Gone Hiking

I had last week off and seized the welcome time to de necessary things – read: laundry, clean apartment, read stack of travel magazines dating all the way to 2008.  I also used the welcome time to get out of the city for a bit.  I’d been wanting to take my dog, Essie, hiking to see how she did.  I’d love to take her camping and do more hiking with her, so this was a bit of a trial run.  So I loaded my daypack with water, trail mix and poop bags and we set out for Glacial Park in McHenry County.  Us city folk, we were not prepared for the mosquitos and, unfortunately, the insect repellent I purchased at a nearby Wallgreens helped very little.  But that didn’t keep us from hiking a couple of the trails and enjoying the peace and quiet of the country.

Essie was a superstar hiking dog.  She was off leash most of the time and never got too far away.  She loved all of the new smells and room to run around.  I confess, since she was so great and had such a good time I ordered her a backpack from REI – next time she can carry her own water!  When it came I put on her and she walked around the apartment with tennis balls in the pockets.  We’re dorks.

I wish that I could have taken more pictures on the hike but each time I stopped to take my camera out the mosquitos became unbearable.  Maybe I’ll go back in the fall and take some more photos of the changing trees, I bet it will be beautiful!