Spring Break Starts on the AT

The Food Guy's spring break started on Friday, so when he got home from the library we packed up the rolling doghouse and headed for WNC to go for a run on the AT. Y'all know I like going for a run in the mountains, so I was pretty psyched. We got our friend Ben to drop us off in Reeve's truck at the Wesser Creek trail on saturday morning after spending some time hanging out and visiting folks around NOC. Ben's the man for dropping us off and having Reeve's truck back at NOC for us when we finished our run. 'Cause I was tired and ready for some food.

Wait 'till you see where we went, and you'll know why I was so tired I couldn't even jump in the truck at the end of the day. After a long, long uphill on the Wesser Creek trail, we hit the AT and from there it wasn't too long before we got to Wesser Bald. It was a steep climb, but there were lots of creeks to drink from and even a few spots of snow to eat. Food Guy and Reeve were working hard to keep running in a few spots and they had to settle for a fast hike for some long sections. I didn't mind that since it gave me more time to run around smelling stuff. I think I might have used a little too much energy- by the time we got the Wesser Bald, I was pretty tired. 

The run back down to NOC was pretty fun. It was fast and had lots of twists and turns and I was entertained by how many times Food Guy and Reeve rolled their ankles on roots and rocks. You know- it's all fun and games 'til somebody gets hurt, then it's hilarious. 

Once we got down to the Center, I was pretty tired. Food Guy gave me some dog bones and I drank from the river for a little while. It's still too early in the year for Reeve to turn the water on at the Silvermine house, so, I just slept in the back of the truck while the people went up to base camp and took showers. All in all, I'd say it was a great first day of Spring Break. Food Guy didn't bring his computer, so he didn't do any work at all. I took a long nap while Food Guy and Reeve went into town to eat Mexican food with the crew from NOC. 

Day 2 was pretty sweet too. I was pretty tired in the morning and Reeve and Food Guy let me sleep in while they went and had breakfast with Ken and Juliet. Then, Food Guy and I headed for Amicalola Falls to hike part of the approach trail to the AT. Check this place out:

There were lots of people there, so I had to stay on a leash for a while. Once we got away from all the people, I got off the leash and got to run all around. We hiked around for about 4 or 5 hours- I don't know much about clocks and time, but it was long enough for me to be tired. I was pretty glad we were hiking around a river because I was a thirsty yellow dog. Food Guy carried water and a bowl for me, but I like to drink out of the creek whenever I get a chance. 

We hike along the creek and hung out on a bridge overlooking the river for a while. We saw some really cool stuff. Check out this old truck. 

 I found a ball on the trail, and I got the Food Guy to throw it for me for a while- note to self: chasing a ball while hiking is a bad idea the day after a long run. I was so worn out when we got back to the car that Food Guy had to pick me and put me in the back seat. I slept the whole way home and I wasn't exactly feeling like bugging the Food Guy to take me for a walk this morning. I'll wait 'till tonight to make sure everything is as it should be on our trails behind the house. 

Food Guys parents came were passing through Athens this morning, so he went and ate breakfast with them while I slept in again. You know something? I'm pretty good at sleeping. I had a good teacher. My buddy Zozo told me I should sleep at least 18 hours a day. Sometimes, I don't get that much sleeping in, so I'm making up for it today.  I think he probably needs a day off too. I'm thinking we'll both take the day off today and then head back out for a run tomorrow. 

Snow in Athens!

What a crazy day yesterday! Food Guy and I got up in the morning and drove to Gwinett to help some friends pack a moving truck. It was raining like crazy- again, and they were calling for snow. Snow in Georgia? Really?! Food Guy said he didn't think it would happen, so we were planning to go for an afternoon hike on the AT. Well, the snow came like crazy, so we just went back to Athens. Glad we did, 'cause we never would have made it back if we didn't come home when we did.

It started snowing around 12 and it was still snowing went we went to bed last night. I've never seen that much snow before. In fact, I've never actually seen snow fall from the sky. It was so cool. I ran around catching it in my mouth. Good thing I have a fur coat and I don't get ice cream headaches! Food Guy says he hasn't seen that much snow since he left the mountains and moved to Athens. 

I think he was glad we didn't have to go anywhere. Instead we just went outside and played in the snow. It was so much fun. Lots of people from the neighborhood were out. Everyone was throwing snowballs, which was great for me 'cause I like to catch snowballs. I think I ate 50 snowballs yesterday. 

I got to play with lots of people and even another dog.

Most of our friends here in Athens lost power, but we didn't ever lose power for very long. One of our friends gave us some candles in case the power did go out, but we only needed them for a few minutes. We got lucky. We even had internet! Crazy huh?

 

Food Guy and I got up this morning and walked around to look at all the trees that fell down last night. It was kind of icy out, which I didn't like too much. I like the soft snow. I heard my buddy Zozo took a spill on the ice this morning while she was out walking with Jen and Sug. Poor Zozo. I'll have to be careful out there. Anyway, the fallen trees are pretty crazy. Our trails are totally blocked by fallen trees, and the road going back to the trails is blocked by a bunch of trees. We even had a huge tree break right outside our back door. Check it out:

Well, they called off school today, so there aren't any classes or anything. But, Food Guy still has to write. They didn't call off comprehensive exams, so I'd better let him have the computer back. I'm sure we'll go back and play some more before the snow melts. Y'all have a good one.