I’d received a disturbing phone call from my new next door neighbor at work telling me that she had found Dakota outside.
“Dogs aren’t supposed to be off-leash and someone pointed her out to me across the field and I realized it was Dakota. She had knocked a screen out and climbed out on the porch. She pooped in the house, too. I got her back in, but she seemed so upset,” she told me.
And she probably is. She got into the garbage outside the other day and has been throwing up since. She knows she shouldn’t go in the house and made an effort to get outside. Combined with the constant noise of the corn cannons exploding, something they do all through the corn harvest on the farm land all around us, she’s been constantly afraid. I feel terrible, but don’t know what to do. I drove home quickly to access the damage and get her out on a walk.
She had chewed up the screen frame pretty badly and destroyed the blinds, but was otherwise okay. I put her in the car and headed for Furnace Run Trail a couple of miles away. I put my pack on, which seems heavier than ever, and began a trek up about 100 steps and a very steep incline. Over the next two hours we hiked rugged terrain with enough elevation change that I didn’t feel the need to add step-ups. I discovered the maps provided by the Cuyahoga Valley National Park at each trailhead are good, but not perfect. They don’t recognize private drives/roads that bisect the trails, nor do they always get the bridges that have been built on the trails. I also walked one trail that wasn’t marked at all. It pays to have a good sense of direction and a general idea of where you are in relation to the topography and roads in this park.
I returned to the car quite exhausted and with a dog that didn’t seem any worse for the wear. She walked fine the whole time and gave no indication of being sick. She moved along partially because we could hear the cannons in the distance, which made her want to be in the car.
My day ended with over 28,000 steps…my second biggest day since putting on the fitbit last Christmas. The ball of my left foot has been sore for some time and I’m sure walking over 13,000 steps with a 50-pound pack did nothing to help it. Soldier on, I say. It’ll get better.
Hike: Two hours.
Training Heart Rate: 90-130 bpm.
Calories Burned: 1,300
Bonus: 28,000 steps for the day.
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