What's in a name?

When it comes to picking out a name we all have our favorites. Most of us have them picked out before the baby arrives. This was the same for me in the case of my fur baby. It was the first time ever that I, myself, was getting a dog. Well my boyfriend and I were getting a dog. And we discussed names long before our puppy got here. We wanted it to be meaningful for both of us, and a great name. After some debate we came up with Hercules, a good strong name for a full grown 100 pound Rhodesian Ridgeback.

Now don't get me wrong, I liked the name. But I had my hesitations. You see, Hercules is a 3 syllable name, and kind of hard to say. Seriously, try saying it three times fast, it's a bit of a tongue twister if you ask me. I had this issue from the very beginning, choosing a three syllable name would make training a nightmare. And naming my dog Hercules to call him HERC. Well I don't really need to go over all the reasons that wasn't going to happen. But I was a bit stuck, and couldn't seem to come up with a better replacement. 

And then my boyfriend did. "What do you think of the name Moose?" I mean, I was sold. Who names their dog Moose. It was absolutely brilliant. More to the plus, the bf goes to Alaska every year, so Moose had sentimental meaning for him, and I love Mooses in general so perfect. Or not, 3 days later the bf decides he doesn't like it anymore. I offered up compromises to sell this new amazing name but the boyfriend wasn't budging. 

He came up with another name...Bowser. I wasn't a fan at all, especially after finding out it was a video game character. Ok some of you may love classic Mario. I can even appreciate it at times. But your dog's name is a huge reflection of you, and I'm super anti video games. He kept pushing for it though.

A week after we had received our puppy, he still didn't have a name. We took him hiking and on that hike we polled everyone in sight, asking them to vote between Moose and Bowser. The vast majority voted Moose, because it is an awesome name obviously. So we tried out Moose for a week. The boyfriend put out a veto, he just didn't like the name, that he came up with in the first place...

At this point I was very much resenting the fact that I okayed the 'this will be "our" dog' idea. If it was my dog I could have named him whatever I wanted. Instead I had to fight tooth and nail for any name I liked. To be honest, I couldn't come up with anything better than Moose. We tried Cannoli and decided we didn't like it. We tried Tiny. We tried Hercules again, nope that three syllable issue still bugged me. Bandit, Mega, Gelato, Ridge, Ridgey (you would be surprised at how many people suggested I name my ridgeback Ridge. Hopefully you aren't one of the people I have to explain why Ridge for a ridgeback is not unique at all and actually is just horrible. At least the BF and I agreed on that) Dash, Flash, Blitz, Zeus...this wasn't even half the names we considered and nothing was good enough for our awesome puppy. AWESOME? nope, love the word, but not for my dog's name. Sven, Beast, Ares, Bonus, Agent, Heist...

HEIST. Now this had promise. Because our puppy had a "black mask" and "white gloves" he was totally ready for the Heist. And when we got our girl...well obviously her name would be Diamond. Diamond and Heist, that was it. But after a few times actually trying to say HEIST and call it over and over. Its a one syllable name that's almost impossible to say. And oh by the way, no one got it. NO ONE. So we decided against Heist.

All the while I looked at my sweet little puppy every single day for three weeks and couldn't find a name that would stick. Now initially when I was trying to sell Moose to my boyfriend, I offered a huge compromise for our future girl puppy's name. #KENAI (pronounced Keen-eye). It was a very special name to my bf that I vetoed right off the bat, we'll save the why for another time. Just know that it was a HUGE deal for me to offer this name. He still wouldn't go for Moose.

But after three weeks of calling your puppy "Bub" because he doesn't have a name and considering every single possibility known to man, you start to realize that a lot more goes into a dog's name than it being meaningful to you. 1. you have to say it all the time, so it needs to be no more than 2 syllables. actually after this process I have realized that this is absolutely the key factor in naming a new dog. Take all the other things you thought were important off the list. 

I was so sick of coming up with cute three syllable names that were impossible to call. I was sick of considering every possibility. I wanted a cute name that was easy to say. Preferably 2 syllables and something unique. And the big one, both me and the BF had to like it.

So I called the BF one night while I was out of town and I made a wager, "I'll give you #KENAI, if I get to name the girl without your input" his only requirement was that the girl's name would not be Moose, or any variation thereof. It was a deal. His name would be #KENAI. I made it official on instagram the next day. #KENAItheridgebackpup. There was no going back, he had a hashtag.

