Last weekend, Bobby and I took Kylo Ren and Caster up to High Falls State Park. High Falls, which is about a 45 minute drive north of us, is a beautiful park along the Towaliga River. There are hiking trails, camp sites, paddle boat and canoe rentals, and several pavilions and picnic areas. Though Bobby and I have visited the park before, this was a first-time visit for both Kylo and Caster.
High Falls is home to the largest waterfall south of Atlanta. While a beautiful site, the waterfall is quite noisy. Caster and Kylo were a bit put off by the sound of the waterfall at first, but as we hiked away from it, they relaxed more and more.
As usual, Kylo was in the zone. He loves following paths and trails, so hiking is one of his favorite things. He trekked right along, sometimes even “trotting” down the trails. His recall continues to improve as well. Though we never let him off-leash, Bobby and I practice his recall by sending one of us up the trail either ahead of or behind Kylo and calling his name. He usually always responds by quickening his pace to catch up.
Caster did pretty well overall, but he melted down about halfway through the hike. This was his first real hike. He is still getting accustomed to being an adventure kitty, and though he enjoys it and does well, we over-estimated his tolerance with this trip. I think we took for granted how naturally Kylo Ren does with hiking and just thought Caster would be able to keep up. However, after about 30 minutes, Caster had reached his limit. He completely melted down into a hissy fit (literally), so we stopped and took a break.
After the break, Caster’s mood improved a bit. He wouldn’t cooperate to ride in the sling or walk back on the leash though, so Bobby had to carry him back to the car. I felt horrible about overdoing things with him, but at least we learned from our mistake. We just need to backtrack and bit and take him on some smaller adventures before trying a hiking trip like this again.
Despite Caster’s meltdown, we still had a fun time. Even Caster enjoyed himself before reaching his adventure limit. You can see in the video below how much Kylo especially enjoys hiking:
Do your kitties enjoy hiking? If not, what is their favorite type of adventure?
Be sure to join our new Facebook group, KCC Adventure Cats. This group is for adventure kitties, those interested in training an adventure kitty, or those who just enjoy hearing about/seeing adventure kitties. The group is dedicated to sharing training tips, adventure gear, favorite adventure destinations, and fun photos/videos/stories! If you are interested, please join and introduce yourself and your adventure kitty!
My favorite part of your trek? The fact that you understood you had pushed Caster too far too fast, and were able to take a step back with him. Adventures are also a learning process for humans, and I’m glad you understood what was going on with him. Kylo Ren is clearly a hiking natural, kind of the same way I was a therapy cat natural!
smart people! we are glad the boys enjoyed their outing – even if it didn’t go as planned
It can be hard to tell how much is too much until your cat says so. It’s great you are listening and learning what Castor needs to feel comfortable with adventuring
Summer said it purrfectly : Kylo Ren and Caster are lucky to have such aware humans who understand them so well. Purrs
Kylo Ren really does do great. That’s got to be so much fun to have him enjoying himself. Cater, when our mom gets tired she too has hissy fits. XOCK, angel Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, angel Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth, Calista Jo, Cooper Murphy and Sawyer with purrs and kisses and love to Sampy from Astrid
guyz……momz knot ta blame nor iz dad……even peepulz think sum timez they CAN, when in trooth, they cant… N they gotta chillax a bit….bee for moovin on; peepulz due thiz with lotz oh stuff…high pawz two ewe both anda extree one two ewe caster…ya did way mor N we coulda ☺☺♥♥
Caster, you remind me of Angel George, the cat found in the parking lot of my old office. He could blend into the background so easily, that I often discovered he’d been sitting next to me while I kept calling his name! We never knew if George was a dumped pet, or a stray that someone wanted out of their yard, but we caught him and found him a home. I miss the hours that I sat in the gardens with George.
I love that you do this with your kitties!!! My Angel Bobo used to LOVE walking in the woods on his leash…..Cody wants no part of it!
We’re sure Caster will do better next time.
Poor Caster, he looks cute pouting though.
I guess little “practice” hikes make sense before taking a BIG hike but all in all it looks like a wonderful day. Teddy loves exploring our yard and woods and we’ve never taken him elsewhere for adventure but I think he might enjoy that.
Hugs, Pam
What a pair of handsome explorers!
It seems Caster and Kylo Ren had a fun time.
None of here are really into hiking, though in the past petcretary enjoyed exploring trails in parks, much like you do with your kitties. Pipo’s idea of an adventure kitty style is to sneak out through the doggy doors (two of them in tandem), and then stroll down our long sidewalk to the front porch where he snoopervises the yard and street. He has not tried to sneak out through the fence or under the gate…given all of this, if petcretary puts him in her arms and takes him outside that way he has a conniption. Who knew.