Take a hike - take 2

I went hiking today on a trail called Hewlett Gulch. It's up our local canyon, the Poudre, and although it was a warm one today, Sally and I had a good time. One can either go up three miles and turn back, or continue on a loop for a total of about 8 miles. I missed where the loop started (funny it looked so obvious on the way back) so we did the whole thing.

There were about 8 little river crossings, and the trail is so heavily used that there are rocks across the water so hikers' feet don't get wet. But the loop was pretty warm and dry, so the above picture is what Sally did at the first sign of water on the way down.

A fire when through this area a few years ago, and there are still a bunch of scarred trees around.


The little orange spots are butterflies getting a drink or minerals or something close to one of the stream crossings.

I saw Sally's paws when her legs were wet and thought that she's got Poodle legs, but Lab feet. This trail allows hikers to have their dogs under "voice command", which means leashes are optional. Sally had a ball. The unabashed joy of her first 30 minutes on the trail made me all warm and hummy that I was doing something that allowed her to have a great time.