1. She’s young and can be easily scared. If you live in any kind of an urban or suburban area, the noises and smells that your puppy will encounter while camping are entirely different from what she already knows. Be prepared for your puppy to act differently as well. She may not come as readily, bark more, or even be more aggressive. There is no way to know how she will react to these new circumstances the first time because much of the camping experience will be brand new for the pup; if it is a pup, likely she will be a little scared.

2. Remember to bring the essentials: a toy, something nice for it to sleep on, leash, bowel, poop apparatus. You may not want to carry the pup’s water bowl and a ball along with plastic bags, but having these things can make a huge difference. I suggest having the leash with you always-even if you never have to use it. It can be especially helpful while you are setting up camp or if you happen across another set of campers with a dog. Toys are also helpful for distracting the pup while you set up camp or cook or if she needs something to keep her busy while you’re trying to sleep in the tent.

However the thing for the pup to sleep on doesn’t have to be whatever she normally sleeps with. A shirt that you don’t plan on wearing the next day or an outer jacket should be fine (or if your pup is like mine, she will simply love rolling around on top of your sleeping bag and eventually climbing into it with you.)

3. Check tick and flea season! Be sure to protect your pup from ticks and fleas and check to see if tick season is unusually longer (as it may be during 2012 as we had a light winter.) Be sure to have a small bottle of tick spray with you, or a tick collar or whatever you like to use. Lastly, scour the puppy for ticks afterward. Even a strong tick spray may not be enough for a pup that finds a nest of ticks.

O yes. Remember the pup might like to climb into your sleeping bag during the night? Scour yourself for ticks, too.

4. Bring a little patience. Puppy may love camping or hate it. It may take her a while to get used to camping, the new smells and being outside with so many new things to discover. She may not want to hike as long as you do. At any rate, this is a completely new experience for little pup and you must give her time to adjust to the new situation.

You may need to reassure the pup once it gets dark that all the noises she hears are not dangerous ones. You’ll probably also need to show it how to do new things (i.e. how to climb over rocks, tree limbs, stairs, ect.) The pup may also be unsure about whatever food you brought her to eat if it is in a different bowl or a different food entirely. Regardless, this is the pup’s first time and will definitely need a little patience (and maybe also a toy to make her happy).

Happy Pup

5. Treats. Maybe this should have been number one. Treats are essential and they get their own special category because they probably do in the puppy’s head, too! Basically, bring lots of delicious treats. This is essential if you are planning on letting puppy of her leash, or when giving her any independence. Be sure to thoroughly encourage desired habits (i.e. come when called) by treating well and frequently!

Our first time camping with the puppy was really fun. We didn’t go terribly far or on a rigorous hike. We took it pretty slow and did a leisurely hike with the pup running back and forth between us. Ultimately, the pup loved it as much as we did, but it took some getting used to. She did bark at a lot of strange noises in the night and had to learn that the campfire was hot, but also got to discover lots of new, fun things and cuddle in my sleeping back all night. Overall, I think it was a great camping trip.

1. Keep your things with you. Really, try to keep your things either touching you at all times or within your line of vision. On a bus, train, subway or even in the street, always try to keep your bag on your shoulder and as close to you as possible. For example, many people riding the bus in Quito, Ecuador would actually put their backpacks on backwards and wear them on the front to have better control over the bag. (Even the Quiteños did this, not just the gringos!)

Likewise, if you are traveling on a bus, keep your bag with you in your seat (not overhead as someone could grab it as they get off the bus or under the bus when anyone could take it out when they get off.) I think the best method is to sit with your feet planted and the bag resting on top of them. (Not around the bag as a sneaky someone could always cut into your bag from behind.) The only time I would allow my bag underneath the bus is if I could also get a tag ensuring (supposedly) that only I can take the bag off the bus because I have the matching number. (This should work and has for me in the past, however you never really know…)

2. Don’t flaunt.Don’t wear things-especially jewelry- that you would not like stolen. Many thieves will

instantly associate expensive looking jewelry with someone that would be great to steal from as they must have lots of money, ect. The potential theif may try for your handbag, wallet, cell phone or the jewelry itself. I suggest purchasing once you are abroad some cheap, neat, local jewelry.

