it would take forever to make it up the mountain because she is not one for staying focused on a walk. She is always a "poky little puppy" whenever we go for walks. But not today! It could have been because of the other people in our group or Shadow ahead of us, but she stayed so focused and only stopped briefly a few times. Her little tail was wagging so much! They say that a busy dog is a happy dog, and it's so true - she must have been so happy all day!

3 miles in - we found fall colors! Even though we hadn't done any big hikes like this since June, it really wasn't too hard to get back into it. I could tell that I was even stronger than last time we hiked this mountain. I think having Charlotte was a motivation for me - if my 13 week old puppy can do this, so can I!

Like any other trail, there were parts where there would be rocks or steps in the path. They never slowed Charlie down - there were very few things that she couldn't jump up! The one part she didn't seem to get was the switchbacks. She would see the others in our group walking higher up and going the opposite way, and she would start crying because she didn't understand why we were heading the "wrong way." Once or twice we let her cut off a switchback, but most of them are too steep so we would have to coax her to follow us around the corner and up the other way. 

Taking a break at the stream

 We are 32 switchbacks away from Old Baldy Saddle, which is only 1 mile from the peak.

We made it! This is facing East from the saddle. It was a very clear morning, giving us great visibility for miles and miles.

We were so proud of Charlotte - she hiked all the way to this point! We had tried carrying her for brief periods, but she was far too squirmy and just wanted to do it herself. We had brought plenty of food and water for her - this is her second - and very well-deserved - bowl of food.

She was actually mellow at this point. When we took breaks, she wouldn't always sit down and rest with us. She would usually be more interested in sniffing around and checking out the area. But not now!

One mile left, and that's where we are headed! Ready Charlotte?...

...Awww, maybe a few more minutes :)

 We let her walk a half mile more, but then the trail got far steeper and rockier, so we carried her the rest of the way - until we got right up to the peak, then let her have the pleasure of walking onto the peak itself. :)

To the East - what a view! The two most prominent peaks straight ahead are Carr and Miller peaks, both on the 20 top peaks in AZ. We hope to do those someday!

Facing Southeast from our "nook." The guys rest here every time they hike this mountain.

Panorama view. It's kind of sad that my phone takes better pictures than my camera did last time we did this.

After more food and water, Charlotte was out. It was adorable. Then Shadow got excited by our food and stepped on Charlie, and didn't even notice. It made me happy when Charlie came running to me when that happened, and fell asleep on my lap. :')

Facing East

Facing North - toward Tucson

Hi, I'm a 13 week old basset hound puppy, I just hiked 4.5 miles and I'm on the highest point around Tucson!

Everything the light touches is her kingdom

Family picture at 9,200 feet! We love our little hiker puppy!

Oh, here are our family picture outtakes. Our puppy is such a ham! I have a feeling that this is exactly what our future kids will be like when we try to take them hiking or things like this. :)

She was wiped out at that point. Poor girl!

Oh, to know what she's thinking! "How did I end up with these crazy people?!"

Facing Northwest, looking at how far we've come

Puppy snuggles before beginning the hike down!

A little Lion King humor for you.

Curtis carried Charlie for about 2.5 miles from this point. She was so tired, she didn't even try to struggle. I don't think she slept, but she definitely got the rest she needed.

We tried this for a bit but she was very heavy...and groaned the whole time!

When we had about 2 miles left, she got a second wind and took off running! She was able to make it  to the end of the trail. We were so proud...and tired from chasing her!

Before heading home, Curtis went to retrieve a letterbox and I sat with Charlie in the car. Usually she cries when we're in the truck waiting for Curtis, but she was just too tired now. She slept the whole way home, and all night long. By Sunday morning, she had all her energy back and it was as if the hike never happened. But it did - she hiked at least 6.5 miles, and we are so proud! We're so glad we decided to bring her, and we're excited to have her join us on many hikes in the future!

The sky on our way home - facing East

Facing North

Facing West

Here is the map of the trail, using the smartphone app "Map My Hike." Our time was not anywhere near our record time last May, but we made great time for having a puppy with us. :)

The elevation gain - I love this hike because it's a steady incline the whole way up!

Outings with People and Outings with Puppies

Last Sunday, Curtis and I joined some friends and went to a festival downtown called "Tucson Meet Yourself." Curtis and I really haven't done any events around Tucson because we prefer being around more nature and less people, but we went (for the food) and really enjoyed our time. The festival is done to help introduce you to new cultures by having a wide variety of food, venders, and music. We enjoyed trying kabobs from a Laos food vender and gelato from Frost, a popular gelato shop around here.

In front of the courthouse (I have better pictures of it here) while listening to the Los Changos Feos Miriachi band.

A short clip from what we saw :) you'll need to enlarge it to see the dancers better!

Yesterday (10/14), we took our puppy Charlotte to a park for the first time. We have small green spaces at our apartment, but here we were able to go to a corner of the park on our own and let her wander around on her own (supervised by us nearby!). 

