It's a Taos rite of passage to hike to 12,500 foot Kachina Peak.  The ski lifts only go to 11,800 feet, and there's much more great skiing available if you're willing to hike.  Many good runs are available with about 15 minutes of hiking, but sometimes an expedition is called for, and that means the Peak. Sandy and I have both been up there before, and she wanted to do it again for her birthday yesterday. Our wonderful instructor Stuart was pleased to accompany us, though perhaps with some trepidation: he probably remembered that last time he ended up carrying my skis because I was so slow, and the Ski Patrol guys were trying to hurry us along.  I'm pleased to say that this time I carried my own skis and was not far behind Sandy and Stuart, both of whom are much more used to the altitude than I am living in Chicago.

Initially you hike up from the top of the lift to the Ridge above.  The photo below left shows the view from the Ridge and the hike ahead of us. After hiking up to the Ridge, you ski across the Ridge and then, annoyingly, lose altitude by skiing down through trees for a while;  somewhere in there you take off your skis and start the main climb up to the Peak. The next few photos show us preparing to climb, while certain members of our party ham it up a bit for the camera. 

At this point the serious climbing begins.  Since we hadn't had fresh snow for a few days, our climb was made a little easier by the steps kicked by other people;  but the steps are quite steep and in some cases a little slippery, so you have to tread quite carefully before moving each foot uphill.  Also, your poles sink into the soft snow along the sides of the trail if you're not careful, so you really need to position them on firm snow to use them for balance.

I was glad I had my ski carrier with me so I could strap them on my back.  It's much harder, and more uncomfortable, to carry skis on your shoulder as Stuart is doing, and then you only have one hand free to steady yourself with your poles.

We had a short rest on the way up, and of course, took a few more photos.

The hike continues beyond where Sandy is standing.

Below right, we admire Stuart's 60s shirt, which he's been wearing as long as we've been skiing with him (at least 15 years).  One day, he'll probably be buried in it.

Time to continue our climb.

 
Eventually we arrived on the summit and spent some time up there admiring the spectacular 360 degree views and enjoying the peacefulness and solitude.

Although we appreciated the lack of people at the top, we were glad to find a Ski Patroler up there (patiently waiting for us to ski down so he could do the end of day "sweep" to make sure nobody was left on the mountain).  Because, of course, we needed a good photo of the three of us together on the summit.

After we skied back down to the main ski slopes and considered where else we might ski for the rest of the afternoon, I complained that my calves were cramping and thought perhaps I had my boots too tight on the climb.  But Sandy, ever-practical, and ever-ready to keep skiing, reminded me I hadn't eaten since breakfast, so I relaxed in the snow and ate an energy bar. 

Energy bars work.  I immediately felt better, and, even though our legs were tired, we skied a few more runs, including one of our favorites, El Funko, before ending our day back at the base of the mountain.

Later a few friends joined us to celebrate Sandy's birthday at Sabroso restaurant, near Arroyo Seco.  We earned it!

As some readers know, my father was a pig farmer and I have a lot of pigs around my house and yard. Sandy just bought me a lovely new one for my birthday and Christmas present.  Nine-year old Sam cleverly named him PIGasus.  Here he is.  Pigasus will be traveling back to Chicago with us;  I think we can fit him in front of the passenger seat.....or perhaps Willie and Tarka would like to share the back with him.

Today Sandy and I have taken a day off skiing and are catching up on chores (laundry for me, and starting to get things ready to pack and leave on Friday).  We slept in a little (after Sandy's birthday celebration dinner last night at Sabroso), then had a good walk with the dogs this morning.  They all had to stay outside to let the mud dry off.  Sandy has now gone into town with Baggins and Bogart to run some errands. I've just brushed Willie and Tarka, and now that they're clean, I invited them to come inside if they wanted.  They replied that actually they prefer hanging out in the driveway keeping an eye on activities in the area.  Sort of.

Yesterday Sandy and I earned our dinner by hiking to 12,481 foot Kachina Peak, and skiing down. My photos are not very good as my camera was apparently feeling the cold and is just showing ghostly images against a white background, so I'll post some of Sandy's pix when I get them from her. 

It's been a busy week and I've been too tired from skiing, dog walking, and squeezing meals and the all-important post-skiing hot-tub session, to blog at night, so this is a catch-up entry summarizing the week.

