{"id":18353,"date":"2019-04-10T18:15:43","date_gmt":"2019-04-11T01:15:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beardogco.com\/theroadhome\/?p=18353"},"modified":"2019-04-10T18:40:57","modified_gmt":"2019-04-11T01:40:57","slug":"my-2nd-technical-comeuppance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beardogco.com\/theroadhome\/2019\/04\/my-2nd-technical-comeuppance\/","title":{"rendered":"My 2nd technical comeuppance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Those snowshoes. \nThose snowshoes are NOT \u201ctechnical back country snowshoes\u201d.  They are \u201ctromp around my woods and onto the\nstate land\u201d kind of snowshoes, i.e. not too far from my house and mostly about\nmaking some paths for Emmett, Auggie and me. \nThey were inexpensive and purchased for the easy in and out bindings\nsince I typically have them on and off for 20-40 minute outings several times\nper day when the snow is good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I use the big \u2018shoes for the first pass and\/or deep, soft\nsnow.  The large size displaces my weight\non deep snow.  The smaller snowshoes are\nfor hard pack snow or paths.  They do not\nfloat my weight on deep, soft snow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early March. (this all happened over a month ago \u2026 so as you read this, know that all ended well :) )<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had a network of packed paths in my own woods for Emmett\u2019s\nand my usual walks.  I had ventured on\nthe state land in the larger shoes, without Emmett.  The snow on the state land and some parts off\nmy own paths was knee to hip deep \u2026 fairly soft in some spots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been working with Emmett on a 25 foot long line\n(lead).  Emmett does not run forever, but\nwhen he spots deer, he does give chase. \nIn 3 directions, within 200 yards are: road, neighbor, neighbor.  In the 4th<\/sup>  direction is \u00bc mile of state land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had been using a training technique called Premark.  The idea is similar to \u201cif you eat your veg,\nyou get dessert\u201d.  With Emmett, that\ntranslated to:  \u201cif you stop when I say,\nsometimes you get to chase\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was allowing a chase when the deer were on the state land\nand in a direction away from neighbors and road.  It worked a number of times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BUT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One evening, after some very nice \u201cLeave it\u201d before the end\nof the long line \u2026 and then a reward of \u201cgo get \u2018em\u201d for deer on the state land\n\u2026 Emmett took off and I lost sight of him in a copse of trees.  And nothing. \nTypically, in a minute or so, he would be returning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emmett wears a GPS tracking device.  I can his view his (and my) position on my\niPhone.  As I viewed the tracking, it\nbecame obvious that he was tangled around something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Above is an example \u2026 NOT the night in this adventure.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

My mistake #1.  I had\nbeen releasing him WITH the long line. \nIn the past and on our walks, it had not tangled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was in boots on our packed path.  I headed back to the house and got my large\nsnowshoes to go out in the deep snow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My mistake #2.  I did\nNOT get my backpack that has first aid kit, space blanket and water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I thought I knew right where Emmett was tangled, but when I\ngot to that point, he was not there AND I could not find his tracks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My mistake #3.  Minor\npanic.  It was 5:30 p.m. with sunset at\n6:30 p.m. and I allowed that to influence my trust in the GPS info.  Add to that, there are some areas in the\nvicinity of the state land that have a steep incline.  I worried that if Emmett had chased deer down\nthe incline \u2026 did I have the physical ability to negotiate that incline and\nalso, if he was in that area, I needed to find out before dark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The satellite view of the area. This is “after the fact” re Emmett’s location.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

My mistake #4. \nTheorizing ahead of the facts!  I\ntrudged around.  I checked the GPS but\ndid not actually \u201cbelieve\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I did call a neighbor to let someone know where I was and\nwhat was going on.  And my neighbor did a\nquick check at my house in case the GPS was completely wrong and Emmett had\nreturned.  But, no.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sun set.  Dusk, then\ndark.  It was 25F so not really cold\nespecially with the amount of activity. \nI was overheated and had no water. \nI ate snow.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, as I was nearing the end of my physical ability to\nkeep going \u2026 I said.  Ok.  LOOK at the GPS.  It has reference to my house, to me, to\nEmmett.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was also on my knees in prayer.  I knew that I could NOT leave Emmett out\novernight with no way to maneuver and protect himself.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I forced myself to calmness and trust.  I looked at the GPS, oriented myself and then\nwalked right to Emmett.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emmett was not fussed at all.  He was all happy to see me, but not panicked\nin any way.  I untangled him, took a few\ndeep breaths and we proceeded toward home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As it had progressed from evening to dusk to dark, in\naddition to the GPS, I relied on a neighbor\u2019s outside lights for some\norientation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, I have some smart plugs (Amazon-Alexa) and was able to flick my own house lights on and off, from my phone, for some reference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Emmett and I headed for home, I turned on my house lights\nand we honed in on them.  Emmett thought\nthe whole thing great fun and I struggled a bit with him, the long line,\nsnowshoes and the ski poles I was using.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8:10 p.m. we arrived at the house safe and sound!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I fed Emmett and Auggie, took a shower and went to bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good grief! \nUltimately, if I had trusted the GPS from the start, the ordeal would\nNOT have been an ordeal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also – **** NEVER, NEVER, NEVER go out without WATER, a bit\nof food, and other E-items.  I know\nbetter and things could have ended so badly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am grateful beyond words that I found Emmett and all ended\nwell.  I hope-hope-hope to never make so\nmany mistakes ever again.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amen!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And kind of a P.S. \u2026 the snow has melted on the state land\nand we\u2019ve been walking out there: \nAuggie, Emmett and me.  The\nlandscape without snow is pretty incredible. \nThe amount of downfall that was under snow is astonishing to me.  It is a bit difficult to tell from the photos,\nbut there are many large trees, piles of branches and other obstacles.  None caused me difficulty, even in the\ndark!  Although dark with snow on the\nground is quite different than dark with bare ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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And the incline.  I\ntried to get some photos, but again, it is difficult to see how really steep\nthe edge of the state land is \u2026 the edge that caused me the worst angst.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Those snowshoes.  Those snowshoes are NOT \u201ctechnical back country snowshoes\u201d.  They are \u201ctromp around my woods and onto the state land\u201d kind of snowshoes, i.e. not too far from my house and mostly about making some paths for Emmett, Auggie and me.  They were inexpensive and purchased for the easy in and out bindings since […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-front-porch-musings"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beardogco.com\/theroadhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18353","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beardogco.com\/theroadhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beardogco.com\/theroadhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beardogco.com\/theroadhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beardogco.com\/theroadhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18353"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.beardogco.com\/theroadhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18353\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18365,"href":"https:\/\/www.beardogco.com\/theroadhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18353\/revisions\/18365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beardogco.com\/theroadhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beardogco.com\/theroadhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beardogco.com\/theroadhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}