Kim and her dad getting ready for a hike along Borden Creek in Bankhead National Forest.

Kim and Steve along Borden Creek.

Denali vaulting fallen logs on the Borden Creek trail.

Titus and Denali racing up and down trail in the morning, when they still had plenty of energy. This was a more difficult shooting environment than I had expected. It was an overcast day; wonderful for hiking, but I needed a faster lens and should have increased my ISO setting sooner.

Amanda's famous Boston Terriers (http://www.monsterpaparazzi.com/) drinking from a puddle of muck near the cave on the Borden Creek trail.

This tunnel is the highlight of the Borden Creek trail. It's definitely a tight squeeze, and not easy to get through carrying a backpack and a camera.

Denali? Or Batman?

Scenes along the Borden Creek trail.

Denali quickly settled down and conserved her energy for the long haul. She's definitely a long distance hiker by nature.

Amanda and Kim comparing camera settings. Between the three of us photo buffs, not much of the day went unrecorded.

Miley and Howie.

Miley the Fierce.

Kim and Titus on our lunch log.

The Sipsey Fork, where it joins Borden Creek. Due to the long drought the South has suffered the last couple of years, the water levels along Borden Creek were not impressive. But there was enough of a pool at this confluence to stop and have some fun.

Kim was the only human in our party who elected to take her shoes off and get wet.

The dogs didn't have any reservations about getting wet and muddy. Denali's not much for play, but she seemed to enjoy chasing the terriers.

Denali's not a swimmer either, but she likes to wade. Titus, on the other hand, had a ball in the water.

Howie turned into a bit of brat during playtime, and almost got a discipline lesson from a much larger, annoyed German Shepherd Dog.

As Denali got worked up due to Howie's antics, I became concerned that she might get carried away. Howie completely ignored Denali in favor of challenging Titus, and didn't properly respect the threat that Denali represented. Thankfully, everyone played nice though Kim and I stepped in on a couple of occasions.

Kim giving Titus an introduction to swimming. I believe this was the first time Titus paddled through water over his head.

Kim preparing to exfoliate her feet with river sand during the 3 mile hike back to the trailhead.