The boys have done really well all week, considering they've never spent days without me before, and have never been walked by anyone but me since they lived with us.  Mary Sue has walked them at midday every day.  Initially she had trouble leashing Tarka to walk him, but after she took Willie out he understood that he wouldn't join the walk unless he let her leash him, so he cooperated.  Then Willie decided he didn't really trust her to walk him, and put the brakes on. So Willie relaxed on the patio while Mary Sue and Tarka walked together.  They're getting plenty of exercise with at least two hours of off-leash walking every day, anyway, so the lunchtime walks are just to give them a break in their otherwise boring day in the house, rather than because they need the exercise. 

We had lots of new snow at the beginning of the week and the dogs loved it.  So did we, because we didn't have to do Taos mud clean-up after every walk. Taos mud is red and sticky, and early evening walks usually mean quite a bit of work with the hose when we get home, even for Baggins and Bogart with their short hair.  Willie and Tarka become two-tone, and they all get big clumps of dirt stuck in the hair between their pads.

Here's a photo of one of our snowy morning walks - me with all four dogs, and Tarka in the lead as usual.  He loves to be out in front.

Topic detour: even though this is a dog blog, we do need a short skiing update.  Sandy and I have had a wonderful week's skiing, with two feet of powder snow at the beginning of the week, which was heavenly.  From Wednesday onwards we started focusing on race technique as today (Sunday) was the last day to qualify for the Nastar (amateur racing) championships (the Taos racecourse is closed on Mondays).  We won't know for sure until Tuesday when the final qualification standings are published, but we believe we've both qualified in the Gold Division (divisions are Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum).  We had lots of coaching from three different, top-class, instructors and are both racing faster and more consistently than last year.

Our lovely friend Susan Schneider and her nine-year old son Sam were delayed five hours flying out of Chicago in a 14-inch snowstorm on Tuesday night, so spent the night in Albuquerque and drove up to Taos on Wednesday.  Unfortunately that meant they missed a day of skiing, but they're a wonderful addition to the household for a few days.  Yesterday we had lunch with them and then took Sam for a run, including a little adventure on the racecourse, which he loved. Sadly they had to leave today, but at least they had uneventful travel and were safely back in Chicago on time.

Back to the dogs.......Tarka was a little anxious having so many people in the house, and stayed out of the way much of the time, but is gaining some confidence and has started taking treats from Sandy.  He's quite content snoozing on my bed when he decides that there's too much activity in other parts of the house.  Willie is very relaxed and doesn't even bother coming into the bedroom most nights, as he loves sleeping on the cool stone floor in the kitchen.  He found some of the walks hard work initially, feeling his way along slightly uneven trails and through the sagebrush, but he has become very good at following behind me, and has learned when we're out on a wider dirt road that he can run along and even play with the other dogs a bit.  He's even learned he has to duck down a little to get under a barbed wire fence that we cross every morning.  He's sniffing more and not worrying about being a little way behind us.  Here's a video with some clips from a couple of our Taos dog walks. You can see what fun Tarka is having being a Taos dog, gallivanting in the sagebrush with Baggins and Bogart.  The scenery around here is so beautiful, especially in morning and evening light, as this late afternoon photo of Tarka and Bogart shows.


All four lucky dogs are getting bones nearly every night.  As you can see, my bedroom has taken on the look of a dog kennel, and my bed is decidedly gritty, thanks to dried mud remnants on Tarka's belly falling off and somehow making their way under the duvet.













Yesterday we went back to the Gorge trail (where we walked the first day here).  Here's Willie scurrying along towards Sandy, and of course we have to include a photo of the famous Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. 
















This afternoon Mary Sue gave both boys another healing touch treatment, and both are doing well. She does a lot of energy balancing work and Willie and Tarka have both progressed since their first sessions a week ago. Today Tarka really seemed to relish his treatment, and relaxed so much he rolled over on his back (languorously, not submissively!), inviting Mary Sue to rub his belly.  

And, on a walk later today, Willie was fascinated to encounter a llama lying in its paddock;  apparently it smelled quite interesting to him, and he took a lot of persuading to leave his new friend.

Tarka's still quite protective of our room, and occasionally charges Baggins or Bogart if they appear in the doorway.  He stops immediately when I intervene, and looks quite sheepish.  Fortunately, Baggins and Bogart take it very calmly, apparently understanding that it's all noise and probably fear-driven. This morning Tarka rushed at Bogart as he came into the room, but 15 seconds later the incident was forgotten and the two of them were rolling around on the floor play-chewing each other's heads.  Just to be safe, if all four dogs are in the house without adult supervision, Tarka and Willie still stay in the bedroom with the baby gate closed.  Otherwise they're all getting along extremely well, especially outside the house and on walks.  Baggins the Protector even ran off a slightly aggressive dog that started to go after Tarka on a walk one morning, and Tarka seemed quite appreciative of his friend's help.  

