PCT Thru with dog.

[Wooobie]

Hello, going to be bringing Murphy on the PCT with me. She hiked the AT no problem.

Any past thruhikers made any attempts at PCT with dog and have any advice to share? Not tooo worried about her though i will probably board her in the sierras. Concerned about river crossings especially with the year we are having.































































If your advice is dont bring a dog, which i know someone will pipe in about it. I dont care.

[Malto]

I would be careful around other dogs especially the dreaded POODLE DOG bush. Imagine Fido rubbing against the dreaded dog then curling up next to you. Could result in something like happened to Swami on his 2012 hike.

[Wooobie]

Well Murph does like to rub up against **** then lay in my lap. so ill be careful about it in the desert. I got a pretty awesome case of poison ivy on the inside of my thighs from murph.

[blue indian]

Woobie!

I met you and Murphy somewhere in TN last year. I remember a cool campsite you had by the river and snapped a photo of it! Glad to see you and Murphy made it to Katahdin!

[Spirit Walker]

What I saw on the PCT is that very few dogs make it very far. The heat, the ticks, the long long distances between water sources (are you willing to carry 3 gallons of water?), the volcanic rock that tears at dogs feet, the necessity of doing big miles almost every day, the rattlesnakes - they are very hard on dogs. I saw a lot of people go home because it was hurting the dogs to continue.

Also, on the PCT there are several places - like the National Parks in California and many of the state parks - where dogs are forbidden.

[MuddyWaters]

Have not.
But my understanding is that theres quite a few places you will need to board.
And be on leash much else
Google is your friend

[Wooobie]

yeah i already know of restricted areas. thank you for the advice, what is this google?

[MuddyWaters]

yeah i already know of restricted areas. thank you for the advice, what is this google?

Googles a company that knows more about you than your own mother. And sells the information. Come to think of it, they might not be your friend after all....

[nsherry61]

Compared to the rock scrambles in in NH and ME along the AT that many forum posters on this site claim are too tough for dogs to successfully navigate, the PCT grade is nothing.

I think some of the big differences (for the dog) that you will find going from the AT to the PCT are significantly greater temperature extremes and fewer water sources in some areas while in others, yes, bigger and more river crossings - but that's what a harness is for. There is seriously rough lava rock in parts of the cascades that may be rough and sharp enough to cause pretty significant paw damage even to well trail adjusted paws. I would expect a few dogs handle all these issues manageably with shorter miles, altered travel schedules, appropriate coats or jackets or paw shoes if needed for cooling and/or warming and/or protection, etc., but, of course, you won't know until you get there.

I'm sure you can research where you are likely to run into these various problems for you dog and figure out how to handle each issue if and when it arises. And yeah, no duh, you might have to either quit the trail or hike some significant part without your dog if things go poorly. But, that's what adventure is all about.

I'd place good odds on overall success and net awesomeness.

[Wooobie]

Can you link me their web address?

[Dogwood]

What I saw on the PCT is that very few dogs make it very far. The heat, the ticks, the long long distances between water sources (are you willing to carry 3 gallons of water?), the volcanic rock that tears at dogs feet, the necessity of doing big miles almost every day, the rattlesnakes - they are very hard on dogs. I saw a lot of people go home because it was hurting the dogs to continue.

Also, on the PCT there are several places - like the National Parks in California and many of the state parks - where dogs are forbidden.

All this is good advice. It's not based on negativity. Consider AT conditions are different for Murphy than the AT. FWIW, have only seen two PCT thru dog attempters in the last 12 yrs. Neither made it. Hiked intermittently with one of these thru-hikers attempting to thru-hike with a thru dog. Even though it was med size strong breed dog couldn't make it having to be boarded for more than 1/2 the PCT mileage. One reason was sharp lava as SW stated, so she gave solid advice as she typically does, you may consider how to address that proactively. He complained for almost all of WA about having to get off trail, hitch with the dog to someplace near Seattle to have the dog medically inspected, and pay for papers to enter into Canada for the dog to show he had all these shots totally unbeknownst to him when he booked his post thru flight out of Vancouver. Although have witnessed two WA PCT thru dogs which were on a PCT thru I did. These dogs were exceptionally obedient, well behaved, always leashed, and had exceptionally vigilant owners. The one Australian Border Collie mix had to be carried though for 4 days because of her foot problems. These were Canadians with dogs.

[nsherry61]

I find the negativity about thru-hiking the PCT with a dog that has already done the AT interesting.

If we look at threads here on WB about dogs hiking the AT, they all pretty much sound like this PCT thread . . . Can't or shouldn't be done. Well, it is done, and done every once in a while by dogs and owners that have figured out how.

Sure, it shouldn't be taken lightly. Sure, it is easier to hike without a dog. Sure, you are more likely to have to leave the trail early when you add another companion to your trip, including a dog. BUT YES, dogs have hiked the entire PCT and the entire AT and many other crazy trails. It's just that there are more that fail than succeed. So what, there are more people that fail at hiking the PCT or AT than succeed also!

Obviously Wooobie and Murphy are immensely experienced on the trail.

And, just to add some more "geez you guys are ney-sayers" . . . even a blind guy and his dog can hike long distance and rugged trails.
I can only imagine how many of you negativity guys and gals would be saying the same sort of things to Thomas and Tennille.

Wooobie, please make sure you come back and tell us how it all went after the fact.

[Wooobie]

Murphy is a Aussie Border Collie mix. she weighs around 30 lbs and i have put her in a 26 liter backpack and carried her over and through rough terrain. i am concerned about the lava rock if it is long stretches, if its short patches i will carry her over.

i do think im going to go to california early and do some desert hiking with her to see how she behaves.

Im used to the negativity, i simply dont care. if everyone goes into this with that mindset we will be okay.

[Wooobie]

Thanks for the info sherry

[Wooobie]

Blue Indian i cant say that i recall and im sorry. im usually posted up somewhere nice though so you deff saw me.

[Slo-go'en]

How is it negative to point out the issues and difficulties of taking a dog on a long distance hike? That's being realistic. From what I'm reading here, the challenges of a taking a dog on a PCT thru are even more significant then for the AT.

[Wooobie]

There are by far more dangers on the PCT than AT. which is why i asked for advice. The rattlesnakes alone have me pretty worried. It doesnt seem like im going to get any mindless hiking days on the PCT.

[MuddyWaters]

Dogs usually survive rattlesnake bites without intervention
The mojave is a particularly potent one though
But on a leash, the snake that strikes your dog may be the one that didnt strike you

[Malto]

There are by far more dangers on the PCT than AT. which is why i asked for advice. The rattlesnakes alone have me pretty worried. It doesnt seem like im going to get any mindless hiking days on the PCT.

Has your dog experience snakes, rattlers in particular?

Heres the issues that i see from south to north.
1) Rattle snakes.
2) POODLE Dog and Poison Ivy
3) Sun and water. (There was a recent article about a blind hiker on the CT that had some issues.)
4) Sierra stream crossings. Some will be easy for a dog but some of the really fast moving ones are thunderously loud. Scratch this one, dogs aren't allowed in SEKI.
5) lava up north. Booties? There are some pretty long sections and this one is real.

all of the rest of the issues you (and your dog) already know and experience. You have almost the perfect trail dog breed, others have done it (didn't Trauma do it?) so you have a lot going for you.

[Water Rat]

Trauma did hike the PCT with Yoni, in 2005 (triple crown year). You might check his blog to see if he passed along any info you might find helpful for your question. http://www.justinlichter.com/blog/