After telling myself continually to wait it out through early season conditions, I managed to get a day in on the Friday before my birthday. One of Catherine’s co-workers, Sean, offered to drive up for the day, hoping to catch the projected two feet of snow on top of the recent back to back storms we’d had.
I’m happy to say I’ve returned to skiing injury free. A few months ago, back in August, I injured myself during my usual fall season workout, on a normal day, due to a number of factors, but mainly not recognizing my own fatigue. After several months of PT I’m now back to about 90%, and not looking to get hurt and miss what is shaping up as a great winter, with a long touring season ahead. If there’s one lesson I’ve learned, it’s that strength training is useless without mobility and a good foundation.
It was a great day, and because of the two feet of relatively dry powder by PNW standards, a good time to feel things out. Here’s one of Sean, with video to follow.
One year ago today, we met Atlas at barely four weeks old. It’s crazy to think back to that day. He just passed his 1st birthday! It’s been a long year, a wild ride, and Atlas has changed Catherine and my lives in unexpected ways. Let me introduce you to Atlas.
Atlas, our German Shorthaired Pointer
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While we prepped to receive our pup, people told us things like ‘Oh, wow, I hope you’re ready. German Shorthairs are high maintenance and tough to train.‘ Let me tell you, they were right, at least for the first part. Atlas has basically unlimited energy. But, for the most part, we love it. We joke about how other dog owners mention they haven’t been to the dog park in a week, while we sometimes go twice a day. Atlas can hike or jog miles with us, do hundreds of fetches and still want to play tug before he goes to bed. A two-mile walk is the bare minimum exercise per day, for now.
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However, it’s almost exactly what I needed. It forces me to get up from my desk, get outside, and enjoy the day with him. We also get to socialize a bit at the dog park which gives Catherine some relief from my pent-up thought stream which shes gets an earful of because I work from home. For both of us, Atlas offers companionship so we aren’t lonesome, even if it’s in the form of bringing you a dirty sock.
Atlas is the most curious, happiest dog. And he’s handsome too. Just ask anyone at the local dog parks. He’s a great companion, whether it’s hiking, camping, or napping on the couch.
Training
Before we got Atlas, I had no idea what to expect. I basically knew nothing about training, or even owning a dog since I hadn’t been around them much growing up. To put it simply, I couldn’t have told you how to teach a dog to ‘sit‘. Catherine was a bit better off since she’d had a dog growing up and was our initial driving force behind the search for a pup.
Because I knew so little, I made it my mission to learn everything possible about owning and training puppies. I managed to get through a couple of books before we brought him home. All told, I read about a dozen books*, and dozens of online articles, about all breeds and GSPs specifically. I found the best tactic was to have several methodologies on hand, and use almost entirely firm, but positive, training methods.
Atlas was eager to learn, and took quickly to most training, which probably helped in the beginning as I was just getting the concepts down. Pretty much everything we did was a first for both of us. Catherine and I would switch off giving him commands around the house and the yard. Before three months we started taking him on short hikes to local parks and training him on a long lead.
Luckily for us, Atlas is very food motivated. I feel that training would’ve been a lot different otherwise. We graduated from lures to clicker training for heeling and recall along with random reward and varied reward schedules. I think continuing to have occasional food rewards, especially for off leash obedience helps him continue to improve. Many dog owners either over treat or trail off the reward so quickly that it hurts training. For the most part Atlas got mini-treats, 1-3 (or none) round pellet like chicken treats. For potty training and off leash work we used dried liver, then cheese. Now that I’m more experienced, I sometimes catch myself as I’m about to repeat a command, since it’s definitely a bad habit I picked up early on.
A benefit of my work situation meant that I could train with Atlas anytime the opportunity presented itself. Often during lunch, I’d grab a treat bag and we’d head out into the yard and around the block to focus on the skill for the day. That could mean fun training with fetch and retrieve, or pacing up and down the street working on leash walking.
Now, Atlas knows many commands: sit, stay, wait, down, up, off, leave it, look, touch, place, spin, fetch, go to it, find it, take it, OK, come, heel, this way (casting off), bring it, go play, kisses, calm down, go potty. He also knows words: Mommy, Daddy, Dylan, Bird, Crow, Toy, Ball, Bone, Crate, Couch, Harness, Walk, Dog Park, Cheese, Good Boy.
Of those commands, we can also take Atlas through the basics on hand signals alone. He does really well with signals at the dog park, or to cast him back in the direction we’re headed. We had a few different training zones. First, inside the house, then the yard on and off leash, then on walks, then at the dog park both during playtime and when we were on our own, and lastly, off leash during hikes.
