Adventure Pack Dylan continued his quest to roll around on every inch of snow covering the Boulder foothills. Mamacita joined in for good measure during Dylan's first go, while Sputnik and I just looked on. There were a lot more hikers out today - both human and canine - due to the warmer weather and the melting of the ice that had covered the trails. Variety Pack The weather was even nicer for our pack walk this afternoon. And after Poppy, Racer, and Riley settled down into pace along with Zoey, Ruffers, and me, it all made for a very pleasant outing. A lot of bicyclists passed by us, and the pack didn't mind them. They didn't even react to a skateboarder who went by. We saw a few dog

Adventure Pack Near the end of our hike today, I realized I no longer had my leash for Griff. We turned around and back-tracked at double pace to try to find it. Sputnik was resistant to the quicker pace, and kept wanting to stop and sniff around. Racer seemed to enjoy the pace, as she was trotting at my side rather than pulling ahead as usual. Griff was exhilarated by the change in course and speed, and started racing up and down the trail with exuberance. We traced our path all the way back to the trail head with no luck, but the dogs and I got some extra exercise today. Variety Pack Avo and Riley were quick to alert to the approach of other dogs at the beginning of our walk on the Bo

Adventure Pack Dylan and Ruffers stayed pretty close by as they sniffed around in the snowy fields beside the trail this morning. Mamacita also trekked through the snowy field, where she could scoop up mouthfuls of snow as she went. Sputnik saw Mamacita chomping on mouthful after mouthful, and decided to try some for himself. Some stretches of the trail were so icy that even Mamacita slipped around a little bit. I brought us off to the side of the trail, where the snow wasn't packed down so hard, but Mamacita and Sputnik kept wanting to return to the beaten path. Variety Pack Rey and Poppy were very excited to be reunited, after having spent some time boarding together this past weekend.

Adventure Pack Avo joined the hikers this morning. It took her and Racer a while to settle in and walk on pace with the rest of the pack. Every now and then, she and Sputnik would drop into play bows and hop around each other, but Sputnik promptly sat when asked, and then Avo settled down in turn. Griff was a model hiker today, and stuck right by side, slightly behind me, throughout our trek. We made several stops along the way, when the pack found some area particularly intriguing and needed to further examine it. Racer and Avo were a bit impatient with me navigating the icier stretches of trail, but we made it through. Near the end of the hike, Sputnik started licking at Avo's ears a

Adventure Pack It was a windy morning at the Chautauqua. I kept my head down as we headed up Bluebell Road, but the pack seemed unperturbed by the chilly gusts. Mamacita was the lead sniffer at the outset of our hike, checking out the snowy field beside the trail. When we got partway up the mountain, we were better shielded from the wind. Sputnik took back up the mantle of lead sniffer as he checked out each tree and patch of tall grass that poked out from the sea of white. Ruffers and Roger Roger followed the lead of their packmates, and sniffed where they sniffed. As we walked, it became apparent that there was a trade-off between clear stretches of trail with strong winds, and cal

Adventure Pack The whole pack was on the same page as Sputnik this morning, interested in examining all the smells along the first stretch of trail beyond the trail head. Dylan one-upped his packmates by not only sniffing and marking, but wiggling on his back in the snow. The warm weather brought more hikers out today, and many of them commented on how sweet and well-behaved the pack was. A few of them asked to say hello to the dogs. Dylan was the first to greet them, with Sputnik and Roger Roger following up close behind. Mamacita inched closer while her packmates got loved on. She sniffed delicately at the people, and they gave her gentle pets in return. Variety Pack Zoey, Cooper, Ru

Adventure Pack Dylan was unsure about Griff when he joined us in the packmobile this morning. He stood, grumbling, with his back to Griff, for a couple minutes. Griff just lay down and waited it out, until Dylan's grumbling petered out. The tension dissolved once we were out on the trail, and the two of them explored off leash together. Racer was again set on wading through as much snow as possible, and kept pulling off to the side of the trail to achieve that mission. Sputnik went much of the hike without seeking out places to mark. The trails were pretty quiet today, and the icy parts were covered with a fresh layer of snow which made them easier to walk on. Variety Pack Poppy, Riley

