Sean Longstreet witnessed four days of startled reactions when he backpacked over Piute Pass above Bishop this summer in the Eastern High Sierra.

The popular Beaumont school district music instructor was not behaving oddly. He didn’t pick his guitar strings or blow his trumpet as he walked the steep trails.

Instead, his companion attracted stares of surprise and reactions of laughter.

Longstreet backpacked with his standard poodle, Hendrix, a calm, friendly dog named after the legendary late rock guitarist.

Labs, golden retrievers and shepherd mixes are more typical trail dogs. I think of poodles as canines that tread sidewalks sporting painted, manicured nails and wear ribbons in chic, urban neighborhoods such as Little Italy in San Diego.

I would expect a poodle to drink Perrier while reposed at a sidewalk cafe, not lapping from a high-mountain lake.

Longstreet, a gifted guitarist and 2002 Hemet High grad, noticed people on the trail must have thought the same thing.

He said they looked startled when they rounded a corner and spotted a big, light-brown poodle wearing a red backpack filled with dog food.

Hendrix was a great conversation starter in the back country. Just about everyone who saw him stopped to chat.

He said they would tell him things like they didn’t see him listed among species in guides to the Eastern High Sierra.

“Or ‘It’s the elusive Sierra Nevada standard poodle,’” he said.

Longstreet said his dog did fairly well on the trip but was by no means an extraordinary super poodle in the mountains. Sophie, Longstreet’s parents’ 2-year-old black lab-St. Bernard mix, was much more energetic on the trek.

He said his poodle buddy is fairly lazy, though he does seem to enjoy getting out on the trail when prodded.

Wearing the backpack at times made the dog too hot, so Longstreet carried it for part of the hike. He also carried Hendrix down a steep, stair-step section of the trail, which, not surprisingly, drew lots of chatter from hikers.

“We had to stop for him a lot,” said Longstreet, who was accompanied by his parents, Michael and Stephanie Wall, and his sister, Hilary Wall.

Longstreet didn’t mind. He sees an advantage to a dog that dawdles. Hendrix doesn’t demand a run when Longstreet returns to their Cherry Valley home after his day of teaching.

“Poodles make really good bachelor dogs,” he said. “They are lazy dogs. They don’t need physical exertion.”

BUSY MUSIC SCHEDULE

Longstreet will play with his jazz ensemble, the Sean Longstreet Quintet, at the Diamond Valley Arts Center’s third Sunday concert Sept. 20.

Doors will open at 6 p.m. The music will start at 6:30 p.m. Presale tickets are $20, or $25 at the door.

Ticket information is available at thedvac.org. The center is at 123 N. Harvard St., Hemet.

He also is curating a showcase concert for young musicians and visual artists that will be staged Aug. 22 at the Diamond Valley Arts Center. The doors will open at 6 p.m. The music will be heard from 6:30 to 9 p.m.

He is inviting musicians he knows. Students artists should email sean.longstreet@gmail.com if interested in showing their work. The cost is $10 for a first ticket sold to groups of people attending and $5 for each additional ticket.

Contact the writer: bpratte@pe.com or 951-368-9078