Is This the Most Scenic Section of the Appalachian Trail?

Locals know that the Lost Maples State Natural Area East Trail is one of the most challenging day hikes in the area. The 0.8 mile climb required is demanding, to say the least. But it's also very rewarding and worth the effort, even for rookies and novices. After your heart rate has recovered from the punchy 400 foot gain in elevation, you are rewarded with a phenomenal view of the Sabinal Valley below. To commence with this challenge, park on the northeast parking lot of the park and take the aptly named East trail. Hike 1.29 miles to Monkey Rock to pump yourself up for the climb. The simian resemblance of this rock is uncanny. You can also take the Maple trail which connects back to the East trail. After the first bend, you may choose to free climb a bit and explore near a large crevasse. You can't miss the crevasse because of it’s attention-grabbing size.   Around the first bend at Lost Maples Chrstine HershKeep hiking about 2.7 miles along the relatively flat East Trail until you hit the warning sign. Pro tip: If you see a warning sign, 100% of the time it means you absolutely should take that trail. Warning sign = Go for it! Christine HershOnce you hit the warning sign, you can start mentally preparing yourself to ascend 0.8 miles up rugged terrain to the top. At first, you will see the trail stairs. You will quickly pass the trail stairs and use Mother Nature’s stairs (read: rocks), for the remainder of the way. You can always stop for a breather, turn around and look at the view behind you, or chat with other hikers until you get to the top. Many hikers turn around before getting to the top. Do not despair! Once you see the bench, you're almost there. This entire stretch is a great sunrise location. Only one way...Up. Christine HershWhen you reach the top, you are graced with a beautiful vista of the Sabinal Valley below. Walk south towards the scenic overlook (point of interest number three on the LMSNA map) for another inspiring view. This overlook is a great panoramic lunch spot for large and small groups with plenty of space to sit. Turn around due north and walk the return 0.3 mile path back to the East Trail. You will pass another scenic overlook (point of interest number four on the map).   View from the top. Christine HershMake sure to take a picture at the scenic overlooks before you descend the 0.35 miles down the valley on the rocky terrain. Be careful as the rocks can slide.   The way back down is rocky -- watch your footing. Christine HershThe base of the valley reveals a pond with plenty of shade. This is another pleasant spot to stop for a lunch break, located near Primitive Campsite C. At this point, you can either take the East/West Trail 1-mile back to the parking lot or take the West Trail to add on more miles. Since you are here for the hills and not the flats, you will likely take the West Trail 2-miles through dried up creek beds and woods. Make sure to stop hiking for a minute and listen; it's quite a relaxing experience. Most of the other hikers return to the parking lot via the East/West Trail, so along the West Trail, you won't have to see or hear crowds of people (and their cell phones). After about 2-miles, you will find another 400 foot ascent (this time without a warning sign!). The grade isn't as steep as the East Trail’s climb, but it is still a challenge and is just as rocky as the descent from the previous climb. The top of the incline provides a little bench to take a breather, a snack, or a nap. The trail continues on the top of the plateau and then quickly descends into the valley via another rocky trail. In fairness, Lost Maples does not have the steepest inclines in the world, but it is a good challenge in Central Texas that is easily accessed by Austin and San Antonio locals. The park is busy during November when the maple leaves change color but is rarely traversed in the off-season. Expect to see 15-20 people in the off season throughout the hike, particularly on the West Trail. During the inclines, your thumping heart and lungs will be thankful that no one else is around to hear you panting.