We brought along a few toys for her amusement. :)

She was very well behaved, even with other dogs and people around, and never tried to get away! 

After a good long time there, Curtis had to run a quick errand, so I waited outside with Charlie.

When we were inside the cab, she cried and worried that Curtis would never come back...

But when we went outside and I put her in the bed of the truck, she finally settled down. Don't let the concerned puppy face fool you, she was really happy! But not as happy as she was when Curtis finally came back. :)

Charlotte's World

Hi everyone, it's me, Charlotte! I'm almost 13 weeks old and I've now spent 3 weeks with these people who think they own me. Today I'm going to tell you what it's like to be me!

Every morning, my people come and release me from my kennel and take me outside. They claim to have "ulterior motives" and wanting me to do some kind of "business" but how should I know any of that? I'm just a puppy - a HOUND puppy - and my only business is to smell all the rocks that surround my fortress. I do a very thorough job with my work.

After that, my daddy will usually leave, so it's up to me to entertain my mommy all day. I like to impress her with my acrobatic work! Every day, I get a little bit bigger, and better at jumping up on things. It took me 4 days to walk up the stairs, and 2 weeks to walk down them, now there's no limit to what I can do!

But, all that hard work can really tire out a dog. I always look forward to my morning nap.

And my mid-morning nap. And the nap after that. Then the one before lunch, then another after that, and so on. I don't understand how these people can stay awake for so long!

If I every feel like I am not getting enough food or water, I have the perfect solution: I go find my food bag, and I knock it over! Then I have a race with daddy to see who can grab the most pieces of dog food. I always win! Food is very important, especially because I'm a growing girl - I gain like a pound a week, and everyone who sees me says I'm getting so big all the time. Is that supposed to be a good thing? Who knows!

And for water, I grab this hose that comes out of daddy's backpack. I still can't get anything out of it, but I know there's something in there! Water is one of my favorite things. Most dogs look forward to a big bowl of food or treats. Me? I'd rather take a bowl full of water! 

As you can see, I have plenty of ways to keep myself busy. I have so many toys, and if I ever get tired of them, I can always take my people's things! This is the life I always dreamed of! 

My people say I'm so sweet when I'm asleep, because that's when I don't bite them. Come on, I can't help it that your flesh tastes way better than anything else! And who wouldn't love your silly reactions when I nip into you real good!

Yeah, I can be real cute when I'm asleep. I am also very friendly when I get to go outside! I love all the people that walk by me! I just wish that more of them would stop to rub my belly when I flop down in front of them - and all they do is walk past. The nerve!

I have a new favorite place to nap when mommy is working in the kitchen. I like to be near her as much as I can!

Hmmm, how can I make my way into the fridge? My people have these delicious green leafy things that I love to sneak out!

One night, mommy and daddy cut my daddy's hair right off of him. They worried me so much! I thought I could save him by saving the hair. Instead, I might have eaten some, and "coughed up a hairball," as the cats would say.

The best night EVER was when we had more people over and mommy and daddy slept in my room!! After we went outside in the morning, they let me come sleep with them. It was the comfiest nap I've ever had!!

This is my mommy. She thinks I'm just adorable, and loves to hold me any chance she gets.

I usually respond by trying to eat her face off. I can also remove her earrings, even without thumbs! There are no limits to my tricks! Speaking of tricks, my people think it's cool to play this thing called fetch. They're all, "Charlie, fetch!" and I'm like, "Stop trying to make fetch happen, it's never going to happen!!" Am I right, or am I right?! However, there are these times when I am rewarded for bringing the small green ball back to them...

One morning, I saw water falling from the sky. It looked so pretty and peaceful that I fell asleep watching it. Then, daddy tried to get me to go outside in it, and it was the worst feeling ever! Leave my water in the bowl, thank you!

One morning, I managed to jump from the futon to the table. I count it as my greatest accomplishment. Then, the people moved the table so I couldn't walk on it anymore - but they didn't tell me about it, which led to me falling and being totally embarrassed in front of my humans. :(

According to me, everything can somehow be eaten. Papers, cloth, wood, toys, shoes, flesh, homework...however, this wall proved that theory wrong though.

I have beautiful long ears, an adorable, wrinkly face, big huge paws, and a big round belly that deserves a good rubbing. 

Daddy loves my puppy kisses. He says they're second only to kisses with my mommy. (Gross.) My secret? I only kiss people because they taste delicious!! It's like I get to eat whatever they get to eat!

Outside time is my favorite! Even though my people insist on keeping me restrained by a leash. Someday I will be free!

I am usually a poky little puppy, as the human folk say, but sometimes I get a little burst of energy and I start running! My people better not get any ideas about taking me running with them. Or even worse, on one of those crazy long hikes. I swear, if they take me on a hike, I will make them CARRY ME THE WHOLE WAY!

Ways to get me to run: if my people are running, if I see people I want to lick far away, if I'm scared by a big dog, or if my people are serving me food or water.

Yeah, I guess my life is pretty great. I'm glad these people picked me. I can't wait to meet all their family and friends and make everyone love me!