Godfrey and I made it back to Bearden Falls after a stretch of no hikes because of, travel, bad timing, and weather interruptions. North Georgia is still in a drought, but a few days of rain brought the streams back to life. The creeks were flowing again, the forest was lush and green, and the humidity had returned full force.
At 11 years old, it’s hard to find hikes Godfrey can endure. Bearden Falls is one of the few I plan on keeping in regular rotation. It is scenic, has plenty of water, a nice waterfall, and it’s not too long for an aging trail dog.
This time, however, the trail was full of downed trees. What was a fairly easy hike turned into a bit of an obstacle course. The trail was blocked in multiple places. Some required detours through woods. Others meant lifting Godfrey’s hind end over logs or letting him off leash to work out his own route through gaps and openings. Years ago he would have launched over these things little trouble. Seems my big galoot has learned something over the years!
I kept him on leash more than usual while hiking now. First, he continues to eat random things and I have no interest cleaning up his barf in the middle of the night at home. Second, a portion of this trail is Forest Service road with deep water-filled ruts. I did not feel like giving him a full wipe down when we got back to the Jeep.
The humidity was pretty thick today with dew points in the mid 60s. Godfrey sure noticed the difference too. For the first time in his life, I watched him lay down in a stream to cool off. The ticks were abundant today too. After we got home I picked 6 ticks off Godfrey. I don’t recall ever seeing that many before.
We reached Bearden Falls. Godfrey celebrated in his usual galooty fashion by attempting to pull a giant log out from the base of the falls. He’s a comedy on four legs.
Every time we hike together, I wonder how many of these he has left. He still gets excited when I bring out my backpack. You can tell he still loves hitting the trail. His brain still wants to go. So we go. I will keep bringing him as long as I think he can handle it.
The obstacles made this hike harder than expected. What is usually a fairly mild trail turned into something more interesting. We made it through the downed trees, the mud, the humidity, and the water crossings.
It was a good day for a couple of old dogs.
stats
Length: 3.24 mi
Avg. Pace: 30:02
Elev. Gain: 495 ft
Calories: 787
Moving Time: 1:37:13
Total Time: 1:39:55
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