3.  Watch your pockets. Outside and back pockets are much easier for the potential thief to slip things out of without your noticing than inside or front pockets. I have many, many friends that had a cell phone or wallet stolen out of a bag’s side pocket or their own back pocket. This is especially important if you have a large bag that you cannot keep your eyes or hands on all parts it or when you’re on a really crowded bus. Thieves tend to ride the tightest packed trains so there are people touching all sides of you in the hopes that you will not notice a hand in an unsuspecting pocket.

My host mom in Ecuador taught me a valuable lesson after I was robbed there (via knife in my canvas bag): always use your bra (or other undergarment) when carrying large sums of money. Use some consistent spot that no one could get their hands into without you being entirely aware if it. Note that this works well for large amounts of money, but I would still put smaller amounts in front pockets or a wallet (that resides in the front pocket or somewhere hidden in a purse) for paying at the grocery store, taxi, ect.

4. Keep your valuables in multiple places. If you have all of your important documents, money, cards, ect. with you at one time (i.e. while traveling), be sure to have them in different places. I think a traveler’s belt is great if you do not need your passport in hand (otherwise it could be really awkward-use a bathroom to take the passport out and replace it once through customs, ect.) and large sums of money. In general, I always have my passport either in a traveler’s belt, in a zipped pocket in my purse (which is clutched pretty tightly to my chest) or in the safe at a hostel (assuming you trust the hostel staff.)

However, always be sure to make at least one copy of your passport, visa, whatever essential document, and keep it in a different place! I generally go for one on my body and one tucked away safely in a bag. Just put the copies somewhere different (in case something does get stolen) and remember where they are. I also like to keep an electronic copy in your email.

5. Lastly, be aware and trust your instincts. If you feel wary while traveling, determine exactly what you feel wary about and focus your energy there-you very well may be right and it doesn’t hurt of you were wrong. One of the times I was nearly robbed was on a crowded bus when this smiling, nice woman standing next to me began talking to me. She chatted about the weather, where I was going, ect. and I felt a small tug on my purse. Instead of trying to be polite, I moved my  bag to the other side of my body and put my hand inside it to be sure my wallet was still there. She had cut through the outermost lining of my bag and was working her way through the inner liner when I stopped her.

Be sure to trust your instincts, even if that is not the polite thing to do, and try to do things that make you feel safe. In the above example, moving my bag was definitely the best option (especially as the one time I was robbed the person also cut through my purse while grinning at me.) Always be aware of what is going on around you and plan for that situation. Taking an overnight bus? Don’t use the ear plugs, eye mask and put your bag overhead. Go for one of the three, or maybe two if you feel very comfortable. Even if you have a worse night of sleeping because you were watching your things, you will have a fresh set of clothing to put on when you arrive because you weren’t completely oblivious. Therefore so no one took your bag.

Sight-seeing bus tours: This is a great way to get a wide view of the city in the shortest amount of time as well as a good option for anyone that may have mobility problems.  Bus tours can bring tourists around the mall, to the older parts of the city and to any other note-worthy places, such as Mt. Vernon.

My personal favorite bus tour type is the ‘Hop-on Hop-off‘ bus tours. A ticket to one of  these tours means you can literally ‘hop-on’ and ‘hop-off’ at any of their bus stops and on any of their tour lines. The tickets come in one or two-day passes.

The ‘hop-on, hop-off’ bus tour in D.C. has three different lines. The first takes tourists on the classic sights of the city, including around the mall, across the Potomac into Virginia and by the Lincoln memorial. The second line will take tourists farther into Virginia to view the Pentagon and Arlington Cemetery and the last time will take you through Embassy row and into Georgetown. This last line also has a stop by the Georgetown waterfront where guests can get onto a touring boat that goes up and down the Potomac. Each tour is narrated by a recording that plays throughout the bus.

When my family bought the tickets for the ‘hop-on hop-off’ busses, we got free passes on the boat tour as well. (I’m not sure if they were running an unpublicized special or if this was included in the price of our tickets.) The boat tour was nice, but not something I would pay for separately. It was a narrated ride up the potomac, but really just plastic chairs on a flat boat with some sights viewable from the water and really expensive beer/wine prices. The commentary wasn’t as interesting as on the busses, but I enjoyed being on the water.

