I've been looking forward to doing another "real" hike with Maple, and after our first hike at the Flatirons, I wanted to take it down a notch. The Flatirons hike had about the same distance, but a lot more elevation gain—not to mention it was in the 90s and humid. Today, it was in the low 80s with some cloud cover, which made it much more bearable. Maple was also in a different carrier for that hike, one with poor cross ventilation, and she was riding inside instead of on my shoulder like we attempted today. Needless to say, it wasn't a great experience for her.
Morrison Slide is considered an "easy" hike and normally only takes a couple of hours to finish. For clarification, I count any hike under 5 miles easy, under 10 miles moderate, and more than 10 difficult. Since moving here, I’ve noticed that a lot of people seem to abide by the same general rule of thumb. My hope was that a shorter hike would mean less time for her to be uncomfortable, and hopefully that translates into her liking to hike with me; or if not that, then tolerating it.
As me made our way down the trail with my Meetup group, Maple got all sorts of attention, especially from Danielle and Julian. I hung back because I didn't want her feeling crowded or anxious. She. Was. Amazing! We made it almost a mile and a half before she started complaining, and I gave her a lickable to tide her over. I'm a quick hiker, and it really shows on these shorter, less intense hikes—despite me not being in the best of shapes this summer. Oh, how I mourn the days of being fit! At least some of it stuck around. I was so proud of her attitude during the hike—she was so much more engaged with her surroundings, and riding on top was definitely a move in the right direction. I am so relived that she reacted this well compared to the first time.
Watching her handle today like a boss was such a relief, especially compared to the first time we tried this. I’m excited to see what we end up doing next!
What kind of hikes do you consider easy (I'm always looking for recommendations)? What was your pet’s first hike? Let us know down below!
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