Sauk Mountain — Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2022

My dog and I got the the TH around 1:30 on Wednesday. The 7 miles on the gravel road was rough but very manageable in the Ford Maverick. I’m very glad I didn’t bring the Subaru Impreza— it would have been doable, but it would have taken double the 30 minutes it did in the Maverick!

The views are immediately stunning, which was extra good for me since my dog and I only made it about a half a mile. At that point, he indicated very clearly that he was not going any farther and that we needed to turn around. He is my adventure buddy and I trust him 100%, so we went back to the TH. It’s possible he was overheated (it was only 72, but the trail is very exposed and we’d had a long drive), or that one of the many flies bit him, but also possible there was something ahead on the trail that he sensed was a danger. Either way, I’m glad we got to see the beginning of the hike, and I’m glad we turned back. I hope we’ll be back soon to do the whole thing!