Time: 60+ minutes (when hiking through snow and in rain)
Length: 0.5 miles, loop
Gear: Water & Leash (snowshoes or x-country skis and rain jackets during winter/early spring months)
Difficulty: 4 paws (when snow is present)
Scenery: 3 paws
Pack: You and your dog
Location: Savage River Lodge – Frostburg, MD
With rain and well, more rain there was still little chance Julie and I were going to pass up the opportunity to get the dogs out on some new trails. Factoring in the cold temps in combination with the wet weather we picked a short loop from one of Savage River Lodge’s many hiking trail. The trek was less than a mile and with Cannon’s aversion to water and wetness I considered a manageable task.
To say “a river runs through it” would be an accurate description of what we were in for… believe me, we had no idea what we were in for! After the first trail marker we were half dragged by a couple of excited dogs across a sloped field, behind the lodge, that was oversaturated and overrun with flowing water. Onto the trail Cannon and Karma were still getting morning play time out of their system. When they’d finally got in line and started to hike with us Julie and I found ourselves out of breath, walking in a foot plus of snow.
I could tell that in the warmer months the trail would be not only wide enough for three or four people but also level and at an easy enough grade for any new hiker. This was not one of those warmer months however and ten minutes into it I was regretting not having bought snowshoes earlier in the season (snowshoes are also for rent at the lodge’s ski shop). Though I love my Merril trail shoes they’re just no match for the deep snow with hidden streams that run beneath. Even Julie was getting a healthy bunch of snow falling over the top of her rain boots.
The trails are very well marked and the lodge provides an easy to read map so you can plot your own course. This was particularly helpful to us as Julie, Cannon and I – though happy to be hiking – were definitely looking forward to the warmth of the cabin. I exclude Karma from this list as he was too busy being the happiest dog on earth. He’d run ahead of us and then plop down in the snow with the biggest smile a dog could ever have!! It’s quite a wonderful sight. Meanwhile, during the final leg of the hike as we turned uphill and waded through a rushing stream to ascend to the road, Cannon just stopped. His misery was too much and I was sure he was going to quit on me altogether as it took some coaxing just to get him to continue moving forward.
Although this sounds pretty desperate it was a wonderful hike! Canon and I ran all the way back to the cabin and stood sentry on the porch until Julie and Karma joined us. Julie and I agreed that we felt amazing and refreshed. The dogs agreed that they were done for the day and started what became a full day of napping.
