21.03.15

morning run:
Posey
Godzilla
Chester
Rufus
Jack
Lily
MoMo
Mega
Tori
(9)

Hidden trail the short way: ~7k. We left with Rufus on the leash as usual; he came off just across the land bridge and was great the rest of the way. I wanted to keep the distance down for him but also hit the beach (again, mostly for him). Since it was around the time there are other people with dogs on the beach I decided to take the hidden trail so we would come out well north of where most people go, but instead of going the regular way we headed north from the intersection, jogged east on the Au Soleil Couchant road about 100m and then cut north on the berm surrounding those charcos between the A.S.C. road and the hidden trail. This lops off a bit of distance while still keeping the most fun parts of the hidden trail, although I wouldn't call that last 50m "fun": nobody has been there since the last time we were there and it was a real slog to get to the beach without looking like a pin-cushion from all the cactii along the way. Mega never forgets the way there for some reason and did a good job on point showing the rest of us the trail. Once on the beach everyone had a blast and swam lots. I could see Nicole, Xmul, Mel and Rudolph in the distance to the south so I took us north a little bit just to give her time to get farther away; once I saw her receding in the distance we turned around and did our usual run/swim routine the whole way to the tortuga sign. We came home via the blue.bag trail; everyone was really good in the last 2km and never strayed far from me. I hooked Rufus and Tori up on the coco trail to keep everyone honest and they were all good to the gate.
GRADE: A