Maya's solo hike

I owed Maya some time and attention, a good hike. It was hot and I didn't feel like hassling with a second dog, particularly one who couldn't go the distance or didn't know the hiking program we follow, so I went with Maya alone.

The ferns are out, giving that primordial forest
effect to the woods.

She didn't mind at all, in fact she might have preferred it this way. Maya doesn't mind another dog coming along, but she's not crazy about new fosters who don't know how to walk and hunt for deer. Since it was just the two of us we didn't have to constantly wait for some boy dog who wanted to mark every other tree or have them hold us back or need to drag them along. My patience goes down as the heat and humidity goes up and it was pretty high up today.

We didn't break any speed records. It was very humid so we took it easy and made frequent water crossings where I encouraged Maya to stand in the water to cool off. The ticks are out in force and I pulled one off of her at a rest break and pulled five off my legs when we got back home.

We did five miles and I think that satisfied her.

Standing in the water helped cool her down.

We passed this guy on the trail. Maya gave
him a quick sniff but he was far too slow
 to interest her.

I tried to stick to clear, well worn trails, but this
section was pretty overgrown. It's probably
where I picked up the ticks.

Maya heard something in here, but I didn't want
to leave the trail to investigate.

This was non-water rest stop. I was sitting on a bench,
wishing for a breeze, but there was none.

The honeysuckle was in full bloom and the humid air was
heavy with the scent.

Maya really wanted to dive into this ravine to go after
something she saw, smelled, or heard. All I could see was
poison ivy and ticks.

Checking for a troll under the bridge.

All clear.