Thalita "Wolf Mama" and German Shepherd Nala thru hiked the Long Trail this summer. In the following interview you'll read about specific difficulties of the rugged Long Trail, how Nala got all the calories she needed and some general planning tips if you are a prospective long distance hiker with your dog.

Here's how Wolf Mama summed up her experience: 
"My magical journey through the wilderness ended the same way it began, with tears in my eyes and my heart overflowing with emotions. I can officially call myself a Long Trail Thru-Hiker / End-To-Ender!!! I am so happy to have reached my goal of thru-hiking the LT this year but I’m also very sad to see this amazing adventure come to an end. I’ve grown so much and learned a lot about myself and how strong I really am in the past month, physically and mentally. This was the hardest challenge I’ve ever set myself up for, but it was also the most empowering, freeing, and meditative thing I’ve ever done. I’ll never be the same!"

You can find them on Instagram @thalitaaax

Big congrats to Nav and her Sheltie Arrow for a successful Northbound thru hike of the Appalachian Trail! It takes a very special dog to hike the entire (dog) AT and we want to know how Arrow did it! Here's our interview with Nav! 
Nav's video blog is here: www.youtube.com/c/HikingWithArrow
And her Instagram is: @hikingwitharrow

What was your approach to bringing Arrow on the thru hike with you- did you think she'd do the entire trail or were you playing it by ear based on her energy level? 
The very first time I ever backpacked was 3 years ago, and Arrow went with me (she was only 6 months at the time). On that trip, I saw a different side I had never seen — she just seemed so happy and free! She really came alive out there, and she behaved so well. When I decided to thru-hike, I felt like I just couldn’t do it without her. She is her absolute happiest and best self on trail. I did plan to take her for the entire hike, but I obviously had to keep in mind that her happiness came first, and if it ever seemed like she wasn’t enjoying it, she would go home.

Did Arrow do every section except for the off limits sections in the Smokys, Bear Mtn and Baxter S.P.?
For the most part, yes! There were a couple random days where we were staying with friends and I was slack-packing that I decided to give her the days off to rest. She also, unfortunately, got Lyme disease during our hike, so she did have to take a couple days off while I continued on. She joined me two days later, though!

What were the main factors that contributed to Arrow's success on the hike? 
​Well, for one, her breed. She is a Shetland Sheepdog, and this breed was literally created to run all day. Arrow is very much a working dog, so when we would be hiking every day, I really think that she thought she was working and it was her job to get my tramily and I down the trail every day! (So cute.) Our longest day was 32 miles, and I swear it didn’t even phase her. She is extremely athletic and motivated. I think another thing that really helped her was her attitude. This kind of feels silly to say, but I feel like Arrow is a very positive dog and is always ready for whatever. I could tell when we were going up long uphills that it would start to tire her out, but she’s smart and would slow down or take breaks to keep her going. Oh, and I can’t forget, the abundant amount of sticks she chewed on! I think that definitely kept her spirits high and kept her going. 

What type of logistical and physical support did you get from folks at home?
Obviously hiking with a dog can be a little complicated, and my husband was so great with helping me. As you know, dogs aren’t allowed in the Smoky Mountains, so Arrow couldn’t do that section with me. My husband, Parker, came and met me before the Smokies to pick up Arrow, and then he also brought her back to me after I finished them! That was pretty much the only help I needed with her from home, as I was always able to get her dog food in towns and such. One other instance, when Arrow got Lyme she was able to stay with the parents of one of the guys I hiked with. The trail provides!

What were some of your favorite things about having Arrow with you and/or what was your favorite memory from your hike?
Oh, man. I couldn’t imagine having hiked without her. She is such a loyal, fun little companion that always brought a smile to anyone’s face. Every morning she would cuddle with me, and then she would make her way around camp and snuggle with anyone else who wanted it. I always had people tell me what a mood lifter she was! There were times that I’d be on a tough uphill or just was feeling tired, and seeing her happy little face encouraged me so much and gave me the will power to keep going. One reason I love backpacking so much and got into it so heavily was because I knew how happy it made Arrow. It makes me happy to see her so happy!