We started our day at 6.30 am when Willie (who was too sleepy to pee before bed last night) needed to go out.  It was just starting to get light. Tarka had a lovely hunt and within seconds was about three houses away, and of course ignored me when I called him. But when Willie and I went in the house he came back right away.  Later Sandy and I took all four dogs on a wonderful hike called Vista Verde, above the Rio Grande Gorge. We did the same hike with Muddy last year, though the trail was a little long for him. It's fairly flat but had some rocky patches which Willie negotiated amazingly well with a little guidance from me. Tarka hunted and romped in the sagebrush the whole way along; at one point he and Bogart came tearing flat out past Willie and me, and because the trail was narrow at that point, had to leap over some bushes beside us, which they did easily. The view at the end of the trail was spectacular, even though Tarka gave me several heart attacks exploring the rocks right at the edge of the gorge.  Sandy said I was being an overprotective mother.  Willie could hear the river rushing far below, and, probably understanding he was near the edge of a big drop, tucked himself safely away behind a bench to rest.



















We enjoyed the view (above photo) from the bench for a while and sipped green ginger tea that Sandy had thoughtfully brought (she rarely travels without a beverage). Tarka and Bogart spent the whole time running around the area, but checked back with us frequently. Tarka even took two treats from Sandy, which is definite progress.

At one point we heard a high-pitched cry and looked up to see a beautiful Red-Tailed Hawk flying across the canyon, and then his mate flew up to greet him. They treated us to a wonderful flying display right in front of us, both flying in unison, soaring, dancing, turning and banking alongside each other like planes in formation.  What a magnificent sight.

There wasn't a lot of snow along the trail, but Tarka found a patch and had a lovely time rolling in it;  then Bogart joined him for a little wrestling. Pity I cut Tarka's ears out of the shot.




















On the way back down the trail, Tarka and Bogart played several chasing games, and at one point even Baggins and then Willie (who unfortunately tripped over a bush in his excitement) joined in.  Rather a distant photo (due to the speed at which they were traveling), but you get the idea.



















It's heartwarming to see Tarka's joy at running along as fast as he can on when he's on an off-leash hike like this. He explores quite far afield, often with Bogart, but comes dashing back to check on us quite often.  Willie sweetly follows along in my tracks;  he has to concentrate quite hard and it's not easy for him, but he seems to enjoy it despite the unfamiliar terrain.  He enjoys stopping for a sniff occasionally, but you can tell he'd love to join in the running and exploration with the other dogs.  If he senses he's in a fairly open area he'll pick up the pace a bit, but otherwise treads quite cautiously.


















Once again all the dogs got incredibly muddy, and Willie and Tarka (especially Tarka) picked up quite a lot of burrs along the way.

On the way home we stopped at a boat launch area beside the river to get them cleaned off, but that was only partly successful. Willie was so tired he stayed in the car, Tarka did paddle a little and let me splash water on him to dilute the mud a bit (it was extremely cold), Bogart swam to fetch some sticks and Baggins stayed on dry land. Willie had to be hosed off at home. Tarka had to undergo quite a lot of burr removal (photo below right); he was very good about it, though he slightly objected to me having to remove half his tail.
Shortly after we got back, Mary Sue Comstock, who is a Healing Touch practitioner and is also going to walk Willie and Tarka at midday while we're skiing this week, came over to give both boys a treatment so that they would get to know her before she comes tomorrow.  Willie absolutely relished it and relaxed thoroughly, letting out several loud sighs in the process.  Tarka was unsure about having a stranger touch him, but he did relax after a few minutes.  We had a practice walk down the driveway with Mary Sue having both boys on leash, and though they were initially uncertain, they did agree to walk with her — at least with me walking alongside.  In any event, they'll get plenty of exercise on their morning and evening walks, so if she has to do short walks with them at midday they'll be fine, but at least will have a bit of company to break up the day, and be able to go out and pee.

All the humans went out to see Avatar this evening;  I left Willie and Tarka in my room with the baby gate closed.  Baggins and Bogart usually stay in the garage with the door cracked so they can wander around outside. Willie and Tarka (probably Tarka) did manage to knock over a lamp and break a ceramic water jug, so the rule is that we now have to be sure to remove any breakables before leaving). When we got back they were very excited but no more so than when they're alone at home in Chicago.  They feel pretty safe in this room with lots of familiar things from home around them.

