Bernese Mountain Dogs are not generally regarded as athletic beasts. Despite being strong and able to pull carts, they have an awkward gait and a questionable amount of stamina. As a loyal companion, a typical Bernese is content with moderate hikes in the mountains.

However, Huxley is a small Bernese. He looks like more of an athlete, and because of this I tend to push his limits a bit further. Sometimes he exceeds expectations; other times he gets cliffed out and I have to carry his 90-pound ass up-and-over sketchy zones.

The last few times I've taken Hux mountain biking he's become too exhausted to continue. Granted, conditions were not ideal for a large dog with a thick coat (read: Moab slickrock and Montana heatwave). Because of this, the 'exercise Hux' category and the 'ride bikes' category tend to be mutually exclusive.

With winter fast approaching, I knew my window to give the pup another shot on singletrack was getting slim. I did some research, found a trail that allowed dogs, and knew it would be the perfect fall adventure. The zone was at Powder Mountain, a place I've never ventured out to explore. There wasn't much information online, but the Brim Trail seemed like a relatively easy loop for the hound and I to give the biking game another go.

The foliage was incredible, the trail was in good shape and Huxley the athlete crushed it. We took a couple water breaks, marveled at the golden floor and snapped a few shots before booking it back to the car as a storm rolled in.

It was a great day.