Another lost dog story
Going through this thread reminded me of what happened to a friend's dog this past winter. Here is what he wrote to me.
"I am careful where I take Nigel, never above tree line because of the ice. I have already had one experience with him. Several weeks ago, I took him with me when I climbed Liberty and Flume in the Franconia range. Although I don't consider Liberty above tree line, the summit is composed of a few large rocks which were all ice. I put Nigel on a leash to help him across the summit and let him off once we headed down the trail toward Flume.
On our return,just below the summit of Liberty, I called Nigel planning to put him back on the leash until we got across the ice. He came, but when he saw the leash, he took off back down the trail toward Flume. I called and called him and even hiked back down the trail looking for him, but never found him. I waited quite a while calling him just below the summit where he took off. Finally, I hiked back out thinking he might have gone around the summit and down the trail on his own.
Every few minutes, on my way our, I called him. When I got back to my truck, he was no where to be found. The next morning, I got up and hiked back to Liberty. Reaching the summit, I called his name and he came running across the summit, apparently overjoyed to see me. I found him not 100 yards from where I last saw him. Apparently, he was waiting for me where he last saw me. He was no worse for his night out on the mountain.
When we hike now, hedoesn't stray far off. He likes to run ahead up the trail then lie in the snow waiting for me to catch up. If I don't catch up to him quickly enough, he will come back looking for me."