The hardest thing about living in Portland in the spring and summer is that, on any given weekend, there are almost always too many outdoor pursuits competing for your time. Waterfalls and wildflowers are popular in the Columbia River Gorge, the sun comes out often enough to defy the "rainy" stereotype, and outdoor athletes routinely try to decide among any number of events each weekend. So we’ve done the handiwork. As the temperatures rise and Portland’s outdoor calendar fills up, here are 10 of the most essential activities for enjoying another beautiful spring and summer in Portland. 1. Hike along Eagle Creek Eagle Creek is one of the most popular hikes in the Columbia River Gorge, and it’s easy to see why: Novice hikers can take in the killer views at Punchbowl Falls (just two miles in), veteran hikers can push on toward the impressive Tunnel Falls, and dedicated backpackers can trek toward the serene Wahtum Lake. Dozens of waterfalls feed into Eagle Creek along the way; dense, old-growth forest shade the trail at times; and numerous other side trails and viewpoints offer impressive canyon views. 2. Go for a trail run in Forest Park Reuland and other trail runners love the array of Seattle-area trails, like those in Forest Park. Mike Rohrig Don’t tell anyone, but Forest Park isn’t really the largest in-city park in the country. Still, its 5,000 acres and 80 miles of well-maintained trails offer the unlikely combination of lush forests and scenic city views for novices and experts alike. Some of the park’s most popular trails include Balch Creek Canyon , the Leif Erickson and Wildwood Trails , and the North Wildwood Trail . 3. Ride in the World Naked Bike Ride The World Naked Bike Ride will take place on June 27, 2015. Sam Beebe We get it: “Keep Portland Weird” is really only something tourists say, but still: There’s more than a little local pride in the World Naked Bike Ride , which hosted more than 8,000 cyclists in various states of undress in 2013 (the most recent year for which statistics are available). If you haven’t done it yet, you probably wish you had. 4. Climb Mount Hood Mount Hood, the tallest peak in Oregon, is popular with climbers and hikers. Rachel Sandwick Mount Hood is both the highest and most iconic peak in Oregon. Fitness, not technical skill, is the most important consideration when tackling Mount Hood, and there’s no better time to train than with peak climbing season coming over the next few months. Several guide companies will take climbers of all skill levels to the summit, and the Mazamas lead climbs throughout the climbing season. And if you’re not up for climbing Mount Hood, make sure to stop by Timberline Lodge and go hiking on one of the numerous nearby trails. 5. Ride the STP The STP Ride attracts thousands of cyclists each year. Gene Bisbee Every summer, 10,000 cyclists make the one- or two-day trip between Seattle and Portland as part of the annual STP ride. The ride offers a mix of scenic valleys, thick forests, and rolling farmland over the course of more than 200 miles. 6. Paddle along the Willamette Water Trail The Willamette River offers numerous paddling opportunities throughout Portland. Jeff Jones With rising temperatures and later sunsets, motor boats are about to take over the Willamette River. Take a break and enjoy its natural beauty from the middle of a kayak. The Willamette Water Trail snakes through many of the state’s largest cities, offering a mix of scenic beauty and urban charm. 7. Do the Providence Bridge Pedal The Providence Bridge Pedal affords cyclists the rare opportunity to ride across the Fremont Bridge. Ryan Harvey The Providence Bridge Pedal has long given cyclists the chance to pedal across the Willamette River bridges for which Portland is famous (we are known as Bridgetown, after all). Novice cyclists appreciate the Bridge Pedal’s easy-going routes, while more dedicated riders can tackle the 11-bridge route or 37-mile Fremont Express route. 8. Run the Hood to Coast Relay or Walk the Portland to Coast Relay A post-relay party awaits runners and walkers in Seaside after the Hood to Coast and Portland to Coast events. Chris Yunker Teams are always looking for stray members as the relays get closer, so don’t miss your chance to participate in the most popular endurance events in the Portland area. Join thousands of runners or walkers starting from either Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood or downtown Portland. The starting lines might differ, but both relays end on the beach at Seaside. 9. Hike Dog Mountain Dog Mountain is one of the most popular (and strenuous) hikes in the Columbia River Gorge. Bill Automata Despite its considerable elevation gain—nearly 3,000 feet in roughly three miles— Dog Mountain remains one of the most popular, iconic hikes in the Columbia Gorge. Backpackers and veteran hikers use it as an early-season conditioning hike, casual hikers appreciate the wildflowers that bloom in May and June, and just about everyone who reaches the summit gasps at the picturesque views of the Gorge. 10. Run the Portland Marathon The Portland Marathon is one of the most popular running events in the region. Eddie Coyote As many as 10,000 runners take part in the Portland Marathon every year, making it one of the most popular such runs in the Portland metro area. The run is also one of the best ways to see Portland in all of its scenic beauty. It starts and ends in downtown Portland; in between, it passes along the beautiful Willamette River, through quiet Northwest Portland, and across the iconic St. Johns Bridge. Written by Matt Wastradowski for RootsRated.

