03.02.13

morning run:
Blue
Molly
Mega
Lex
Petey
Zoot
Amber
Steve McQueen
(8)

Southern charcos: ~8k. We left the southern way over the land bridge and came back via the parallel access road. I should've taken us to the beach instead and am still regretting it: some asshole dumped what I can only guess must've been a huge bag of rendered animal fat or something at least as disgusting on the Au Soileil Couchant road right where it bends. It was one of the worst smells I've ever encountered and almost made me throw up right there in the road. I didn't realize what it was before I was on top of it and by then Mega had already rolled in it to the point where he looked like he'd been swimming. The vertiginous retching horror that enveloped me as I realized what was going on caused involuntary gagging on my part. Mega and Steve got into it the most before I found my wind again and yelled at them to get away from it. At that point I should've taken us to the beach but I stupidly forgot that the tribe are idiots about things like baths and instead came home in the monte. Never again. The smell for the last ~2.5km was incredible and the idiotic display of bad behavior on Mega's part when I bathed him upon arrival was also a treat for everyone; you'd think I was skinning him alive. Other than that it was a great run but it's hard to remember through the smell... Amber was a good girl again. We left with her on the leash but I let her off and put her back on a few times to work with her and she seems to have lost at least some of her skittishness. I had Amber on the hook and Mega on the other end of the leash on the coco trail - a real treat for the senses. Still, I must ultimately blame the flaming jack-ass who threw a huge bag of offal out in the wilderness for fun. If only I could return the favor some day.
GRADE: A