June 26, 2021 - A backcountry trek

One week ago today, we picked up our new family member, Ana. We have been looking to add another dog to our home for a few months now. Bear is still in great shape, but at fifteen, we know it is only a matter of time before he can't go on any more trips. It was tough deciding if we should get a new doggo now, or after Bear is gone, but I think now was the right decision. Bear has seemed a bit lonely since I had to put his mom down a few years ago. So I think he will enjoy another adventure partner. The hope also is that Ana learns from him. He is just such a good dog, I am not sure I could duplicate his behavior in another dog, but perhaps Bear can teach her.

From the night we picked up Ana

Ana is a 3 year old Husky/Lab mix. She looks exactly like Bear, even down to the one blue eye. She came to us via a rescue shelter from Texas. We knew we wanted another husky mix because I think that is where Bear gets many of his good traits from. When we seen the ad for her, we knew she was the one. She has had a week at home with us and has been doing better than we could ever have hoped. Today will be her first camping adventure.

We set out from Eel Weir in Kejimikujik National Park at around 1pm. Our destination is Masons Cabin, about a 19km hike on a seldom used service road. The walking will be easy in that it is fairly flat and graded terrain, but the distance will be a challenge, especially since we are still recovering from the Cape Chignecto hike two weeks ago. We expect it will take around four hours if we keep up a good pace and don't take any breaks.

Our bags are fairly light, only needing food for the one night and no tent or hammocks. This is good because I will have to tether Ana to me for the walk in. We are not positive what she is like yet off leash and don't want to end up chasing her through the woods if she decides to take off. We have walked her and she does do pretty good on leash, but we purchased a harness for her just before getting to the park in hopes it will limit any pulling she might want to do. With Ana on leash wearing a harness, Bear will be packing in their food and treats for the night. He is very used to carrying his pack, and given that this is easy terrain, the distance should not bother him too much.

The first 8km goes by pretty quick, and we make a pit stop at a different cabin on the same trail known as Wil-Bo-Wil. There is no one here right now, so we take refuge inside to escape the mosquitos that have been tormenting us to this point. This would have been a good distance to go for an overnighter, but it was not available when we booked Masons Cabin.

With 11km to go, we don't wait long before getting back on the road. The next 8km or so are not too bad, but by the last 2 we really start to feel the toll the distance is taking on us. By this time we are moving about half as fast as the beginning, but we push through and make it to our destination. Bear and Ana are both visibly pooped, just like us. As soon as they enter the cabin they flop out on the floor for a well-deserved rest.

Given that they have used up much of their energy for the day, I figure it is a good time to see how Ana does off-leash. Ana only gets up from her nap to see what we are doing outside, and she does great at staying around camp. She walks with Melanie to the lake to filter some water and comes right back. Then she helps me collect some tinder to make a fire. She has no interest at all in running off. I feel like she knows now that she is part of our pack. It is a great feeling knowing she can be trusted off leash at camp. Not having to keep Bear tied up is one of the best things about him, and she is already taking after him.

Once the fire has had a chance to burn down a bit, we get to cooking supper. Ribeye steak, with a foil pack containing potatoes, mushroom and onion. This is one of our staple meals, as you probably know by now if you have been following our blog at all. And like always, it turns out delicious. I have said it before, but I will say it again, cooking at camp is one of my favorite things about the backcountry, and it's even better when it is Melanie's favorite thing too. We don't stay up too long after supper. We have all had a long day and are pretty tired, so by 9:30pm we head into the cabin and go to bed.

Around 730am, Bear and Ana are awake, looking out the window. They see something they don't like. I can only assume they got scent of an animal wandering around outside. Turns out, it is an eager hiker, stopping to filter some water at the lake next to our cabin. The nearest campsite is about an hours walk away. They must have been in a real hurry to get out to be walking by our camp at this time in the morning. It is still too early for us, so we shut our eyes for another hour or so.

Around 9am we decide it is time to get up and have breakfast. We bought a bunch of freeze-dried meals from Canadian Tire a week ago just to have on hand. We decided they might be good for breakfast since we have never had these particular ones before. I choose Chili Mac and Melanie choose Chicken Alfredo. Neither of them were great, but they did the trick. I have found freeze dried meals to be very hit or miss with taste and quality. The convenience is great, but I think I still prefer dehydrating my own meals.

Since Ana did so good at camp off leash, we decide to see how she does on the walk back without it as well, only this time she will be carrying the dog pack. Bear can handle it for sure, but no need making the senior do all the heavy lifting. The next two and a half hours go by pretty quick, and Ana is doing great off leash. She never walks farther ahead than she can see us. If she goes around a corner she will wait to make sure we are still coming and will come back to us if we call her to. This is great!

We stop at the same cabin for a break that we stopped at yesterday. It looks like whoever had it reserved didn't make it, as nothing at all was out of place from 24 hours ago. The walk back has been much better than the walk in. There are less mosquitos, and a nice breeze, and our legs and feet are holding up a lot better too. Two more hours and we make it back to our starting point, and is is a good opportunity cool our feet off in the river.

Adding a new fur baby can be pretty stressful, especially when it is an older dog like Ana and we don't have the benefit of training her from a pup or knowing how she will react in different situations. So far she seems to be doing really well. The next big adventure for her will be to see how she handles the canoe! Just another step on the trail of our Backcountry Evolution.