What other advice would you like to give to prospective long distance hikers who would like to take their dog?
I could go on and on about this, but my biggest thing I always preach is just make sure it’s the right dog. The breed of your dog, what its intended purpose is, is so vitally important. Also, does your dog enjoy long hikes? Not just 5 or 10 miles, but 20 miles over tough terrain. It’s important to assess your dog’s ability to handle that kind of exertion and if they actually enjoy it. The physical safety and all around well-being of your dog is your number one priority! Another thing that is so important to think about is how well behaved is your dog, really? We all like to think our dogs are the best, but having a dog that runs up on other people, other dogs, gets into people’s stuff, etc., can be a real nuisance. You must consider the people you’re around and how your dog will come across to them. Also, having a dog that listens to you and minds is vital. There are so many exciting smells, sights, animals and other things that your dog may want to check out, but for your safety and theirs, it’s important that they listen when you tell them what to do. Some other things to think about are: When in town, you have to be sure to find dog-friendly places. Not all are! Also, not everyone is a dog person, so sometimes you may not be able to hang out with certain people if they have issues with dogs.

What's next for you and Arrow? 
​Well, we are about to move to Pittsburgh, PA, and we’ve got some future hiking plans in the works. :) 

It's been 3 years since we've driven to Wyoming with Cooper to hike in the Bighorns. This was also our first backpacking trip in the past 2 years without our toddler Wes. He's good for about a mile on his own feet and is now too heavy to carry in the pack so sadly he's gonna miss out on the longer trips til he can build up his mileage. Powder River's dad Gary joined us once again on this trip. At 72 he's still going strong with backpacking at high elevation! Powder's folks live in Sheridan, WY at the base of the Bighorns, an impressive but often overlooked range for travelers. This is in our favor: we love hiking with no other people around and having such beautiful country to ourselves!

This trip we tried a new trailhead for us, Lower Paint Rock Lake. It was the longest drive we've done for a trailhead out from Sheridan- long mainly because we were on gravel road of variable conditions for 25miles. The total drive was 4 hours, the gravel section took us 1.5 hours.

From Lower Paint Rock Lake, we took trail no. 59 to Teepee Pole Flats. We made a base camp in the North Paint Rock Creek Valley, a bit beyond Teepee Pole Flats. We spent two nights camped there and day hiked on the second day to Cliff Lake using trail no. 38 and no. 60.

We initially thought we'd base camp at Cliff Lake and then day hike the trail no. 60 and 38 loop. After the long drive and a decent 5 mile uphill hike to Paint Rock Creek (breathing heavily and taking lots of rest stops since we were up at 9000ft but left town at 3700ft), we decided to pull up short and make camp. This made for a nice hike out on our third day to the closest cheeseburger. We started missing Wes pretty bad too so it was nice to catch him for a few hours before bedtime on our final hike day. Compared to other sections we've done in Cloud Peak, we really enjoyed the variety this trail had to offer. The first leg sadly meanders through a vast blow-down section of pines. The best we could figure is maybe a squall swept through- the trees here were not diseased at all, so maybe a fierce wind alone took them down in a somewhat straight swath. The trail maintenance was superb- the blow-downs were chainsawed through, making a nice wide path. Once we crossed into the wilderness area, we climbed through pristine pine forests dotted with wildflowers which then opened up to a vast park ("park" means meadow) called Sheep Creek Park. Compared to any meadow on the AT- for example, Grayson Highlands- this Sheep Creek Park is enormous. It's immense size is hard to fully take in- like looking out on a sea of grass. Cooper enjoyed rolling rolling rolling and we were happy to have clear skies on both the in and out traverse of this high alpine meadow. You surely would not want to cross it in a thunderstorm!

