Just took my dog, Indy (short for Indiana "We called the dog Indiana."), down to the Jolley's in Morgan Hill. She will be staying there while I am away. It is her first time away from home without me since she was a pup. I can tell she was really sad and confused when it came time for me to leave her there. Luckily, this time it is only for the weekend so she can start getting used to her new temporary home. There are also a bunch of new dogs for her to make friends with.
When I drove into the drive way at home and she didn't run up to greet the car, it really hit me how much I will miss her while I am away. Just as she will miss me too.
Maybe I can get someone to bring her out to meet me somewhere on the trail.
Pets: another thing that the PCT hiker needs to consider.
-Cody
p.s. Thanks to the Jolley's for taking care of Indy while I am away. I know they will take good care of her and make her welcome in their family.
Another good reason for you to stop in and see our son at Big Bear! He has a really great wolf-dog named Chief that you could love on :-)
ReplyDeleteFrank, a couple of things:
ReplyDeleteI've seen several through hikers with dogs...perhaps a good idea to take a dog-pal along?
Also, just finished a biography of George R. Stewart, eco-novelist. His story will encourage you. Like your family, his knew the loss of members to disease. He himself was hit by the 1918 flu, which became pneumonia. He was bothered by a bad lung for the rest of his life.
His response? Barely recovered from the first attack of the disease, he hitch-hiked from Yale to Garden Valley, Kansas, on the poor and lightly-traveled highways of 1919; then onward to UC Berkeley to do his MA work. A couple of years later, he rode a three-speed bike 3800 miles through Europe (including a crossing of the icy Alps). And spent much of the rest of his life wandering through the west as he researched his book. And he did not die from lung disease! I think your approach is like his -- face it. Conquer it. and make your life a testimony to courage and the possibilities of life.
Cheers,
Ranger Don