The Navajo Ultrarunner and the Irrepressible Border Collie Pup Who Saved Him

Last December, Eli Neztsosie found himself 70 miles from the nearest town, 40 miles from the closest gas station, and three miles from his horse, when darkness fell over the Arizona desert.

The rancher and his dog, Tractor, had been pushing 25 head of cattle down to the low country for the winter. But the trail had grown too narrow, too rugged. Even Eli’s sure-footed horse, Two Socks, could break an ankle, or worse, trip and send them both off a cliff. So Eli had dismounted, turned on his cellphone light, and called out for Tractor to push—guide the cattle—the last few miles.

Now at the bottom of the canyon, with the herd in and the gate closed, he cursed himself for getting greedy. What usually took two people and two days, he’d tried to do alone and in one. He’d always prided himself on doing things alone, but this

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