For parts of this hike we felt like we were in the Lord of the Rings when the fellowship is running from Orcs right before they take the shortcut to Rivendell. My favorite terrain in the Bighorns are the meadows around the high alpine lakes. Cliff Lake did not disappoint and we took note of how this was probably one of the best days of Cooper's life hiking and swimming!

We figured Cooper might be pretty stiff after this hike but he really surprised us and didn't act tired at all when we got back to Sheridan! He's almost 8 now and since he's got a toddler, his walks are limited to what Wes can do. We're so glad we made the drive so Cooper could come too. He is at his happiest in the wilderness and he was such a good boy on the hike. It helped that we didn't encounter many chipmunks, marmots or pika- actually we didn't see any marmots or pika, though we heard them from a distance. We also didn't see any elk or moose- but of course saw lots of poop. We leashed Cooper on large sections of our walk, especially in moosey looking spots like river marshes. We did encounter a pack of 4 horses with 2 riders, on their way to "pack out some kids." Not sure we met the kids or quite understood why they needed "packing out" but we suppose some folks go-heavy in the backcountry. The Bighorns aren't very well known to the ultralight backpacking community and the couple of hikers we did encounter all had huge external frame packs. 

Cooper enjoyed wearing his Turtle Top Quilt on this trip- it did feel pretty chilly at night, probably in the upper 40s and we had rain the second night. I enjoyed not having to check on him in the middle of the night, to make sure his blanket was still on, because our Turtle TQ doesn't slide off- it stays on and fully drapes your dog all through the night, even when they get up to circle! We used a piece of a Thermarest Z-rest for his ground insulation. 

The only downside of our trip was the bugs! Poor Cooper got eaten alive with black flies and had blood welts on his belly. We tried using Picardin on ourselves, but when it didn't cut-it after about an hour, we switched to our old standby, 100% deet. We were glad we had pre-treated our clothes with Permethrin. I sure regretted not bringing a pair of pants. I was going light with only my hiking dress and my wool long underwear. Man I missed the rainpants- they work great when there's biting flies around. Biting flies could care less if your legs are covered in 100% deet. 

The best view of the hike was when we were on our way back to the truck and found this overlook. We had a view up a large canyon. Cooper was quite done with biting insects at this point and we realized the quilt helps protect him from getting bitten when we lays down while wearing it.

​Thanks for reading! Please let your friends know about our Turtle TQ!

​Some background/trail prep: 
I have thru hiked the Appalachian Trail and the Colorado Trail. Over 2,500 miles of backpacking experience, over varied terrain and through varied elements. 105 of the 273 miles of the Long Trail coincide with the AT, which means I've already hiked over a third of it. However, being a new (and first-time) dog owner - Huck and I spent our 7 month adopt-a-versary on trail - I have never been responsible for a dog on an extended backpacking trip. Which meant that in the days leading up to my - or rather, our - hike, instead of feeling SO excited I was pretty anxious. Not without a healthy dose of excitement mixed in, but still, anxious for how my furry hiking partner would fare over the coming weeks. I had planned out our mileage ahead of time, planning to build gradually and planning to carry most of his food since with the insanely hot summer we had I had not been able to condition Huck (or myself, as evidenced by my trail-ending injury) as I would have liked. I also had decided to transition him from his regular kibble to something that would be more easily found on the trail in the quaint general stores I was likely to encounter - after walking to the neighborhood CVS, I figured its selection would be as limited as any I'd find on trail - the winner was a 4.4lb bag of Purina Puppy Chow. I chose puppy chow because 2 friends I made on the AT who hiked with their dogs had used it, citing more nutrients in the puppy chow that would be beneficial while hiking big miles for days on end. So I portioned out the food into ziploc baggies and loaded a few day's worth into Huck's pack, and the the rest into mine. I didn't figure it was fair for him to carry all the food, at least right off the bat, even though the bag of puppy chow was 4.4lbs - exactly 10% of his body weight. I decided to load a little less than half the bag into his pack, along with his Musher's wax and pack towel; I was his sherpa for the rest. I knew the mileage would be tough on its own.

