Jaden and Bailey
Jaden and Bailey
I’ve been blessed to share the trails with two of the most incredible hiking partners a backpacker could ever dream of having for more than a decade. (And though Bob, Christian, Carl, and Travis are also on the list of most fantastic hiking partners ever, this story predates my trail time with them). This is the story of my two Labs – Jaden and Bailey.
Those that have watched the backpacking videos on my YouTube channel are likely already familiar with my two doggies. Jaden, a 14-year-old male yellow Lab, and Bailey, a 5-year-old female chocolate Lab. I thought the backstory of both these amazing companions would be of interest to all.
Jaden’s Story – The Early Years
Jaden’s story began in August 2006. The kids were getting a little older (6, 9, and 11-years-old), and for quite a while, we had been thinking of getting a dog. My wife, Lori, and I had enjoyed a childhood enriched with loving dogs in the family. We wanted our children to experience the unique joy that a four-legged, furry family member can bring. But finding our new family member wasn’t easy! We tried to get a Labrador Retriever puppy for the kids to grow up with. ‘Rescuing’ a dog from a shelter was also important to us.
That combination of ‘requirements’ proved almost impossible to satisfy. The search ended up consuming many months over the summer of 2006, and included a couple heart-breaking ‘near misses’. But we eventually got lucky finding a four-month-old yellow lab ‘mutt’-mix about an hour’s drive from our home in central Indiana. The sight of that goofy, gangly puppy with paws way too big for his skinny body, and with a smile so big and genuine that it brought tears of joy to all of our eyes is a happy memory I’ll take with me to my grave.
Jaden’s Story – backpacking ‘career’ begin
First backpacking trip and early midwest trips
Backpacking for Jaden started at the same time as it did for me. The first hike for both of us was 2010 Peninsula Trail hike in the Charles Deam Wilderness near Bloomington, Indiana. All of my earliest backpacking trips – in the fall of 2010 and spring of 2011 – were ‘solo’ adventures. I was solo but I always had Jaden with me. Having him along gave me a level of comfort that was badly needed as I fumbled through that initial ‘learning phase’ that all newbie backpackers go through. When I started hiking with my son Christian in 2011 Jaden had been a constant presence on the trails with us. Jaden never missed any of those early trips. Based on the huge Lab ‘smile’ on his face he was loving every minute of our trail time together.
First Colorado backpacking trip – Zirkel Wilderness
By the time I attempted my first western backpacking trip in July 2011, the poorly planned and ill-fated hike to the Zirkel Wilderness near Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Jaden already had five backpacking trips notched on his pack. And as you can see from this picture, he had developed quite the trail ‘mojo’. Jaden had become an experienced backcountry trail dog. We were all looking forward to many more hiking adventures together.
“Once you have had a wonderful dog, a life without one, is a life diminished.” – Dean Koontz
rosy’s sad story and bailey joins the family
By the spring of 2013 the family started discussing adding a new canine to the team to keep Jaden company. Bailey joined our family in May 2014. But I can’t tell Bailey’s story without sharing the sad story of Rosy. In June 2013 a beautiful 8-week-old chocolate Lab puppy, Rosy, entered our lives. Tragically, through an incredible sequence of unlucky events, she was struck by a school bus and killed in April 2014. I was holding Rosy when she died, tail still wagging.
The loss of Rosy left a hole in our hearts and lives. For reasons beyond Rosy’s death it was a dark and cheerless period for our family. I felt strongly that I couldn’t let Rosy’s ‘story’ end that way. I had a compelling need to bring some light back into our gloomy household. On May 31, 2014 Bailey came home and brought us badly needed happiness, hope, and joy. Most aren’t aware of it but Bailey’s full name is Bailey Rose, in honor of Rosy.
backpacking with Jaden and Bailey begins
Backpacking with two dogs is not for the feint of heart. That’s especially true in the mountains out west where altitude, lightning storms, illness, and the risk of injury (to man and/or dog) are ever-present risks. Over the years of backpacking together we have been extremely fortunate. We have never experienced any significant problems on our trips. I’ll offer some words of advice for those wanting to take dogs along. Realize that if you backpack with dogs and something happens to them such that they are disabled, and you find yourself two days and two mountain passes away from any help, the situation can turn ugly quickly. Be prepared and plan ahead if you take your dogs!
