Hiking

After getting a pair of hiking boots for me and retrieving Ryan's boots from Texas in April, we have been on two 6-7 miles hikes with Cooper.  We never would have thought that a dog who needs a pep talk just to jump up on the couch would scramble up rocks and jump over fallen trees like he had been doing it for years.

The first of our two hiking trips was to Great Falls Park.  The trail begins at the point where the Potomac River falls over a series of steep, jagged rocks and follows the river as it flows through the Mather Gorge.  

We did a 7 mile loop following the river on the way out and hiking through the forest on the way back.  The falls were impressive mostly because of the sheer volume of water that rushes down the falls and through the gorge.  The hike along the river offered some gorgeous views of the river rushing by far below.  

Our next trip was to Rock Creek Park, which was founded in 1890 as one of the first federal parks.  The park runs from Virginia all the way through D.C. to Maryland and has a network of hiking, biking, and horse trails.  We did a 6 mile out-and-back hike.  A portion of the trail runs along the creek and offers access to the water.  A romp in the cool clear water of the creek was just the break Cooper needed to finish the  hike on a hot, humid Sunday morning.