Just the Two of Us: Washington
I got a house with a fenced-in backyard and put the dog door in. He rode the bus to the office, took me to the dog store at lunch, and told me it was 4:15 every single day. We went all over, and I mean all over, and a winter hike to a blue lake nearly kept us both on the mountain. Then Covid hit, and I explored the coolest places on earth with no people. Just the two of us.
Seattle
I got a house with a fenced-in backyard, put the dog door in, and we started to get accustomed. I wanted Stud to have the same style of life he had in Michigan. My house in Michigan had reverse osmosis, so I kept getting RO water for him, and I kept cooking for him. I wanted him around forever, and I would do whatever it took. I tried my best to stay away from chemicals. I researched everything I gave him and that was around him.
One thing I noticed: not too many ticks in Washington, and very low heartworm, almost no cases. What did get him was his pads. It was always damp there, the kind of damp where the house shingles grow green, and his pads would sometimes get a yeast infection and take a bit of a beating. I would make him wear dog boots, then give him a bath with baking soda or Epsom salt. He didn’t like it, but I think it helped.
We were on our way to work every morning, taking the bus. The bus was usually full. Some people liked him, while others were scared. The bus stop was just a few city blocks from the office. He would sniff around and go potty. Then he would take me down to the dog store at lunch to get some treats. I would stuff some treats in his toy to keep his mind busy.
The office was beautiful. It overlooked Olympic National Park. Although Stud minded his business, he would occasionally go sniff a co-worker, but never let them pet him, lol. He grew on my coworkers over time as they started to understand him. Stud would tell me every day at 4:15–4:30, let’s go. Another thing I did not understand: his timing every day was impeccable. He never failed to bump my arm or huff and puff, stomping his paw.
We went all over, and I mean all over. A few nights a week after work we would head to downtown Bellevue, Meydenbauer Bay, Issaquah, or the Kirkland waterfront. Other nights it was downtown Seattle. I used to walk him from the Spheres to Gas Works, or over to the Sculpture Park, Cap Hill, Ballard. Three Forks dog park in Snoqualmie, with Mount Si right there, was our spot. Marymoor dog park, Lake Sammamish, tubing the Snoqualmie River. On the weekends we would explore the Alpine Lakes region, Snoqualmie Pass, Mt Baker, Olympic National Park, Lake Chelan, Crater Lake, the Oregon coast, Cannon Beach and Portland. On chill weekends it was Magnuson dog park, Green Lake, Alki Beach, Three Forks, and the Middle Fork road that goes down past Mailbox Peak. I also picked up backpacking and paddleboarding, and we saw some of the most beautiful places in the world. Washington is one of the most beautiful places there is, if not the most. There is not a park we didn’t visit, and I am not joking.
Third Near Death Experience: The Blue Lake
I take fault for this one. There was a stunning blue lake in Washington, which was not easy to get to. It was around a 20-mile hike, and the last part was the most difficult. It was a rather challenging hike in the summer. I wanted to see it with snow. I could picture the turquoise blue water with the white snow around it and the mountains in the background. It was the last week in October, and I had never winter camped before. The plan was to get there in one day. Take it all in, take a picture or two, and turn around. Sounds simple enough. I bought a zero-degree bag and had a thick blanket for Stud.
The road to the trailhead is not for the faint. It is a fire road about 20 miles long and takes 1.5 hours. You have to cross water at several points, including the deepest river crossing 3 miles from the trailhead, and I was in a car. You lose service 20 miles before the fire road, with zero people. If you are lucky, maybe one or two at that time of year.
The river crossing was very rough. My car can attest to that by looking at the skid plates. The last thing I wanted was to get stuck and walk 37 miles with wet boots to get a tow truck. I didn’t come all this way to turn around. Plowing through the water, hearing rocks scrape the skid plates, we made it across. So here we are at the trailhead, starting to adventure. The trail starts flat for 3.5 miles then the incline begins. As soon as we start the incline, I see pockets of snow, but it doesn’t register because Stud is running along, and I’m hot from carrying the weight.
Now the snow progresses to get deeper as we constantly incline, which means the temps dropped. There were several water crossings, I tried to skip across rocks like a fairy for the first few to keep my feet semi-dry. There was one crossing in particular where slipping would send you falling a thousand feet. The rocks had ice on top of them. So my feet and legs got wet. After that, I just stomped across all of them like a child.
The sun was starting to set when we got to the first lake. But the real challenge is the blue lake, where you must go through massive rocks and scramble up 1,500 feet. The footprints stopped, the two people had camped at the first lake. I was determined not to stop. We continued. I’m sorry, Stud.
It was pure stupidity driven by my determination. I was initially scared I would fall through one of the bigger rocks and get wedged in since everything was snow-covered.