​On trail:
When we hit the trail I immediately felt better, and the fact I had worked with him on a half dozen overnights in the mountains around MA, VT, and NH on hiking behind me in a heel position helped tremendously. For the first day I kept him on leash, since we had NOT worked on perfecting his recall. He has a high prey drive and I didn't want him abandoning me for a chipmunk, or worse, deer, or worse still - a bear or porcupine. Although eventually I decided to let him off leash for half the hiking we did for the first week. He did well -- staying right beside me and respecting my commands to stay back when he began creeping around where the trail widened. I gave him 5 chipmunk chases per day before leashing him for the duration of the day. I didn't want him wasting precious energy, but wanted him to have a little bit of fun. It was his hike, too. And if we encountered other humans, dogs, and always at shelters, he would remain leashed. Keeping him in a constant heel while hiking made it incredibly easy for me to spot upcoming distractions like off leash dogs ahead and prevent him from running up to them, or block the errant unknown dogs if need be. His off leash freedom ended around Clarendon Gorge when scrambling up rocks we spotted Mr. Prickles the Porcupine chilling among the boulders. I thought that hiking with him on a 6' leash would be annoying for all-day affairs, day after day, but I got used to it, and was happy to have the peace of mind that he couldn't get into trouble. I don't hike with trekking poles so it was no problem for me to just keep my wrist behind me as I walked. I could almost forget he was there! Until of course he jerked after a chippie or snagged himself on a tree.

As we got farther north, the terrain became rockier, rooty-er, and more technical. Huck is 2 years old, on the lean side of healthy weight, and a very agile, working breed dog - Australian Shepherd/cattle dog mix - so I had seen first hand that he can handle what the LT would throw at us. He has some experience with ladders and near-vertical ascents in the Whites of NH. One of the most surprising moments on the LT was when he parkoured up a 7' rock wall just north of the Appalachian Gap! I was in the process of finding him an easier route but he just went for it. I kept him unleashed in those technical sections for both of our safety (after ensuring no porcupines in the immediate trail vicinity). I also made the decision to take his pack of for intense descents to save his knees, and lowered him down a ladder at one point by his harness. Although as fate would have it, my body gave out and we had to quit the trail. He seemed very tired during the breaks we took and would lay down at nearly every opportunity after the first few days, but also seemed to really enjoy backpacking life. Every morning he would zoom around the campsite (once we were alone on the trail, or in camp with just our friends), or find the biggest branch he could and drag it around camp and wrestle with it.

​Know your dog/trail etiquette:
Huck is friendly but shy and nervous around people he doesn't know, so I kept him away from people and asked that they didn't pet him unless he walked up to them if called. I find it much better to avoid a growly situation by being up front about your dog's needs. Even if they're as cute as Huck, they don't need to be forced into being everyone's best friend. Which also solidifies the trust your dog has in you, and after only 6 days Huck came out of his shell and became much more comfortable with nearly every stranger he encountered in the woods! I would only get halfway through my spiel about him being nervous when he'd be at their feet (for those hikers interested, of course). Otherwise every time we passed a hiker I gave Huck the command to "pull over" and he would sit-stay on the side of the trail until released. I feel proper etiquette is key when hiking with dogs; I try to be a good ambassador for trail dogs and their owners. As far as the few towns we hitched into, if I had to leave him I would attach him to my pack, put him somewhere out of the way to avoid any humans or dogs from interacting with him while I was gone, and keep my visits into stores brief. I had worked on his down-stays and place command since adopting him 7 months prior, and before hitting the trail began gradually building up to more distracting areas/longer durations, and ultimately public places like restaurants, storefronts, etc. so that he was not stressed out when I was out of sight. I actually got several compliments on his good behavior! And of course a tired dog from a full day on trail is usually not going to have much energy to waste anyhow. I continued our obedience work as best I could on trail to keep him sharp, and also did his party tricks (stick 'em up is always a hit) at shelters to endear him to others on the trail. Speaking of shelters, Huck and I tented every night since it was always a shared space.

