If you follow our Facebook page, you are aware that I have been quite the traveler over the past two weeks! First, Daniel and I made the 10 hour drive to Colorado for Christmas with his family and then I flew to California to help my parents move into their new condo in Monterey while Daniel headed back for Kansas City.

Rufus Sandwich on the drive to Colorado

While the majority of my trip to California has been spent frantically making runs to World Market, IKEA, and Target for furniture and accessories, I did get a chance to do something I’ve been dying to do for a long time…go on a hike with Hikeabull! I got in touch with Lark (who coordinates the hikes) to see if they would be doing a hike over New Year’s weekend, and luckily, they were doing one on New Year’s Eve. So my mom and I decided to drive up the San Jose area to see what Hikeabull was all about! Here I am with Lark post-hike…forgive my face, I was makeup-less and had just hiked nearly four miles, so I looked a little haggard.


Our 3.7 mile hike took place at Santa Teresa County Park just south of San Jose. Before the hike, everyone introduced themselves and their dogs, and let us know what issues their dogs were working on (some dogs were leash aggressive, others were fearful of people, some just were a little too social and needed to learn to calm down in groups). Nigel led the introductions with his pooch Jake.


Once we were all introduced, we started our 1 mile ascent up to Coyote Peak. My legs were burning as we trodded up that hill! While I feared that tortuous first mile would never end, the view from the peak made it all worth it! Here is my mom, who wanted proof to show people how far she’d climbed.


The group rested for a bit at the peak before continuing on the hike. Here is Lark’s pup, Lola, who was happy as a clam. Apparently, she was not fazed by the steep incline she’d just endured!



Once we all caught our breath, we continued along the dusty trail…



Occasionally, we’d stop to catch our breath or get a drink of water. This pooch even knows how to get drinks from his mama’s Camelbak!


We really enjoyed chatting with the various group members, some of which are blog readers (hey!), meeting their dogs, and taking in the beautiful scenery…




After visiting Chicago Sociabulls in October and Hikeabull this week, I am more convinced than ever that I need to get a dog walking group started in Kansas City. I had such a fun time with all of the group members, and I think that a lot of Kansas Citians would really enjoy a group like this to work on their dogs issues in a safe environment. Thank you to Lark for letting my mom and I join your group for the day and to Nigel, Ally, Dana, and the rest of the Hikeabull group for your wonderful hospitality! I can’t wait to come back to California for another hike!

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