We got past that and started climbing up the steep, narrow chute. The tops of the rocks were covered with ice, and water was gushing down. He went in front of me using all four paws. He was normally very good at climbing.
I also had to be on my hands and knees, it was that steep. If he lost grip, I could catch him. At any point, if I fell, I would be frozen there until next spring. The people were miles away and absolutely no service.
We managed to make our way past the chute. Then the snow was so deep I was post-holing every step, high knees and snow touching my crotch with every step. I would alternate and try to crawl my way up. My arms would go in deeper than my feet. It was a grind.
We got to the top, and it was dark. It was freezing. I quickly set up the tent. I put his blanket on the ground and my sleeping pad. I took my boots off and changed out of my wet clothes to get in my bag. Stud used to sleep outside when it was minus 20 in Michigan, I didn’t think twice that he would be cold. I put the blanket over him, my extra clothes, and my heavy winter coat.
I looked at the time, and it was around 7:30 pm. I thought to myself, this is going to be a very long night. The zero-degree bag rating means you live at zero degrees but won’t be comfortable. My sleeping pad wasn’t insulated. And I had a three-seasons tent. We were alike in stubbornness. I was able to get some sleep, but woke up often to check on Stud and pet him. I dozed off for a while, realizing it had only been two hours. It was ONLY 9:30 pm.
When I was petting Stud, he was shivering every so often. I said, “Alright little guy, you have to get in this bag with me, or we are both not making it.” Stud likes his space, but that night he stretched his paws like Superman and we zipped ourselves into the mummy sleeping bag, barely fitting. He passed out right away, and so did I. Most of my body was warm, and he was hot. It didn’t dawn on me since it’s hard to tell, but his winter coat wasn’t fully grown. I woke up to the sunshine and thanked God. I would have been frozen like an ice cube if he wasn’t there to keep me warm.
It would have been impossible to get down at night with the cold temps and inability to see. There’s no way we would have made it.
It was still freezing in the morning, and I just wanted to get out of there since I wasn’t sure about the weather, it changes rapidly in the mountains.
I went to put my boots on, and I could not get them on. They were completely frozen. Duh, they were soaking wet, and it was zero degrees out.
I started to panic, thinking I would have to walk back in socks, get frostbite, and lose my feet. I looked at Stud; he was calm, sniffing around the tent. I took some deep breaths and calmed down.
I returned to the tent and put my boots in the bag with me to thaw, news to me for first-time winter camping.
After finally getting my boots on, we moved quickly. The blue lake was less than a quarter of a mile on flat ground, but I didn’t want to chance my feet freezing again, and I had already put him through enough. After a long hike back, we were almost to the car when I noticed the zipper where I keep my car key was halfway open. I had a flashback of scrambling on all fours and at some point being inverted on the chute. Are you kidding me right now? My head and body felt empty. I said, “Please God, please let them be in there.” I looked, my key was in the pocket. We crossed the river and returned home.
Stud loved to hike, but I scared him. I went too far, and he knew it. He was smarter than me at making those decisions. From that day on, if we were ever in a snowy or sketchy situation, he would get behind me and stop, looking at me like I’m not going. I yelled at him once when he stopped as we were going somewhere difficult, and I highly regret what I did. I am sorry, Stud. I truly am. Looking back, his judgment was always right. I was stupid and was not a good friend for that.
Just the Two of Us
We were doing all of this, and then Covid hit. Most people despised the Covid era, but for us it was a blast. Places like the University of Washington and Pike Place looked like zombies had taken over, zero people. It was like a ghost town everywhere. No one was there to tell me to put him on a leash or that dogs weren’t allowed. I explored the coolest places on earth with no people. Just the two of us.
Around that time, my ex reached back out and wanted to see him. It was rough. I knew it wasn’t good for me, but I didn’t want to take her away from Stud. They shared a special relationship. He really loved her. Although I was always the one to take him for walks and never left his side, he could relax around her. Sometimes when I pet his belly he would jump up, but not with her. She was much softer and more caring when he was a puppy. I think he thought of me as his best friend and her as his mom. It was sad, really sad. But I couldn’t put the relationship back together, and I wasn’t going to keep him from seeing her.
Then we started taking longer road trips: Colorado, Tahoe, and Destin, Florida, hitting places like the Bonneville Salt Flats and Bryce Canyon on the way. Yes, that is correct, from Washington to Florida. We checked out almost every spot in Washington except for Vancouver, since they shut the border down.
Leaving Washington
After two and a half years, my assignment was up. Washington was an expensive place, and I could not justify paying that much. I decided to move back to Michigan. We took the long way home, through the Tetons and Vail. Stud did well.
More from the Washington Years
