The Dog Walks Me

Camping at Yukon’s Grizzly Lake

With the speed of our road trip, we didn’t have much time for backcountry adventures but we did want to do at least one overnight trip in a beautiful location (especially since we had brought our backpacks and gear). Tombstone Territorial Park is one of the most accessible northern parks, and not only are the mountains and tundra jaw-droppingly beautiful, it’s also home to moose, caribou, bear, Dall sheep, marmots, ground squirrels, and loads of falcons and birds. Since it is located at the base of the Dempster road, we would be passing through the park twice and were a bit more flexible on camping dates.  This was necessary because the Tombstone’s Grizzly lake site was almost booked out for a week (max 10 sites), and we were able to secure a spot a week later after on the return from the Dempster.

a really cute marmot

Amazing scenery on the way to the site

The mountains surrounding the campground behind us

some rocky bits to travel through

Carrying her share!

Just really beautiful!

When you overnight at Grizzly lake, you must pick up a pass from the Interpretive Center and also a bear container. Why they don’t just keep the containers in the camp site’s bear lock-ups (as they do in BC) is a bit beyond me as they are large and hard to pack and heavy. We had a little intro to the hike with a very friendly ranger, loaded with lots of warnings and were given estimated hiking times that were really quite extreme (8-12 hours one way). Just as a reference, we asked lots of hikers along the way and campers at the campsite, and got an average one-way time of about 5-7 hours (but we didn’t meet too many older hikers). Without a backpack I would estimate one could do a return trip in about 9-12 hours with lots of breaks and rests. We finished in about 7 hours one way with about 1.5 hours of total rest and photography time.

Starting in the subalpine

the first section is a climb and you get views quickly

up up and up!

saying hi to some rangers at the top of the first incline

having no issues with the “tough” terrain

lots of resting and photos

The highest point of the trail

The terrain is varied and beautiful with lots of changes but is not technical and the path is very easy to find and follow. A hiker from Vancouver wouldn’t have a problem at all, but I can see that anyone not used to mountainous inclines might find the hike difficult with a full pack. We kept Whiskey on a leash most of the time as we passed by lots of marmot territory but did have to let her off where being attached to a leashed dog is actually quite dangerous (jumping over large boulders and areas with exposed sides). In these cases, for us it’s safer to let her find her own path since one wrong pull from a larger dog could bring you tumbling (and also we are used to off leash hiking so Whiskey is also safer as well).

You can see the campground coming up! more than half done

Whiskey pulling her daddy along

You can see the lake clearly now

A tiny bit of snow left in July, with the most amazing views

At this point everyone is tired of me taking pictures

rocky sections separate a couple marmot meadows

The campsite was really muddy and had roped off trails to and from the eating shelters which was really the worst part about this entire trip, but at least the camp spots were raised off the ground (great for squirrels not to eat through your tent). Ground squirrels are famous for eating through everything since they are so salt-deprived and will even eat your shoelaces if left outside of the tent. It was not advised to use the lake water, rather the running water from the streams on the way to the campsite but we saw people using the lake water with filters. For Whiskey’s food we packed her dehydrated dog food which she of course, carried herself.

Walking through some meadows

ground squirrels are really chirpy!

marmots shrill as we walk by (keep dogs on leash!)

They blend in so well here!

Living in paradise

a pointer doing her thing

lots of breaks to look at the scenery

mom! enough pictures!

watching us set up camp

at the food shelter

waking dad up

the hardest part is getting up when it’s cold and rainy

Overall we were extremely lucky with the weather as we only had a sprinkling of rain on the trail, but once we set up the tent for the night and started cooking under the shelters, the rain started coming down in earnest. It rained the entire night, but in the morning it stopped just long enough for us to hike back (and started again when we got back to the car).

a mini waterfall for collecting water

massage stops along the way, of course

Heading back was much faster

I still couldn’t get enough of the scenery

looking back down at the rest of tombstone

We are tiny in a beautiful Earth

Just missing the proper rain, but we had a few sprinkles

the entire trail has views except for the first km

The trail was easy to follow with no chance of getting lost

Racing to the car before those pregnant clouds let loose!

There were many options for a 3rd and 4th night, unfortunately, we didn’t have time and headed back . Quick doggy cheat: Thierry attached Whiskey’s leash to his pack, and then to his belt so she would power him up the inclines. It’s a bit trickier heading down though! On the return trip we were an hour faster (and took fewer photos) and just arrived in time to drive back to the Interpretive Center to return the bear can before they closed. I’d love to come back again!

Until next time!

Lunch break views from Mt Unnecessary

If the Grouse Grind is not your cup of tea… because it’s too busy, too short, too easy, and the views aren’t very good, then this one is a splendid alternative. Just a warning though, this is not a good hike for beginners or those not inclined to climb 1250m over 3kms for fun (or as the graffiti on the sign  says “hard as fucking hell and not for beginners”. Mt Unnecessary is one of those beautiful peaks on the Howe Sound trail between the Lions and St Marks. I’ve previously conquered it on the way to the Lions from St Marks years ago, but never from it’s own dedicated trail starting at Lions Bay.

The divide to Erin Moore Trail (dedicated to a 7 year old who died on the trail in 2014)

Happy in her element

mini breaks on the relentless climb

Steep! Steep!

kisses on a fallen log

This way!

