Now, picture this. I was asleep in my hammock last night, and Forest was in his under me. All of a sudden we heard rustling and movement all around us. Naturally, my first thought was bear. I peeked out and saw that there were horses eating grass all around us. Forest was frozen in his hammock like a statue (good boy!). For some reason it freaked me out a bit, so I didn't sleep well after that. Instead, I texted my wife Happy Mother's Day at midnight and woke her up, too. 😲 I did shoot some good video, though, so I have proof that I wasn't dreaming. 🐴🐴🐴
This morning, we got moving at about 9:30. Because I already hiked most of Grayson Highlands when my family visited, I was able to take the Blue Blaze trail shown on the left side of the following Guthook map. This cut out about 6 miles from the standard White Blaze route. I further reduced the day's hike by going to the Fox Creek Trailhead (Route 603; mile marker 510.7!) instead of Dickey Gap (Route 16), for a manageable 12 miles. From there, I could get a shuttle to my next resupply stop in Troutdale.
We arrived in Troutdale at about 4:30 p.m. My wife had reserved a room for tonight at the Sufi Lodge, where my resupply package was supposed to be delivered. As Forest and I walked up the road toward the lodge, a large pitbull suddenly launched itself over a fence and came at us. Forest is trained not to react to other dogs. I had no idea whether the dog was aggressive or just bonkers, but I couldn't take a chance. I had to go into defense mode.
By the time we arrived at the lodge, the owners had seen what happened. They had two labs of their own, and apparently the dog up the street jumps the fence and goes after other dogs often. I have no idea why no one has complained or called animal control. Anyway, I was supposed to go into a standard hiker room, but instead the owners wanted to put me in their "pet-friendly" room to keep Forest isolated from their own dogs (even though it was obvious that Forest was completely docile). I didn't feel that the room was worth the extra fee, so I refused. After what I'd already gone through up the street, it got a bit heated, and it didn't help that my resupply package had not arrived and wouldn't until morning. We finally agreed that they would refund my money, and I went up the street to the Troutdale Baptist Church AT Hostel. Great, that meant I had to pass the dog in the fence again...
I need to explain something here. It is frightening enough for a pet to be attacked by another dog. Besides being traumatic for the person, it can forever change that dog's behavior around other dogs even if it is not injured. It can become fearful, or aggressive. In the case of the service dog, an incident like that could completely destroy its ability to perform in public, rendering it incapable of serving its person properly. In that case, not only could the dog's life be negatively affected, but also that of his or her person. That is why leash and containment laws are so critical; people should always be held responsible for being in control of their pets at all times. And I will protect Forest just as I would any member of my family.
For tonight, I just want to get my electronics charging, have a hot shower, and try to get some sleep. There is no place in this town to get food. I sure hope my resupply box gets here early tomorrow.
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