Me and my big, goofy coonhound, Amos, have been stuck at home for over two weeks now. Not feeling 100% and a landscape full of ice and snow has made it hard to get out to my favorite hiking places but today I couldn't take it any more. We had to get out. The Game Lands unit near me offers a nice 2.5 mile loop and I thought, surely by now, the parking lot was clear and the trails were squashed down by other hikers. But just in case, I strapped on my Kahtoohla Exospikes. I don't want to break another leg.
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| The adventure begins. |
We arrived to an ice-covered parking lot. Good thing I had my Exospikes, I thought. Amos jumped out and saw some small thing running in the distance and before I could shut the door we were off. I realized at that very moment I would have been better off on skis. Hanging on for dear life at the end of his 20' lead, Amos pulled me across a field of sorghum and into the pine woods. Then down into the grasslands. Then up to the powerline right-of-way. Trying to regulate our speed I dug in only to find out that Exospikes collect cornstalks, sorghum leaves, small branches, and pine cones. By the time Amos tired out I had a half-bushel of vegetative matter impaled on my boots.
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| Pine plantation - home of many deer |
While I pulled debris off my spikes, Amos caught wind of a deer. More like a whole herd of them bedded down in the pine plantation. Off we went. They caught sight of us and fled. The whites of their eyes and tails were visible for a mile out. I grabbed at several of the evenly spaced trees as we flew by. Amos was now in full coonhound bay. Every living thing in the woods evacuated. His voice carried across the valley and was answered by every hunting dog within five miles.
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| Deer exit strategy trail. |
We came out on the far side of the pine plantation and Amos decided it was time for a rest. I was huffing and puffing, almost kneeling beside him trying to say something when he started to roll in the snow, a joyful and playful frolic. How cute, I thought. Until I realized he was rolling in horse poop. Amos has a thing about horse poop. For some reason he didn't consume the flavorful muffins this time, but just rolled around like a fool. I ran the other way, hauling his 90 pound self down a slight slope upside down. My Exospikes were up for the job, however, biting into each deep snow step. Sliding along on his back he loved the ride, jumping to his feet and flipping over again for another few feet of snow-plowing slide. When we were clear of the horse trail I scrubbed him with more snow. I don't think we had gone a mile yet.
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| Turkey crossing. |
Without any warning two tom turkeys marched across the trail ahead and gave us a side-eye glance. Amos is not fond of big birds. A run-in with a guardian goose at a neighbor's farm when he was a puppy has made him fearful of large feathered dinosaurs. He cowered behind me. He shivered. The big birds strutted away, chuckling. Amos was wary of continuing so he circled back the way we came and led me directly back to the parking lot, looking over his shoulder the whole time. There was my vehicle with the door wide open, just as I had left it.
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| Home with Towel. |
Home we went and though he had lots to say to the many Amish buggies rolling along on the side of the road, he was tired. At home he snuggled with his tattered towel (I put two drops of lavender oil on it in case of horse poop) and he fell straight away asleep. This was Amos' day to burn off some energy and me to discover how little control I have over my life.
Notes:
Kahtoola Exopikes - Great for picking up corn stalks and pine cones! They work in snow and ice, too.
https://gearjunkie.com/kahtoola-exospikes-hybrid-traction-road-trail
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