The national parks of the United States account for some of the world’s most glorious landscapes: ice-whittled peaks, abyssal gorges, primeval seashores, towering forests, kaleidoscopic deserts—well, you probably don’t need us to repeat the litany of superlatives, now do you? Tens of millions from all over the globe partake of the National Park System’s majesties every year—from the Everglades to Denali, from Death Valley to Congaree. Amid this thoroughly well-deserved adoration for these sacred places, it’s also worth exploring the national forests that often border the parks—especially if you’re looking to duck at least some of the crowds. Taking a gander at adjoining Forest Service lands lets you see the topographic and ecological whole of which a given national park is just a component of. After all, it’s easy to mistake Arches or Shenandoah as standalone chunks of natural majesty, forgetting that mountain ranges and rivers and animals and weather don’t abide by sharp jurisdictional boundaries. And on the other side of the coin, crisscrossing the national park/national forest borders helps you better appreciate how different management strategies cooked up on paper actually make their physical mark on the landscape. (The National Park Service and the USDA Forest Service, after all, have distinct, if overlapping, guiding principles, and it’s illuminating for any outdoors-person to consider the on-the-ground differences.) Here’s a broad-stroked roundup of the national forests shouldering 10 of the most-visited national parks in 2015. (Two popular parks, Maine’s Acadia and Ohio’s Cuyahoga Valley, which both saw more than two million visitors in 2015, aren’t part of this list, as they don’t have adjacent federal lands.) The forestlands profiled here serve as promising options for finding some elbow room near some of America’s best-loved outdoor playgrounds, and they’re home to some truly world-class scenery and recreation all their own. 1. Great Smoky Mountains National Park | Cherokee, Pisgah, & Nantahala National Forests Mountain biking in the Cherokee National Forest's Chilhowee Recreation Area. Jeff Bartlett Home to some of the world’s richest temperate forests and some of the East’s highest peaks and most extensive backcountry, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a marvel—one appreciated firsthand by more than 11 million people in 2015. More Southern Appalachian magic awaits, though, in the national forestland bordering the park to its west, south, and east. Bliss out among giant tulip trees and other barrel-trunked ancients in the old-growth cove-hemlock forest of the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness. Run the whitewater of the Nantahala, mountain bike the Tsali Recreation Area along Fontana Lake, or goggle at Bald River Falls in the Bald River Gorge. Wherever you go, keep an eye peeled for the fat and sassy black bears and feral hogs that both prosper in these rugged, fertile highlands. 2. Grand Canyon National Park | Kaibab National Forest The view from Crazy Jug Point on the North Kaibab Ranger District. Kaibab National Forest Set the head-spinning gash of the Grand Canyon in its full context by rambling around the Kaibab N.F. bracketing both the north and south sides of Grand Canyon National Park (which welcomed more than 5.5 million last year). From pinyon-juniper scrub to ponderosa parklands to subalpine spruce-fir timber, the Kaibab, split among three districts, encompasses some awesome Colorado Plateau ecology—and downright limitless recreational possibilities for experiencing it firsthand. In the Kanab Creek Wilderness, trek into the redrock depths of the Kanab Creek Canyon gouging the Kaibab and Kanab plateaus as it drains to the Grand Canyon. On the Kaibab Plateau north of the Canyon, scout for the resident (and controversial) bison herd and dark, high-soaring California condors. Beyond the South Rim, journey across the Coconino Plateau to the Kaibab’s southernmost sector, where you can survey 10,418-foot Kendrick Peak’s dizzying summit panorama. Or mountain bike one of the most scenic rides in the country along the Rainbow Rim Trail, the only place to mountain bike along the Grand Canyon. 