CT River Canoe Trip Part 7

Griffen and Nemo at our campsite on Howards Island, CT River.

"Todd, where are the dogs?" I asked.

“I don’t know. But we’re on an island. Where are they going to go?”

“Good point.” I dropped the subject and got back into the discussion about dinner. A few minutes later I decided I’d better find my dogs.

I called out to them, and they came back. While they were exploring the island they found the single smelliest spot on earth. Being dogs, they decided to roll into it, and cake the stink into their ears. They were both covered in a black, tar-like substance, the odor of which still haunts my dreams.

I brought them to the edge of the river and threw them in. Once to wash them and a few more times after that for revenge. We decided that the boys would not be sleeping in the tent with us that night.

We had dinner, watched the sunset, laughed about the day’s events and listened to the radio. The weather forecast predicted snow in the higher elevations for the next few days. Snow in September, you gotta love Vermont. We discussed the idea of ending the trip on the next day, should the weather turn, and how to get back to the Cherokee, upstream.

We tied the dogs to a tree, and then went to our tent. We snuggled down, as it was getting cold without the sun. That’s when we heard it.

“AROOOOOOOOO!”

“AROOOOOOOO!”

“AROOOOOOOOO!”

Thus is the cry of a pampered beagle who demands a warmer place to sleep. A warmer place such as, say, the tent where the people are sleeping.

We discussed the pros and cons of allowing them to sleep with us. We decided that a stinky sleep was better than no sleep. I rearranged our sleeping bags, and Todd left the tent to get the dogs. I unzipped the flaps, preparing to shiver while I slept, in the interests of breathing clean air.

Todd brought the stink mutts in, and we all went to sleep like one smelly happy family.

To be continued.