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Jul 30

Remembering Trapper

Susan and I are extremely grateful for the outpouring of affection shown for Trapper. He would be pleased to know he touched so many lives in such a positive way. As you might imagine the house seems rather empty without him though Sorrel & Rusty are doing their best to help fill the void; we sense they miss Trapper too. Our first night without Trapper was tough; I woke around 2:30 in the morning and couldn’t return to sleep so put together a little collage that seemed, for me anyway, to capture some of the things Trapper enjoyed. As the collage illustrates, Trapper thrived on activity (of all sorts); what seems hard to believe is he was only part of our family for less than five years (his “Gotta Ya Day” was 3 November 2012). This past year must have been very difficult for Trapper because the only real activity he generally got was short walks to the park. Again, for those who knew Trapper, I hope you enjoy this little tribute to a wonderful companion. (As some of you know the best way to contact me is still through my Univ of Wyo Email Account: mikeday@uwyo.edu.)

Cheers and thanks again,

Michael

Jul 29

Trapper Passes

I have some sad news to share. Trapper, our rescue dog, passed early this morning in his sleep at home; we believe he was fourteen. Many of you knew Trapper and knew what a special boy he was; he shared nearly five years of his life with us. We thought Trapper might die this past January when he developed a large open cyst on his hip and that I’d carry and leave his ashes on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. But Trapper recovered well from surgery and gave us another precious seven months. He’ll be greatly missed. Below are a few photos used in blogs previously.

Trapper a few days after we welcomed him into our family (November 2012)- Laramie, WY
Trapper and Susan (November 2012) – Laramie, WY

Rusty, Sorrel and Trapper with new Christmas collars (December 2012) – Laramie, Wyoming

Trapper with Christmas collar (December 2012) – Laramie, Wyoming

Trapper enjoying snow (March 2013) – Laramie, Wyoming

Trapper in Washington Park (August 2013) – Laramie, Wyoming

Trapper enjoying snow (January 2014) – Laramie, Wyoming

Trapper and Rusty enjoying snow (January 2014) – Laramie, Wyoming

Trapper enjoying snow (April 2016) – Hutton Lake NWR Road, Wyoming

Trapper, frequent c0-pilot and wonderful friend and companion (January 2017) – Laramie, Wyoming

Jul 7

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Remaining Snows of Kilimanjaro

Greetings all,

Just returned from trekking to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Thought for sure I’d take along the ashes of our rescue dog Trapper (likely 14 years old by now and who has slowed down quite a bit since January) but he’s still hanging on and we love him for it. [Some of you might recall when I trekked to Base Camp Mount Everest in October 2012 (see November 5, 2012 blog) I carried Andy’s ashes who had passed a few months earlier; had a nice ceremony for him when we arrived at Base Camp.] So this time no dog ashes (Trapper was at home with Susan and the twins) but still did the trek in his honor. And it was beautiful! It was also the most challenging trek of my life – especially the long descent to High Camp. After five days hiking (beginning at 6,000 feet) we began our final push for the summit at midnight and steadily climbed over 4,000 feet in a calm but cold (5-10 degrees) starry night, reaching Uhuru Peak at 8:45am June 13^th. Sunrise (around 6:45am) was breathtaking but no photos since my camera (insulated and snug) was in my backpack. There is a Swahili phrase “pole pole” which translates “slowly slowly” and that is the secret to a successful summit. So nearly nine hours after beginning our climb we stood on the roof of Africa (highest peak on the continent at 19,341 feet) but it would take until 6pm (another nine hours) until we arrived at our final camp – and THAT WAS A LONG, SLOW, ROCKY, SCREE COVERED, DUSTY, HIKE DOWN! Complete physical and mental exhaustion! But I did summit successfully and with no high altitude symptoms (no headache, no nausea, no trouble breathing the thin air). I felt GREAT at the summit!! And managed to spend an hour taking photos. Attached are a few images from the summit and the remaining snows of Kilimanjaro. Small tinga tinga painting purchased in Tanzania in 20o9. Two of Kilimanjaro’s peaks are depicted: Kibo on the left (elevation 19, 341 feet) and Mawenzi on the right (elevation 16, 893 feet)

Kibo (Mount Kilimanjaro) viewed from High Camp – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

Crater of Mount Kilimanjaro looking northwest with summit (Uhuru Peak) barely visible upper left – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

Trail to summit (Uhuru Peak), crater visible on right – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

Trail from summit (Uhuru Peak), southern ice field visible on right – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

Final push to Uhuru Peak – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

Celebrating with companions, Uhuru Peak – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

View from Uhuru Peak (top of Africa) looking northwest toward northern ice field (near top of image) and Furtwangler Glacier in the foreground – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

View from Uhuru Peak looking northwest toward northern ice field – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

View from Uhuru Peak looking north into crater – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

View from Uhuru Peak looking toward northern ice field above the crater – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

View from Uhuru Peak looking east toward Mawenzi Peak (16, 893 feet) – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

View from Uhuru Peak looking southeast toward Mawenzi Peak and southern ice field – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

View from Uhuru Peak looking southeast toward southern ice field – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

View from Uhuru Peak, closeup southern ice field – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

View from Uhuru Peak looking southwest toward southern ice field and Mount Meru (elevation 14, 968 feet, 43 miles away) – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania