[pct-l] Thru hikers Jonathan Ley and Jason Melvin in the news.

[Brick Robbins <brick@fastpack.com>]

>From 5/31/99 Bakersfield Californian:

RIDGECREST — A China Lake fireman was reunited with his dog, Amigo,
Thursday thanks to the efforts of two Pacific Crest Trail hikers who
carried the 65-pound animal to safety.

When Jonathan Ley and Jason Melvin first came upon the large, snarling dog
in the middle of the trail their first thought was the damage the animal
could do to their only mode of transport.

"The only thing getting us to Canada is our legs," Melvin said.

But they needed to do something, they said, because the dog didn't look
like it would survive. Noticing where a collar had been on the dog's neck,
they realized the animal had an owner somewhere.

The dog's owner, Patrick Hannon had been backpacking with a friend from the
Walker Pass trailhead, along the PCT, to Owens Peak Tuesday. They were on
their way out Wednesday when Amigo disappeared about 11 a.m.

Hannon thought nothing of it when Amigo left the trail on a chase. He
assumed his pet would be right back — the dog usually was. This time was
different, however.

"We called around and stayed there for two to three hours hoping he'd show
up; he never did," Hannon said.

The two hiked out of the trail, but Hannon returned that evening and
searched until midnight. He left a bowl of water and some food by the
trailhead. He came back Thursday morning to post fliers, but his hopes had
dimmed.

What happened to the dog is still a mystery, but when Ley, Melvin and two
other hikers found it at 5 p.m. Wednesday, he was lethargic and unfriendly.
After giving him some water, the dog stopped snarling, started wagging its
tail and stealing their hearts.

"The four of us decided to sleep right there," Melvin said.

They hoped the dog would be well enough to walk by morning but it wasn't.
The pair fashioned a stretcher from two large sticks and a sheet of
plastic. They broke camp about 7:30 a.m., strapped on their 30-pound
backpacks and began the 6 1/2 mile hike back to the Walker Pass trailhead.
The hike took them five hours. They normally cover 20 miles a day.

They weren't sure what they would do once they got off the trail without a
car. But they met a day hiker who helped them carry the dog out and then
drove them to Crestwood Animal Hospital and back to the PCT to meet the
rest of their party.

 "It's a darn good thing he was found," when he was, said Crestwood
veterinarian Heather Graves.

The dog was overheated and suffering from dehydration. It had abrasions on
its underside, possibly from a fall, Graves said.

It's just a theory, but Graves said the dog may have become disoriented
after it ran off. If it couldn't find its way back to the trail, it may
have kept running. That kind of intense activity coupled with six hours of
exposure and lack of water can bring a dog down, Graves said.

A 65-pound dog's basic water needs are nearly two quarts a day, more if
it's outside and running around, he said.

Amigo is expected to make a full recovery.

Hannon said he'll take his 6-year-old pooch hiking again, but will start
off slowly.

 
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