Honorable Mention
On Moosilauke
I have been holding off on replying to this thread, hoping against hope that Emma would somehow be able to finish her W48, but it seems it is just not in the cards. When Judy and I first started hiking the 48 in winter we were not serious ourselves about finishing. As the years wore on we successfully reached more and more peaks. There were some that took more than one attempt because of weather, trail-breaking and whatever... some where I wished I HAD turned back as I really wasn't having much fun... Last winter season I set an ultimatum, it's now or never... maybe foolish, as ultimatums quite often can be... On January 7th we hiked Mount Monroe with Emma and her friend, Blue. Things went well, despite clouds swallowing us and really poor visibility descending from the summit. That put Emma's total at 38.
On Isolation
On my birthday last year we stayed in Franconia Notch and drove early to the parking area on 302 across from Zealand Rd. In the cold, dark and falling snow I met up with the fine group of hikers I was to spend the day with traversing Zealand and the Bonds. Emma took a look around and jumped back in the car with Judy. I had not wanted to bring Emma on this journey, I felt it was just asking too much. After all, she was 12.5 yo, and really had nothing to prove to anybody. I was relieved to know that she would be safe with Judy while I forced myself across 23 miles and 5 summits, (Guyot is in there, too!) On Bondcliff my fellow hikers sang "Happy Birthday" to me, I was thankful I had not hiked my little dog all this way, and, we were only about 1/2 way done with the hike!
On Waumbek
Several weeks went by and we didn't hike. Winter was slipping away and I was getting anxious to finish. Things fell into place on a perfect Presi day. Against all hope Emma and Judy were able to join me, and along with a couple of much stronger hikers, we managed to hike Washington in what I would consider perfect winter conditions. Emma was greeted at the summit like a celebrity by a friend or two of mine who work at State Park. Despite working through some sort of illness I felt good enough to go on to Jefferson after resting at the summit, and the weather gods smiled down on us. Emma did an excellent job on this hike, and seemed much younger than her age would belie.
Also on Waumbek
The following weekend brought around more great weather and the plan was laid to hike Mounts Adams and Madison for my finish. Things started well, but somewhere along the low portion of the Airline Trail something happened, and Emma pulled up lame. Fortunately, there were good friends along on the hike who helped Judy get her down off the mountain, and other friends along so I could continue. I was certainly torn, the little one I had sworn to protect on every hike was injured and needed to turn around. I was ready to forego the summits and my finish to tend to her. I faced the insistance that I should continue from my wife Judy and two good friends who would descend and help her get Emma off the mountain while I continued on with two other members. I did finish my W48 that day, but it was bittersweet.
On Tecumseh
At the vet's the next day it was discovered that she had torn the cranial cruciate ligament in her right rear leg. We were crushed. A million things went through our heads, not least of which was that we had maybe pushed our little dog too far, and she had suffered for our misjudgment. The vet felt that it was an older injury that had just given out over time. Even if true, it did little to relieve our sorrow at her pain and suffering. Of course we sought the best of care and insisted on the most successful surgical method..
On Monroe
Her knee repaired, we began weeks and months of rehab with her, doing gentle excercise and massage while gradually building up her hiking muscles.Months later she was on the trails again, level at first, then gradually increasing the miles and elevation. Her first real hike after surgery was up Mounts Battie and Megunticook in Camden, Maine, where she had made her first “real” hike up a “mountain” as a puppy12 years before.
Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail
Over the past year she is getting back to her hiking self and has hiked more than 20 summits with 5 of them over 4k. Being an older dog we are much more attune to her comfort and well being while on the trail, and limit what she does in a day. Besides her bad knee she has some other old trail dog injuries, so we let her have plenty of rest between hikes. It seems now in her old age that she will never have completed her W48, being sidelined at 40, but not a bad run for the old girl. So, what was never a goal for us only became a reality for me through luck and perserverance. If I had had my druthers, in the end I would have finished with both my wife and my dog, but it wasn’t to be.
Washington
For now, we are retired to the smaller hills which we love as much as the higher peaks, where we can still share the trail with our most faithful companion. She has made hundreds of hikes in the sub 4ks, and will continue to do so for as long as she continues to tell us she is ready to go, and every now and then if she wants to, she can lead us up to the high country where she has officially completed 3 rounds, and would have several more rounds if we made a few trips in a row to Owls Head and the Bonds...
Jefferson
Her favorite hikes over the years have included at least 10 trips to the summit of Moosilauke, and at least 16 trips to the summit of Washington, including 2 ill advised trips up Huntington Ravine, really no place for dogs... It may very well be that the final chapter to her story is that I carry a bit of her ashes to the summit of the winter peaks she misses, there to let them drift on the wind across the mountains she loves, but until that time I will hold onto the winter peaks we did hike together, happy that we shared them, not sad that we didn’t conquer them all...
In Rehab at Home
In the end, I would neither encourage nor discourage anyone from attempting this with their dog. I would ask that your dog’s comfort and safety be first and foremost in your mind when hiking in any season, but especially in winter. We turned back on hikes where snow was clumping on her fur more than once, and on other hikes where wind, weather or sheer frigid temps made conditions dangerous. I would hope that all would consider the risk of winter hiking fully before pushing on in tough conditions merely to bag a peak which will still be there when the weather is nicer. Good luck, and take the time to enjoy your winter hikes the way your dog does, they know it’s more than just peakbagging, a number, or a patch!
For more stories and photos of Emma visit:
Ghostflowers.smugmug.com
Kevin, Judy and Emma
