Sierra

Sierra is doing fine ,

She is now two years old , healthy and living a

dogs life .

 

Cerro Alto

and

Deer Season

 

Aug the 12th. Sierra and I enjoyed our hike to the summit of Cerro Alto as you can see Sierra at the top of the mountain . on the way back down Sierra was shot on the right side by a careless hunter from a distance of 4/10 mile . The photo with the bullet wound was taken after her visit to the emergency hospital . Several shots struck around us she was hit with one .

Folks be careful , there are some very careless hunters out there . It is my opinion that hunting should be prohibited in hiking trail areas such Cerro Alto located on Highway 41 between Morro Bay and Atascadero Ca. in SLO Co.

The hiking traffic here is very heavy .

 

 

Sierra below before she was shot.

wound after hospital treatment

Sierra is now improving fast and hiking

short distances . We were lucky that the bullet traveled a long distance and lost much of it's power . No broken bones

Just pain and hurt feelings and much anger !

 

 

 

Cerro Alto

Joe and Sierra sport new packs .

 

Just thought it is time to update photos of Sierra and my self as we now have new equipment for the summer . Sierra is now sixteen months old weighing 65 pounds and daily improving in her trail skills .

And as for my age and weight --- well let us just say this old great grandpa is a year older and feeling pretty damn good !

 

These photos were taken at the summit of Cerro Alto

a 2600 ft peak located in the Los Padres National Forest

in San Luis Obispo Co .

 



Sierra grows up on Cerro Alto

Sierra is my ten month old German Shepard mix puppy , she was a Valentine Day gift from my wife Betty . Sierra was 10 weeks old when given to me and I immediately started her an a daily hiking schedule on Cerro Alto , a mountain located in the Los Padres national forest on highway 41 between Morro Bay and Atascadero Ca. . This was a training experience for us both as I knew nothing about how to train a trail dog .

Here she is on Valentine's Day 2012 .

My wife and two grand daughters , Natalie and Maegan presented her to me . I was not only surprised but a little frightened as I had just lost my small lap dog at Christmas time and was not ready for a new puppy . The grand daughters said I needed a trail dog and one of them said I needed her to take care of me on the trail . Well my first thought was I can take care of myself and a dog was only going to be a liability that was going to be more trouble than it was worth . Boy oh boy , was I ever wrong . Sure it was a lot of work in training her but the reward was great as I will share with you later.

Here we are two miles up the trail with a thousand ft of elevation gain.

It took several weeks of training and a lot of patience for Sierra to reach this level on the mountain and she had another 700 feet to climb before reaching then summit . The weather was warming up and it became more difficult for her to hike up the mountain . I had to often carry her as she over heated in her effort to reach the top of the mountain . 

Training her muscles involved a lot of fun !

We sure did have a lot of fun , as I would always include a time for her to play by running on west side of the mountain . Here muscles grew stronger every day . She finally was strong enough to hike to the top of the mountain .





Sierra at the top of Cerro Alto

Sierra , now strong enough to reach the top  of the mountain , but for months as the weather heated up , the hike became very difficult for her . She often had to rest several times to cool off before reaching the top .

During the daily training , Sierra meets many people on the trail and many of these folks were frequent

Cerro Alto hikers and bikers and to this day these folks admire her progress .

Typical encounters for Sierra

Here Sierra meets a family and eats up the attention . This still is a typical reaction by people who meet her on the trail . Now Sierra is a big dog but folks love to visit with her . Several people have told me they would baby sit her if needed . One such person is Janet , and I wish I had a photo of her to post here as she truely loves this dog . She once had me take my Sierra to her home for a visit .

Sierra on Serro Alto Summit

 

Sierra on the west side of Cerro Alto

Note Sierra is growing up here she weighs about 35 pounds and is no longer wearing the red harness as seen in the earlier photos .

Raising Sierra on Cerro alto mountain has been quite a learning experience for us both . We had to learn how to deal with snakes , mountain lions , coyotes  ,turkeys , horses , bicycles , peacocks , deer , rabbits , bears , rain , lightning , hale, heat , carrying a back pack , other hikers with dogs and the list goes on !

Sierra watching a snake .

Above photos Sierra watching a snake . She treats all snakes as rattlers . She sits and waits for me to remove the snake from the trail . I have photographed and video taped  her watching a snake several time . We have used the videos of rattlers at home for training .

Sierra now recognises animals that are a threat to us and those that are harmless . We returned from a back packing trip into the

Ventana wilderness where Sierra chased one deer , alerted us to one mountain lion and one bear .

She did a very good job at scouting very faint trails that were for the most part covered with chaparral . Her stamina was good and her response to verbal commands were great . She assumes the verbal command to hike in the lead position  , the heel position and the follow position . All in all she is now a very good trail dog

We both have learned a lot and are still learning !

Sierra looking down at Morro Bay from Cerro Alto

I now really enjoy my daily hikes and back packing trips with Sierra and I wonder how I ever got along without her .

Thank You Betty

As a side note I feel much safer back packing into the wilderness when Sierra is with me , I sleep sound and relax when sitting in the dark at night on the trail















 

Sierra today at ten months old weighing 54 pounds





 







 

 





 

( Cerro Alto is located on hwy. 41 between Atascadero and Morro Bay Ca . )
Cerro Alto
Second home to myself and my puppy Sierra.

I am posting this photo of Sierra as she is now 10 months old and she has a following of hikers and cyclists who frequently visit Cerro Alto . 

Sierra in training

Sierra now 15 weeks old poses for a photo after climbing to summit a 1800 ft elevation gain .

puppy in training on Cerro Alto

Up date on my new puppy Sierra she is now 15 weeks old and has completed her first summit of Cerro alto an 1800 ft elevation gain hike and a round trip of 5 1/2 mile hike . She loves the mountain . She has hiked her first rain storm also and loves the rain ! I am sure that she will be ready for her first multi day backpacking trip this fall . The photo where I am wearing a blue shirt is when she made a 1000 ft gain and then photo with me in a yellow jacket is at the top of Cerro Alto a 1800 ft gain . The entire training period was one month starting with one mile hike and a 100 ft gain , I had to carry her for a half a mile . With a gentle training program of 4 days a week , allowing her time to recover and gradually increasing her work out routine , she has made great progress !

Cerro Alto is a 2600 ft mountain located between Atascadero and Morro bay calif.

Trail Dog

2/14/12

A Valentine Day gift from my family I hope will soon become a trail dog . Her name is Sierra , I love the name . Sierra is a 11 week old German Shepard /Lab mix . She started off a little shy but I think she has promise .

Special Thanks To My Loving and Thoujghtful Family !

I will start her off on a very easy trail --- Jim Green Trail 1.5 mile loop in beautiful Atascadero Ca. located in San Luis Obispo County Ca. , in the heart of wine country . She will graduate when she is capable of hiking Cerro Alto a 1800 ft elevation gain , my daily hike . This training should take about 6 weeks . ?????-- I hope ! She then will move on to bigger advantures .