We weren’t able to finish the beast (about 250m higher to go) because of snow but we still got some beautiful views, a wonderful lunch spot, and the perfect workout all the while having the entire trail to ourselves.

Views halfway up

Looking down you can’t even see the trail

beautiful and quiet here

Little ginger watchdog

Whiskey had no problems with the rocks

watch your steps up and down

Waiting for us slow humans

This hike is very to-the-point and unrelenting but also has enough variation and interesting scrambly sections to keep you interested going up. Because it’s so steep, you climb altitude really fast and start seeing promising views within an hour. I’d like to think I’ve done quite a few steep hikes and this one is pretty up there on the list, for a dog-friendly one.

More little breaks

Lots of fun!

A beautiful long-weekend hike

not a bad spot to eat

The view NorthWest of Lions Bay

Coming down was harder and longer than expected and I was really tired of falling on my butt. The steepness, loose ground, and my knee injuries were a bad mix but we still made it down in one piece (Whiskey was wondering what the big deal was and why we were so slow). In all we finished in less than 6 hours and were happily sore the next day!

Getting to need snowshoes/crampons

Whiskey loves running up and down with sticks

I slid on my bum down, while Whiskey ran her but off

Heading back down

We all had a couple small tumbles heading down

CKC junior field dog test

The whole sport and world of pointing dogs, field trials, and bird hunting has confused me since I got a Vizsla. Growing up in the suburbs of Toronto with an immigrant family, we knew nothing of animals and hunting and were instead stereo-typically concentrated on good math scores and playing piano. Jump to a couple years ago when I was looking for what kind of dog I wanted, I kept realizing I was drawn to working bird dogs. I was attracted to their sleek and fast physique, their work ethic, velcro and gentle demeanor at home, and endurance to keep up on long hikes. We chose a show-dog line as we didn’t want a firecracker who needed to work everyday and Whiskey turned out to be one of the most mellow Vizslas, but then she really likes to work. We’ve been lucky enough to get Whiskey introduced to birds a year ago, but haven’t done anything since. Outside of birds I’ve been working on sniff training, and Whiskey is also very eager to fetch balls and sticks.

Happy 2nd birthday Whiskey!

my foray into the world of bird dogs

So all put together, we had a very clueless human, a dog that was almost new to birds, and out of curiosity, for Whiskey’s 2nd birthday I decided to sign us up for a training day and some tests with the BCABPC (British Columbia All Breed Pointer Club). I was really nervous on our first day since we still didn’t understand what the test was, and what was involved. We arrived for the training day with about 15 other humans/dog pairs, some with more or less experience than us. During the day we worked on different stations that started from just a “stay”(or “whoa”), a “stay” with a bird, finding a bird within 5 meters of high grass, finding a trapped bird in a small field, and finding a free bird in a small field. Everyone there was so nice and helpful but there weren’t enough trainers to go around and we waited quite awhile between stations. There were several people that had travelled from quite afar (one from Calgary?) some in trailers to attend the 3 day event and title their dogs.

working dogs staked out

training day

bringing the birds and bird dogs out to the field

the first step is to stay in place on an object

Whiskey’s classmates

bird on a stick method (I feel bad for the birds!)

lining up to watch and try

really nice instructors today

meeting friends

Lovely working dogs

long haired weimaraner

a gsp puppy

a family event

puppies play while adults work

So this is what I found happens in field test in layman’s terms:

• You approach the field with your dog on leash and wait until your turn and a judge comes up to you with a clipboard and will walk you to the “start”. When the judge tells you you’re starting, you unleash your dog (put the leash in your pocket) and tell your pup to start looking for birds. You cannot have anything in your hands and your starter pistol is supposed to be in a holster (oops). Your dog is supposed to run off and look in a good searching pattern until they find and point a bird. The dog is not supposed to rush the bird, pick it up, and is supposed to hold their point until you arrive. You are then to flush the bird in the air (pick it up and release it) and shoot the pistol while the bird is in the air. Ideally your dog is supposed to hold their point while you do all that (not expected in Juniors). Then you go off and find another bird and do the same. After 20-30 minutes your judge will tell you you’re finished and you put your dog back on leash.

higher levels have two dogs running together in a test

“planting” birds is a strange concept for me

hitching a ride to the field tests

Whiskey took a couple minutes each time to establish her searching pattern (all her sniff training paid off!) and over time she got into her groove. She found 2 birds on each test and pointed 3 times but almost caught one the 4th time. Her points were steady but as soon as I flushed the bird, she went after it. On the other hand, the shots didn’t seem to phase her too much (especially since this was new). At the end we got a score sheet with everything broken down but I won’t receive a copy until later. I did notice she did get perfect marks for responding to her handler (me) so yey!

first test was in very high grass

we were the first test of the day

getting some feedback from my judge

I’m terrible at flushing and shooting

Whiskey on point

galloping around finding birds

I’ve never seen her run for so long

demonstrating to the judge

thankful to have nice judges tell me what to do!

There are several different levels of testing and as we were brand new we did the easiest one- the JFD (junior field dog). You need 3 passed tests to acquire your title and move onto the next level. In order to properly train a dog for the higher levels, people work with their dogs several times a week and keep birds at home for that purpose. Seeing as we live downtown and have so many interests, we likely won’t take this to the next level, but if we do have an easy opportunity to find birds again I’ll take Whiskey out.

it’s a bird dog life