A few days later though I was doubting my decision. Pretty much every person I said the name to, repeated it back with an inquisitive look, "Canine?" Really you think I would name my dog Canine? It's downright horrible first of all, secondly, no, just no. We considered for a half second to go back on the choice it took us 3 weeks to agree upon, but going back to the drawing board was not an option. I just didn't want to do it again. Some amazing name was not going to pop up out of the blue, I had been over every single list. KENAI was easy to call and I liked it. It's meaningful for the BF, and my sister's puppy is named KODA from Brother Bear. Our cousin puppies would be called KENAI and KODA, that was cute enough for me.

Then of course my bf name drops the perfect name for the girl puppy...KENYA, the african lion huntress. SOLD. Just to be clear though, choosing the name was my decision alone, as agreed upon based on our previous conversation. And so it is. Our 15 week old puppy really does look like a KENAI. I guess that tends to happen after you call your dog 158 times per hour. I like that its original and no one has heard it. I like that it is an easy name to say (even though it seems that somehow 88% of everyone I talk to can't get it right.) And most of all, I love that I already have the girl's name picked out for when we get her and that we do NOT have to go through this grueling process again.

#KENAItheridgebackpup #KENYAthelionhuntress #adventureswithKENAIandKENYA

Mt Wilson and the Case of the Rollaway Peanut Butter

As you can tell, it's been a while since I have sat down to put fingertips to keyboard to write you a story. You wouldn't believe me if I told you writing is a passion of mine, that secretly all I want to do is become a famous writer with readers all over the planet, so enthralled with my stories and laughing at my words. Being so hooked that they lose track of hours, and just can't put my book down. I absolutely love writing but you wouldn't know because I haven't done it, not in years; many of them to be exact. I just haven't had a story worth telling, life gets mundane and writing takes inspiration. I guess it's a little sad that I haven't found much of it in the past few years, but it looks like times may be changing as I'm sitting down and writing for you today. I didn't expect to be when the day started, god knows there was no way in hell I could have predicted what was going to happen...

Mt Wilson, if you didn't know, is one Epic hike. 14 miles round trip with 4,000ft elevation gain, well on paper it sounds like a walk in the park, I guess technically speaking it actually is just that -Tell that to your burning calves as you attempt to walk up it's 45 degree incline. And let's not forget it's winter, so time is not on your side, it's a strategic race against the sun to make it to the peak with enough time to get back to the car before Sunset. I'll kill the suspense now, we didn't make it to the peak.

But when you are hiking, there can be several peaks within one hike. The views from all of them may very well be spectacular, the harsh reality though is that you might not reach your initial goal. After all, 9.5 miles with 3500 ft in elevation gain is still one for the record books, at least at this point in my hiking experience. Hopefully by summer we can make it a lot further, hopefully all the way to the actual top. This story, however, is about making your own peak, especially when you know the real one is unattainable on that day. 

Like I mentioned earlier, when you hike during the winter, the closer it gets to lunchtime, the more you start assessing your crazy thought process of hiking 14 miles in a day, because after lunch every step you take towards the peak is one you must repeat on the way back down and sunset creeps up on you deceivingly fast. Even as a novice I know if you didn't plan on staying on the mountain overnight, it's not something you really want to do. You have to buckle down and get your little behind back to the car by sundown or you might be in for a few not so nice surprises as night creeps in.

We started out feeling good, at a decent pace, throw in some interval hiking (100 steps hard, 50 steps easy, repeat 3 times, stop do 30 full squats and repeat again). The first couple miles I was convinced we would make it all the way, until it was 12:45pm when we hit the halfway to the peak point, I guess we weren't travelling as fast as I had originally thought. 3.5 miles with 2500 ft of elevation gain feels a lot more like 6.5 miles with 3800 ft elevation gain. We however were not a half mile from the peak.

2pm approached and we were 4.75 miles in. 2.25 miles to the top. Even if we were to continue trekking, it was past lunch time. We came to a giant fallen log on the trail and decided to stop and eat. But first, I really had to go, so I walked up the trail to find a good spot to go because hey, when nature calls... Unfortunately, there wasn't one. Steep cliff side to either side I pondered whether or not to commit a big no no and let it go on the trail. I decided against that which turned out to be a good thing as there was a fellow hiker about 100 paces back. #listentoyourgut

When I got back the yelling had commenced, "Bee can't you just hold the f*cking peanut butter..." Tea was pissed and I couldn't quite figure out why. Bee strikes back, "you are capable of making your own sandwich..." they continued to go back and forth when all the sudden I notice the peanut butter rolling down the hill. The yelling persisted, we were sure to lose the peanut butter over the edge. But then the impossible happened and the jar veered right, back on to the trail, and was heading directly for Kay and Ty.

