Ghost can’t tell us his story. He was covered in ticks and his only vet record was that he had one rabies shot. His demeanor makes us think he had a little bit of a rough life before coming to his furever home with us. He is afraid of men, in particular. He will cower if you come at him too quickly or raise your arms up. We will never know what his previous life was like. He’s a sweet boy and Shadow scares him, too.
We went hiking over 6 miles up along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Julian Price Lake. We did the Boone Fork Trail. Ghoster, as we sometimes call him now, was a natural. He forded water, scrambled rocks and even let Marty and I help him down a ladder. For anyone reading who might be wondering about Shadow– Shadow is 10 1/2 years old now. Malamutes have a life span from 10-12 years and while Shadow is very healthy, he would not have made it on this hike. Tis past spring, we brought him on an easy trail he’s done a lot in his 5 years with me and Marty had to go get the car to rescue him. He’s slowing down and not able to go as far as he used to. He’s not in pain. He gets up a little more slowly, but overall is in good health. He just can’t do the things he used to do. Not to mention, he’s a Malamute and not a Husky– huskies are a little more agile due to their smaller size.
So, back to Ghoster. He did such an amazing job. This was one of the prettiest trails we’ve ever been on. It wasn’t the most difficult, but it definitely let us know Ghost is going to make a great trail companion. If you read the trail guides about Boone Fork Trail, don’t let them scare you. There was a little water (and we’d had some rain), but it really wasn’t too bad. I had on my Hoka hiking boots and Marty had on trail runners and we did fine. It was a chilly day- perfect for Ghost. I think he enjoyed the picnic lunch, the ride and hike.
My Little Red Bike 