There is nothing that makes happier than seeing Lu and Mar run and grin when they are outside. It makes me giddy just thinking about it. Remembering the idea that they were orphans with no known mother or father, I am content now that they can unlock the freedom of the mountains to find happiness. Sister and brother, they have each other and their playing continues to be exuberant, the pleasure it brings me immense. Taking the dogs along on trips through the wilderness is like taking a youngster. They see all the sights with bigger eyes; their senses are more in tune with all of the happenings. Their play is wild and honest. They don’t hold themselves back. They overlook big huge vistas, the smells of the canyons below must must waft deep into their nasal passages, making them high. When you take dogs along with you on adventures through the woods, you can instill on them a memory that connects them to the land.

It used to be that breathing the clean air of the mountains, drinking their pristine water, while invigorating the body through sustained exercise in a hike or climb and exercising the soul through high country contemplation were accepted remedies in late nineteenth century medical life and cultural discourse. And why shouldn’t they be now? Taking along your canine buddy makes the experience that much more restoring.