ShiShi Adventure at the Park

An Adventure Of Her Own

This past weekend, as part of my long-term quest to give ShiSh an extra boost in confidence, I decided to take her on an adventure of her own.  Our incredibly hot summer finally has been cooling off, and we've been ready to get outside again.  The hunt was on for a place we could go that would be relatively dog-safe, and not too long a drive.
I really wasn't sure what we were going to encounter, but finally  decided on a local park as an experiment.  Since it's only about 10 minutes from our home, I figured that we could always turn around and head straight back home if it didn't work out.

ShiShi was obviously ready and raring to go -  she came running when she heard me pulling out her harness, and waited impatiently by the front door the minute that her harness was on.  She was NOT happy to get tricked into her backpack, though, and the ten minute drive to the park was spent with my wondering if she was going to be too nervous without Haku to actually have fun (she was obviously unhappy with the drive), but the minute that we were onto less developed part of the walking trail she was out of the pack and exploring.

---

Vertical Divider

Hiking Down the Trail

The trail itself was a real joy!  In the past I've been very happy with our experiences with both cats on a few other different park adventures (other than the hungry mosquitoes at one), but was not so thrilled with our one attempt to take them around saltwater at an island park.  But - I easily would call this particular one our best cat hike ever.  I honestly can't wait to go back with a little more human help, and Haku, because I think we will all have a fabulous time. 

The trail is just wide enough to feel the human adventurers to be comfortable walking side by side, but path-like enough that ShiShi mostly felt the desire to keep walking ahead to see what would be next.   Of course, there was lots of stopping to sniff, and at one point ShiShi found an awesome little tree to climb and scout the trail ahead, but we also made unexpectedly fast time.  Unlike Haku (who is willing to plant his furry bum and sniff for eons in the same spot), ShiShi was generally willing to move along after a quick sniff or poke in the bushes.  We only met a few other walkers, and they were (of course!) charmed to see the 'little lynx' moseying along.

On the last bit of hike, a near miracle happened - ShiShi actually wore out enough that she was happy to be carried the rest of the way.  We walk around endlessly like that all the time indoors, but she has always wanted down instantly in the past when we are outside.  I didn't try to put her in the backpack since I hated to ruin an otherwise wonderful walk with more challenging training, but I'm definitely seeing how it could be advantageous to wear her pack upside down so that she could perch on it, as I have seen some other cat-hiking families do.  Either that, or invent some kind of comfortable shoulder perch - my arm tired quickly with her ten pound weight!

I do think that Haku was a bit jealous when we got back home.  He sniffed her all over and was more than ready to be taken out on an extensive backyard adventure the next day.  We've had a long hot summer with very little outdoor time, but after both today and the great backyard adventures we have had recently,  I'm becoming hopeful that with enough training I'll have real hiking adventure cats yet! 

---

Vertical Divider

Adventure Training Thoughts

1.   I was worried about how ShiShi would do going on a longer adventure without Haku.  At first things seemed to be rough in the car, but once on the trail she did great.  If anything, she was super happy to be able to move along at a faster pace than Haku is usually willing to go at.

2.   I don't think that ShiShi is ready for adventures where she is going to meet people constantly.  She was fine on the quiet, woodsy trail in the back trail areas, but the busier paved walkways near the playground and parking lot were definitely not much fun for her.  If we go there again on a weekend, we'll stay away from the busier areas for now.

3.   Even though it has been months since we had a bigger adventure (not our yard or close-by neighborhood), ShiShi was instantly comfortable with walking and exploring her way down the path.   Though not incredibly long by many peoples' hiking standards, she was super excited to explore the entire 1/2 mile of trail, although she was also tiring out a little near the end.  I almost felt like the break since our last big explore at the beginning of the summer helped her to be more ready for this new experience, rather than making her forget how to walk on her leash or have fun exploring,

---

Vertical Divider

Vertical Divider

Vertical Divider