This has been our summer of adventure and discovery… Violet is a natural off-leash hiker (no training involved on my part, just instinct coming in to play), which makes exploring trails with a dog a lot more fun. She alway heads out – once given the OKAY- GO command – about 10 yards, then turns, looks back, and either waits for us to catch up or runs back to us and walks by my side awhile. Then, she’s out in front ago.
The weather has turned cooler, down by 10-15 degrees with almost no humidity. A welcome relief. Still no rain, though…. All the dogs are happy to hang outside now after weeks of staying inside lying in front of a fan to keep cool. And, it’s perfect weather for a new discovery. I had learned about an old discontinued road just 5 miles west of our house and was itching to go explore it with Violet. My sister had come over to visit and was up for the adventure, so the two of us – plus Violet – popped in the car for the short ride up the road.
Violet seems to just know the difference between heading out to training class (which she also loves to do) and going for a hiking adventure… (she is very smart – I do say Go-for-a-Hike and Go-to-Class… who says dogs don’t understand what humans are saying?). She’s very good about following our protocol. Her leash must remain on until we are well into the trail and safely off main roads. It’s then that the leash is removed and she’s given her release command. Occasionally, I have a need for calling her back and leashing her up – like coming upon a murky swamp. She comes immediately into a SIT when called. For safety, her leash is put on again when our hike is about to end, well before we return to the main road.
The newly discovered old road goes on and on. I can’t remember what the person told me… I think he said it runs from the town of Chesterfield (where we started), south to the town of Huntington. We walked for about an hour. It’s a well-packed dirt road, rocky in some spots, narrower in others. But, on the whole it makes for a very pleasant walk… shaded most of the way in the woodlands. Lots of beautiful old stonewalls. I always wonder, when I walk on an old road like this, what the life on this road was like 100s of years ago.
This was a good discovery. One we must take Violet’s hiking buddy Rowan on when he returns from vacation. I’m sure there are many more discontinued roads out in the hills waiting to be discovered…
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