All the dogs had bones tonight, and while there was quite a bit of bone stealing (both Willie and Tarka losing out to Baggins and Bogart), there was no squabbling. Tarka didn't charge anyone today, and in fact he and Bogart really seem to be cementing their friendship. 

We'll be walking early tomorrow as it's a ski day.  I'm slightly anxious about leaving them for the day, but I think they will settle once we've left, and Mary Sue will take good care of them when she comes.

I took some video of Tarka and Bogart playing today (with soundtrack and refereeing by Willie).  Well, apparently I can't add video to the blog because I'm on a Mac.....so I uploaded it to YouTube and here's the link:

Tarka and Bogart playing

Tarka is doing really well with Baggins and Bogart outside.  But in the house things are a little different and he's slightly afraid of them.  I  think he's decided our bedroom is his safe zone, and he is a little defensive about the space.  This afternoon he did something I've never seen him do before, and that was to display some fear aggression.  On two separate occasions, first with Bogart, then with Baggins, he charged them, snarling and growling, when they came into the room.  Bogart just left;  Baggins answered back a little and Tarka backed off.  No harm was done.  Tarka's little heart was racing. I sat with him for a while to calm him, then invited Baggins back into the room.  After a few minutes they were both snuggling with me together. Tarka had a good sniff of Baggins too, and they seemed OK.  Bogart didn't want to come back in just then.

I decided to try the Anxiety Wrap on Tarka to see if it would make him feel more secure.  I had put it on once before (just a few days before we left, as I had just ordered it) and he seemed miserable in it. This time he initially looked just as miserable, but then I took him outside; he soon forgot he had it on, and started looking much happier.  Bogart, Baggins and Willie all came out too.  Tarka went up to Bogart who growled gently at him.  I brought a baby gate from home just in case there were any problems with the dogs getting along, and am going to put it up to provide Tarka with a space where he feels safe - and to avoid any mishaps when there are no adults around to supervise.  As I was getting it out of the roof cargo box, I turned and saw Tarka and Bogart starting to play.  They pranced around each other a little, then humped each other, then started play-wrestling and mouthing each other, and eventually running up and down the driveway.  I took a little video which I'll attempt to post on here.

I think they're going to be fine, though Tarka's still a little wary of them in the house. Now Tarka chooses to be up on the bed when they're in the room, and at one point when all the dogs were snoozing in here, he suddenly launched himself off the bed and jumped on them (I'd say not in a particularly friendly way, though it was quite comical).  They both looked a little surprised but didn't react badly.  A little while later Bogart and Tarka went running outside together to scare off some ghosts they heard out there, and seemed quite happy together.

So we are just sorting out a few little differences - mainly Tarka's fear.  Tomorrow he will have a Healing Touch treatment from a practitioner here who is also going to walk Willie and Tarka at midday while I'm skiing. Hopefully that will help him start to feel more confident too.  Overall I think he's doing really well.  It's his first road trip and he is a scared little guy who is completely out of his routine and away from his relatively new home. 

Willie is just being Willie, going with the flow, trying to catch a nap or two, and staying out of trouble.

After our morning exploration, we came back inside to find the rest of the household up.  Sandy and I took all four dogs to the Rio Grande Gorge for a hike.  The Gorge is about 650 feet deep at that point (it's right beside the spectacular Rio Grande Gorge Bridge), so Sandy recommended I walk Tarka on leash to show him the edge, before letting him run around off leash.  Rumor has it that rabbits run to the edge when dogs chase them, so it's a good idea to let dogs with a strong prey drive know when they ought to let the rabbit continue on its way.  Tarka took in the drop, and stayed away from the edge except for one heart-stopping (for me) moment when he trotted happily toward it, then stopped to admire the view. Bogart also likes standing on the rocks gazing into the abyss. We weren't worried about Willie because he just obligingly follows us along the trail.  

Tarka had a wonderful time hunting and running around with Bogart, and the two of them started chasing each other a little, so I think they will become good playmates while we're here. Baggins also loves hunting, but spent quite a bit of time walking along with the humans and Willie.  It seemed to me he was trying to help Willie by showing him the way - or maybe he was just trying to make sure Willie didn't spend too much time alone with Sandy!




















The dogs are taking their post-hike, post-breakfast nap and I may do the same!  When we got in the car I think Willie and Tarka were settling down for another long day, so they were thrilled to stop after a 10 minute drive. Me too.  It's nice not to be driving, and to have nothing scheduled for the day.

