March 27 2022 Bart's Life - In Numbers and Pictures It's been five months since Bart died from a lung infection. It's hard to go on without him. To help, I finished up this review, laden with numbers, which I'd begun several weeks ago. It's easy for me to become despondent over Bart's shortened life. But numbers don't lie; thus this review, which helps to communicate to me that Bart got a great deal out of life in his five years, and that his life was well worth living. Below the numbers are photos of Bart just from a few of our hiking trips. Bart. May 26 2016 to August 22 2021 -------------------------------------- Lived 5 1/4 years (1913 days). Lived just over five years (apx 1850 days) with me. As they say in the media.. "What you need to know", or as I say.. thot you otta know: Affections minimum ------------------------- ------- Tucked in at night 1800 Major pettings 1000 Minor pettings/greetings 4000 (estimate: 15K - 30K) My leg 300 In sleeping bag with me 40 ------- minimum of 7000 physical contact affections Play and other affections ---------------------------- Wrestling/mouthing with Lucky 600 Chase games with Lucky 300 Dog-park playing 50 Throw-toy sessions with me 30 (Bart had only moderate interest in retrieval games.) City adventure ---------------------------- Off-leash Menards high-speed back-lot runs alongside my truck 10 Off-leash bike runs 70 Bike pulling (avg one mile) 30 Truck rides in town 1500 Wilderness off-leash adventure ------------------------------ Long, high-speed, joyful runs alongside my truck on dirt roads through the woods 4 Rice Creek, thrashing thru woods 20 Wilderness camps, with roaming 80 Major wilderness hikes (4 to 8 hours each, between 10 and 25 miles per day). (Bart's distances would be two to three times those distances.) 40 . . . Bart's forty major off-leash wilderness hikes, or equivalent: 2016 Oregon, California - free roaming in campsite areas, a few short day-hikes. 1 2017 Bighorns - five major hikes. 5 Winds - two major hikes in SE area, three major hikes with Talbotts, two major hikes in north area. 7 South Fork area - high mesa hike. 1 Medicine Bow - high ridge all-day and back country all-day. 2 Eclipse day hike. 1 Black Hills - major hike and mountain summit, hiking and roaming in campsite areas. 2 Lumber hauling - many round-trips to cabin site. 1 2018 Los Pinos - 21 mile one-day hike to Emerald Lake, four-mile hike to higher camp, long day-hike and climb mountain, another long day-hike and climb mountain, 25 mile one-day hike to trailhead. 4 San Juans - over Hunchback Pass to Stormy Gulch area, major hike back to trailhead. 2 2019 San Juans - Vallecito two-day 21 mile hike to Trinity Creek camp, scree-slope climb to high snowfield, long day-hike to high pass, 21 mile one-day hike to trailhead. 5 Utah - roaming at three campsite areas. 1 2020 Elm Creek - long hike to creek, bushwhacking. 1 2020 Spring trip - camping, roaming, day-hikes at three campsite areas. 1 2021 Spring trip - major hikes over three-week period; at least ten major hikes. 10 2021 Vallecito campground area - rock scrambling. Los Pinos - roaming for four days while healthy. 1 ---- 45 If the numbers aren't enough for me, I look at the pictures: Fascinated by cattle on the open range: That's Bart off to the right: That's Bart in the center: Bart lying in the shade under the tree at 11,200': Bart on 12,800' pass, 1,600' above our camp, next three pics: That's Bart off to the right: Next four pics: continental divide, 12,700' Bart is off to the left: Bart looking back at the distant haze from whence we came hiking: back to home page back to archives |