Hello!
I am planning a thru hike with my dog starting the second week of August from Denver. My two main fears are water and hungry bears. Can anyone tell me their opinion on either this year? What’s the longest stretch I’ll probably have to go without water/how much would you recommend I carry? My problem is my dog - he drinks so much. If I’m going to bail early I think it will be due to him!
Thank you!
Jenny
Jenny
Do the dog a favor and keep him at home. Trust me, you’re doing the dog no favors by taking him, and a dog will kill himself following you on the trail. Don’t make a dog suffer because you want to have fun. You will have a much harder time (although since your female, getting rides will be easier) with services in towns and such with your dog. And there is a section of the CT where dogs are not allowed period.
nrkybill
I thru hiked the trail once with my dog with no negative issues. If you are willing to carry extra water and food, then go for it. Dogs are allowed everywhere except for the first few miles of segment 1. If you start at Indian Creek Trailhead instead of Waterton you can avoid this.
I do recommend that you keep the dog on a leash to minimize impacts with animals and to keep it from doing a lot of unnecessary running back and forth. My dog did several days of over 20 miles with no problems but I kept him leashed everywhere. (Leashes are required in wilderness areas on the east side of the divide.)
bearcreek
Thanks guys! My main worry isn’t my dog and hiking we do that all the time. It’s how much water he’ll need to drink and I am concerned there isn’t enough water on the trail. Was wondering how much water people with dogs carry at one time and what I’m dealing with in terms of the farthest distance currently between water sources as it’s a dry year.
For bears, I’m just a chicken and want to make sure if I am smart and hang my food away from my tent, I’m going to be able to get 50 good nights of sleep, right? 
Jenny
Bears: Just don’t sleep in designated or established campgrounds/campsites and you’ll probably be fine regardless of how you handle your food, especially with a guard dog on duty.
tron
41 days on the trail; not 1 bear sighting, our dog was fine. There was enough water for the dog(not us especially)the entire way except segment 27.
Leo
“Females with cubs tend to have restricted home ranges which average 5 to 7 square miles, while males move about widely in home ranges of 12 to 60 square miles.” (Fish & Wildlife div.)
Yeah, just don’t camp within the same 60 square miles that also contains an established campsite and you’ll be just fine???
grumpy
Ditto BearCreek! You’d have to carry a lil extra food/ water at times, and be sure to keep your pooch on leash. One other thing our vet told us - be aware of your dog’s paws. Most likely they will hold up fine, but sometimes they can wear a soft spot on their pads, making it very uncomfortable. In which case you’d have to use a little duct tape and get off the trail as soon as possible. We encountered someone last year with that problem. Also, look for burrs in between their paws. The burrs can work their way in there and cause an infection. It just takes a little diligence to check their feet a couple times each day - i’m glad we did since there seemed to be a lot of burrs in the eastern segments.
Ev
Grumpy seems to miss the distinction between problem bears and wild bears. Problem bears become problem bears because of regular human contact and feeding, which happens primarily at established frontcountry campgrounds, and secondarily at established backcountry campsites. A problem bear will make the rounds at these locations night after night, because the olfactory “beacon” there, coupled with the bear’s memory of past reward, is tremendous. Camping well away from these areas your odds of a bear encounter are much lower, in the same way that your odds of encountering a mugger are much lower by avoiding the seedy parts of town. Yes, there are muggers in your town and theoretically they could find their way to your safe little neighborhood, but they probably won’t because the conditions that sustain their trade are much more favorable elsewhere.
tron
With thru-hikers numbering in the hundreds each year, it is hard to imagine bears anywhere along the route not having some socialization with humans.
There have been several serious bear encounters with CT hikers so far this year and I know of two instances where thru hikers had to abandon their hikes after losing food and equipment to bears.
Taking a few minutes to properly safeguard your food is not a big deal. If you do it properly, you can camp anywhere you want. You will sleep better, and it will keep some bears alive that might be otherwise be destroyed by authorities.
bearcreek
Good info, Bearcreek. Any idea where each of these incidents occurred (developed campgrounds vs stealth campsites)?
My feeling is that sleeping with your food at a stealth site is just as safe for the hiker AND the bear vs. hanging food / using storage lockers at campgrounds. The reason is that the odds ARE statistically much lower of having a bear encounter at a stealth site, and that IF you do, the bear will be more likely to scare away due to the unfamiliar circumstances at some random spot in the woods. A black bear in a developed campground is an animal trained to behave in emboldened ways, to be stubborn and clever, and potentially dangerous, regardless of how well-secured your food may be. This is why I would NEVER camp in a developed campground in bear country.
In terms of getting a good night’s sleep - which was the OP’s original concern - keep in mind that hanging your food is NOT a guarantee of avoiding a bear encounter, but simply IMPROVED ODDS against him getting your food (assuming a proper hanging method is employed and the bear hasn’t already learned to foil your particular method). If a bear is in your camp, dancing about beneath your hung food, or skulking in the shadows awaiting opportunity, I can almost guarantee you won’t be sleeping until he leaves (if he leaves). At a stealth site, YOU would simply get up and leave, moving on another mile or so, then bedding down again for the remainder of the night, in all likelihood in peace. The need to do this would be so infrequent that your net sleep quality throughout a hypothetical trip of duration x, vs spending every night of that same trip hanging your food at some hardened, tripwired site, would be vastly better when sleeping with your food at a stealth site.
tron
Thank you guys so much for your thoughtful replies! I still think I’m chickening out and changing my plans from a solo thru trip to joining up with a couple others so when that bear comes munching on me through my tent there will be someone around to throw a shoe at him 
One more question - what’s your opinion on a bear canister? Is it worth carrying?
