[pct-l] Dogs on trail

[Thomas Jamrog]

Baxter State Park in Maine doesn't allow dogs, they also prohibit  
radios, musical instruments, primarily due to the priority of keeping  
it as much a  wilderness experience as possible.    Dogs have the  
potential to bark and to chase deer and moose, which are plentiful in  
the park.
Uncle Tom


On Feb 18, 2009, at 1:11 AM, Fuzz McPherson wrote:

> Yeah, it sounds like you could write a book!  I imagine that sort of  
> information you are learning could be useful to other hikers with  
> dogs.
>
> Now, even with what's been said on here recently, which is all  
> opinion anyway, I wonder whether there is any real reason to not  
> "allow" a dog on certain parts of the trail.  What reasons do those  
> areas give for that prohibition?  I'd figure as long as you aren't  
> harming the surrounding area or other people, etc. by having a dog  
> out there then there shouldn't be a reason not not allow a dog out  
> there.  Anyway, thanks for the response and insight.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Gary Schenk <gwschenk at socal.rr.com>
> To: pct-l at backcountry.net
> Cc: Andrew Jones <a.freddy.j at gmail.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 10:44:22 PM
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Dogs on trail
>
> On Tuesday 17 February 2009 19:12:52 Andrew Jones wrote:
>> Fuzz, Gary, et al.-
>>
>> You asked about how we plan to do manage with the dog on trail.  
>> I'll give
>> the brief rundown. First off, there is a lot of trail she's not  
>> allowed on.
>> For the larger sections (National Parks) we have friends to pick  
>> her up and
>> drop her off. For some places, it just involves a lot of road  
>> miles, which
>> I don't like, but I accept the rules and get over it.
>>
>> She requires a lot of water, and we'll have the capacity to carry  
>> 8-10
>> liters each (my wife and I), at least for the desert and more  
>> waterless
>> stretches of trail (eg Hat Creek Rim). The dog gets priority on the  
>> water -
>> we will go thirsty so she doesn't. She also will need high calorie  
>> food,
>> and we'll be feeding her Blue Buffalo Wilderness - expensive but very
>> dense, high protein high fat stuff. Plus she'll get a bit of our  
>> human food
>> every night. We won't do as many miles per day as most through  
>> hikers, and
>> we'll be starting in early April, way ahead of the pack, so we can  
>> get
>> through the desert, hopefully, before temperatures get too  
>> unbearable. Most
>> of our hiking in the warmer trail sections will be especially short  
>> days,
>> mostly hiking in early morning and late evening. Our distance between
>> resupplies will probably be lower than average, too, with a high  
>> number of
>> zero days, especially when we're just starting out.
>>
>> Rattlesnakes concern us, and we've been doing some training with  
>> her using
>> a the voice command "behind," where she then understands to hike  
>> behind one
>> of us (whoever doesn't have her leash in hand). It's tricky, but so  
>> far, so
>> good, and we'll be using that through much of the desert. Thanks,  
>> Patti,
>> for letting us know about the rattlesnake training course - we just  
>> might
>> have her do that.
>>
>> She will not carry her own pack - I don't really think she's built  
>> for it,
>> and she really hates it. This probably isn't even all that true,  
>> but we
>> tend to be overly cautious with her, and I can tell when my back  
>> hurts from
>> extra weight and I'm overdoing it, but I can't always tell with the  
>> dog.
>> The other main thing is her feet - the only reason I've ever seen  
>> her want
>> to quit hiking was when she tore up her feet going over a pass in the
>> Absarokas - on that trip we didn't put her boots on when we should  
>> have,
>> but we won't be making that mistake again. For boots, we're using  
>> Ruffwear
>> Grip Trex, and we also have their Cloud Chaser (warming) and Swamp  
>> Cooler
>> (cooling) jackets. For the lead, it's a 20' retractable Flexi that is
>> modified with two homemade shock absorbing sections. I hike with my  
>> pack
>> waistband through a bungee cord attachment on the leash so my hands  
>> are
>> free.
>>
>> As for breeds, Uffizi (ooo-FEET-see) is a red-bone coonhound mix -  
>> those
>> hounds are bred for long-distance hunting such as bear and cougar.  
>> She has
>> long legs and a strong, fluid gait and really can go long distances
>> tirelessly. Our other dog is a rottweiler/lab, who is almost the same
>> height, but has a choppier gait (and an old leg injury), and we  
>> would never
>> consider trying to make him do the trail (even though he would  
>> follow us no
>> matter how much it hurt). So he'll be staying with family for this  
>> summer.
>>
>> That's about all. Maybe I'll write a book....
>>
>> Andy
>
> Wow, that's a lot of work. Best of luck to you.
>
> Gary
>
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