Dogs

I'm in Luray, VA for the day - mile 941; it's about two thirds of the way through Shenandoah National Park. The park is very different from the trail so far. Besides being slightly less grueling, the trail through the park never strays far from Skyline Drive. That means that the campgrounds, camp stores, and restaurants that cater to the huge summer tourist influx are readily available to backpackers. They are never more than a mile from the trail and they just opened for the season about 10 days ago. Good timing.

The deer in Shenandoah National Park are extremely abundant and docile, probably because hunting is prohibited there. They just glance at you when you pass by and then go back to whatever they were doing. The morning after I camped there I heard some breaking sticks while lying in my sleeping bag early in the morning. I lifted up the tent fly and a deer was about 10 feet away from my tent, grazing. Humans don't worry them.

Unleashed dogs would probably worry the deer more, hence one of the reasons why the Park Service vehemently prohibits unleashed dogs. Hundreds of signs dotted around trail entrances and parking areas list six backcountry rules. The first one states that pets must be leashed at all times. Knowing the Park Service, this is more oriented toward protecting the "resource" (deer, etc.) than other park visitors, but that's a discussion for another place and time.

I've had had a few run-ins with unleashed dogs on the trail so far and was glad for this restriction, whatever its motivation. Early on, in Georgia I came face to face with an unleashed pit bull. Its owner quickly caught up and took control, and the dog was never aggressive, but an unleashed pit bull on a popular hiking trail? Not good. A while later, as I was walking into Buena Vista, VA, an extremely aggressive dog charged from a yard and closed on me, barking menacingly. It took me a full minute of unwanted submissiveness to calm the dog and let it realize that I wasn't a threat, its owner bleating uselessly from behind a wooden fence the entire time. When I finally got the dog to lick my hand I left and the owner apologized. I smiled and kept my cool.

A few days later, I came across a hiker who was pitching his tent. I greeted him, since I'd met him before. I was about 30 feet from him and his dog charged at me, getting right in my face and barking aggressively. Again, the dog ignored its owner's admonishments and only calmed down after I was forced to stop and prove that I was not a threat. This was getting old.

On my second day in Shenandoah National Park I rounded a bend and was immediately charged by three dogs, all with packs, all unleashed, with a toothy German Shepard leading the pack, again barking menacingly. I exhorted the owners (there were 5 or 6 of them) to control their dogs and only got the standard "Oh, they're friendly" response. I then instinctively resorted to First Sergeant mode (my Army days coming to the fore) and chewed them out for violating park rules. I was tired of having to confront unleashed dogs.

Later that afternoon, a pink haired girl and her large husky approached me near a campground. She had the husky on a leash, but it was a long one. The husky was very friendly, maybe too friendly. I tried to give a wide berth, but the husky extended it's leash and proceeded to sniff and slobber on my crotch as I passed by. It was rather awkward, and the embarrassed girl muttered "She's awful." Now I had dog slobber on my crotch as I headed to the campground store.

I've had about enough of dogs for a while, leashed or not.