While Atlas hasn’t mastered all his commands, he’s always learning. If we were to do it all over again, I think we’d focus more on leash walking and even more on recall. I feel that GSPs especially have unbridled joy, curiosity and a drive to explore which can make a short walk a tedious process when Atlas is at full energy.
He’s pro at a lot of things, and of course some things are a work in progress. We try to keep teaching him new tricks so he doesn’t get bored.
Atlas in the Outdoors
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One place I found most dog books leave out is training your dog for the outdoors. Basic training books essentially tell you to never let your dog out of your sight, and only off leash rarely, if ever. Make sure your dog is well socialized and trained enough to behave at the dog park and prevent incidents, and you’re good to go! Great, I thought, but what about MY dog who needs to run miles a week, sleep in a tent and loves to smell every inch of the world?
Hunting books were helpful, as were hiking specific books. A lot of it was trial by fire though. Camping is part of our lifestyle, so we took Atlas. In the winter. Often, that meant tying him out at the campsite and wrapping him up at night in the tent. Luckily he took to sleeping in a tent pretty quick. We worked on his recall with a long lead and in empty school fields. Dylan lent a hand to keep us sane.
The big turning point was when we went to Montana. We were in forest land, away from civilization and most other people. We let Atlas off leash, trusting him to return. We turned it into a big game. All day, he came and went, we called him back, played fetch and gave him treats for staying near us. After that, we knew he’d at least always return, and wouldn’t go too far. Since then he’s been getting better and better on off leash hikes.
After hikes or serious activity Atlas reaches ‘normal’ dog energy levels and loves to cuddle, and just generally chill out. For a few hours at least.
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Another thing is, Atlas’ excitement is hard to contain on a hike. Yes, I can rein him in and we can leash walk up and down the trail, but it’s more fun for all of us if he can explore a bit. At least, if there’s not too many people on the trail. Having hiked a lot without a dog, I know that not everyone wants to encounter even a friendly dog off leash on the trail. That etiquette lead us to select less popular hikes that are farther afield so we can all enjoy a more tranquil experience without needing to call Atlas to our side around every bend. I’d say that while I like sharing the trail and meeting new people, it’s made our hikes more pleasant to come across fewer groups.
Sometimes I get concerned when Atlas gets ahead of us, out of sight. A quick whistle or call, and he comes bounding back down the trail. He was just ahead of us, a tiny bit out of sight! So far my worries have been unfounded, and more often than not even if we come upon something or someone abruptly, we can distract or recall Atlas. I think that even with the best trained dog, when you let a dog off leash you have to accept that the unexpected might happen. To me, it boils down to the same argument of whether to frequent the outdoors or not. It might be safer to exercise myself and Atlas around our neighborhood, but we’d be depriving ourselves of the great outdoors in the process.
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Now that Atlas is full-grown and has boundless energy I want to do some dog roading with him attached to my bike. Our first experiment met with a defective bike attachment so I’ve built a sturdier one and converted his harness into a roading harness, transferring any stress from it to his shoulders. It’s a work in progress but I know we can do it!
Also, come this ski season I think Atlas will be ready to play in the PNW powder with me!
Hunting
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‘Do you hunt?‘ is a question we get asked a lot, from people who recognize Atlas’ breed by his brown and grey flecking. The answer is no, we don’t. That’s not to say we never will. The past two summers Catherine and I have been fortunate enough to try trap shooting in Oregon with her family. This year we brought Atlas and he got acclimatized to the sound, at a distance. That said, there’s a few steps and a lot of bird dog training between that and taking Atlas pheasant hunting.
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However, we have taught Atlas the basics. We do wing on a string to work on his points, and practice fetch and retrieves with bumpers. I work on getting him to quarter fields when he’s off leash. A lot of commands I want him to understand for hiking are the same or similar to what you might use while hunting.
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Also, Atlas has good instincts, and it would be a sight to watch him put them to use. His sire was the 2011 Gun Dog champion. Atlas sees with his nose, and can spot all the crows in the neighborhood from 100 yards away, 50 feet up in a tree. Regularly on our walks we pause while he goes on point at a robin or crow. Usually I let him creep up and then tell him to flush them. I honestly don’t know what the right thing to do is, I mean, a robin is not a quail. Pull him away, or let him try to chase?
One possible answer to off leash control is an e-collar. Even positive gun dog trainers and many GSP owners seem to use them on a vibrate setting in training to get attention and act as a mild negative reinforcement. The vibration is removed when the dog is performing the proper command. While we’re a bit uncomfortable with the idea, and the associated cost, I could see using it in the future to train even more reliable obedience.
