[pct-l] dogs on the PCT

[Eric Lee]

Mara wrote:
>
But I wanted to hear what people have to say about either hiking with dogs 
or interacting with dogs on the trail. Would you recommend bringing the dog 
along or not?
>

I don't think it's been discussed recently, but it's definitely one of those 
topics where people have a variety of strongly-held opinions.

The majority opinion is that long-distance hiking with a dog is really, 
really hard.  Much harder than most dog owners realize.  There's a big 
difference between a jaunt of a few days and a multi-month grind.  A few 
people have done it with dogs successfully, but many end up regretting it. 
Fortunately for you, the very hardest part of the PCT for dogs is southern 
California, which you're not planning on doing.  But it's still challenging.

I'll see if I can dig up some materials I wrote awhile back, but for now 
here's a high-level summary of what you should think about:

Many areas of the trail are nothing but abrasive gravel and rocks.  Your dog 
will most likely start to have problems with its pads after several days. 
You'll want to get a sturdy pair of dog booties and train with them 
beforehand, because booties can cause their own problems with chafing and 
blisters.

It's usually not as brutally hot in Oregon and Washington as it is in the 
south, but it can still get extremely hot at times.  Dogs have a hard time 
in extreme heat because they can't sweat.  Also remember that they're much 
lower to the ground than you are.  The ambient air temperature may be 100 
deg. F but close to the ground it can easily be more like 120 deg. or more.

Having a dog makes hitchhiking much more difficult.

Dogs are restricted from some national parks.  I'm not sure about the 
specific policies of the Oregon and Washington parks.

If your dog is not completely well-mannered at all times, many other hikers 
won't enjoy being around you.

Your dog can't talk and can't make up its own mind about whether it wants to 
walk all day every day for a couple of months straight.  You'll need to be 
very tuned in to how your dog is feeling and be ready to alter or end your 
hike depending on how your dog is doing rather than how you're doing. 
That's harder than it sounds.  In past years I've read more than one report 
of a thru-hiker dragging along a thoroughly miserable dog, completely 
oblivious to the cruelty they were inflicting.

All this is not to say that it can't be done.  It can, with the right hiker 
and the right dog.  But you need to be aware of the special challenges 
you'll face and have appropriate plans for dealing with them.  Many people 
start with some idealized, romantic notion of spending a few months in the 
mountains with their best four-footed friend.  The reality is that while a 
thru-hike (or long section hike) is hard, doing it with a dog is even 
harder.  If you're aware of that reality, and are ready to put your dog's 
needs ahead of your own, then go for it.

Eric