Hike 10 of 2019

Termine, Switzerland: We tested our agility skills on the percorso vita! 🐾🐶🐾

Hike 9 of 2019

Smack on the Swiss-Italian border near Cremenaga, Switzerland! 🐾🐶🐾

And Tootsie actually took a nap in my arms during our walkies!

Hike 8 of 2019

Hike to the Bolle di Magadino in Switzerland. 🐾🐾 This is a wetland area at the mouth of the Ticino River, across the north end of Lake Maggiore. Dog met: A four-month old puppy Chihuahua named Lina and two Border Collies. (We cannot remember their names!) 🐶☀️

And we saw this pawsome doggy DACHSHUND sign!

Hike 7 of 2019

This is another hike we do a lot during the winter. It's near Sessa, Switzerland and also an extension of Hike 3. Dog met: Pinko, a four-year-old standard dachshund who is afraid of cats. His mom thought Pinko thought Tootsie might be a cat, but eventually Pinko sniffed Tootsie's butt and all was well with the world. 🐾🐶🐾

Here's what the humans ate after the hike. Tootsie got a carrot biscuit treat made especially for dogs.

Hike 6 of 2019

This trail goes to the Sessa Gold Mine, which operated until 1952. (It's now a museum.) Note that these kinds of vineyards are common in Ticino, Switzerland, terraced and tidy. (Merlot is common here, but we don't partake.) Dogs met: a fine medium-sized lab mutt guarding her home with barks and wags; she didn't tell us her name.

Can you find Tootsie? She's inside her "Take-a-Long Bag" from Dachshund Delights!
🐾🐾🐶💛

Hike 5 of 2019

This is one of our favorite walks (or hikes, depending on length) along Lake Lugano.

The photograph demonstrates our best Swiss doggy manners. We love all the dog signage in Switzerland that speaks directly to doggies. The poopy trash cans are pretty spectacular too. (On the side is a dispenser for poopy bags. Scoop the poop!)

We always make time to cuddle on our hikes.

And these are some human treats--not for Tootsie. (Dachshund Grandpa, check these out!)

Hike 4 of 2019

Hike 4 of 2019: Monte Clivio, Italy.

This is a super-interesting hike, because the whole trail is in Switzerland except for a tiny jaunt to the summit in Italy. There used to be a border fence with barbed wire on this trail between Switzerland and Italy. It was taken down. I would point out that in 2019 civilized countries do not need walls--nor do they build new ones.

 

Here's a photograph of the nap we took during the hike. 

I was so happy to be in the woods with Tootsie and Dachshund Daddy on a gorgeous Sunday, yesterday.

Hike 3 of 2019

In the winter this is a hike we do a lot--it's in Suino, Switzerland--so I'll just count it once for our 2019 tally. Not shown to the right of the picture is a valley with several horses and the occasional Scottish cow.

Dog met: Maggie, an eleven-year-old yellow lab who was hoarse from barking so much.

Visual of what the humans ate afterward:

 

Hike 2 of 2019

Hike 2 of 2019: Monte Carmo, Liguria. We had a gorgeous view of the Appenines. Dogs met: none, but we saw the turf damage from lots of wild piggy snout action along the trail.

What the humans ate afterward:

 

Hike 1 of 2019

We have been super inspired by our new friends @fridalou84 (and Baxter, too) who completed the 2018 52 Hike Challenge, so we decided to keep better track of our hikes this year. Tootsie is 13 and as a senior doggy, it's a bit much to set big goals (and, geez, at her age, does she really have to feel the tyranny of New Year's resolutions?); however, since we hike all the time, we will continue to share where we go in 2019. I'm sure Tube of Fur will get carried a lot! I think one parameter of these hikes is that Tube of Fur has to come along and the hike should be a minimum of three miles.

Here is hike #1 of 2019: Passo Gandiolo, Liguria, Italy (in the hills above Genova).

🐾 Dogs met: Bilbo (yes, Baggins is his last name) & Lulu.

There was a fascinating man-made earth structure called a neviera, which was a pit dug into the ground and when it filled with snow, it was used as a freezer. Now it basically looks like a bulldozer took a chunk out of the ground, but the edges of the hole are smooth, and as the picture shows, it used to have a little freezer house on top.