Our first camping trip

I love the outdoors, always have! I love hiking, camping, laying in soft grass, watching animals, birds, and insects, watching and listening to plants and trees sway in the wind. In my opinion, the only sound better than better than listening to the wind rustling in the trees is the sound of a baby laughing. I find so much peace and solace in the outdoors. However, the outdoors is something I have not been able to enjoy as much as I would like. My PTSD, depression, and anxiety have become very crippling over the last three years and, while the outdoors brings me peace and solace, it has been extremely difficult to even get myself out of my apartment, let alone into the outdoors.

When I applied for a service dog with K9s for Warriors I went through an interview process. Part of that process was to talk about what type of lifestyle I was currently living and what I wanted my service dog to help me with. One of my requests was to have a dog that would be able to go hiking, camping, and backpacking with me. One of my bucket list items is to hike the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine in one season; it’s approximately 2200 miles! 😱 I would need a dog that would have the endurance and stamina to be able to do that. That means no Chihuahuas or Great Danes for me! 😂 I am very happy with Bake’s breed, he is an Australian Cattle Dog mix (with Australian Shepard I believe). He is a very intelligent and high energy dog. Great for doing things outdoors.

Our first camping trip wasn’t until about three weeks after I brought Bake home. I had a two man tent and my own sleeping system, but was concerned Bake might get cold in the mountains; so I bought him his own sleeping system. He now has a sleeping bag and mat so he can sleep warm and comfy with me. About five days before we went camping I put the tent up in my apartment so I could expose Bake to the equipment before we went camping. I put his sleeping bag and mat in the tent and we just hung out in there for a while. I left it up for a few hours and he was so excited about something new to do; playing in the tent. After I put the tent away I put his sleeping bag and mat on my bed so we would both get our scent on it in order to make him more comfortable once we actually went camping.

The day finally comes….we’re going camping! At this point it had been almost a year since I had last been camping. I was so excited and Bake was excited too….probably because of the excitement I was expressing but I told myself he was excited because he knew we were going camping. Hey, it’s my story….I’m telling you what I think. 😂 🤷🏻‍♀️ 😝 We were supposed to go camping for five nights. The weather showed that it was supposed to rain on day three. I had previously canceled two other camping trips due to weather and the weather ended up being fine. It’s weather….need I say more?? Anyway, on day one it rained for about 20 minutes right after I got camp all set up. Hey, I can’t complain…at least I was able to set up camp first. 🏕 🌧 The first night we got in a little late so we walked around the campsite a bit but didn’t do much else. Bake did so well, he was very attentive and curious but also patient and calm. He was a little apprehensive about the getting in the tent to sleep for the night but after a few minutes he laid down and went to sleep. He did so well!

Day two was so awesome! We got up, had breakfast, took a walk, then packed up for a short hike. I decided to only hike about 2.5 miles, for both of our sakes. I had not been hiking in the mountains for quite a while and I had never been hiking with Bake so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Bake did so well!! He was so attentive and so calm. The trail was pretty narrow in places so we could not walk side-by-side. I let him take the lead so I was there if he needed me. He constantly checked on me, he would take a few steps then turn back to make sure I was doing ok, then take a few more steps and check on me again. He did this almost the entire hike. My trust in him only grew deeper that day. I know he’s going to do so well on the Appalachian Trail when it’s time for us to hike it. I think he truly loved the outdoors as much as I did. I love to stop and watch animals, check out plants, and view nature and waterfalls. He stopped each time I did and just enjoyed his time with me. Unfortunately we ended our trip early because the weather forecast did not change and I did not want to camp during three days of rain. I am looking forward to our next camping trip! Below are some pictures I took of our trip.