The Woodville Trail - Guided Hike - January 18 2020

It was a chilly -13 for my first Hiking Dogs of Instagram group hike. We met at the Burgess Mountain Road parking lot of the Woodville Trail system in Woodville, N.S. There was a nice crust of snow with a bit of fluffy snow on top so the conditions were perfect for a hike without the need of snowshoes or ice grips. I was joined by five excited, friendly dogs and their owners! We started out on the main trail with all dogs on leash and chatted as we hiked, getting to know each other a bit.

Our biggest dog was Indy, he was a golden retriever/lab mix, just a couple of years old and full of energy! Eli was a 6 year old Samoyed husky and it was obvious that the cold temperatures didn’t bother him a bit! Waylon was a black lab, just a year old and he still had lots of puppy enthusiasm! The oldest participant was Roxy, an Australian cattle dog and she had no trouble keeping up with the pack and herding everyone to keep them together! Fisher was a standard poodle with a new hair cut but he certainly wasn’t worried about messing up his hair! I brought two of my three dogs. Tuukka, my black standard poodle and Bruin, my golden doodle. That made for 7 dogs and six people!

We hiked along the main trail and after a bit, we agreed to let the dogs off so they could run! It was so enjoyable watching the dogs run and jump, pausing occasionally so we could take their photos! Our first stop was the Woodville waterfall. We viewed it from above because it was too icy to climb to the bottom but Waylon thought he’d check it out; we almost had to do a rescue because it was so slippery! He made it up and we continued on our way, crossing the little wooden bridges along the way. The trees were heavy with snow from the day before and it really was magical! Our next stop was the Look Off that gives a view of the valley below. We stopped for more photos and a brief rest and then we completed the last part of our hike that lead us back to the parking lot. The hike took a little under two hours and I believe all the dogs went home tired and happy! It was lovely meeting all the beautiful pups and their favorite people!