3. Rocky Mountain National Park | Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests Camping in the Indian Peaks Wilderness near Pawnee Lake. Jake Wheeler More than four million people visited Rocky Mountain National Park in 2015, and it’s no surprise why—with more than 70 Front Range summits above 12,00 feet, oceanic tundra, glassy tarns, and huge wapiti herds on tap. But don’t overlook the flanking Arapaho and Roosevelt national forests. Four National Forest wilderness areas directly border the park, and they’re just as stirring: from the litter of 13,000-plus-foot horns in the Indian Peaks Wilderness (which includes part of Colorado’s biggest glacier, the Arapaho) to the granite benches in the pint-sized Neota Wilderness. You can also drive America’s highest paved road up to 14,264-foot Mount Evans, an iconic Front Range 14er, which harbors some of Colorado’s northernmost groves of tough-as-nails, crazy-long-lived Rocky Mountain bristlecone pines. Meanwhile, Boulder Canyon calls to rock climbers as irresistibly as the Cache la Poudre Wild and Scenic River does to whitewater kayakers and rafters. 4. Yosemite National Park | Sierra, Inyo, Humboldt-Toiyabe, & Stanislaus National Forests The otherworldly landscapes on Mono Basin, in Inyo National Forest, bordering Yosemite National Park. Jake Wheeler In 2015, more than four million people clapped eyes on the near-mythic landscapes of Yosemite National Park, epitomized by the granite-walled glen of Yosemite Valley. If this world-famous park’s throngs (and car-burglarizing black bears) have you down, consider embellishing your Yosemite visit with some High Sierra adventuring in the adjacent national forests. The scenery’s certainly Yosemite-caliber, whether you’re talking Thousand Island Lake beneath Banner Peak in the Ritter Range or the prospect of the otherworldly Mono Basin from the scoured heights of the Dana Plateau. And you can wander a colony of godly giant sequoias, the Nelder Grove, that’s typically much quieter than Yosemite’s three sequoia stands. 5. Yellowstone National Park | Gallatin, Custer, Shoshone, Bridger-Teton, & Caribou-Targhee National Forests Daisy Pass in the Gallatin National Forest near Yellowstone National Park. Forest Service Northern Region With its epic geyser basins and plentiful wildlife, the world's oldest national park—which hosted some 4.1 million in 2015—is, it goes without saying, a must-see. So, too, though, is the vast and wild Forest Service acreage nestling Yellowstone: critical public lands in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem framework. For one thing, it’s in these national forests of its hinterland where Yellowstone’s mountainscapes crescendo to all-out alpine grandeur—from the matterhorn tooth of Pilot Peak in the Absarokas to the high, weather-beaten rockland of the Beartooth Plateau. You’ve got primo day hikes and world-class backcountry that feels just as primal as Yellowstone’s roadless (and grizzlied) depths, not least in the Teton Wilderness, which encompasses the corner of one of the Lower 48’s largest roadless areas. And awesome Greater Yellowstone water awaits: on the Madison River through Bear Trap Canyon and on the Yellowstone through Yankee Jim Canyon in the Gallatin N.F., and on the North Fork Shoshone in the Absarokas of the Shoshone N.F., to name a few standouts. 6. Zion National Park | Dixie National Forest Early autumn in Utah's Dixie National Forest, near Zion National Park. John Buie Okay, so the Dixie—Utah’s biggest national forest, straddling the physiographic frontier of the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau—doesn’t directly abut Zion National Park (3.65 million visitors in 2015), but it’s mighty close by, and it claims scenery to stand proudly alongside the national park’s sublime canyonlands. Tramp the Summit Trail through the wilderness-protected high country of the Pine Valley Mountains, with their shadowy spruce woods, sculptured bristlecone pines, and fine prospects of Zion’s colorful geology. Or bushwhack the wild canyons of the Cottonwood Forest Wilderness, where ephemeral streamers and hanging gardens pattern sandstone walls. Solitude ain’t hard to come by in the Dixie. 