Meet Lola, a lovely rescue dog on her very first hike. She was a little worried about the whole thing, but seemed to be enjoying it.

Some hiking friends are with us for the weekend, and we went to the very beautiful, but very crowded, Peralta Trail that leads to Fremont Saddle. It’s not a difficult trail, so it attracts everybody – young people, old people, families. Also it’s a very dog-friendly hike (not a lot of cholla waiting to prick paw pads). My usual hiking buddy doesn’t much enjoy making this trek with me because I HAVE to stop and photograph so many dogs – just can’t resist.

Here’s a small gallery of some of the hikin’ dogs we met today:

This is Lola’s friend, and the one dog whose name I can’t remember (and thought I would never forget because it begins with a ‘Z’). Speedy and I have decided to call him Zanzie.

Here are Frankie and… no, not Johnnie, Frankie and Georgie.

“You’re speckled!” I said to Ginger, and her human companion said, “Why thank you” – clearly a woman with a good sense of humor.

Pickadilly was the only long-haired dog we saw on this walk.

Key was the last dog we encountered. At 9 weeks she is certainly the youngest hikin’ dog I’ve ever met, and is too irresistable not to include (cross between a Lab and a German Pointer). Hikin’ Dog regulations do not allow inclusion of dogs that are being carried. But though she is not technically a hikin’ dog, her companion assured me she had done some of the trail, just not the steep parts, so she slipped in under the Cute Exemption.