Wednesday, June 21st
Adventure Pack
We stopped by the stream at the base of the Saddle Rock Trail this morning, where Sputnik, Colby, Ruffers, and Mamacita all splashed around for a bit. Sputnik took particular interest in Colby today and gave her the ear-licking treatment for which his packmate Rucksack is known. Colby didn't mind the licking, but dodged away when, at one point, Sputnik laid a paw over her back. Mamacita and Ruffers hiked along at my other side, ignoring their flirting packmates.
Variety Pack
We had a new member join the pack for her first outing today: Ruby! After dealing with her initial territorial instincts at pickup, she was perfectly calm and friendly when greeting all of her packmates. Once everyone had a sniff and we made a couple more stops, we hit the Boulder Creek Path for a walk. Everyone was eager to take advantage of an opportunity to get wet when we walked down to the Creek early on in the walk. Coco lay down in the water to really get soaked. After everyone else was satisfied and climbed out of the water to sniff around, Thompson stayed in the deepest part of the Creek that the leash would allow him to reach and he gulped water as it rushed into his mouth. Once walking again, Coco and Roger Roger trotted along at my side very well. Ruby mostly stuck by my side but had a few bouts of trying to pull ahead. Despite trying to get ahead some of the time, Ruby was very attentive; whenever I asked the pack to sit, she was always the first with her butt on the ground - followed closely by Roger Roger and then more leisurely by the rest of the pack. Yoda and Thompson both wanted to pull over to the side of the path frequently to leave their marks in the bushes. In addition to the dip in the Creek, we lingered in shady spots to stay relatively cool despite the intense heat.