[pct-l] Hiking with your dog

[Rebecca Mezoff]

I understand the desire to take your dog with you on the trail. I took  
my lab on the Colorado Trail when she was three years old. She was a  
trooper. She did the whole 500 mile trail, but I would never try to  
take a dog on a long hike again (and I met many other dogs at the  
start of the trail none of which made it to the end except Cassy as  
far as I know). She has walked miles every day since the day she came  
to live with me as a puppy. I trained with her extensively, toughened  
her feet, brought booties, many days had to wait out the heat when the  
trail was too hot, carried liters of extra water for her on waterless  
stretches, etc etc. Hiking with a dog long distance adds another large  
level of challenge. There were coyotes she took off chasing and lost  
her pack in the bushes (I had to wade through mud to get it), there  
was the time she went swimming with her pack and her food wasn't well  
enough protected and I had to pack out soggy rotten dog food for 3  
days and feed her some of mine. I constantly had to worry about her  
getting hit by a mountain biker roaring around a corner (and myself  
too!). But mostly, after about mile 300, she didn't want to do it any  
more. I had to bribe her every morning to put the pack back on, and  
her heart wasn't in it. She was healthy and usually warmed up to the  
hike after an hour or so, but she doesn't have the cognitive ability  
to talk herself into continuing something that is difficult day after  
day like a human can. Perhaps another dog could.
I love my dog and will always go hiking with dogs.  But I limit the  
length to a couple weeks. My next thru will not include a dog. (Also,  
I do believe that dog owners are extremely inconsiderate of other  
people. I always leash my dog when other people approach and  
frequently hike with her on leash when the trail is busy whether or  
not the law requires. I never take her to national parks -- except the  
few that allow dogs and then she is leashed and only on backcountry  
trails. I understand that many people do not like dogs and don't want  
an unknown dog coming up to them in any capacity, even with tail  
wagging and a big grin on. Unfortunately many dog owners are not so  
considerate.)
Yogi's thoughts about dogs on the PCT are good ones. Maybe a thru of  
the Colorado trail with Lucy if she is such a great trail dog would be  
a better idea than the PCT. The CT is much shorter, has fairly  
consistent water, and no national parks. Of course the above  
challenges still apply!
Rebecca