After dropping our packs, we continued south along the trail.

Dawg is incredibly well behaved so you may be wondering why he is sporting his e-collar. Partially it is just for nervous dad, who worries Dawg might ignore him in a dangerous situation. No such occasion arose and I rarely use it any more, but I still worry about his safety. The other reason I put it on him is to have the opportunity to reinforce his rattlesnake avoidance training. Snakes are not as abundant here as by our house, but should he run into a rattler, I want to make absolutely sure he understands to stay away. You can watch his rattlesnake avoidance training video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33bhdZhhdWA.