Colorado High Country Summer: Backpacking with Border Collies

Grassy hillside with scattered evergreen trees under a blue sky filled with large, fluffy white clouds

Sunlit green meadow with scattered pine trees and a rocky mountain in the background under a partly cloudy blue sky

We just got home from our backpacking trip, and it was a wild one—especially the hour we spent sitting out that lightning storm. Once the sky cleared and the noise stopped, I realized how exciting it had been. Danger clears away everything irrelevant and leaves you with the plain, unmistakable feeling of being alive.

#colorado #mountaindog
#bordercollie #bordercollies

Tall slender plant with bright pinkish-purple flowers and narrow green leaves growing in a natural outdoor setting with sunlight and surrounding greenery

Black and white dog standing on a grassy hillside with rocky terrain and sparse trees in the background

When we got out of the tent at 4:00 a.m., Ridge went out and barked. That is exactly what I want to see with my young herding dog—letting critters know this is our territory right now and to back off. Beau used to do that from when he was very young. This was the first time Ridge sensed there were things out there in the mountain darkness.

#bordercollies #wilderness #colorado #bordercollie #mountaindogs

Tall plant with clusters of bright pink flowers and long narrow green leaves in a sunlit garden

Two yellow wildflowers with thin petals and green leaves growing among small green plants and tree bark on the forest floor

black dog wearing a backpack standing on a grassy area at the edge of a forest with mountains in the background

Black dog wearing a backpack lying in a grassy meadow overlooking a forest and rocky hill under a bright blue sky

grassy clearing surrounded by evergreen trees with rocky hills under a partly cloudy blue sky

Rocky hillside with scattered evergreen trees under a partly cloudy sky

rocky mountain slope framed by pine trees and shrubs under a partly cloudy blue sky

Two small ponds surrounded by greenery with rocky hills and a partly cloudy blue sky in the background

mountain landscape with two small reflective ponds surrounded by green vegetation under a blue sky with scattered white clouds

Mountain landscape with pine trees in the foreground and large cumulus clouds in a clear blue sky

Grassy hillside with scattered evergreen trees under a partly cloudy blue sky

Hillside with scattered evergreen trees and patches of snow under a sky filled with large, fluffy clouds

Mountain slope with patches of grass and scattered pine trees under a sky filled with large, fluffy white clouds

Evergreen trees in a grassy mountainous landscape under a partly cloudy blue sky

two black and white dogs walking through a grassy meadow with pine trees and rocky hills under a cloudy blue sky

Two black and white dogs running through green shrubs in a mountainous landscape with evergreen trees and a partly cloudy sky

Two black and white dogs sitting on grassy terrain facing a rocky hillside under a partly cloudy sky

two black dogs in a grassy mountain valley under a dramatic cloudy sky

two black and white dogs sitting and standing on grassy terrain near a small pond with a rocky mountainous ridge and partly cloudy sky in the background

Tall purple wildflowers with curled petals surrounded by green grass and a small yellow flower

Clusters of pink, fuzzy flowers surrounded by green leaves

Bright red wildflower with elongated petals surrounded by various green leaves and grasses

A mountain ridge with sparse trees and bushes, a grassy hillside, and a small body of water reflecting the cloudy sky

Mountain landscape with grassy hills, scattered bushes and pine trees, a small reflective lake, and partly cloudy blue sky

Grassy hillside with scattered rocks, evergreen shrubs and trees near a calm, reflective lake beneath a partly cloudy sky

Evergreen trees in a mountainous landscape under a partly cloudy sky

Tall evergreen trees against a backdrop of dramatic, fluffy clouds and blue sky over a hilly landscape

Black and white dog walking on grass in front of a red and blue tent surrounded by tall evergreen trees

Black and white dog standing alert in a grassy mountainous landscape with rocky slopes and scattered trees

A small pond surrounded by green vegetation and pine trees, with a rocky hillside and cloudy sky in the background

Black and white dog standing on grassy shore of a mountain pond with rocky hills and pine trees reflecting in the water under a partly cloudy sky

Two black and white dogs sitting in a grassy field with yellow wildflowers near a small pond, mountains, and cloudy sky in the background

Coniferous trees on a hillside with a faint rainbow stretching across a cloudy sky

Green pine trees with a faint rainbow arching over a mountainous landscape under a cloudy sky

Two black and white dogs standing on a grassy hillside with rocky slopes and scattered small trees under a partly cloudy sky

A dog standing on a grassy hillside looking toward a small pond surrounded by trees with rocky hills and a partly cloudy sky in the background

Black and white dog standing on a grassy slope near a small pond surrounded by hills and scattered trees under a partly cloudy sky

Two dogs overlooking a small pond surrounded by hills and scattered trees under a partly cloudy sky

