Left of Bang

Kobae's not very good at being left of bang. So, I go with him on hikes. He doesn't see the signs that bang is coming. Flood, hail, moving vehicle, steep drop offs with overhangs, depth of water, or darkness. Bang. All detrimental to his and in turn, my health.

Right of bang is cleaning up. Trying to wait out the storm with flood waters all around us or covering over him when the hail comes or putting a flashlight in front of him to get him to move in the dark. When I lift my voice and say "ooooh Kobae" he will hesitate and seem to understand danger is about but usually he continues on.

For most when danger comes the options are freeze, flight, or fight. The frustrating thing with Kobae is he can't comprehend any of those things and it's a battle when you've picked the option you think is best knowing he will fight you every inch of the way.

I try very hard to be left of bang to make up for my hiking partner's shortcomings. To watch the dark clouds, notice the wind pick up and it's direction. Creeks with potential overhangs, listening for vehicles, and constantly hand measuring the sky for time before darkness. (Extend your arm fully and cup your fingers. Take the top finger and place it just below the bottom of the sun. Measure how many hands from the bottom of the sun to the top of the land horizon. Each hand is an hour of light prior to the sun setting. Each finger 15 minutes.)

Today though we got thrown a new twist. As Kobae approached the overhang I gave him the high pitched Kobae warning and he turned away from a possible 15 foot drop. He started walking out where the second one was but as he went to turn back the hole where a large felled tree use to be and had partially filled in began collapsing under Kobae's weight. I'm pushing dirt in there as fast as I can with my feet but Kobae is falling into a sinkhole and at 150 plus pounds and him in an almost upright position it's a battle. I edited 5 minutes of video staring at my butt but the rest is kind of entertaining.