Hiking Beacon Rock with the Dogs

Mr. N loves peering down at things and walking on ledges. So needless to say, he loved our hike with Sage at Beacon Rock. 52 switchbacks! Meanwhile I was terrified that he was going to fall off a ledge and I'd have to fish him back up. This is definitely not a place to have your dogs off-leash.





Before the hike, we made a stop at the Stevenson Off Leash Dog Park because it was right next to the store where we bought our Discovery Pass (you'll need this for the hike or they will ticket you). Sage found two balls.

And Mr. N took it away.

Then we headed to Beacon Rock which is the core of a volcano and 848 feet at the summit. It's about a mile to the summit with all the switchbacks.

 There's a pretty good set(s) of handrails throughout the trail. Someone's head fits through the railing.

Mr. N doesn't approve of rest breaks while hiking.

 He only wants to walk on the edge.

 At the summit! He perched on a rock while we waited for Sage.

Both dogs wore their cooling vests. Mr. N probably would have been fine without his but Sage definitely needed hers.

 Mr. N enjoyed the scenery. He especially likes peering down at water from up high.

A little bird dropped by to say hello.

As did this chipmunk. Mr. N didn't see this one but we saw one on our way up and he was definitely thinking of jumping off the ledge for it. Because terriers have a double dose of prey drive and are utterly lacking in survival instincts. 

You can see the little specks of fishing boats on the river.

 The dogs bid adieu to Beacon Rock. 

Wordless Wednesday #38 - Walking on the Edge

BW Sunday #41- Bow

FitDog Friday #31 - Canine Summertime Essentials

Now that summer is approaching, I've put away Mr. N's sweaters and coats and pulled out his summer gear. These four products have proven to be very useful now that we're spending more time at the beach and hiking.

Flea the Scene ($11.99):

Mr. N has a flea allergy so one flea crawling on him will leave him itching for days and will make both of us miserable. We use a topical medication on him and this summer, I'm experimenting with using Flea the Scene (inspect spray) before walks and hikes as well for extra protection.

So far so good and I haven't discovered any fleas on him. The scent is light and pleasant. Mr. N does not object to the scent unlike my insect spray which he hates. The ingredients are all-natural according to the company and the spray is safe even if the dogs lick it.

H2O4K9 ($11.99):

When the Cascadian Nomads visited us last weekend, they gave us their small H2O4K9 (dog water bottle/travel bowl), saying it was too small for their needs. The 9.5 oz stainless steel bottle fits in my
purse and Mr. N will actually drink out of it (the lid doubles as a bowl). He refuses to drink out of non-bowl shaped objects like the  
Gulpy. It's a little heavier due to the material but I prefer it to plastic.

vest

Ruffwear Life Jacket ($79.95):

Mr. N has an older model that just barely fits him with the straps tightened as far as they will go. He wears their smallest size (xxs). It would not fit any dogs smaller than him. Mr. N has so little body fat and gets cold easily so even though he can swim, he wears the life jacket as a backup.

I like the handle on the top so I can lift him if need be. Mr. N doesn't mind wearing the jacket at all. We've only used it a handful of times but it appears to be durable and well-made. My only complaint is that the straps hang loose and drag so I have to tie them up in a knot but I think this was fixed in the latest version.

The Cool Vest ($49.99):

Even though Mr. N's heat tolerance has gotten better since last year, he still gets overheated sometimes. His Cool Vest cools him down considerably. Last year, I took him down to the park with it on and he was literally running circles around these bigger dogs who were lying down and panting heavily.

It's usually good for an hour or two. Basically you just soak it in water and use the velcro straps to put it on your dog. It's shaped to cover the chest and vital organs.

Even though the liner is laminated, Mr. N does get slightly wet when I put it on him. I get the occasional "you are abusing your poor dog by making him wear clothes in the middle of the summer" speech but once I explain, people usually think it's quite clever.

What are your canine summertime essentials?

*I paid for all of these products myself except for the water bottle which was given to me by another blogger.

Wordless Wednesday #37 - Ledge

Monday Mischief #33 - Hiking with the Cascadian Nomads and Sage (aka Canine Caravan)

One, two... five dogs? No, I didn't forget how to count. Mr. N and Sage are good hiking buddies but last Saturday, we had some very special guests join us. Cascadian Nomads stopped in Portland on their last leg of their epic trip to join us for a hike in Forest Park. With all five dogs (Mr. N, Sage, Wilhelm, Brychwyn and Huxley), it was quite the canine caravan.

