Hiking with Caitlin--Cowles Mountain

I'm being told that it should be pronounced "coles."
We hiked up the main trail today: http://www.mtrp.org/directions.asp?idno=2

This is probably the least strenuous route up the mountain, but, boy is it ever busy. The parking lot is completely full by 6:00 a.m. every day. I never see fewer than about a dozen people actually running up the trail, and dozens more, men, women, children, old and young, fat and thin, many with dogs (all better behaved than Caitlin)--trooping up the trail.


For me, it's all about the destination: I want to get to the summit. For Caitlin, it's all about the journey. She  pulls me every which way as she dashes from side to side, drinking in every new and delicious aroma, stopping suddenly to concentrate on a particularly exquisite scent or to sample a tasty deposit that someone's owner neglected to bag up and carry off the trail, or leaping toward the chest of any hiker who looks friendly.

Almost at the Top

She finds going down even more exciting, showing her pleasure by grabbing the leash in her teeth while cavorting all around me like a dervish. She deconstructed her leash within about 100 yards down the trail, but waited while I tied the pieces back together. We then hurtled down the mountain at breakneck speed, with me leaping from rock to rock like a 25-year-old We even managed to impress one of the serious athletes, who commented "nice pace" as he sprinted past us. Every time I slowed down, Caitlin started her jumping jack routine again--so we got down in record time.

I will take a heavy leash next time.

A big thank you to the hiker who found my camera and left it on the signboard. I came back about 2 hours later and found it there. I guess it fell off my belt during a particularly vigorous leap.