One day I heard Papa talking on the phone with Uncle Ray about the ADK-9 Challenge. Canine is a fancy word for dog, so I knew they were talking about me. Bartonville, Baxter, Buck, Castle Rock, Floodwood, Jay, Moxham, Silver Lake and Van Hoevenberg are the ADK-9 mountains. I must climb all of them to complete the challenge and get a cool patch. When he got off the phone Papa grabbed his backpack, led me outside and I hopped into the car. I’m going to climb my first mountain!
After picking Uncle Ray up at his house, we drove to Baxter Mountain. It was a long ride, but except for our time on the Northway, Papa rolled my window down so I could stick my head out to enjoy the beautiful scenery.
I was so excited to start the hike that right after I hopped out of the car at the trailhead, I pooped. Papa seemed happy about it and must have thought what I made was valuable because he scooped it up in a plastic bag and put it in the car to take home. I thought that was weird because when I was a puppy and did that in the house, he got very upset and threw it in the garbage. I heard him and Uncle Ray talk about leaving no trace.
Papa had me on my leash so I would stay on the trail and not get lost or hurt. It’s important to be polite to other hikers, especially little kids, who might be afraid of dogs. There are dogs that don’t like other dogs too, so keeping me on a leash keeps all of us safer. As we climbed higher, Papa and Uncle Ray walked slower and slower. They were huffing and puffing, but I wanted to go faster!
When we reached the summit we could see the surrounding mountains, a bluebird sky, and puffy clouds. I heard Uncle Ray say, “Wow!” over and over again. No wonder Papa and Uncle Ray go to the mountains so often. It’s awesome!
I was so excited that I knew I wanted to climb the other eight mountains. Well, guess what? I did it! I finished the ADK-9 Challenge on Mount Van Hoevenberg with Papa, Uncle Ray and our good friend, Alison. I don’t know what adventure Papa has planned next, but I know it will be awesome!
