When we find ourselves in the San Francisco Bay Area one of our favorite spots to camp is up on Mt. Diablo. On this trip our usual campground, Live Oak, was closed for the season so we were instead directed to the Juniper Campground. We arrived mid-week as we normally do and were treated to an empty campground. The weather was clear and cool with daily highs in the mid 60’s and nights in the 40’s. It’s nice to be able to, literally, pick any campsite you want and not have to factor noisy or nosy neighbors into the decision. Our only visitors in three days was the ranger doing a drive through once. Besides that the only disturbance was one hour of the Met Life Blimp seemingly practicing maneuvering in windy conditions on the west face of Mt. Diablo essentially right above our heads. Kind of annoying but mildly interesting as well watching him attempt station-keeping moves in the gusty winds streaming westward over the peak.
Sadly this coincided with one of Willow’s “episodes” of spine issues and she was in substantial pain for the entire time.
We were about to run out of Tramadol so I was rationing it out to her and she spent the entire time either in the tent or on her memory foam pad trying to get and remain comfortable.
It was tricky getting the dosages correct. On one hand I want her to be pain-free and comfortable. On the other, when she is this bad the amount of drug that makes her comfortable also turn her into a sleepy, unmoving lump. We compromised and skipped any hikes or running around and I caught up on reading and hung out around the campsite about as sedentary as my girl. It actually was a nice, relaxing change from our usual activity level.
We packed up and drove down off the mountain after a couple of days and headed to the Veterinarian we go to in Fremont when we are in the Bay Area. It was decided that another round of Prednisone would beat back the swelling around her spine and so we started her on that regiment and forced rest for a couple of weeks until she was back to her normal, bouncy self.