two ccl surguries for jaden
It hasn’t all been good luck though. In the fall of 2013 I was day-hiking the 10-mile Low Gap Trail near Martinsville, Indiana with Jaden and Rosy. We came across a downed tree. Jaden climbed over and landed on the other side and ‘yelped’ loudly. He sat down, and refused to move. He was hurt. It took a few minutes to get him up and going up again. When I finally did get him up he was limping noticeably. Unfortunately, Jaden had torn his canine cruciate ligament (CCL).
He had surgery to repair his right CCL in February 2014. We learned from the vets that some Labs are genetically prone to tearing CCL’s. Jaden was in that group. Sure enough he tore the CCL in his left leg a few months later. CCL surgery #2 took place in May 2014. Two surgeries and $6000 later he was ‘good as new’! It was worth every penny to give him his quality of life back. The surgeries also gave him many more years of pain free trail miles. Jaden has been joining us on backpacking trips ever since.
personalities of jaden and bailey – very different
In terms of their personalities, Jaden and Bailey couldn’t be any more different. Jaden is calm, nurturing, gentle and ‘thoughtful’ (he has very ‘soulful’ brown eyes, and always appears to be deep in thought). Bailey is as energetic as a puppy still, an 85-pound mass of muscle that doesn’t always respect others’ ‘space’, with about a 2-second attention span, and ‘wired’ for three things – food, fetch, and hiking. When I let her out the door she first has to always roam through the house to find a ball to take out with her, in the hopes of a game of fetch. The word that best describes Bailey is ‘intense’, and she is all Lab.
hiking ‘styles’ of jaden and bailey
To tell you a little about the hiking ‘styles’ of Jaden and Bailey, when people or groups get separated Jaden will constantly go back and forth between the groups making sure everyone is still ok, whereas Bailey likes to be out in front of whichever group is in the lead, and she doesn’t bother much to look back!
But despite being very different, those two dogs are inseparable ‘soul mates’. If I have to take one or the other to the vet or somewhere else causing some time apart, when they get back together the reunion scene is something to behold. When lounging around at home, and when sleeping at night, they lay right next to each other with some or all of their bodies touching each other. With Jaden being 14-years-old, and clearly slowing down now, it hasn’t escaped me that he won’t be around all that much longer. Bailey has lived her entire life with Jaden, and I fear that she won’t handle it well when Jaden is no longer with us. I don’t like to think about it.
“A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.” – Josh Billings
Conclusion – Jaden and Bailey
“The dogs steal the show…!”. That is the comment that I often receive on backpacking trip videos I’ve published that the dogs were featured in. I can’t disagree! It’s not always possible to take Jaden and Bailey along with me, but I sure wish that I could. Backpacking trips with them are harder, riskier, and logistically more difficult, but I sure enjoy those trips so much more! Many of you probably already knew Jaden and Bailey through YouTube, but I’m hoping this post has helped you understand a little more about the ‘rest of the story’.
Jaden and Bailey are as different as night and day, but with souls that seem to somehow join them together, not only with each other but they’ve sucked me in too. The bond that I have developed with these two amazing animals defies description, but it is far beyond ‘deep’. Their lives on this earth will likely be shorter than my own, but I will always treasure the time that we shared, and the trails that we hiked.
Rosy Meets Jaden video
If you dig deep enough into the list of videos on my YouTube channel, you can find an ancient, unpolished video that I put together showing Rosy’s first moments with Jaden after I brought her home in 2013. I made a similar video of the trip I took to pick up Bailey about a year later and her first moments at home. One of the funniest scenes in the video with Rosy shows Jaden coming over to steal a stick from her. When I arrived home with Bailey, I was stunned when that same scene played out with Bailey! Someday soon, I plan to edit and publish that video of Bailey joining our family – can’t beat a cute puppy video! For now, I wanted to share the ‘Rosy Meets Jaden’ video with those who hadn’t seen it.
