Between a couple and a few…could be miles, could be pets, could be just about anything in my life at the moment.
Been stuck in the house between a couple and a few days because it has been wicked cold. Today I could not stand it any longer…cabin fever be gone! I mentioned to Little Caesar, before she went to work at o-dark-thirty this morning, that I was going to take Sidekick Pauli out for a hike. “Ohhhh”, she said wistfully, “take Jett too.” Oh God. Please not that. I love Jett, but hikes are for me and my Sidekick Pauli. Jett is not all that easy to walk on a leash…well, I am being kind…she is a farm dog maniac on the leash. However, she is totally amazing off the leash…so feeling guilty and running through places in my head I might go where I could let her off leash…I said yes.
So now I was going hiking with a couple of dogs and a few doubts! Decided the canal, where it is flat, would be a good choice since it is still VERY icy outside. So off we went.
Between a couple and few stop lights later I smelled oil burning…gotta get that checked out. A pool of doubtful thoughts started in my head…”What if I break down with the dogs? Would AAA be able to transport all of us back to the house? Should I really be taking this old car out today?” I ignored them and continued down 340…
We got to the canal without too much drama from Jett! The parking was ridiculous…only one spot without ice…MINE! Parked the car, got the dogs out, and gingerly made my way over the bridge and down the embankment to the tow path. That was tricky!
Jett takes to the C&O Canal!
We picked our way along the canal for a while. Occasionally, Jett got to run free as I really was not needing a spill on the jagged crunchy ice that covered the tow path! It was a tedious but beautiful walk. The sun came up, birds were chattering with excitement, and you could hear the big thaw taking place in the creeks. We hiked on past the newly restored Catoctin Aqueduct.
We saw a few trains along the route but no other hikers. It was so quiet, except for the occasional train and the crunch of my boots on the ice and now icy snow left over from the storm last week. At mile post 52 we turned around and headed back.
Between a couple and a few miles after we began our trek, we were back at the car. The dogs seemed to be happy enough to jump up into the back and sprawl out on their cozy sleeping bag! Me? I was happy to be out!
Girl Gone Hiking 