The Pacific Crest

Alright, I've been putting it off, but it's time to write about another trail involved in "Triple Crowning".

The Pacific Crest Trail goes from Canada to Mexico (or Mexico to Canada, if you'd rather) by way of California, Oregon, and Washington.  It, arguably, features the widest array of ecosystems.  The trail itself covers 2,650 miles.  It is friendly to dogs.....kind of.  The PCT is open to dogs except for areas covered by the National Park Service and in the California State Parks, through which is passes.

I'm sorry, but this is possibly one of my larger pet peeves.  I understand why they don't like dogs on trails in certain areas, but I also have a hard to rationalizing it.  I would not have a bit of a problem if they were "leashed pets only" type of areas.  In fact, I think that could be wise for many locations, especially when you're travelling through an unfamiliar area.

But, as a favorite teacher of mine used to say, I digress.

One of the fun facts on the PCT website that really surprised me was:

"fewer people have thru-hiked the PCT than have climbed Mt. Everest! Could it be that a thru-hike is tougher than climbing the tallest mountain on Earth? "

Now, I'm still living on a prayer that I'll be able to through hike it.  With that kind of mileage, it would take about 5-6 months of 20 miles+ a day of hiking.  That's a lot of hiking, and, unfortunately, that's a bit longer than teachers get for a summer break.

I will admit that the PCT website is more user-friendly than the AT website.  They even include the email address of a couple of gentlemen that will help you calculate your hike.

Even their list of individuals that have accomplished 2,600 miles on the trail is educating and entertaining. The list includes not only the individual's first name, but their trail name.

I know you could have done the research on this trail yourself, and that this overview is all too brief.  However, the purpose of this blog is to introduce you to the trails and provide the general resources you may need to research information further.

Here are a few photos, just to catch you up on what life with Koda has been like as of late:

Best, 

A 

Appreciation

I know I said this post was going to be about another trail in the Triple Crown, but I realized that, even though I talk about him a lot....I don't really exude how much I appreciate Koda.

In short, I really freakin' love my dog.

I've wanted a dog since I was in the 6th grade. My parents had a Golden Retriever named Sadie that I played with growing up, but she died when I was about 4-5 years old.  Consistently, since that time I would ask for a dog.  I could recognize breeds at sight, even obscure ones for our area (ie: Saluki, Afghan, Scottish Deerhound, Puli, etc).

I promised myself when I started college that, upon graduation, I would have enough money saved up to own a dog and be able to give it everything that it needs. So, even though working part time, being a music education major and an honor's student was strenuous, it was worth it.  The part time job allowed me to save enough to pay for rent and Koda and I was able to complete my degree.

As I mentioned in the last post, I visited the Humane Society in Sioux Falls often.  While there, I think there were a total of 3 dogs that I really thought I wanted to adopt, but none of them felt perfect.  Koda was part of the "Paroled Pups" program - meaning that he was being worked with by inmates at the Penitentiary. I had to set up a meeting to see him.  Even though he was exceptionally distant when I first met him and wanted nothing to do with me, something told me that he'd be a great dog.  So I set up to adopt him.

Yes. Dare I say it. Koda was a dream come true. Girl wanted a dog. Girl worked since she was 14 for the obscure goal of being independent and having a dog some day.  Girl got the dog she wanted.


To save from boring you (or making you gag if you don't like the mushy-gushy stuff), I've compiled a video of Koda doing his favorite thing in the snow: sledding.