Hiking

Hershey was just 18 months old when she discovered hiking. Tyree is from a small town in Utah, high in the Wasatch Mountains. In 1985 we took a trip out to Utah to visit family and explore the mountains. That year we drove from Omaha, making our way through Colorado and then down to southern Utah to visit Arches National Park. It was on this trip that Hershey began to learn trail etiquette. Our goal was to have Hershey be the best trail dog she could be. Stay on the trail, no chasing wild animals, etc. This made it easy for everyone to accept her being there, no questions asked.

Hershey's first trip into the mountains, she discovered that it was a great place to explore. She was always very good about staying on the trail and obeying all commands. The first time she walked twice as far as we did. She would run out ahead of us and run right back. When the temps started cooling off (we were pretty high in the mountains), she began to stiffen up. That night we were camping out and she decided it would be best to sleep with us (something she never really did). All night long she would whimper every time she moved. She definitely overdid herself. She also learned to pace herself. Luckily, the next morning she was fine.

While living in Germany, hiking was a daily pastime. Our house was located on top of a small mountain, overlooking the town of Landstuhl. Less than five minutes from our front door took us into the forest. Here we spent a lot of our time. It was a great place to take walks each evening. Our "short" hike was about a mile; longer ones took us over 3 miles. Hiking had become a favorite thing to do. We all enjoyed it and we were found on the trail whenever possible.

We moved around a lot so opportunities to explore all areas around the country came often. Hershey has been on trails in Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Florida, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Germany, and Austria.

She seemed to go on forever. Her last big hike was in 1997; she did a 5-mile hike at Cape Lookout on the Oregon coast just before we moved to Arizona. She was 14 years old. That's pretty good. The fall before she died we drove back to Oregon for vacation. Along the way we stopped and visited some of the Giant Redwood Parks in California. These parks gave Hershey the opportunity to do some short hikes along some flat, easy terrain. She was slower and older, but the feeling was the same. She loved it.