Leash Up and Go

I did more dog walking today than I have ever done in my life.

Mable's mom is away, so I am walking her several times a day this weekend.  We walked this morning and this afternoon.

Spirit and Bailey take walks with me twice a week.  We walked for a long while this afternoon.

And my own girl, Marge, got to go on a spur-of-the-moment, 45-minute, approximately 2 mile hike this afternoon!  We decided to venture to a brand-new location.  Instead of driving to the park and starting out there, we parked on a street and picked up a section of the White Trail.  We plan to traverse the entirety of the nearly 8-mile trail once the weather gets cooler, but today decided to acquaint ourselves with a small portion of it.

We were initially worried - the trail was much too narrow for our liking and was littered with downed trees.  I thought we were going to have to turn back and find somewhere else to go. We took this picture on our way back, but we had to cross through this mess and several others to continue on the trail.

But, alas, the trail widened, there were no more downed trees, and we followed the trail markers down the trail.

We had to cross several small streets.  This portion of the trail runs right alongside a busy avenue, which intersects with several almost desolate roads.  Marge did not mind the asphalt whatsoever. We even had to pass by some houses, but I guess she was in hiking mode, and barely gave them a second look.

Marge chugged down the trail, with my sister leading the way.

Then, as usual, I posed her on a boulder.  Most of these boulders were supposedly left behind from retreating glaciers at the end of the ice age.  There are many of them in these woods.

We reached a footbridge.  I see this footbridge every time I travel in my car down the road that runs parallel to this trail.  It was cool to see it from a different perspective.

We continued on for a while into completely new territory, the trail twisting and turning, and at this point, joining up with the yellow trail (hence the multi-colored blazes on this tree).

We reached a point where several trails converged, and our trail, the White Trail, veered off into completely desolate and very dark (note the camera flash) woods.  Though I am excited to explore this trail in the near future, I didn't plan on going this far, so stopped we here for one last pose, and headed back the way we came.

We retraced our footsteps, hidden below the treetops.  We didn't see a single soul on this trail.  If not for the sound of traffic, it would have been completely silent.

I pointed out this fungi on a tree to my sister.  She took a photo-op.  She was a bit disappointed in this trail, since there was no wildlife or bodies of water to photograph.  It was a bit blasé, I'll admit, but I'll take even the most plain of forest trails over sidewalk any day.

 Marge eagerly looked ahead at my sister, who was, once again, leading us down the trail.  Marge likes everyone to stay together when we're out in the woods, and always keeps a close tab on all the people accompanying her.  After a short time, we were back at the car.

Except for a short potty walk for Mable tonight, no more dog walking for me today!  Suffice to say, I am pooped!