I recommend looking into this bus tour for two reasons. One, you really can get on and off anywhere and switch tours whenever you want. Meaning you are able to set your own schedule and can see whatever you like for however much time you like. (It’s also about the same price as regular bus tours.) Secondly, this is the only set of bus tours that has a double-decker fleet and the top is open-air. The best benefit of the double-decker is that you can see over the other cars, so if on top you can actually see all of the monuments, but it is also nice on a summer day to sit atop the bus with a breeze.

On foot: The on-foot tour is a lot of fun, but you will not be able to see as much within a single day. If you are going into D.C. to have a tour of the mall, I suggest taking the metro in and stopping at the Smithsonian station (orange/blue lines), L’Enfant Plaza (yellow/green lines) or another close one. These will put you in the center of the Mall.

Most on-foot tours center around the mall. As it’s a pretty large area and packed with monuments, museums andmemorials, there is plenty to do on foot in the mall. At one end, there is the Lincoln memorial, then the Washington monument, which marks the western end of the Mall. The Smithsonian museums line the mall from the Washington monument until the U.S. Capitol building.

I recommend one of three ways to approach an on-foot tour of the Mall. One would be to see the monuments. This tactic would be to focus on the monuments and go into each, take a few photos and take in the monument. This type of tour would involve the most walking, but if you are looking to see the sights of Washington, D.C. on-foot, this is the way to go.

Second, you could focus on the Smithsonian museums. They are enormous museums that could easily consume your time for a day. Focus on just one favorite, such as the natural history (but beware of the wide-eyed children running around) or the art museums, space, American history, whatever, but you could easily see a bit of each museum or focus on a few. All of the Smithsonian museums are free, although they encourage donations. If you want to go to the Air and Space museum hanger, you can take a bus for a few dollars from the Mall and entrance to the museum is free.

Last, your tour could focus on one place. Let the one monument, museum, park, or whatever you really want to see/do determine the rest of your day. This would work well with a tour of the U.S. State Capital being the main focus of the day with side trips to the Library of Congress and the Botanical Garden, or any other close destination. This type would work best for someone who wants to focus on a specific monument.

Lines:

The D.C. metro was built between 1969 and 1976. It has had some upgrades since- many of them track maintenance. The metro consists of 5 interconnecting lines. These include the red, blue, yellow, green and orange. Some of the lines run on the same track during parts of their route (such as the orange and blue, blue and yellow, or yellow and green) while the red line mostly serves to connect the other 4 lines and runs within its own territory.

Trains:

Each train is marked by line color and its ultimate destination. For example, an orange line train at Farragut West going west out of the city will say ‘ORANGE’ and ‘VIENNA’ on the digital signs displayed outside of the train. Vienna is the final station, not the next station (that would be Foggy Bottom/Georgetown). Trains also consist of 6 or 8 cars. The most common number of cars on a train is 6, however during high-traffic times metro will run more 8-car trains. If the train is an 8-car train, the additional cars are in the back of the train. Many people will not use the last two cars as many trains are 6-car ones, so even if most of the cars on trains are crowded, the last two cars are generally not.

Stations:

Metro stations are all put together differently. Usually, they are marked with a 4-sided, tall sign from the outside. If the station is underground, this sign and an escalator are the only indications of the metro stop, so sometimes they are hard to find. (Hint: The blue signs in D.C. that show which direction monuments are also show the closest metro station.) Each station sign says the name of the station vertically down the sign and the top of it has at least one colored band. The band(s) represents the line(s) that the station services. Also note that some stations have two exits and entrances, whereas others only have one. Whenever you leave a metro station, be mindful of which exit you left to make returning to it easier.

The stations themselves are nondescript, but get the job done. Once you enter the station, there is a large room with electronic payment stands. Some of these take credit cards and others do not. Some of these allow the rider to upload money or SmartBenefits onto their SmartCard, while other machines do not.

Fares:

Fares are hard to figure out. There are 3 different rates depending upon what time you are traveling (I think.) Each pay station has all rates to all other stations on them, but this is not always helpful as there are 3 different travel times that are not demarked with numbers. I think your best bet would be to put what you think is enough to get to your destination and back. But do not to worry too much as their is a cash machine on the inside of the row of turnstiles if you must add money to a paper punch card and SmartCards will go through with a negative balance up to -$20.

