The image above is of my faithful dog Sydney on a backpack trip in the Eagle Cap Wilderness in July of 2015. She is a 3.5 year old tri-color Aussie/Heeler mix. Along with my son, she is my backpacking buddy, my fishing buddy, my confidant, and my best friend in the world. She goes everywhere with me and keeps track of Andrews every move. Over the years, I have had three Heelers, two blue (Katie and Sydney) and one red (Amy), all females. They have all been extremely intelligent and loyal.
From an early age, Sydney has accompanied me on the four-wheeler and in the boat but the snowmobile still has challenges for her. The seat just does not provide enough protection from ejection to suit her. She will ride in the trailer that I pull behind the snowmobile but that is as far as it goes. She has only jumped from the four-wheeler once and learned that it makes her chin hurt for a while. She also jumped from the boat once in the Snake River when we were near the shoreline. The excitement overwhelmed her to the point that she bailed in but instantly turned back to the boat and begged forgiveness.
This particular backpacking trip was a steep difficult one with at least ten cliffs to climb along with a giant boulder patch of sharp rocks to negotiate and the average grade was 34%. Each of the dogs carried their own food and water in their backpacks and required serious assistance getting up and down the cliffs. Luckily, their backpacks have a handle on the back which makes lifting them up the cliffs a little easier. Due to the extreme steepness of the terrain, we stopped to rest often and when we did the dogs would frantically search for shade. I snapped this picture the following morning as she warmed herself in the early morning sun.