Will any of you be out there in Aug/Sept? The guy I started talking to who is also doing a thru trip is planning on leaving Denver about Aug. 15 and I think I’ll go with him.
Jenny
In the past 2 summers, I’ve only seen 2 bears in Colorado. One was a couple hundred yards away and walked off when it saw us. The other ran about 50 feet behind my son and looked as surprised to see us as we were to see it. It just kept going.
In my opinion, keeping the food in the tent at night is not a good idea. I’m not trying to re-kindle that discussion. I’m just expressing my choice. Personally, I hang my food at least 50 yards away from camp, often further. I know a bear can probably get to the food if it wants to, but it’s not a disaster if it does. I can go hungry for a couple of days if I need to. I’ve never had any critter bother my food. In the last 2 summers, I’ve spent about 60 nights out.
Although having a bear come in a tent is rare, the penalty for having it happen is much more severe.
Bear attacks with injuries get a lot of press, but aren’t the biggest hazard.
Each year a few people in Colorado get killed by lightening strikes. Some also fall off mountains which isn’t a big hazard on the CT.
To me the biggest hazard not talked about is dead trees in the campground.
I’m real interested in the circumstances of those who lost their food AND pack to bears.
If a bear cannister helps you sleep at night, I’d take one. I’d still keep it 50 yards or more from camp at night.
I consider the fears on the trail on the same order of wearing my seatbelts and wearing a helmet and full gear while I ride a motorcycle. Once I’ve addressed the precautions, I just go out and do it.
Gershon
Gershon, thank you for your reply. I know I’m thinking too much, but of course it’s better to take precautions than be complacent. I’ve done the majority of my overnight backpacking in the desert where bears are not a concern. I think I’m just picking the most frightening “unknown” out there and overly fretting about it. I WILL NOT keep my food in my tent EVER. Girl Scouts did a good job of embedding that in me along with the motto of leaving a place better than I found it. I’ll be fine after the first week or so when I get my bearings (no pun intended!) Thanks again all.
Jenny
FWIW, I’ve slept with my food in (or rather next to, just outside) my tent for many thousands of miles of long distance hiking all across the country and have never lost food or equipment to bears. Only twice did I have a bear come into camp at night, both incidents on the PCT near Yosemite, and in both cases I simply got up and left, moved on a few miles, and caught a few more hours of sleep there. IMO, those two incidents would have gone the same way had I been hanging my food.
I wouldn’t carry a portable lightning rod in order to deflect lightning away from me above treeline. (Can you picture a stakeable version that you run over yonder to plunge in the ground at the first sign of an approaching storm?) Rather, I’d watch the sky and plan my hiking day accordingly, ducking down below treeline as needed. In the same way, I wouldn’t carry a bear can on the CT - because they would be just as miserable and pointless to haul around in that environment given low odds of “needing it” and much more practical alternatives, discussed above and elsewhere.
tron
Hi we just hike segment by segment at a time with our dog with some backpacking and day hike. We did segment one via indian creek TH in June. We met with Allen from Illinois who hike through Waterton canyon. His first night camped at mile 9 where good campsite mention in he book and this about mile 5 from IC TH. His camp was hidden one from trail near water. He got up saw bear trying to climb to get his wood. He used his whistle to scare it off…it work for short time and return. He also mention that there was note on another campsite from previous camper warning about bear as well. So from where you will be hiked in, you won’t need to camp there. But I do warn you to refill water when you can. Last spot you can get on this segment is after mile 10 or mile 7.5 from IC TH. you might not see it, but you can hear it.
You need to fill water at South Platte when you start your segment 2. It will be really only spot and next would be at mile 10 by fire station. Your dog would be really hot after mile 6 on this segment. No shade to rest.
Segment 3 we just did and wherever in book for creek crossing…there was none. It so dry. Only spot about after mile 5 to 6 for Tramp creek. It’s only little that you can have running water to refil. You can filter your water there if you really have to. Your best bet is mile 8 either before you cross FSroad or after. It’s a really creek and nice fall for your dog to cool off or camp here. Lots of nice camp site. Never heard about bear on these segment.
Have fun and enjoy!!
Piradee
Took my dog on Seg 4 and 5, and had my huz pick him up at Kenosha Pass. He did awesome but he did not like drinking out of a bowl…only creeks. Seg 5 has no water the last few miles which was tough on him. Plus, coming down Georgia Pass I cannot imagine with all the rocks what it would do his poor feet. Otherwise he was great company! Am finishing up a few more segments next week. Thinking about bring him again. I just hate carrying his food. (lazy dog wont wear a pack)
Vicki
I just finished my thru-hike of the CT last weekend, and no problems with bears at all. I heard of the couple of incidents at Bear Creek in segment 1, and another down at Animas River just before Silverton, but that was it. I kept my food in an odour proof bag in an Ursack in the tent with me and was fine. If anything critters were more of a problem! And water is getting better - it was dry when I started July first but now that the rains are there it’s much better. A couple of dry sections (Section 27 to Taylor Lake and again earlier around section 19 I think) and definitely use the fire station water after the burn section and you’ll be OK. Enjoy!
Kindle