Family
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Dylan is Atlas’ best friend, and has been an integral part of his life growing up. He is always there to help us out and get some extra playtime in with the pup. I’m sure Atlas feels like ‘Uncle Dylan’ is part of the family. As puppy owners it was great to have a third person around to divert Atlas’ energy and attention occasionally.
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Future with Atlas
Life with a dog continues to improve, and it’s certainly interesting. Even though Atlas has added some complexity and costs to our life, he’s helped us out in many ways. Atlas helps remind us that being excited, curious, and friendly everyday helps make life an adventure. We’ve made plenty of memories in the past year and when I look back, I’m glad Atlas was there to experience them with us.
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*Full list of books:“The German Shorthaired Pointer”, “Before & After Getting Your Puppy”, “Gun Dogs & Bird Guns”, “Hiking and Backpacking with Dogs”, “Training the Best Dog Ever”, “Positive Gun Dogs”, “German Shorthaired Pointers Today”, “I’ll Be Home Soon”, “Best Hikes with Dogs: Western Washington”, “Inside of a Dog”, “The Koehler Method of Dog Training” (outdated and not recommended). Another good online resource specific to GSPs was YT channel “Willow Creek Kennels“.
Catherine and I spent 8 days in Iceland, driving about 1400 miles on and around the Ring Road. We did some great sightseeing, hiking, and had time to unwind, all while enduring the unseasonably cold temps and winds. Catherine put together a video of the trip here. I took way too many photos, some of which I’ve put up here.
I’ll try to describe the trip from my journal notes while abroad. I’ve included a few highlight photos for your viewing pleasure.
Day 1 – Keflavik to Selfoss
After worrying about our plane tickets, our flight went smoothly. Then, disaster struck when we arrived at 6:30am. It took us nearly two hours to track down the company in charge of our car rental, since our rental agency was actually a booking agency, but they’d never told us which company had our car.
Things started to turn around after we left the airport. We drove close to the city and had no issues buying groceries. We doubled back and were able up move up our Blue Lagoon reservation. Though man-made, it was unique and relaxing. We napped after a dip for a few hours, until we could check in at our hostel. On our way to Selfoss we saw our first sights, with Catherine in the driver’s seat. Iceland is barren! Lots of snow and rocky carved cliffs. Our guesthouse in Selfoss was well equipped and provided a great base to catch up on sleep.
Day 2 – Selfoss to Höfn
It was a big day. We started early around 7:30. First stop, Skogafoss, pictured above. It was icy and roaring. I ran to the top for some more photos. It’s also the start of a big hiking trail to Porsmork. Next was Vik and the black beaches. It reminded my of our first PNW trip. Afterwards came mountains. And more and more, endlessly. We skipped Svartifoss because the trail looked lame, and we’ve seemed a lot of falls, and instead drove to the glacier nearby. It was hidden just off rt. 1 behind a hill. I took over driving there. Onward to Jökulsárlón! I was rusty at manual, but no stalling, despite limited previous practice. At the lake we saw Marcus and his brother, who’d sat next to us on to plane, on a random embankment. Crazy huh? Our hostel was perfect. Very private and we were the first guests ever in a new addition. Our hostess helped us with laundry and we had a big breakfast!
Day 3 – Höfn to Berunes
We went into town for the morning. Then, nothing but mountains and coast on our drive along the fjords. We also found moon-like terrain. Very cold and windy all day. We stopped a lot and listened to powerful surf. Before Berunes we drove into town and found a store with dragon bones out front. There we played fetch, heard stories, and bought handmade souvenirs. The hostel had been run by the same family for 300 years. The old guy running it was awesome. We went for a frigid walk in the evening to the beach. In the morning we were served breakfast at our host’s house.
Day 4 – Berunes to Akureyri
Catherine’s birthday! Also, a long, snowy, whiteout drive. We passed Dettifoss and Mývatn since the visibility was so bad, but stopped at Godafoss. Akureyri was crowded, but our Airbnb was awesome. Lamb, Einstök beer, and Toblerone cake for dinner.
Day 5 – Akureyri to Reykholt
We headed to our last minute booking at Hotel A. The drive took us longer than we expected. We found Catherine’s mountain spire and a new falls. Lot’s of roadside photos. Hotel A was quaint and quiet. A herding dog befriended us and we spent hours by the fire sipping beer and reading.
Day 6 – Reykholt to Hellnar
We slept in, got breakfast and headed out. The assistant at the hotel pointed out some nearby landmarks and we were off. First to Barnafossar, above, then past a hot springs, and back to 1 and Arnarstapi. Great views on the way. We stopped at the black church in Búðir. We were relocated from Snjofells to Hotel Hellnar. After this discovery we drove down the coast to Lóndrangar, a sea stack alone on the shore that had drawn some climbers. We took a long walk there and in Arnarstapi. Mussels for dinner were delicious, and after we smuggled beer into our room while we played Rummy and read.