"Don't worry Tea, I got this," it looked as if the peanut butter was saved, until Kay world cupped it off the edge, falling on the trail in the process. We watched that jar bump and crash all the way down the cliff, dislodging twigs, leaves, and rocks in the process. Let's just say watching that jar disappear into the cliff's abyss was theatre worthy. We all thought the show ended there, until Bee came through with the most unexpected encore.

You see, Tea hadn't stopped yelling from the time the PB started rolling down the hill. She was ripping Bee a new one. Something about him being such an a**hole and not caring about her needs... So he got up and followed the Peanut Butter's tracks, down the trail to where Kay was still in her fallen state, and then off the side and down the cliff. He ran and slid and bumped along just as the peanut butter had. "You better not die Bee, I'll find you in the after life and kill you again..." Tea was getting nervous at this point. And then the unthinkable happened. Bee found the now broken jar of peanut butter and picked up its remains.

We all watched in anticipation as Bee tried to climb up the cliff he so effortlessly seemed to ski down. He couldn't get his footing without his hands, so he threw the peanut butter back down where he found it. Life is more valuable than a jar of peanut butter apparently. Bee chose his steps carefully, getting back up was proving to be more tricky than it was on the way down. Rocks tumbled beneath him creating the most dramatic of backdrops of this live time epic event. We were all nervous...

"Be careful," ..."watch your footing," if he would have lost his balance...well that would have been the end of life as he knew it and I'm not exaggerating. We all knew what was at stake, so when Bee stepped up onto a large boulder and started to do just that, we all held our breath for what was to happen next.

Here's the thing, in these types of seemingly harmless life or death situations, you don't really even consider that you could die. You set off on a day hike with 10 friends, and you never actually think you will lose your life, or watch your friend from 100ft up, fall backwards and tumble down a cliff to his death. You joke that it's a possibility but deep down you know it will never happen, until the stage is set and you watch as he loses his balance; arms flailing as he does in fact lose his footing off of that boulder. 

And in that moment, I'm sure we all could attest and so could you if you were there, that you watch life as you know it flash before your eyes, and that wave of helplessness floods over you. Because really what are you supposed to do, do you slide down the hill to try and save your friend who lays there lifeless and put yourself at risk of the same fate? Or do you run the 4.5 miles back for help, and then hike it all again hoping to get back in time? But let's be honest by the time you got back your friend had already suffered through his last breaths... Or do you break down right there in tears, fall to the ground and ask how the day had actually led up to this moment, this unexpected not in a million years would it happen but it's happening moment...

I looked over at Tea and she was commencing on option number 3. Tears streamed down her face as the love of her life lost his footing off the boulder and fell backwards. Luckily, it was only a stumble and we didn't have to watch our friend tumble to his death. But man, I'll be honest, I can relate way better to the whole "life flash before your eyes" thing, and it wasn't even my life. 

Bee made his way up the rest of the hill with ease, Spiderman like even. No more suspenseful is he going to fall moments. But once, you've had one of those, you're changed forever. Tea grabbed him and scolded, "Don't ever do that again. Don't ever chase a jar of peanut butter down a cliff..." Ty cut her off, "if that's not love Tea, I don't know what is." Bee just stated the obvious, "It looks like we'll be having honey sandwiches for lunch..." And we did. Honey sandwiches have never tasted so good. 

As we discussed the events that had just played out, we figured out that in fact it was not Bee who threw the peanut butter down the hill, rather #KODAtheadventuredog had knocked it off the log to send it on its journey. And I found out that Tea was so mad in the first place because she had dropped her slices of bread on the ground. How Kay managed to kick the peanut butter off the cliff is still a mystery. But to be honest, those are all seemingly insignificant things now. And how ironic was it that Bee had yelled out to Tea early on in the hike to "Stay on the trail..." and not follow Ty on the rock climbing short cut routes.

Yeah we sat and ate our honey sandwiches and decided there was no better peak on this hike, not today. No view could be more impressive or suspenseful than the one we had already witnessed. And on top of all that, we had every reason to believe that getting stuck on the trail after dark was a terrible idea, because when you have a real brush with death, the impossible seems probable, and the grim reaper had already come just a little too close.

Now if you would have told me this is the story I would be telling you when I left for this unsuspecting hike, I probably would have laughed in your face, I would have said it was impossible. But here we are, and who would have thought I'd start writing again, all because of a jar of peanut butter. 

 

Disclaimer: Story Based on true events, names have been altered to protect the innocent. All except #KODAtheadventuredog. Follow me on Instagram: @rdmoney or connect with me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rachelle.denaro