Find Your Tribe

There is a special feeling when you’re alone on a trail, hiking with your shadow. Many times Kdog and I have been out there when the only other beings visible are bunnies, birds, and bugs. With Kempsey by my side I’m never really alone.

Oakbrook Vista Trail 11-29-16

We hiked both directions 12-6-16

However, there is something to be said for being part of a group, especially one that welcomes your canine companion.

With the pack on Pentachaeta.

“Auntie” Tracy who met Kdog within days of being adopted.

Pulling me up the hill to the next group.

Kempsey has enjoyed several runs/hikes with a local group, Tuesday Tribe Training. They have taken Kdog into their fold and in return are greeted with slobbery smiles and a wiggle butt. In general Kempsey loves to pose for the camera, but a group setting there are a lot of distractions which make for interesting photos. Novelist Anne Lamott wrote “The reason life works at all is that not everyone in your tribe is nuts on the same day.” Here are a few pre-hike pix with the Tuesday Tribe….

Kdog done with pic, ready to hike (nice dog butt). Cheeseboro 9-27-16

Kdog rolling eyes to look up at me haha. Cheeseboro route 11-22-16

Tuesday Tribe K9 edition! Lang Ranch route 11-29-16

Kempsey does like her Tribe. Pentachaeta route 12-6-16

Discovered a Kempsey quirk on a Tuesday Tribe hike – she likes the flour used to temporarily mark the trail (notice the arrow in this picture has been… um, nibbled on).

Turn around point and first taste of a flour arrow! 11-29-16

In Lang Ranch the other day, we started out alone then mingled along the way with some other hikers, I believe a few were Sierra Club members. Kempsey and I stopped to chat several times with folks, a few of whom I knew from other open space activities.

Following Hugh and others. Lang Ranch 12-7-16

Lang Ranch 12-7-16

Caught up to some ladies. Lang Ranch 12-7-16

That’s the type of outing that fosters a sense of community… trails are good in this regard. We even stopped to talk to a friend on his mountain bike. Other mountain bikers we didn’t know were courteous and chatted briefly as we let them ride through. Community. Sharing a smile or a kind word lasts the rest of the day!

Turn around point. 12-7-16

Bard Lake/Woodranch Reservoir. 12-7-16

Bench puppy posing! 12-7-16

So many advantages in group hiking – discovering new trails, learning from another’s perspective, company when solitude needs a break, safety, etc. There are plenty of places to find groups with whom to hike – Meet Up, Sierra Club, Park Service, and more. Whether alone or with others, spend time outdoors often!

C’mon, let’s go!

 

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