We took them over to a nearby school yard to introduce them off-leash before the hike. Out of four potential playmates, who does Mr. N pick? The biggest dog of course. He and Huxley chased each other around.


After their meet and greet, we headed over to the Maple Trail in Forest Park which is one of the nation's largest urban forests and the "crown jewel" of Portland's park system.

I don't know what was here but it must have smelled really good to the dogs. They were all crowding to get a sniff.


The trail was a little overgrown in places but Mr. N forged ahead.


We reached the summit which gave us a peek at Portland's cityscape.


We took a break for water and pictures. Notice how everyone has their tongues sticking out except for Mr. N. Not having a thick (and dark) coat helps in the summer! Come winter though, he's going to want some of Huxley's fluff.




The trail was nice and secluded. We didn't run into anyone else except for one biker and a couple of people at the entrance.


Good thing too because between the eight of us, there was hardly any room left on the trail.


Mr. N is ready to lead the way back. He always wants to walk in the lead position and will tell Sage (or other dogs) off if he thinks they're about to usurp his position.




He's very bossy. Especially for someone who looks like a stuffed animal. Or an anime character. Ginormous round eyes, button nose and soft face.


Mr. N surveying his kingdom from his "throne." I didn't get a picture of it but the other bloggers took some photos of him with his "subjects."


Mr. N wondering why everyone else is being a slowpoke. He wants to go, go, go!


After the hike, the dogs got to meet Leo, the Nomads' cockatoo. I was a little nervous about it because Mr. N has considerable prey drive and I wasn't sure how he would react. Thankfully, he did not try anything! He got up on his hind legs to sniff Leo and then lost interest.

But when Sage met Leo and tried to jump towards him, Mr. N was not pleased. He saw Leo first therefore Leo was his and paws off! 

Leo entertaining the non-canine population with his tricks. 

We parted ways after that. The Cascadian Nomads were anxious to get back to their abode before dark and I had to brush all the grass seeds out of Mr. N. Sage was also ornamented with various pieces of greenery. 

It was lovely seeing the Nomads again and meeting Leo (I'd met Bethany and the dogs before but Mr. N wasn't there) and we hope to see them again soon! And we'll be seeing Sage very soon... 

BW Sunday #40- Interspecies

FitDog Friday #30 - Visiting Cannon Beach

I had been wanting to visit the Oregon Coast again for quite some time as did Sage's human so we hopped in the car with the dogs and drove down to Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock. 

We fortified ourselves with seafood at Ecola Seafoods before our hike. Even the dogs got some salmon scraps. 

Oregon has liberal leash laws along most of the coastal beaches so we ran into a lot of other dogs happily wandering the beach. Mr. N participated in a sniffing train.

The dogs had to be leashed around Haystack Rock to protect the plants and animals living in the tide pools. 

We were there at low tide so we got to see the various sea creatures and plants that called the rock home.

Like the mussels that live on this rock. 

Sage was obsessed with chasing after this flock of birds.

And Mr. N chased after Sage.

We took a quick break. Sage took a little nap in the sand but Mr. N doesn't believe in relaxing outdoors for long.


After leaving Haystack Rock, we continued walking along the beach and soaked in the scenery.

Sage plunged in and out of the water.

We came to a point where we couldn't walk any further because the tide was in. 

Mr. N explored the edge of the rocks because he is a little daredevil like that. I called him away because I was worried he might fall. 

And so we could make the dogs take a group photo.

We saw more sea plants both in little pools on the rocks

 as well as on the cliffs.

We ended up walking ten miles. Towards the end, all of us except for Mr. N were sore and tired. Sage walked right behind us but Mr. N would run a little way ahead and glance back to see if we were still following. And then run back to us and run ahead again. 

With all the running back and forth, Mr. N probably did twice what we did. And he still wanted to keep going! Because he is a crazy little terrier. Sage over-exhausted herself earlier while chasing birds and clearly wanted to go home.

Mr. N got outvoted and we piled into the car to head home. And for the dogs to get baths.