Meatloaf and Fatty

The snows came, alright. There is a foot of heavy wet stuff blanketing the neighborhood, making the city look beautiful. (at least for a day until the snow gets pummeled into brown slush and the garbage emerges from hiding). I hunkered down with the dogs and rode out the storm indoors, eating nachos and cooking beans for the dehydrator.

Until yesterday, my biggest worry about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail wasn't rattlesnakes or injuries or my meager budget. My biggest worry was finding a temporary home for Meatloaf. Meatloaf is my loving, wild, 70 lb, poorly-trained pit bull. I had originally planned to take him on most of the trail with me. When he was dropped off two years ago at the vet, 2 months old and very cute, I thought, "this will be my hiking companion."

Meatloaf on the NPT

Meatloaf and Elisa napping

Last summer, my friend Elisa and I hiked the 120-mile long Northville-Placid Trail that bisects Adirondack Park. It was Meatloaf's test run. The first two days of the trail, he was in doggy heaven. He would sprint ahead, sidebags swinging wildly, and sprint back. He kept close watch on the pack, darting between me and Elisa. He licked our cooking pot clean, and at night burrowed head-first into the bottom  of Elisa's sleeping bag. He would sleep the whole night down at the base of her bag. By day 5, however, Meatloaf would cower whenever I would pick up his now-almost-empty backpack. Every time we would pass a shelter, he would curl up in the corner hopefully, looking very worried when we hiked on. By the tenth and last day, I was carrying Meatloaf's backpack, he had lost about 10 lbs, and I had to coax him out of the shelter into the rainy morning. 

Meatloaf slept a full 48 hours after our hike. Like this.

So, backpacking with Meatloaf was out. At least on the PCT, with the physical nightmare of transecting a DESERT with a dog. Not to mention the logistical nightmare of getting around all of the massive national parks and CA state parks that don't allow dogs.

The good news is that my friend Tina offered to dogsit for Meatloaf for the summer! I am going to miss him like crazy, but it is such a relief that my pup will be well-cared for by someone I trust. 

Our other dog, Fatty, is a 12 year old malamute, and will be spending the summer with Craig's parents in Minnesota. While Fatty is, by all accounts, a terrific asshole, he is also 12 years old and (a little bit) less high maintenance than Meatloaf.

Fatty in White Sands, New Mexico. Regal as ever.

So, a GIANT thank you to Tina and Craig's parents for keeping our incredible dogs company during our absence. This hike would, unexaggeratedly (should be a word even if it isn't), not be possible without your generosity.