Adventure Pack Dylan and Ruffers roamed the Chautauqua side-by-side this morning. Ruffers forewent her usual habit of lingering behind, so she could instead keep up with Dylan, who typically likes to scout ahead. Ruffers ran back to Sputnik and Mamacita every once in a while, and got everyone to play-bow and hop around with her. After that, she would dash off and Dylan would join her in a shoulder-to-shoulder race up the trail. Variety Pack There weren't many people out this snowy afternoon while Mamacita, Zoey, Rey, Roger Roger, and Poppy walked around Wonderland Lake. Rey and Poppy both perked up at the sight of the couple dogs we did encounter, but those dogs were well up ahead of us

Adventure Pack Griff and Sputnik had some fun racing each other along the trail at the Chautauqua this morning, while Racer and Mamacita hopped up and down in sympathetic pantomime. Racer preferred trudging through the deeper snow beside the trail for much of the hike, rather than following the beaten path. Sputnik's zeal for hunting down every patch of yellow snow has begun to wane, although he did still make several stops along the way. His packmates were far less driven in this regard, and only occasionally stopped to sniff around. Variety Pack Rey, Avo, Poppy, Milo, and Zoey all bolted into the park together after sitting and waiting patiently at the gate for my release. Avo took a q

Adventure Pack Ruffers was back with the pack after a brief hiatus, and her packmates were as excited to see her as she was to see them. While she and Sputnik were off leash at the Chautauqua trails this morning, they stuck to the snow-packed path with me, Mamacita, and Roger Roger, opting not to venture off into the deeper stuff. It was a pretty quiet morning. The path was very icy and slick for some stretches. Roger Roger and Mamacita were very patient with me when I took my time maneuvering over some of the most treacherous terrain. Variety Pack Mamacita made some play moves with an Australian Shepherd at the dog park this afternoon. At the first pass, the Aussie quickly headed off t

Adventure Pack Sputnik was super excited to bound through the snow at the Chautauqua this morning. Dylan happily wiggled around in the snow again today, but wasn't in the mood to run with Sputnik. Instead, he followed along on the trail just behind me, Roger Roger, and Mamacita. We came by a few other dogs, and I put some extra attention into keeping Dylan and Sputnik calm while they passed by, which worked out very well. Roger Roger and Mamacita were calm and friendly with the passing dogs, as usual. Several people commented on how well-mannered and orderly the pack was today. Variety Pack Sputnik and Zoey gave each other lots of kisses today when we stopped at the house before out wal

Adventure Pack Racer couldn't get enough snow to eat, or hop through. Sputnik again sought out every patch of yellowed snow he could find. The two of them were struck with a playful mood at the same moment, at one point during the hike, and started hopping around with each other. Griff and Mamacita trotted along the trail without any forays into the snow today. Variety Pack Avo, Riley, and Zoey all perked up at the sight of some geese by Boulder Creek this afternoon. Zoey quickly accepted that she wasn't going to chase after them. Riley hopped up onto her hind legs a few times to watch them over the snow bank. Avo threw her body in the direction of the geese while barking at them, cert

Adventure Pack There were very few hikers out this morning; however, there was one person lying in a hammock set up beside the Bluebell-Mesa Trail, overlooking Bluebell Road below. This struck Dylan as out of place, and he barked an alarm until I caught up to him and sent him along. The hammock occupant thankfully seemed to find Dylan's mistrust amusing. The snow on the trail is packed down pretty well now, so Roger Roger didn't have to pick snowballs out from his paws like he has on his last couple pack hikes. Mamacita was a bit impatient today, and started pulling ahead during the latter half of the hike, which is pretty out of character for her. Sputnik wanted to stop and sniff at ev

