New location: Water Dog Lake Park in Belmont. Although the meaning of the name seems apparent, Water Dog Lake does not refer to a dog... it is actually named after salamanders. "Water Dog" is a slang term for salamander, which apparently used to live at this location in abundance. Nonetheless, this is a great place for a dog hike.

This is an active park with runners, bikers and dog walkers. The trails offer some nice views and the town of Belmont is definitely worth exploring. They have a Chocolate Fest on October 4 & 5... what's not to love about that?!

Great Coal Mine Ridge hike... we hiked Alpine Trail to Deer Path Trail and then continued to Black Oak Trail before heading back. 

We came across another hiker with a Golden... it was an interesting conversation as we briefly chatted about her interest in the PAWS program at Stanford Hospital. Those interested can find information here. 

We saw this deer who was curious about us until Leika got excited and scared it off with some barks!

Our second hike at Pulgas and the return of Leika who was on vacation for the past few weeks... 

Leika was excited to see her friends & hit the trails and she let me know with a big happy Great Dane greeting. I think her friends were happy to see her too.

We took an alternate route, starting at Blue Oak Trail, we connected to Dick Bishop Trail and proceeded to the off-leash area. Dash continued his butterfly hunting and also added lizards to the target list. 

We tried some off-leash adventures which was a nice treat for the dogs. Camille chased her buddy, Dash down the trail with Leika joining in on the fun as well. 

All were well behaved and easily recalled... they even posed for a picture inside one of the Tipis. See our facebook page for more pictures...

Pulgas Ridge Open Space Preserve is located in the hills above Redwood City, making it a convenient location for our Doogler crew. Once home to a tuberculosis sanitarium, the buildings were demolished in the 1980s, but there are still a few remnants, like some out of place stairs.

While the history is slightly creepy, we loved the trails here! There are some loop trails that are always nice for hiking and there is also an off-leash area for dogs, which makes Pulgas unique. Trails are well marked and there are maps available at the parking lot; it’s also hiking only, so no bikers or horses.

We took the Polly Geraci Trail, which winds through some pretty dense forest… Red Birch scattered amongst Coast Live Oak, Bay Laurel and California Buckeye provided some welcome cover from the sun as the trail ascended mildly through switchbacks before reaching a small clearing that offered a nice view looking north.

We connected to Hassler Trial, which lead us to the off-leash area where we found some interesting Tipi structures.

Maybe we will try some off-leash adventures here next time... and explore Dusky-footed Woodrat Trail for a longer hike in the future...

Dash rode shotgun on the way to the trails and took a nap since his friend Camille was in the back and couldn't play with him while Dewey and Harley shared the back seat comfortably... a nice calm start to the day. 

We explored a new trail today: Black Oak Trail... Black Oak has some switchbacks and is more narrow than some of the others, making for a somewhat challenging hike with four dogs, but it was well worth the effort as the scenery was beautiful... 

The secluded location, Lichen cloaked trees and leaf covered trail gave the feel of an enchanted forest in autumn.

Dash practiced his bug catching skills, but will have to try again next time as he was unsuccessful despite his best efforts... Dewey & Harley's shadows appeared to merge in the form of a tree (above) and of course, Camille was full of energy & happy to be on the trails with her friends.

Two deer crossed the road as we were leaving and I was able to capture a few pictures while they curiously watched me... first the fawn and then momma showed up to make sure everything was OK. It's always a treat to see some wildlife!

We will explore Black Oak Trail further during our next Coal Mine adventure...

Greyhound day...

First hike at St Joseph Hill OSP and it was a thumbs up. We had 3 hounds today: Ares, Jane and John. They all did well and enjoyed the hike (we kept it short as greyhounds are not built for endurance). 

The weather was perfect for a hike and the elevated trail offers some nice views of Los Gatos & Sierra Azul mountains. 

There were several joggers, bikers and people out enjoying the sunny Labor Day weekend but it wasn't too busy.

During a water break, a hiker stopped to warn us of a snake off to the side of the trail ahead and we decided it was a good time to head back. 

As we approached the park exit, two people entered with remote controlled cars. Based on experience, we knew that this was bad news with the hounds... 

The winding sound of the car motor seems to bring back memories of the electric rabbit at the racetrack and sets them into a frenzy of wining, barking, pulling and general chaos, so we made a hasty exit before it escalated!

Once we were back at the car the hounds settled in quickly and it didn't take long for them to slip into a nap for the ride home.