Willie and I had a pretty good night's sleep but Tarka was restless. He seems excited by his new surroundings, and was up playing part of the night (oh, to be so young again).  At one point he came over to try to get me to join in, but when I suggested he go back to sleep he grabbed an old bone and chewed on it for a while.

We all woke up around 7.30 and went outside for a stroll.  Chico, a neighbor's Springer Spaniel, was outside, and both Willie and Tarka enjoyed meeting him. 

Tarka is in his element here, running around the property, marking every sagebrush bush, and finding out who's been here overnight.  He's also quite bold about inspecting the adjoining properties — not a respecter of boundaries! 

Wilie is getting more comfortable outside and is getting quite good at maneuvering around the bushes, log piles and other obstacles.  He also loves just lying in the snow.

We had a lovely day today, with not too much driving.  We went for a walk this morning around the area behind our motel, and when we walked back, Tarka and Willie stopped at the car and seemed to want to get in. I had planned to feed them, shower and have something to eat myself before leaving, but then it seemed easier to just pop them in the car, grab our stuff from the room and start driving.  It was a beautiful sunny day and we were on the road at 8 am.  Just after we started out we caught a glimpse of Pike's Peak in the distance.  It always makes me happy to catch my first sight of mountains after months of flatland living, not to mention having driven across Kansas yesterday!  Tarka enjoyed the trip today and was watching the scenery from the car windows. Bet that boy has never seen mountains before.

We got through Colorado Springs - rather inefficiently thanks to my not reading the directions, thinking that 24 would just run into I-25, but it wasn't quite that simple. Just before Pueblo we found a rest stop where we took a walk and the boys had breakfast.  They were very avid sniffers on our walk - apparently Colorado critters leave good smells behind.  Pretty driving through mountains after we turned off I-25 at Walsenburg,  Coming into the small town of San Luis, I remembered enjoyed the sight of these willow cottonwoods when Muddy and I passed through last year, and stopped to take a photo from the car window.  Pity about the prefab buildings in the background, but gorgeous trees.

Sandy had told us about a good area for a walk a couple of miles south of San Luis.  We stopped beside a frozen reservoir covered in snow, and walked on the pretty trails there. Both dogs really seemed to love it.  As soon as we got out of the car, Tarka started rolling delightedly in the snow, and Willie joined in with some encouraging woofs.

I kept Tarka on leash as he was looking very much as if he wanted to run around on the ice, and I wasn't sure it would be safe.  But Willie did really well following along, and even forged ahead a couple of times to show us the way.  Most of the time, Tarka likes being lead sled dog, though.


















Lots of plant photos today....the chamisa and sagebrush lining the trail were so pretty that I had to include this shot.

We walked a couple of miles and would have done more except I had a nasty feeling I had forgotten to lock the car (I was wrong, but it would have been very annoying to lose skis, laptop, luggage - or dog toys!).  Tarka felt like a real sled dog, and thought he might be in Alaska, looking over the frozen water.


We arrived in Taos at around 2 o'clock.  Sandy was out, and the house was being cleaned, so Baggins and Bogart were outside. They were pleased to have visitors and greeted us enthusiastically;  we spent a while wandering around together outside so the dogs could all get to know each other, and they all got along fine.  Tarka used the car as his safe spot, and hopped back inside a few times when he heard or saw something that made him anxious.




The photo on the right below shows Baggins and Bogart looking on as Willie and Tarka have a wander around the property. We led Willie around the outside of the house to help him learn how to avoid running into the sagebrush, which is everywhere, of course.

Willie helped me unpack the car. What a good boy.






















The four dogs and I went for a walk together, though Bogart decided to take a short cut home when we were walking back.  But Baggins was very kind and, after a brief detour for a rabbit chase, made sure we knew the way. He is very sensitive and seemed to understand that Willie needed some help.  He was very sweet with Tarka too.  Bogart makes some strange vocalizations and neither Willie nor Tarka were quite sure what to make of his talking to them.    It's mud season in Taos (check out Tarka and Willie's paws in the photos below) and we had to do some rinsing off when we got home.




















Tarka has done very well with the humans tonight and even lay in the bedroom watching while Sandy made up the bed.  He also seemed to like Beverly, another friend who is here visiting from Alaska, and sat with me quite close to her as we chatted. 

After dinner he got a little scared by Bogart barking at something outside (there are coyotes in the area) and has taken up a cosy hiding place under the bed.  Speaking of bed, we are ready for it after our day of fun (Willie is snoring already), so we'll say goodnight, with the promise of more fun in Taos tomorrow!