Two months have passed since our last post…and this will be a brief post, trying to catch up on what has happened with the pups since mid-April.

Paddling has continued on a regular basis, and I am up to 57 days to far this season ( ahead of last year’s pace). I have taken each of the dogs on a solo canoe camping trip, at the unregulated campsites at our closest lake.  They each had a great time, and I was able to begin testing the new Big Agnes Black Tail Hotel 3 tent that we are evaluating for Trailspace.

We have had 3 camping reservations at Vermont State Parks cancelled, since the parks have delayed opening until June 26th. Though many folks are camping at the sites on Green River Reservoir, despite the closures, I cannot in good conscience do so…as a member of the Board of Directors at FGRR, I feel I should abide by the state rules. For now, I am paddling Green River bright and early, day paddles only. However, we are planning to use the GO for camping soon, and I do have canoe camping reservations for later this month.

Our September trip to Algonquin Provincial Park in Canada is up in the air, since the border will remain closed until at least July 21st. Also, Vermont retains a 14 day quarantine requirement upon return, after visiting certain locations. We would not want to have to stay in our house for 14 days upon return from the trip! We are permitted to visit nearby locations in NH and NY state, so we have been able to visit a few favorite paddling spots.

Our wildlife watching has been quite satisfactory so far, though we have yet to see a moose. Bears,eagles,loons,herons of all shapes and sizes, and many more are featured on our Facebook and Instagram pages.

I have completed a review for Trailspace on a pair of Keen hiking boots, which are getting a workout on our hikes. Each afternoon, after paddling, I try to get the dogs out for a local hike.  Edgar is also testing out a Kurgo Air Journey harness…the review for that will be posted in July. Though we had a small May snowfall, the early season bugs, and then high humidity and heat, have reminded me why I really prefer winter hiking/snowshoeing!

https://www.trailspace.com/gear/keen/terradora-ii-waterproof-boot/#review40659

We are continuing to volunteer as lay monitors for our state DEC, monitoring water quality at Wolcott Pond. It is fun to get out to that little pond, since it is usually very empty, except for loons and chicks!

The pups are also enjoying their roomy  new PaddlePupMobile…a Subaru Ascent. It is a bit more of a “reach” to get the boats on the roof, but so far,so good.

So that’s it for our update. We wear our masks, keep our social distance, and use our hand sanitizers, hoping that summer is a bit more peaceful that this past forgettable Spring!