Saying Goodbye to Emma

Quinn agreed to a quick pace for this half mile into the woods and he did a great job keeping up. We trucked down Van Hovenberg trail, meeting lots of people along the way. Despite the damp air and cloudy skies, we had a lovely exercise up the flattish trail.

The trails were moist, not sodden. It was easy to move down trail. Of course, my time was hampered by the fact that I had to dig a cat hole for Sunny 3 minutes into the hike as usual.

Here we are wrapping up the last 0.25 mile with me carrying my 30lb pack in my arms. I tried to keep the pace up here and it was really difficult, but we made it back within about 25 minutes after we'd started. The WiFi was down at the Loj so I couldn't use the program's app to find the exercises I needed to do for this part, so I made up my own. While I did three rounds of 10 burpees, 10 jumping jacks, 20 mountain climbers, and 10 squats, Quinn headed over to the adjoining parking area to greet Emma and the other hikers in our group.

We gathered at the Loj prior to the hike to share our memories of Emma. She provided all of us a "signed" picture for our memories. All the pups got some pets, of course. Sunny, the himbo of dogs, tried to make it all about him a few times, but I did my best to keep him chill... chill-ish.

We were taking the long trail up the mountain because it's a lot less steep. The trail conditions were similar to the Van Ho trail earlier, except with a few more standing puddles. Despite the moist conditions, this is a very well-maintained and fairly modern trail, so it's quite easy to follow without getting too wet.

The group was kind enough to let Quinn take point today. This worked out because he kept the perfect pace for Emma. I heard him chatting with people up there the entire time. Everyone said he was a great kid and I'm glad he kept a positive attitude the entire time. I'm quite proud of him.

With a group this big, having Sunny on leash is a giant pain in the ass. I decided it was worth risking a ticket to let him go almost immediately. He ran to and fro as usual, having another best day of his life.

Emma was doing great. She seemed to understand her own limitations and didn't do anything too crazy. She still surprised us with how strong she looked today.

It was still quite overcast when we arrived at the summit, but it wasn't too cold or windy. We cracked out our lunches and chairs and had a nice sit.

Quinn and I had both lugged our chairs up to the summit and we enjoyed the day. I'd forgotten our bags of chips in the car, so Quinn was a little annoyed at me. We still had plenty of snacks, though, featuring Oat & Honey Nutrigrain bars with peanut butter squeezed over them. Also sour gummy worms.

Emma's crew were so kind to Sunny and Quinn. They're great people. We hung out at the summit for a good hour before heading back down. I love doing difficult days, but it really is sometimes nice to have an easy, casual day and get home in time for dinner.

Quinn led the way down again "Guys! Don't forget! I'm the leader!"

We took some time to throw the stick for Sunny and let the dogs splash around. Sunny was so very happy with this turn of events. It was also great to get some photos in front of Algonquin with the clouds parting.