7. Olympic National Park | Olympic National Forest The Olympic National Forest in all its lush glory. Miguel Vieira Olympic National Park, experienced by some 3.26 million in 2015, is famously diverse: from a raw, stormy seacoast and some of the world’s standout temperate rainforests to high-country glaciers and drier rainshadow conifer woods. Olympic N.F.—home to five wilderness areas—partly buffers the park on all its aspects, offering something of a similar variety pack. Near national forestland on the south shore of Lake Quinault grows some of the world’s mightiest trees, including among the very biggest Douglas-firs and Sitka spruces anywhere. On the other side of the Olympic Peninsula, Seal Rock offers a rare Forest Service developed campground on saltwater: a serene Puget Sound counterpart to the camping available across the mountains along Olympic National Park’s outer coast. And if you’re a hardcore mountain lover, the Olympic National Forest wildernesses on the park’s eastern boundary include some of the signal peaks of the Olympics: the Brothers in the Brother Wilderness, for example, and Mounts Skokomish, Cruiser, and Pershing in the Mount Skokomish Wilderness. 8. Grand Teton National Park | Caribou-Targhee & Bridger-Teton National Forests Backpacking the Teton Crest Trail in Caribou-Targhee National Forest's Jedediah Smith Wilderness. Jake Wheeler More than three million people basked in the glory of Grand Teton National Park in 2015, meditating on those iconic snarled Teton fangs, boating on the Snake River or the big foothill lakes, oohing-and-aahing over moose and black bears and white pelicans and coyotes. Two of the same national forests that buttress Yellowstone rub shoulders with Grand Teton as well: the slender Caribou-Targhee (mostly in Idaho) and the 3.4-million-acre Bridger-Teton (in Wyoming), one of the biggest national forests in the country. The Caribou-Targhee’s Jedediah Smith Wilderness offers sublime backcountry approaches to the Teton high country. Hike up Teton Canyon to the rock garden of Alaska Basin, for example, which is also reachable by the outstanding Teton Crest Trail. And the portion of Bridger-Teton N.F. nearest Grand Teton National Park includes the sweeping limestone heights of the Gros Ventre Range, a critical corridor between the Greater Yellowstone and the Wind River Range and the summer pasture for many of the wapiti that winter in great number in the National Elk Refuge. The Gros Ventre Slide National Geological Area presents the scene of a massive 1925 landslide that dammed the Gros Ventre to form Lower Slide Lake. 9. Glacier National Park | Flathead & Lewis and Clark National Forests Views of the Rockies from Near the Ford Cabin, Flathead National Forest.Views of the Rockies from Near the Ford Cabin, Flathead National Forest. Forest Service Northern Range With its layer cake Canadian Rockies-style peaks, Glacier National Park (2.37 million visitors in 2015) marks one of America’s great mountainscapes, and it anchors a globally significant wildland complex: the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem. Some awesome Crown of the Continent vistas—and some raw Rocky Mountain backcountry—await you just outside the park, too. The Flathead N.F. contributes most of the national-forest acreage fringing Glacier, although the Lewis and Clark N.F. borders its southeastern segment along the Rocky Mountain Front. One of the treasures of the Flathead is the 287,00-acre Great Bear Wilderness, headwaters of the Middle Fork Flathead River and major component of the massive Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex—one of the biggest roadless chunks in the Lower 48. The wilderness is aptly named, too: You’ll be sharing the river bottoms, avalanche chutes, and high meadows with lots of grizzlies, which find one of their standout refuges in the Crown of the Continent backlands. Then there’s the Jewel Basin Hiking Area in the Swan Mountains, open only to foot travelers and glinting with more than two dozen high-country lakes. 