Dog food/doggie maintenance:
As far as the trail went, the southern 58 miles were incredibly muddy, but we only had one day of rain and I found that somehow despite his being pretty muddy, I never needed to wipe him down at night before getting into tent. I fed him breakfast first thing in the morning, before breaking down the tent or eating my own breakfast, and he would eat dinner first thing when arriving at camp. He went from 1c twice a day (at home) to 1.5c twice a day, with some extra kibble for lunch mixed in with a couple heaping spoonfuls of peanut butter. I found that lunchtime really helped boost his energy. We ended up hiking bigger miles than I had planned; about 13mpd average over the 2 weeks we were out there. Our shortest day was a 7 miles (first day; we got to camp at 2pm and were incredibly bored until sunset) and our longest day was just over 17 miles. When his energy started flagging or he looked tired, I would take his pack off and carry it. I also made sure to give him plenty of decent breaks through the day, especially during the few days with temps in the high 80s - mid 90s (gross). Lots of water breaks, cooling his paw pads in streams, and splashing water up under his belly, groin, and armpits. Speaking of paw pads - the most important ritual we had was taking care of them. Each morning (after breakfast, of course) I would apply Musher's Secret Wax to his pads and inspect them for damage. This was something we had practiced for months to get him used to me handling his paws, and now he could sleep through me messing with them.

​Wrap-up:
Since we have been home he has seemed more confident around other humans, which is a huge deal. I have no doubt he could have finished the remaining 108 miles if my ankle hadn't gotten injured, despite the intimidating faces of Camel's Hump and Mansfield looming ahead of us. Our mileage was about to drop down to a cool 10mpd to account for the increasingly difficult terrain. It was a novel experience to backpack with a dog that I am responsible for, rather than other friends' dogs who I can appreciate for their ability to make you smile after a hard day's hike, pets, and help with finishing up those gross Pasta Side leftovers. It was difficult in ways that I had until now only heard about, but his companionship made the miles of the seemingly deserted (but gorgeous) Long Trail less lonely. I liked having him at camp to talk to and take care of, and to snuggle with in the tent in the mornings. Though each morning his stretching stressed me out as his nails clawed at my $500 tent, and it was more difficult to hike thinking about how the 5lbs I had managed to shave off my base weight through several years and hundreds of dollars worth of gear upgrades was immediately replaced with his dog food and gear, and it was much more difficult and expensive (hotel pet fees, etc.) to navigate town life, his cute fluffy face and his sheer enjoyment of much of the trail reminded me why I wanted him out there with me. I'm not sure if I would attempt a 6 month hike with him, but I look forward to getting back to the trail next summer and seeing what those remaining miles leading to Canada hold.

Katie (Trailname "Crayon") and Oliver (trailname "Poncho") thru hiked Vermont's Long Trail northbound in July/Aug of 2018. Crayon had a successful thru with Poncho and agreed to share a few details. We hope it helps you in your planning! Poncho at the time of the hike was 1.5 yrs old, weighed 42 pounds, is a cattle dog mix and wore the size small Trekking Pack. Enjoy reading about their hike!

What kind of backpacking trips had you done either by yourself or with Oliver before the LT?
​
Honestly, we only did one multi-day trip before thru hiking. I adopted Oliver in October and decided to hike the Long Trail the following summer, so we haven’t been together very long! We have day-hiked together once or twice a week since I got him. At first it was very difficult. He had spent his entire young life in a cage and was not leash trained, had a high prey-drive, and zero recall. It was frustrating. I got the help of a professional trainer and was totally committed to getting him up to speed- I’m very active outdoors and it’s really important to me that Oliver be able to participate in all my adventures! But it’s also really important to me that he be well behaved, safe, and not a risk or annoyance to others. I live in southern New Hampshire and have really close access to some less populated hiking trails, so all winter we were out there training, training, training. I had always wanted to hike the LT but wouldn’t commit until I was certain that Oliver could handle it behavior and conditioning-wise.