Day 7 & 8 – Snæfellsnes Peninusula to Keflavik
We had two nights in Hellnar, so the second day we drove the peninsula, soaking up views of the Snæfellsnesjökull, pictured above, which dominated the area. The glacier is said to be one of the seven power sources of the world. We climbed a volcano, walked around an ancient viking village, and found yet more waterfalls. The wind whipped at us in the open spaces, threatening to knock us over at times. We drove to Grundarfjordur and snacked there, before doubling back over the lower mountain pass. On our last day we tried to make it to an archway between Hellnar and Arnarstapi, but needed to hit the road to make our afternoon flight.
Iceland was stunning, and varied. I’ve never been to Hawaii, but it felt like the opposite of a tropical volcanic jungle. Iceland had the beaches, and active volcanoes but was certainly no tropical paradise. Our only regret was not seeing the green pastures and spring growth delayed by the cold.
The plan was hatched before the East got pummeled with snow and the West had one of the lowest snow years on record. In a way, it worked out. Sweeney and Kelly flew out and Catherine, Dylan, Atlas and I met them in Montana for some hut living, hot tubing, warm weather, and spring skiing.
We had a 8.5 hour drive from Seattle across the state, through Idaho and over 3 mountain passes. With Atlas still only 6 months, it was our first long trip with a dog in tow, and while he did well, it’s a bit different road tripping with a dog. But this story is about spending a few days up on a ridge with friends in western Montana, and doing some skiing, so let’s focus on that. Unfortunately Dylan and Catherine had to work part of the time, but we all got to enjoy the views and the hut amenities.
Dawn on Downing Mountain from our motel.
Sunrise on Downing Mountain Lodge from Sweeney’s goPro.
We met at a motel the night before, and it was great to see old friends again. The next morning, Sweeney, Kelly and I drove up early to ski until the hut was open to us. Catherine and Dylan took care of the pup and met us after.
Usually, there’s several feet of snow blocking the road for the last 1.5 miles to the lodge. Not this year. We drove up, and still had about a half mile hike to the snow each way. Behind us, the avalanche basin and upper zone glistened in the midday sun on the upper mountain.
Skinning commenced in the base of the gully and we set a steep track up. Luckily the snow had plenty of time to consolidate and the Low danger meant we were mostly concerned with timing the corn right. Day one was mostly a quick up and back, following the skier’s right side of the gully where some lightly crusted powder lay. The hike out was what made it unique.
That evening we all sampled Montana brews, and enjoyed the hot tubs and dry sauna and sunset over the valley below. We let Atlas outside on a long lead but as he’d never been ‘off leash’ outside a dog park, we kept an eye on him.
Day Two
We set out sights a bit higher for the second day, and skinning up past our previous days top out over the looker’s right shoulder and neared the summit ridge. Up there we found cool lines and some powder. Sweeney wanted to push on, but Kelly and I were content to hang out. I found myself in especially rough shape after being sick for months.
Sweeney got the best views as he pressed on a bit higher than us, all around were snow capped peaks and enough lines for a lifetime.
On the descent we found some variable powder, then snaked through trees in the burn zone and back out to the main gully.
We were hoping to make an afternoon group jaunt with skis, skins and snowshoes, but because of the lack of snow we instead took short walks on old logging roads and hung around the lodge.
Day 3
The last day I was pretty beat. Sweeney, Kelly and I make the trek up once again, first to our ski cache, and then following our day old skin track. The day was warm and I wanted to maximize lounging, so I turned around and did my best to make the most of the pristine corn for one last run. Sweeney and Kelly followed suit not far behind after they’d gained a few hundred more vert. They still had a whole second half left of their trip. After one more day at Downing Mountain they were headed to Whitefish.
Catherine and Atlas greeted me at the lodge. After we said our hellos and were headed inside, Atlas spotted a crow, and took off exploring for the first time. We were a little concerned at first, but he came back when called, and after handing out treats to everyone, we turned it into a fun game. By the afternoon he was playing fetch in the yard and was good and beat from romping about in the open spaces.
Day 4
We let Atlas tire himself out a bit as we packed up for the long ride come. We chased the sunset across Washington, where it beat us to the horizon near Ellensburg. After the long drive, we felt good to be home.
Here’s a short video of some of my skiing footage from the trip. Sweeney has much more, and everyone snapped some great shots of the trip.