10. Joshua Tree National Park | San Bernardino National Forest The Dr. Seuss-like desert vegetation of San Bernardino National Forest. Bureau of Land Management With its yucca savannas and bouldery inselbergs, Joshua Tree National Park, sprawled along the messy seam between the Mojave and Colorado deserts, presents as ethereal a landscape as you’ll find in North America. In terms of bordering federal acreage, the most extensive is managed by the Bureau of Land Management—including the vast, newly minted Mojave Trails National Monument that links Joshua Tree with Mojave National Preserve to the north. (No question: The epic BLM holdings within shouting distance of national parks deserve their own treatment.) But you don’t have to travel far from Joshua Tree (roughly two million visitors in 2015) to hit national forest: specifically the San Bernardino N.F. to the west, spread across the easternmost Transverse Ranges of the San Bernardino, San Jacinto, and Santa Rosa mountains. These are major uplifts. The San Bernardinos swell to Southern California’s loftiest peak, 11,503-foot San Gorgonio Mountain (aka Old Greyback). For tracing the gradient between desert lowlands and Tranverse Range crests, you can’t do better than the Sand to Snow National Monument, established (along with Mojave Trails) in February 2016 and jointly managed by the BLM and the San Bernardino N.F.; it includes Old Greyback in the San Gorgonio Wilderness. Next time you visit one of America's national parks, consider making a side trip to one of its equally spectacular (yet far less-crowded) public lands cousins. You'll be glad you did. And as always, be sure to share your adventures with us by tagging #RootsRated. Written by Ethan Shaw for RootsRated.

My partner Jacob and I don't have children. We have a dog, Shylie—our 10-year-old wolf-like black-and-tan mutt. We are insane parents. Shylie gets filet mignon on her birthday. She has an Instagram account and a blog. We’ve designed Shylie-themed t-shirts, calendars, and bumper stickers. We sing to her all day, every day, that she’s the best dog in the world. This dog is adored. Shylie's bred for dogsledding, but she's spent her whole life on the beach, in Santa Cruz, California. Jacob and I are aware that she has only a few good years left, so we decided this summer, before she gets too old, to show her what she's made for: the mountains. A big yawn from Shylie. Kara Guzman For two long weekends each month, we've gone backpacking near Lake Tahoe, in the Desolation Wilderness, 200 miles northeast of San Francisco. It's dog heaven: pine forests and wildflower meadows full of chipmunks and dozens of alpine lakes to jump in. We already knew that Shylie loves running at altitude, in cool mountain forests. We’ve taken her mountain biking near Lake Tahoe dozens of times (since unlike Santa Cruz, the trails are dog-friendly and don’t have poison oak). But Shylie’s never gone backpacking before. As much as we love this dog, we’ve never spent four days and nights around the clock with her. Days of quality time with her humans, and of all places, in the mountains? It was a no-brainer. We knew she would have the time of her life. Shylie faithfully follows the author on the barren climb to Middle Velma Lake. Jacob Meyberg What we didn’t realize was that the 100-square-mile Desolation Wilderness, with its roughly 130 lakes and patchwork of creeks, is perfect for dogs. We don’t carry water for Shylie since there are freshwater stops less than a mile apart on almost every trail. Plus, she loves to jump in, shake, and cool off. Out here, the old dog plays like a puppy. At dusk, when we pitch our tent at one of the hundreds of lakeside campsites, she freezes in a play stance, with her butt in the air. Then she’s off, careening around the campsite like her tail’s on fire. It turns out the Desolation Wilderness is perfect for Jacob and me, too. We had snowball fights in July. We taught ourselves to fish for trout. We swam naked to granite islands in ice-cold lakes all to ourselves. We were surprised by a hailstorm on an 80-degree day and huddled for cover with the dog under a warm, sun-baked boulder. We hiked portions of the Pacific Crest Trail, and as according to custom, made trail nicknames. (Mine was ‘Squiter Heaven.) Shylie briefly tolerates a portrait with a juniper tree overlooking the Desolation Valley. Kara Guzman Another highlight during our Desolation excursions this summer have been the meals. Jacob’s parents gave us a food dehydrator, and I’ve been using my backcountry cookbook. In my pack, I lug a bear canister stuffed with homemade dried goodies, like duck