Cards:

There is also the option of a paper punch card or a $5 plastic SmartCard. For infrequent riders, the paper card should be sufficient. You can load money onto it and use it to enter and exit stations. The SmartCard works well if you are a regular commuter and keeping track of a number of little white cards would be difficult.

Station Platforms:

To enter the train platform, you must go through the turnstiles in which to put your paper punch card or to swipe your

SmartCard. Pay attention to the lit up circular sign on the right of the turnstiles. Go through the turnstiles marked with green and not the red, while swiping your SmartCard or inserting your punch card on the right side above the circular sign. If you have a SmartCard, you need only wave it over the sensor that is marked with a sample SmartCard. If you have a paper punch card, you must insert it into the front of the turnstile and pick it up on the top of the turnstile before going through the retractable gates.

Once on the platform, watch for the signs showing the ultimate destination of the train/line you need to go. This will direct you to the appropriate platform. Some stations have singular platforms where you wait on opposite sides depending on which direction you are traveling while others have the trains going down the center of the platform so that there are two platforms within that station.

Stations that serve multiple lines (such as Metro Center, for example which services the red, blue and orange lines) will generally have different levels for the different lines. Staircases and escalators are marked with arrows showing which platforms service which line and in which destination (by showing the ultimate destination). Last note on platforms, the illuminated lights flash slowly when a train is coming, so be sure to stand back behind the knobby floor part of the platform to stay away from the very edge.

Train Signs:

The signs in the stations and on the platforms show the upcoming trains. It shows first, the color of the line, second how many cars on the train, third the trains’ final destination and last how many more minutes until that train. Most signs can hold information for the next 3 trains. They look something like this:

B 6 Franc/Spring      2

O 6 Vienna               4

O 8 Vienna               5

The sign on this platform means that there is a 6-car Blue line train coming in 2 minutes with final destination of Franconia/Springfield station. Next is the 6-car orange line train with the final destination of Vienna in 4 minutes and after that is the 8-car orange line train with the same final destination.

Train etiquette:

1. Always let the passengers getting off to do so before beginning to board.

2. Never stick your foot or bag or something in the door to hold it open. They are not like elevator doors and will close on you. If this happens frequently enough, the train conductor may offload the entire train.

3. Take a seat if they are available or stand as out of the way as possible. If you like, offer your seat to an older person if there are few seats left.

4. Metro rules say no food or drink, loud music or pets on the metro. Most people conform to this although some bring a closed travel mug.

5. Many people read on the metro (especially during commuting time). Just be aware if you and your friends are the only people talking a train although it’s entirely packed.

Problems:

If you have issues with metro, you are not at all alone. One of the most popular, and funniest, websites about the DC metro is UnsuckDCMetro. It generally has funny albeit frustrating stories of crisis that the DC metro could not handle.

On the other hand, the station workers, I have found, are generally the best people to ask for help. They seem to be the most knowledgeable and have always been pleasant to me. Metro does have a host of hotlines for different issues. Sometimes calling is helpful, while sometimes it is a huge waste of time. Often times, I have been hung up on when there is a large volume of calls and I have been told frequently that they could not fix my problem, to call a different office and then the different office couldn’t fix it either.

Overall, I still think that the DC metro is a viable way to navigate the city. It does not have to deal with general rush hour traffic as it’s located underground, but does definitely back up.  Hopefully this basic explanation of the D.C. metro will help make a first use easier.

During the summer and early fall there are lots of hikers in this part of Shenandoah. At the foot of the hiking trail, there is a parking lot for up to 200 cars.  As we arrived late on Saturday afternoon, there were still some spots left however, when we hiked out on Sunday afternoon, there was a line of cars each waiting for a spot.

Beside the parking lot, there is a little white house that serves as the registration station. Depending on when you go, there may be an attendant. The station has self-registration forms to document how long you are staying and how many people in your party. This information determines the price of admission and can be paid by cash, check or credit card. There is an envelope for the cash or check and space to fill out credit card information. This is an honor system, however and without an attendant, there is no change available.  Although you may be able to make it if an attendant happens to be present. Rates are not bad: $8 for an individual and no more than $15 per vehicle.

