The trip report
Sometimes being a dog can be a solitary life…. you know… everyone goes to work in the morning… your left behind… sure… they think water and kibble is enough to keep you happy, NOT! I’m lucky, Rob sends me to the Barkwood Inn from time to time so I can play with my dog friends, but today he had something special in mind for me, woof!
He got up, had coffee, took me outside and mumbled something about needing to be in the forest today. I ate the dry kibble… clearly bacon and egg’s wasn’t my something special. You know what Rob ate, I know you do… his yogurt, raspberries, granola and honey – now tell me who’s the dog!! But I’m off point here… usually when he talks about the forest I get a special treat and then go to the Inn. Today he asked me to jump right in the Honda – Grrrrrrrwoof!
Fifteen minutes passed and we pulled into Wells State Park. I know this place… we pass here all the time but never stop. Wells State Park is in Sturbridge Massachusetts right off interstate 90 and offers camping, swimming and hiking. Rob whispered to me he wanted me to learn to hike with him and that an easy 6 miles through the woods would be a great way to start. He thinks me a bit of a princess… and I’m thinking I’m kind of a lazy couch potato. He clips the leash and off we go. Seriously, a leash? Does he hike on the end of a tight rope? I’ll have to train him better than that. We pass a sign that read “Dogs Must be Leashed” so I cut him some slack… it’s not his fault, he likes to follow the rules.
We walked down to the beach and carried on to the head of the Mountain Road Trail. Then it happened, I couldn’t believe it, he unclips my leash. You know what? We started hiking… he’s kind of fast and so I would run ahead, look back, run back, stay behind then run towards him. A couple of times I didn’t listen very well and that leash, yeah he clipped it on. What a s- head. I got the message. I can’t run too far ahead, he needs to see me, remember he likes “rules”. A short bit later the leash came off and it stayed off the whole hike. We finished the Mountain Road Trail, did the South Trail, carried on to the North Trail and then came back to Carpenters Rock. I loved the view. Sometimes you can see Boston but not today, a little too cloudy. Rob told me it was a small elevation but I managed very well and he’s going to bring me on a bigger hike soon. Along the way I met three dogs, one got kind of snippy with me, but the others were really nice. The trail was easy, at times rocky, at times full of roots and at other times little elevations that got me jumping on the way up. I really loved sniffing the forest floor. I’m a sight hound but I sure love the scent of autumn. We left Carpenters Rock and made our way back to the car via Mill Pond Trail. We hiked for about 4 hours…. Rob slowed down and gave me some playtime – that was fun.
I’m never going to hike Mt. Washington… that’s way too big… but he’s promised to bring me along when he can on bigger hikes. So if you’re ever looking for an easy hike with a nice view, check out Wells State Park. He also mentioned camping… not sure what that is but if I don’t have my goose down dog pillow all bets are off.
Cheers mates – see you on the trails!
Soleil.
Event photos (9)