soup, carrot salad, and even masoor dal. One night at Dick’s Lake, we had peanut chicken stew under the stars, watching bats eat mosquitoes. While the food heated on our tiny stove, Jacob hand-fed Shylie her kibble, which I portioned into plastic bags for each meal. The nights are cold and windy in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, so Shylie sleeps in our tent, where she pins me like a wrestler as she snuggles my sleeping bag. Then each morning, we climb a new granite peak and count all the lakes. Occasionally, Shylie surprises a grouse on the trail, and it heaves its plump, brown body into flight, drumming its wings before gliding to a branch. Yellow-bellied marmots—chubby gopher-like rodents that look like teddy bears—squawk as they poke their heads from the rocks, like a real-life game of Whack-a-Mole. Each day, there are new flowers, too. This summer the Desolation Wilderness was simply blooming with wildflowers, after the first wet winter in a five-year drought. Each weekend, the landscape’s colors have shifted and I'm constantly delighted, as we hike from one terrain to the next. My partner Jacob checks out a snowbank while Shylie looks for chipmunks Kara Guzman Shylie, meanwhile, constantly sniffs for chipmunks. When she hears the tiniest squeak, she surges up rocky cliffs or down steep ravines, like a kamikaze pilot. Some of the trails are made of sharp, granite shards, which are tough on Shylie’s paws, but the terrain doesn’t phase her. She’s at home in the mountains. She runs twice as far and as fast out here compared to anywhere else. She's finally doing what she's meant to: She’s exploring the wilderness with her "pack." And in a way, so am I. When I can go consecutive days without seeing a screen, I’m happy. That little voice in my head, the one that worries about stupid things, disappears. My focus narrows to the view at hand and the trail ahead. Part of me though, hears the ticking clock. It knows this paradise won’t last, and these weekend escapes with the dog are numbered. Shylie hangs her tongue after climbing to the top of the Bayview Trail. Eagle Lake is seen from above. Jacob Meyberg The cruel trick of loving a dog is how fast they age. I’m dreading the future, when Shylie’s eyes are too cloudy to see and her hips too creaky to chase. And—I don’t even want to write it—I’m dreading that horrible veterinarian appointment, when we say our goodbyes. If my crazy love affair with this dog has taught me one thing, it’s to be conscious and aware of every single moment. I’ve literally spent days gazing into the dog’s eyes, wondering what she’s thinking, what that voice in her head sounds like. I mean, is she barking in there? After months of observing Shylie, I’ve realized that she is the ultimate Zen master. She’s not thinking at all. When she’s outside, she’s listening for chipmunks. She’s sniffing coyote markings on a tree. She’s picking a line across a granite scree. She’s scratching her back on a pile of pine cones. She’s tasting the snowmelt. Take note. This is what life is about. The author follows Shylie on the descent to Granite Lake. Jacob Meyberg TIPS: Backcountry camping permits cost $5 per person per night. Campers must pick a “zone” for their first night, then are free to camp anywhere on their next night. Reservations can be made online, but most of the popular zones are filled through September. A limited number of walk-in spots are available for each zone. Same-day walk-in permits are available at the four Forest Service Permit OfficesForest Service Permit Offices throughout the Lake Tahoe area. The line starts forming around 7 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, so get there early. According to the rules, dogs should be on-leash in the Desolation Wilderness, but most owners don’t follow those rules in the backcountry. However, if you’re going to take your dog off-leash, it should be well-trained, and know the “come” and “leave it” commands. Some wildlife can be dangerous to dogs, such as porcupines and ticks, etc. Many of the trails in the Desolation Wilderness are rocky and tough on dog paws. We’ve used Musher's Secret wax with some success. (Our dog likes to lick it off.) Others use booties for their dogs. Written by Kara Guzman for RootsRated.