Has anyone had any success of thru hiking the Colorado Trail with a dog? My dog is 3 years old and keeps up on all the 14ers and loves to hike. I am seriously considering a thru hike of the trail in July and would love to bring her with. I have not found much information in other posts on the success rate for this. From those I have talked to they all phrase it nicely but are saying “that is a bad idea.” Has anyone had success with this?
Jeff
Jeff
Hi Jeff. Great question! I brought my dog in '05 and had my wife come get her from Breck. Also I have read a few journals and had a few friends who brought their dogs on the trails. More often than not the dogs end up going home injured and in one case, not at all. You have the choice to hike–the dog doesn’t. I agree it is nice to have your best friend along for the hike, but they lack the ability to tell you when something is wrong, be it an injured leg, worn pad on their foot, stickers, ticks, etc. Even the largest of dogs is going to be a magnet for attention from certain apex predators on the trail and may interfere with other wildlife (birds, squirrels, deer, etc…) I personally love dogs and I love to see them on the trail (especially labs) but the truth is, not all hikers share my sentiments. The debate on whether or not to bring ones dog on a long distance trail has gone on for years in many of the online communities. It is not unlike bringing a toddler on a long distance hike. They may have fun going out into the woods initially, but that is because they are with their “parent,” and they are just happy to be with them. But at the end of the day, you are not only going to have to make sure you are ok, you are also going to have to make sure your “kid” is ok, too. I love my dogs, but when I hike they take away from the experience, and the truth is, they don’t have the choice to go. I was basically forcing her (my dog) to be out there and walk miles and miles. She was never the same after that hundred miles. We did it in 9 days. She hurt when she walked up until the day I had to put her down in 2011. And to clarify, She was a Lab–NAFC. Extremely athletic and under voice command only. 5 years old at the time of the hike. If I could go back, I would have left her at home.
Liam
I hiked the entire CT with a Polish Lowland Sheepdog with few issues. IMO, it is better to keep them on a leash because they get more tired if allowed to run all over. The wilderness areas on the Front Range require dogs to be leashed, the ones on the West Slope don’t. My dog did several 25+ mile days and had absolutely no problems then or afterwards. The first part of Segment 1 does not allow dogs on water board land so you will have to start at Indian Creek instead of Waterton.
bearcreek
http://www.coloradowilderness.com/cowildareas.html
link to wilderness area rules
I tried to hike the trail with a dog; dog impacted everything we did, from water source, rest stops (it was a very hot year) when we ate…and we ended up having to take her out after about 100 miles. Depending on where you live, this could end you hike. It will surely impact your hike. If I had to do it over, I would leave her home.
Laurie
I agree w the posters against taking her and if u do please let her off the freaking leash…no dogs want to b on a leash all day…I have done a lot of hiking and frankly have never seen a truly happy dog…even my own which I took 1000 miles of the pct .I carried everything …my job was to make sure she had a terrific time her job was to have fun…she was out there because of my dreams…I did everything I could …including excellent food …hotel stays for rest …etc etc…she lead the hike she just didn’t know…she had a beautiful beating heart…and the trail …well… always came 2nd
y
Colorado is littered with the bones of off-leash dogs that wandered off, or chased birds, deer, elk, and other animals and got lost, then either starved too death or got eaten by predators.
bearcreek
Those “freaking leashes” are required in many places for a reason.
Most dog owners think their dogs are just wonderful. Many are.
But I can’t count the number of times I have had to confront a snarling, barking, off-leash dog in the backcountry - often followed up with “I’m sorry, they have NEVER done that before”. I think dogs, like people, sometimes act differently when they are away from familiar surroundings.
And Bearcreek is absolutely correct. I saw several posters put up at trailheads last summer looking for a dog lost by hikers. I like dogs, and can’t imagine how painful it would be for dog and owner to lose one in the wilderness.
Best move - keep poochie at home. Otherwise, keep your dog under control - and where required use a leash.
Paddlefoot
My Golden Retriever is almost 5. She loves to be on the trail, and did many long days in her earlier years. After a dehydration disaster in Northern Arizona (after only 6 miles) necessitating a rescue, and then some really bad time on the CDT in New Mexico last summer, I did some soul searching. I have decided that my dog needs to stay home for many of my backpacks, particularly the longer ones. It impacts every single decision you have to make to have a dog with you. She is a joy to have around, but having her nearly die on me was just too much. This past fall she got very sick after eating something mysterious on a 20 mile backpack. That was the last straw. I am planning 85 miles on the CT this summer. The dog will stay with my wife and child at home.
j.