Two dogs in a grassy valley near a small pond surrounded by rocky hills and scattered trees under a partly cloudy sky

Two dogs walking on grassy terrain with a mountain and small ponds in the background

Two black and white dogs near small reflective ponds surrounded by grassy terrain and a rocky mountain ridge under a partly cloudy sky

Two black dogs near two small ponds surrounded by grassy terrain and rocky hills under a partly cloudy sky

Two black and white dogs standing on grassy hillside near a small reflective pond with rocky cliffs and evergreen trees in the background

Mountain landscape with a small reflective pond surrounded by dense greenery and pine trees under a clear blue sky

Two black and white dogs on a grassy hillside with rocky terrain and a patch of remaining snow near the top of the slope

Two dogs standing on a grassy hillside with rocky mountains in the background

Small pond with reflections of pine trees surrounded by grassy and forested hills with mountains in the background under a clear sky

black dog standing on a rock among rocky terrain with hills in the background

Rocky mountain terrain with large boulders and sparse greenery under a partly cloudy sky

Black and white dog standing on a large rock in a mountainous landscape with scattered boulders and trees under a partly cloudy sky

Black and white dog standing on a large rock in a mountainous landscape under a partly cloudy sky

Black and white dog climbing down a large rock in a mountainous, rocky terrain under a partly cloudy sky

Rocky hillside with pine trees, a small pond, and distant rolling hills under a partly cloudy sky

Black and white dog standing on rocky terrain overlooking a mountainous landscape with green trees and partly cloudy blue sky

two black and white dogs standing on rocky terrain with mountains and trees in the background under a partly cloudy sky

Two black and white dogs standing on rocky terrain in a mountainous landscape under a partly cloudy sky

black and white dog standing on rocky ground looking towards a green mountainous landscape with scattered trees and a partly cloudy sky

black and white dog standing on a grassy hillside with a cloudy sky and evergreen trees in the background

Black and white dog standing on a tree trunk looking out over a grassy field with scattered bushes and trees

black and white dog standing on a fallen tree trunk looking out over a green meadow framed by tall pine trees

Black and white dog sitting on a forest floor near a red and blue tent surrounded by pine trees

Evergreen trees on a sunlit hillside with a faint rainbow over distant mountains under a cloudy sky

Black and white dog standing on a rocky patch with evergreen trees and mountain hills under a partly cloudy sky

evergreen trees in the foreground with rolling mountain ranges under a cloudy sky in the background

Two black and white dogs on a rocky trail surrounded by evergreen trees under a cloudy sky

A blue and black backpack suspended on a zip line among evergreen trees with a red tent partially visible in the background

Two black and white dogs standing on grass near trees with hills in the background

Two black and white dogs standing on a grassy hillside with rocky cliffs and scattered trees under a partly cloudy sky

Two black and white dogs sitting on a grassy hillside with rocky cliffs and pine trees in the background under a partly cloudy blue sky

Two black and white dogs sitting on a rocky slope with a large, steep mountain in the background under a clear sky

Two black and white dogs resting and looking out over a rocky mountainous landscape with patches of grass and scattered trees

Two black and white dogs sitting on rocky terrain with mountains in the background

Two black and white dogs resting on a rocky mountain slope with scattered greenery and hills in the background

two black and white dogs resting on a rocky mountain slope with scattered greenery and a steep mountain ridge in the background

Two black and white dogs resting on a rocky, grassy mountainside with a steep cliff and blue sky in the background

Two black and white dogs resting on a rocky and grassy mountain slope with steep cliffs in the background under a clear sky

Two black and white dogs sitting on a rocky, grassy hillside with a mountainous landscape in the background under a clear sky

Two black and white dogs resting on rocky terrain with a mountainous backdrop in warm sunlight

Two black and white dogs sitting on a rocky mountain meadow with steep cliffs in the background under a blue sky

Two black and white dogs on a rocky mountain slope with sparse greenery and trees in the background

Two black and white dogs resting on a rocky and grassy mountain slope under a clear sky

Two black and white dogs resting and standing on a grassy hillside near a small lake with a forest and rocky mountain ridge in the background

Two black and white dogs in a grassy mountainous landscape near two small reflective ponds with rocky cliffs and pine trees in the background

Small red and blue tent pitched among tall evergreen trees under a clear blue sky

There are some things from my past that I have written about because they were an important part of my life. My daughter says I should not revisit things that happened more than twenty years ago. I understand why she feels that way, but I do not agree. Writing about those years has helped me understand them and continue moving past them.

I don't want to put this story directly on JourneyWest or give it more prominence than it deserves. But I also don't want to pretend that those years did not happen. So I have put it in a separate Google document for anyone who happens to get this far down the page and wants to read it.

Read the story