Hey! I'm back! A whole week has gone by with not much to report except for yesterday. Whew! Pops took me on a marathon run! We started from our usual spot at the Miwok trailhead, across from Rodeo Lagoon. It was a beautiful day - sunny but cool. All the flowers were still blooming, the grasses were high and swaying in the breeze. It was still early so it was just Pops and me, nothing but the sound of his bicycle tires on the gravel, the occasional cries of birds -oh, speaking which - we heard a rustle off to the side and there were about five big-ass buzzards coming out of a ditch. I mean, they were HUGE - their skinny red heads stood taller than me! I wasn't about to chase them! Even pops got a little nervous and pulled me along, sayin' "C'mon!" When they heard us, they all took off in flight. What a sight! And what a noise their wings made as they lifted themselves up into the air - whup whup whup whup whup!
The Miwok trail is steep but Pops and I have done it so many times it seems easier each time. Before we knew it we were at the top. We stopped at our usual spot where Pops gives me water while I catch my breath. Usually, by now, I'm pretty hot. Not tired, just hot. Not used to this Southern climate. This time Pops gave me some food out of a packet he brought with him in his CamelBak. Strange, I thought. Little did I know then that he was energizing me for the long run ahead! Good thing I ate some, even though I wasn't feeling that hungry.
Soon, another cyclist came up the trail where we had come. Pops asked him if he was going down the Old Spring Trail. He wanted to know the trail conditions and the guy said it was fine, nothing technical or real hard, just a couple of sharp turns and abrupt, rocky rises and dips. "You just gotta be careful around those," he said.
"Oh yeah, I know about those," said Pops. "But it's been years since I went down there and back then it was really deeply rutted and I'm worried about going down there with him tied to me," he said, pointing at me.
Don't worry about me, I thought. Have I ever caused you trouble? Haven't I gone with you everywhere, over rocks, down single tracks, loose sand, wet mud and horse poop? You just pay attention to what you're doing and I'll take care of my end. I got four legs, remember!
"No, there aren't any ruts," the bike guy said. "That's a beautiful dog! Is he part wolf?"
And, of course, Pops said, "No."
So... we waited a while for the bike guy to go down and put some distance between us. Then off we went and, Man! Let me tell you how cool it was. First of all the view was fantasic, with the lush green valley dropping down below us to the left. The trail was narrow but had perfect, packed dirt. We went over a couple of wooden bridges where the tires went "kapop-kapop-kapop." Then we went over those sharp turns and rocky dips the bike guy told us about. No problem! Piece of cake! Eventually we came to the stretch where Pops said the ruts used to be. Now it's all paved and smoothed over with hard-packed dirt and - get this - steps! Yeah, they stepped it! That's right - long shallow steps that we rode down making loud crashing noises and Pops went "u-u-u-u-h-h-h-h-h" so that his voice reverberated as we bounced and dropped down each step. What a blast!
Suddenly we were at the bottom and rode right into the back of some horse stables. Pops had to get off the bike and walk so as not to spook the horses. I was having so much fun I didn't even notice them! Normally I'd be goin' crazy with wanting to chase them.
After resting a bit in the Tennessee Valley parking lot we headed up the Marincello Trail. Man, this was a long, tedious grind! By now the sun had come up high and I got really hot. About mid way, Pops stopped in the shade of a lone clump of trees and gave me some more water. Now I'm glad I ate the food back there. We waited till a group of runners passed by and started up again. We were going so slow we couldn't pass the runners! I could tell Pops wasn't used to riding behind pedestrians, but each time he went faster he looked over at me and slowed down.
I was glad to finally reach the top. Once we faced the ocean side there was a wonderful, cool sea breeze and I felt much better. The run down Bobcat was pretty smooth and easy. About half way, we stopped again to look at the beautiful view and to take in more of that cool ocean breeze. After we started down again we came across a lady who was taking pictures. She took some of me and Pops going down the trail toward her. When we came up to her Pops stopped and asked,
"Digital?"
"Yes."
"Can you email me some? I've always wanted some pictures of me and my dog riding out here."
"Sure," she said, and these are the pictures you see here. She was very nice. Her name is Rony.
Soon, we were back at the parking lot. We finally caught up to one of the runners and Pops asked her if she was gonna run all the way back to Tennessee Valley and she said,"Yes," pointing up toward the Miwok Trail.
Pops said, "Wow, you're strong! That's the way we went."
She smiled and didn't say anything.
When we got home I was too tired to even jump all over Trina Jieh-jieh like I usually do. I slept most of the day.
"A tired Husky is a happy Husky," Pops said.
Hmmm... z-z-z-zzzzz
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