[pct-l] dogs on the PCT

[JD Schaefer]

Eric
What percent of the thru-hikers would you say are willing to put their dog's
needs ahead of their own?
JD


On Wed, Feb 11, 2009 at 1:53 PM, Eric Lee <saintgimp at hotmail.com> wrote:

> 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
>
>
>
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