Hhhhhmmmph!!

What a frustrating year so far - as far as hiking goes....

Following a fantastic couple of days at Barking Mad Dog Training Centre in Gravely we are busy working through our dogs issues...Patch's noise phobias have no quick fix, however we do go out for a local walk every morning (before the RAF start playing overhead) and her confidence is growing. Unfortunately we've been told not to take the dogs out together until some issues have been sorted, so hiking has been put on hold. I can't tell you how frustrated I am!

We also have a new addtion... a 3 yr old border collie who was given to me as a failed sheepdog from a local farm. She has never even been in a house let alone on a lead, so she is as raw as they come - but she is a sweetheart. She and Patch are getting along nicely (although our other jack russell, Snowy, can be a bit of a cowbag).....which means there is a possibility of a long distance hike on the cards with both Tess (the new girl) and Patch - Patch loves having another dog around to boost her confidence. All I need to do now is persuade John that solo hiking really isn't such a bad idea.

I'm going to need a bigger tent....I wonder if I can squeeze a collie into my bivy bag as well as Patch.....

(Apologies for the lack of hiking stuff at the moment - and thanks for those still following while things are quiet. Hopefully posts will be a little more interesting soon!)