I’m nearly giddy with happiness after hiking today. For the first time since I sprained my ankle I was able to hike, much of it off-trail and on some steep side-hill stuff, wearing my new boots (review to come). It’s been five weeks, and it’s still nowhere near “good-as-new,” but today was the first sense I’ve had that everything will be okay. I’m starting to salivate about maybe getting out a couple more times before the end of the season…
Angus, too, was pretty happy about the little jaunt today. I was able to get him into a draw creased by a little creek with some mountain mahogany and willows lining the bottom. From the ridge spine above him I watched as his birdiness increased toward the trickle, and began to thrill as he slowed and finally pointed. My feet, unfortunately, weren’t in condition to get right down to him, but I watched him figure out how to get into the birds (which turned out to be a large covey of California quail), and he flushed them without going completely gonzo; Glenna would have chased the lead couple of birds into the next county before even looking back…
Anyway, maybe early next week I’ll have a report from a chukar hill somewhere not far away.