Agile Trekker: Rockwood Hall Loop, Rockefeller State Park

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
1/1/20196	1.7 miles	57 minutes			1.7 miles

Map: https://parks.ny.gov/parks/attachments/RockefellerTrailMap.pdf
Parking: Route 117, next to Phelps hospital
Directions: Left on Lower Trail. Right on Middle Trail. Left on Foundation Loop.

We had to get out today to celebrate the new year! It was warm but cold - 50 degrees, but wind gusts up to 40 mph which made it chilly. We decided we wanted to hike somewhere where we wouldn't have to worry about trees falling down, so we chose Rockwood Hall. This is more of a walk than a hike, with gravel paths. Its a crowded place too with lots of people and dogs. We don't take Trek here, because there are just too many poorly behaved dogs (or owners). We wanted to leave Trek home today anyways, as we've just added a second pain drug for him. Both drugs are supposed to make him feel sedated, but he's doing well on them so far.

Rockwood Hall was a good place to take Krummholz though. It was easy to come up with a short loop. And all the people and dogs there meant that he got a lot of socializing in. I was choosy which dogs I let him meet. I looked at their body language and ignored what the owners said about their dog, lol. We did meet 2 loose dogs....whom I would have preferred to not have him meet. Their owners let them off leash by the mansion grounds, and the dogs acted like they never have off leash time - so they were running around like crazy, running up to people and dogs. We actually caught the first dog for the first owner. I sat down on the ground and gave Krummholz treats, which got the dog to come running at us. For the second dog - who was a bit overwhelming - Glen stepped on the dogs leash and returned it to its owners twice. Despite the fact that the owners purposefully let their dog run loose. I'm all for letting dogs off leash, but not out of control dogs off leash. This dog was running boisterously up to everyone - and not everyone likes dogs. Krummholz did really well considering. He loved meeting lots of people too. Though he gets very confused when people don't stop and pet him.

I brought tons of dog treats and we did a lot of training on our walk. I'm happy to say, his sits and downs were great - he has no problem transferring them into a new environment. We worked on recalls as well. They were a bit slow. Normally we do "chase me" recalls off leash at home.....so doing them on a short leash is less exciting.