Today we went back to Hot Springs, NC, to try out the Laurel River Trail.  This trail is what you expect from the Appalachians.  It was a 6.8 in and out that stayed along side the Laurel River.  By Smoky standards, the trail is incredibly flat.  As you go along the river, there are several spots to stop and cool off in the water, which Pearl did on more than one occasion.

We took the trail all the way to the two rattlesnakes chillin’ in the middle of the trail.  

Pearl went in for a sniff when Jennifer spotted them.  Jennifer reacted before Pearl could get in harms way.  In fact, I think Jennifer jumped about 4 feet off of the ground.  To Jen, the only good snake is a dead snake and they are all copperheads.  As she backtracked to where I was standing, she told me there was a huge copperhead in the trail.  Of course, I had to check it out.  There I saw a light colored rattler curled up with a very dark rattler.  Neither ever moved, despite several flashes from the camera.  Jen “calmly” explained to me that there was no way in hell she was walking past 2 rattle snakes.  I agreed that we didn’t need to tempt fate.  I wasn’t worried about us, but dogs will be curious.  We were near the end anyway so we headed back to let Pearl play in the river at a safer location.

Pearl made another milestone today.  Not only did she venture into North Carolina, but she hiked a small part of the Appalachian Trail.  We headed out early this morning into Pisgah National Forest on the other side of the Appalachians.

The Dane was well admired today.  The Max Patch Trail is well traveled despite being down a long dirt road.  Dogs were prevalent.  Pisgah allows dogs and the Max Patch is a wide open mountain top.  They say you can see Mount Mitchell and certain Gatlinburg peaks, if you know where to look (which I don’t).  It’s a really unique trail to the area and reminded me of the prairies in South Dakota.  Lots of wild flowers, birds and hikers.

One black dog aptly named “Wooly” make too quick of an advance at Pearlie.  Her and Jennifer were minding their own business when he flew up the trail, straight at them.  Jennifer immediately went to guns, protecting her baby girl.  The 105 pound baby girl then went to guns to protect her mama.  I don’t know if Pearl looked smaller at a distance or Jennifer advancing with a trekking pole in hand scared him, but either way, Wooly thought better of the situation and headed the other direction.  By this time, Pearl is ready to chase.  We learned two things.  First, keep your dogs on a leash, regardless of how well behaved they are.  After all, they are wolves at heart and we don’t always understand the language between dogs.  Second, make sure your leash is secure.  Jennifer was wearing the Spindrift belt with Surfs Up leash and even with 105 pounds at full speed, she was able to keep Pearl under control.  The situation was quickly defused into a doggie “meet and greet”.

Right on Wooly’s heals was the first of two of his siblings, a little pit mix who immediately assumed a submissive posture to Pearl.  The second sibling, however, I think had other ideas.  His name was “Ed”.  Ed was a basset mix.  I could tell for 2 reasons.  One, he had the short legs and long body of a basset, even if he didn’t have the ears.  Two, he had the obstinate personality of a basset.  Despite his dad’s firm request for him to come, Ed was smitten with Pearl.  Apparently, he likes tall women.

After our hike, we did some more exploring of the Pisgah area with Pearl’s head hanging out of the window.  Eventually, we made our way to Hot Springs, NC.  The AT runs right through Hot Springs.  There’s a very nice campground across the road from the Spa.  There was also a very nice hiking store where we met Johnny Molloy, a writer who specializes in hiking books.  Honestly, we didn’t realize we met him until after the fact.  Nice guy, great store.  They even invited Pearl in.

Pearl was a little nervous with all the people, but quickly adjusted to all of the fanfare for her.  One guy ran out of a local store to ask Jennifer what kind of dog she was.  He and his wife had a bet, Greyhound or Great Dane.  He won.

Walking the streets with Pearl is similar to walking with a celebrity.  She gets a lot of looks, several waves and a few “handshakes”.

Our first road trip with the travel trailer has started well.  As we cruised for about five and a half ours to the Smokies, Pearl would occasionally stretch her head over my shoulder requesting a scratch.  She often does this as I drive.  Not the safest thing in the world, but she’s not too pushy about it.  She just gently reminds me she is there and could use some petting.  Jennifer’s explanation that I was driving and could not pet Great Danes at that particular moment fell on deaf ears.

Today, we hit the trails.  Pearl hiked about 7 miles with us on 2 different trails (Pete’s Branch Falls Trail and Margarette Falls Trail, both in Cherokee National Forest North).  We have confirmed something that we had suspected for some time.  Pearl is a water dog!  In fact, water crossings will often give Pearl a case of the “Zoombies” which can be a problem when you are attached to her at the waist.  A few times, she laid down in the creek to cool her belly, as we all need to do from time to time.

If hiking with your dog, I HIGHLY recommend going handsfree.  This requires some other way to hold the leash.  We picked up a Spindrift Daisy Runner running belt, specifically made to attach a dog leash, from thedogoutdoors.com.  We also got a Surfs Up dog leash which has been great.  It was suggested by the website and they have a great video available to demonstrate.  It’s basically like a big curly phone cord but will extend to 6 feet.  Because it “retracts” when she comes closer, she never gets her feet tangled (or ours either).  The company is a “Mom and Pop” operation that’s serious about customer service.  I emailed them a question about a dog bed before we bought anything from them.  He answered my question promptly and was honest, even though it cost him a sale.

I recently read a post that said try not to let your dog drink from the stream or a puddle.  Good luck with that.  With that said, the pooch also needs hydration.  We have packed a couple of collapsable bowls and took Pearl some bottled water.  The next step will be to get Pearl her own backpack so she can pack it in herself, but I thought we should ease into that one.