The most popular hike in this part of Shenandoah is Old Rag. As described by the park’s maps Old Rag hike is a difficult 9-mile hike including steep slopes and a rock scramble at the top. This sounded good to a set of reasonably fit people, but we also saw many that weren’t in the best of shape but had apparently made it up Old Rag.

Old Rag is not the only hike accessible from this area, though. There are 3 single-day hikes near by: Old Rag, Mt. Robinson and Corbin Run Hollow, which runs along a stream. The longer hikes from the same 200-car lot include Corbin Mountain Trail, Indian Run Trail, Nicholson Hollow Trail, Hannah Run Trail and Hot-Shot Mountain Trail. These last set of trails, however are much longer than the Old Rag and Robertson Mountain ones-so most likely not single-day hikes.

Beside the parking lot, there is a little white house that serves as the registration station. Depending on when you go, there may be an attendant. The station has self-registration forms to document how long you are staying and how many people in your party. This information determines the price of admission and can be paid by cash, check or credit card. There is an envelope for the cash or check and space to fill out credit card information. This is an honor system, however and without an attendant, there is no change available.  Although you may be able to make it if an attendant happens to be present. Rates are not bad: $8 for an individual and no more than $15 per vehicle.

The most popular hike in this part of Shenandoah is Old Rag. As described by the park’s maps Old Rag hike is a difficult 9-mile hike including steep slopes and a rock scramble at the top. This sounded good to a set of reasonably fit people, but we also saw many that weren’t in the best of shape but had apparently made it up Old Rag.

Old Rag is not the only hike accessible from this area, though. There are 3 single-day hikes near by: Old Rag, Mt. Robinson and Corbin Run Hollow, which runs along a stream. The longer hikes from the same 200-car lot include Corbin Mountain Trail, Indian Run Trail, Nicholson Hollow Trail, Hannah Run Trail and Hot-Shot Mountain Trail. These last set of trails, however are much longer than the Old Rag and Robertson Mountain ones-so most likely not single-day hikes.

Although we originally drove out to backpack overnight and hike Old Rag the next morning, we decided to hike partway up Robertson Mt. to look for somewhere to sleep Saturday night. All hikes begin by climbing the fire toad, and once up it, there is an obviously marked entrance to the Old Rag hike equipped with a large map, port-a-potties and water fountains. We hiked past this to continue to Mt. Robertson, but I suggest that if you are hiking Old Rag, begin at that sign for Old Rag. While hiking toward Mt. Robinson, soon realized that we were hiking against the flow of traffic and quickly found out why: this way up the mountain is incredibly steep. The fire road itself had a good incline to it until we veered off into the Mt. Robertson trail whereas we encountered a steeper incline.

It’s pretty easy to determine the trails in this area. All trailheads are well-marked by stand-alone concrete markers that simply state ‘no fires.’

Despite the steepness, we hiked up Mt. Robertson anyway but found it difficult to make camp. There was not much flat land along the trail. This shouldn’t have been a big issue, though as we have a hammock and generally use less flat space in it-meaning there was really no flat land off the side of this trail.

The hike up Mt. Robertson from east to west, i.e. against the flow of traffic, is mostly steep and windy. However, once we reached the summit-of 5 feet taller than Old Rag at 3,296 feet, by the way-there is a beautiful, flat camp site. If we had wanted to make it to the summit before nightfall, we needed to get to the park with plenty of time to hike there before dark. There are regulations that prohibit camping more than 2,800 up Old Rag, however this is only applies to Old Rag so the camp site on top of Mt. Robertson is fair game.

As our legs were quite sore from discovering how steep Mt. Robertson was, we decided not hike Old Rag the next day, but instead go back along the Corbin Hollow trail. This was a nice, gradual descent down Mt. Robinson, so I suggest hiking Mt. Robertson from west to east. The Corbin Hollow trail along Brokenback Run stream also had good camp sites. There were many flat spaces available all along the trail, so camping would be pretty feasible at any point along that trail, although the trailhead marker still prohibited fires.

Although the hike up Mt. Robinson was more of a workout than either of our legs or feet-both clad in vibram five-fingers-were entirely prepared for, overall the trip was beautiful, enjoyable and could be a single-day or multiple-day excursion.