Long-Distance Hiking with a Dog - Part 7: Gear

Or, you want me to wear what!?!

Early in our hike, the last day we were in Georgia, the weather was really cold when we lunched at PlumOrchard Gap shelter. I was concerned that Gracie's feet were getting too cold. She was already decked out in her fleece coat and wore her harness and backpack over that. After I packed up from lunch, I put Gracie's dog booties on her. She always takes a few minutes to adjust to wearing them, and initially acts like a cat with tape on its paws - lifting and shaking each paw and basically acting as if she doesn't know how to walk. I try really hard not to let her see me laugh at her, then she gets the hang of it and we move along. This time, she wouldn't budge. Wouldn't even stand up. After a few minutes of coaxing (and muffled laughter) she won. I took the booties off and she trotted along, happy as ever. I realized later that I'd crossed her maximum accessorizing threshold. No more than two items of doggie clothing. Booties and backpack, jacket and booties, jacket and backpack were all tolerable, but her doggie dignity would not allow one more item. Duly noted.

Here's a brief list of gear your hiking dog might need on the trail:

• Collar, ID tags, and leash are obvious, but I'm including them anyway. I chose a Ruff Wear 6' leash that had an adjustable loop on the person-end, which I could use to attach the leash at my waist. Not previously a fan of hands-free leash walking, this proved invaluable on the trail because it left my hands free for hiking poles (also invaluable) and provided a simple means to hitch Gracie to whatever suitable hitching posts I could find on breaks or in town, such as trees, shelters, poles, bedposts, etc.
  
• Doggie backpack. Don't expect your dog to carry this full time, unless you're willing to slow your pace when it's hot and shorten your hiking days while your dog gets its trail legs. Gracie only carried hers 20-30% of her time on trail. There were many days when she started with the pack in the morning, but by mid-morning, I'd removed it and strapped it onto my backpack. I was not enthusiastic about adding the extra 5-8 pounds from her pack to what I was already carrying, but her ability to enjoyably hike the trail was more important than my comfort. After repeating a few episodes of bouncing her pack ahead, and putting it back on her when we caught up to it, only to find myself strapping it to my pack yet again, I finally left it in the bounce box for good in Pennsylvania. When we got to the more challenging terrain (and cooler temps) in New Hampshire, Gracie carried the pack for the rest of the hike, often with very little weight. I carried her food; she might carry my snacks and lunch for the day, whatever trash we found along the trail, maps, and an extra 1/2 liter water bottle. Be prepared for a wide range of reactions when people see your dog wearing a pack. They run the gamut from "how cute" to "how cruel." Clearly the following photo shows that Gracie doesn't mind wearing the pack if it's not too hot, mind you. This was taken in Maine, in October.
  
  
• Cold weather clothing. I heard of one dog's hiker who'd converted a kids down jacket to a dog jacket. Ingenious, but I had neither the time nor the motivation to be so resourceful. I found Gracie a Ruff Wear water resistant fleece-lined jacket. I ended up cutting the sleeves off it because they chafed when she was wet. After using it a couple of times, it seemed like it was most effective when we hiked in the rain/cold. Gracie seemed to shiver more if she was wearing the jacket around camp. So, in camp and at breaks, I would put out the sleeping pad (and sleeping bag if it was really cold) for her. Sometimes I would wrap her in my rain shell, as shown in the first photo. Her coat worked best to keep her torso dry and clean when we hiked in the rain.
  
• Booties. We carried these 1800 miles before we needed them. And when we needed them, we really needed them. Many times I almost put them in the bounce box along with the backpack, but I always had second thoughts and tucked them back into my pack. I found these on the interwebs several years ago after trying several types that wouldn't stay on. These, which are from England, are made from tough cordura and have two velcro straps per bootie. They're tough and they stay on. Gracie's pace started to slow through the Whites of New Hampshire as we approached Mizpah Hut for lunch. The trail was made up of lichen-covered rocks, which must have felt like walking on sandpaper to her. I was exhausted and thought she was too, but when I checked her feet after lunch, her pads were beginning to show signs of irritation. Heeding the accessory threshold, I put the booties on her before we set off. She was wearing the pack, so I wasn't sure how she's respond, but after a few steps, she seemed to realize that with booties, she still had traction and no pain. It was like having a whole new dog, so delighted she was to have her super powers restored. Here she is on day two with booties, looking down into Carter Notch.
  
• Food/water bowl. Again, probably obvious. I'm all for multipurpose gear, but even as a thru-hiker, I have some standards and I was not about to share my food bowl with my dog. I used a light plastic reusable container for hers. You can see one in the top photo. We used at least three different ones on the hike. I kept dropping stuff on them and cracking or breaking them. Or leaving them in town. Duct tape was handy for patching the holes and cracks that developed. I cut a hole in the corner so I could attach the bowl to a backpack (mine or Gracie's) with a carabiner.
  
• Bear bell - you may think you need one of these, but trust me, you don't. We started out with one, but by day three it was tucked away in my pack, nice and quiet-like and I was no longer in danger of becoming homicidal from the incessant noise.
• Doggie bandanna or towel. When you've spent all day hiking in the rain and mud, you may not want to share a bandanna with your dog for clean up duty. It was easy enough to carry a half size bandanna that was dedicated for Gracie's use. She's also pretty fastidious on her own, so there wasn't much for me to clean up once we were ready to bed down, thank goodness.
• Tweezers. Ticks are nasty little creatures. You will pull ticks from your dog and probably yourself. Tweezers make it much easier. I used the tiny ones that came with my tiny Swiss Army knife, and shockingly, never lost them, or the knife.