“On a Mish” #334 A Couple of Old Dogs. Lake Clearwater. Hakatere Conservation Park. 16.6.2022. Age is something that everybody attempts to avoid but can’t. And age can sometimes be an excuse used to get someone out of doing something that might be challenging for both them and their well-used body. If you stop using it it will stop working the way it should. Therefore when you are faced with a setback do not sit back and let the world move on around you…
As I sat back in the crib at Lake Clearwater I remembered all of my visits to the area when I was still able to venture into the outdoors. With movement now restricted I had to think of other ways to entertain myself instead of tackling a mountain or going for a hike to camp somewhere. Thankfully the area provides excellence no matter how far you go, so just spending some time at the crib can do wonders for the state of my mental health. The whole situation reminds me of my parents’ dog Dennis. Now 11 years old, he doesn’t race around like he used to, but once you get the lead out he is sent straight back to the days when he was just a young pup. You can see that even though his body is at the ‘well used stage’ the enthusiasm in his eyes will never disappear when the word walk is mentioned. This is how I feel when I see something that inspires me to head out into the wild. My head is in the game, but my body wants to stay on the sideline. After seeing the way Dennis faced life I decided to do the same. Like him, I will face the challenges of an adventure with the excitement and readiness of someone who is about to do a multi-day alpine mission, knowing that I will only be going a short distance. Life is a lot easier when you look at it with positive eyes and you modify your free time in a way that allows you forget about your set-backs.
With this in mind I decided that I would make my journey out to the crib worthwhile by getting up early-ish and watching the sunrise over the mountains of Hakatere. I only had two mornings at Lake Clearwater and both were mind-blowing. Starting out with a star filled sky, I watched as the black was replaced by deep purples, before reds faded to orange and eventually a new day was born. Both mornings had their own charm and to get epic photos I only needed to wander a short distance from my car. The venture to one of Canterbury’s best little alpine villages was what I needed to reset and recharge, and I approached the mish with the keenessness of a hound who doesn’t care how old he is. So thanks to a happy doggy I am facing my current situation with the same enthusiasm of a carefree K9. Age and ailments is something we cannot avoid and instead of looking at it in a negative way just look at it like my good mate Mr Positive, ‘Dennis the wonder dog’. We might be a couple of old dogs, but nothing will stop us wagging our tails!