Adventure Pack Griff and Dylan bristled a bit when they first met in the packmobile before our hike this morning. Eventually, Griff lay down in the back and Dylan's hackles went down. Once we were on the trail, the tension dissipated completely. They wandered through the snow together while Sputnik followed behind me and Racer hopped through the deep snow beside the trail. Dylan kept diving into the snow and rolling around as it buried him. At one point on our way back down toward the Baseline Trail, a woman up ahead shouted nervously at the sight of Dylan and Griff running together. They stopped in place, and when I called to them, they both immediately came back so I could leash them

Adventure Pack Sputnik hid in wait behind a tree, as Dylan approached along the snowy trail. Dylan looked around, oblivious to the trap that lie ahead. The moment Dylan stepped into sight from the far side of the tree trunk, Sputnik made his move. He leapt into action and raced by Dylan with a swift shoulder check that said, "Tag, you're it!" Dylan stood in shock. When Sputnik made another pass, Dylan pursued. When Sputnik dashed off through the snow too quickly for Dylan to follow, Dylan dropped into a play-bow in the deep snow, beckoning Sputnik to try and best him again. After a long moment of staring at a distance, Sputnik took the bait. The pair of them raced up the trail and th

Adventure Pack The snow-covered Chautauqua was dead quiet when we set out from the trail head, so the pack was on alert when they saw a Husky and his human heading down Bluebell Road in our direction. The tension broke when Mamacita, Dylan, and Sputnik all started barking the alarm as I brought them over to the side of the trail. After that, it was quiet again for a while. The eerie quiet was interrupted a short while later by a yellow Lab who was whole-heartedly engaged in hauling a large stick down the mountain. The pack was far less unnerved by this approach, and let the Lab pass without so much as a woof. After that, Dylan and Roger Roger enjoyed racing each other up and down the tr

Adventure Pack Racer waded through the snow banks at the Chautauqua, scooping up a mouthful after mouthful of snow, until she started making some strange burping sounds. She slowed down temporarily, but was back at it before too long. Meanwhile, Griff and Sputnik stuck to the trail with me until I let them off leash at the Chautauqua Meadow, where they chased each other throw the snow. Variety Pack Avo, Riley, Zoey, and Milo were all full of energy when we stopped at the house before our walk at Wonderland Lake this afternoon. Zoey and Milo fell right into place beside me when we started our walk, but Avo and Riley took a while to settle down. Avo barked at all the trucks that passed by

Adventure Pack The treats I handed out every so often were very effective in making sure Dylan didn't wander off too far as we hiked at the Chautauqua this morning. Sputnik and Mamacita were equally excited each time I called Dylan back. Sputnik spent a little time off leash, and just wanted to play with Mamacita. The two of them bowed and leaped around in the snow while Dylan explored. Dylan found a good spot for wiggling in the snow, and went for two rounds before he was satisfied. Sputnik and Mamacita came over and hovered over Dylan, interested in whatever snow-buried scent had induced his bouts of wiggling. Variety Pack Poppy and Rey were pretty relentless in their play today. I h

Adventure Pack The trails at the Chautauqua were pretty empty today, so Sputnik got to run through the snow with Griff. The boys had a blast together. Racer wanted to join in the chases, but had to settle for hopping through the deep snow just off the trail, beside me. She dunked her head into the powder frequently, to chomp on snow as she went. Variety Pack Avo was very excited to see me, until I reached for her winter coat. At that moment, she immediately turned around, walked back to the living room, and sat with a sullen look on her face; however, for someone who was so reluctant to go out in the cold, she sure seemed to enjoy bounding in and out of the snow bank beside the Boulder C

Adventure Pack Mamacita got into a very playful mood about halfway through our hike at Shanahan Ridge this morning, and Sputnik was happy to oblige her with play-bows and dodges. Roger Roger was busy munching on snow and getting snowballs packed onto his legs and face as he waded through it. Variety Pack Riley, Rey, and Zoey all raced through the snow with each other as soon as we arrived at the Valmont Dog Park this afternoon. Eventually, Zoey turned her attention to searching for tennis balls in the snow, while Riley and Rey continued to chase and wrestle with each other. There weren't many other dogs at the park today, but the pack was happy to sniff hello and let them join in their pl