Finding isolation while hiking in Post Falls

It is OK to get out and go for a walk.

This is what is keeping me sane these days while my dog photography business is shut down as nonessential. I get to keep busy, though. I still freelance write for clients, I still build WordPress websites for clients and I work from home for my part-time job at The Spokesman-Review newspaper.

But I need to get out of the house, to breathe some big air, to just be alone in isolation, so Bella and I started searching All Trails for a good hike.

Heavily trafficked.

Heavily trafficked.

Heavily trafficked.

Shoot. Most of the trails close to home are busy, and even moreso since regular weekday workers have been unleashed into the great outdoors.

This isn’t just about social distancing. It’s about just being alone with Bella and Mother Nature.

No social media.

No voices.

(Just the ones in my head.)

Total silence.

Finally, we found one that said “moderately trafficked” and off we went hiking in Post Falls.

Top of the trail

A walk in the woods

If you’re familiar with the area, you might think we headed for Q’emiln Park, a lovely spot for hiking in Post Falls.

But no.

It’s a busy one.

We opted for the Community Forest, its parking lot at the top of the trail on Riverview Drive.

The top.

There’s this one hike in Banff National Park in Alberta that I’ve longed to do but avoided because it starts at the top.

Which means the back end is all uphill. Yuck.

This, however, is rated as easy, so it wouldn’t be so bad.

It’s an easy stroll down to the river, and the hills are peppered with buttercups and widow’s grass.

Widow’s grass

And … <gasp> … the glacier lilies are out!

Glacier lilies

They’re among my favorite subalpine/alpine wildflowers (the tops being fleabane and paintbrush).

The perfect spot

I knew we’d get down to Spokane River and I’m always drawn to its rocky banks.

Because #dogsonrocks.

On the rocks

For that image, I had my Sigma 70-200 on my Nikon D750, but I immediately switched to my Nikon 20mm prime for a little taste of #lifeinwideangle.

My goofy girl

Wide angle images just seem to celebrate Bella’s goofiness. She’s usually very serious, even stern sometimes, but when we’re hiking, she really seems to enjoy herself.

And I need you to see that.

Getting lost while hiking in Post Falls

Oh, it happens all the time.

And it happens because I let Bella pick the trail. Yes, the human, who is supposed to be smarter and higher on the food chain, lets the dog pick the trail.

I didn’t learn my lesson well enough the time we got lost at Dishman Hills with a dead smartphone and couldn’t access trail maps.

Bella veered off the main trail, as she is often wont to do. We found ourselves on a thin moss-covered trail in between a couple of basalt walls, likely popular with rock climbers in the area. It was a perfect spot for more #dogsonrocks.

In the woods

Then there was nowhere to go. We could have, I suppose, scrambled up a hill of big chunky rocks but, carrying a few thousand dollars in camera gear, I had no desire to fall.

Or end up at the vet with a broken dog.

Bella went high enough for me to get her on the rocks.

Way up high

I called her back down and we quietly made our way back to the parking lot, fully pooped after 5 miles.

All around the circle

Isolation was the theme for this week’s worldwide pet photographers blog circle.

For the most part, we found it while hiking in Post Falls. We encountered a few people along the way, so our progress was a little delayed.

Even before we went into this brave new world of social distancing, I would step off the trail with Bella and give people room to pass. Quite simply, she isn’t a big fan of new people trying to touch her and, given her beauty, many are drawn to her.

It’s my job as Mama, though, to keep my little livestock guardian dog safe.

Now let’s see how my pet photographer friends found isolation. Start with Darlene Woodward with Pant the Town Photography serving Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Click the link at the bottom of her post to get to the next photographer, and so on until you find yourself back here.

Home.

Right where you belong.

Share the love

If you think the rocks on the Community Forest trail are the perfect spot for your dog photography session, let’s get together!

Or, you can share the love.

Yesterday, I set up egift cards in my Square store to make it easy for you to give a portrait session as a gift.

Click the pic (or this text) and go right there.