Did you have any concerns with Poncho and the difficulty of the terrain (slab climbing etc) and or Poncho meeting a moose or other potentially dangerous animal encounter (snakes, porcupines etc).

By the spring I was feeling very confident in Poncho’s behavior and really proud of how far he’d come!  I started taking him up into the White Mountains to see how he’d handle the terrain and some really populated trails. He is happiest when he’s hiking and he really impressed me with how trail-savvy he is. Part of that is breed, I think- he’s a cattle dog mix. The LT offered up some of the more rugged and technical hiking I’ve done. He needed a few boosts here and there. The handles on your pack were so useful! It was fun to watch him get more comfortable scrambling as we headed further North. By the end I was barely assisting him at all. Unless we were scrambling, I had him hike behind me so I could see what was coming- critters, people, etc. This worked really well for us. I leashed all through the Pico/Killington area because of the high porcupine population- there were warning signs on the shelters! I also leashed if we were hiking early in the morning or at dusk. We did the rest of the hike off leash! We saw 2 moose from a distance and he stood quietly and observed them with me. He chases the occasional chipmunk but when we’re long distance hiking and he’s wearing a pack he’s usually all business. I think he considers it to be his job, hahah!

What did he carry in his pack?

Just his food! I upped his calorie intake by 50% by adding a powdered, dehydrated dog food formula on top of his regular kibble. He was able to carry both comfortably. His pack never exceeded 10% of his body weight.

Did you decide to resupply in towns or do mail-drops, or a little of both?

I did mail-drops because I wanted to be sure that I’d have his food and in the correct amounts. It was a short enough thru-hike that this wasn’t really a big issue!

How many day sections between town days did you do?
​
We had 4 resupplies with about 5 days between each.

How did you do town days with Oliver?
​
I did end up hiking with some great people who were more than happy to help keep him entertained if I had to go somewhere, but there were a few instances where I had to tie him while I ran quickly into a store. I had to make advanced hostel or hotel reservations because of limited dog-friendly options, so I was held more to a set schedule than other hikers who could take zeroes, etc. if they wanted to on a whim. We had no zeroes, just a couple neroes.  Hitching took a bit longer because on all the days we hitched it was pouring rain and I had a wet, muddy dog! The people who picked us up were of course big dog and hiker lovers and I was very grateful to them, hahah!

Did you need to do anything to help protect his paws?

I applied Mushers Wax every couple days and had a set of emergency booties, gauze, and vet wrap. Luckily we did not need them! His paws held up great!

What kind of sleep set-up do you have with him?

I have a 2-person tent (Big Agnes Copper Spur) and he sleeps on his own thermarest z-lite. I sort of committed to carrying more weight/extra gear once I decided he would join me on the thru. He’s doing big miles and long days like me so I felt that he deserved to be comfortable at night! He didn’t need any sort of blanket/sleeping bag, but on the 1 or 2 nights it got a bit chilly I covered him with my down puffy jacket. We did sleep in shelters through the northern portion because it was wet and rainy. He was really well behaved and handled this just fine. 

What time is "doggie-midnight" ;)

As soon as he had dinner he would be down for the count! I put him “to bed” in the tent or in the shelter and he would sleep through the night. He also learned to grab a nap whenever we stopped for a quick break along the trail. I also gave him a longer 30-45 min rest in the middle of each day. He fell into a routine really fast!

What was your favorite day on Trail with Poncho? 

It’s hard to choose one! He’s my buddy and such a loyal friend. I think the last day was my favorite. I was just so proud of him and so grateful for our friendship. I’m convinced he’d follow me just about anywhere. Dogs really are amazing creatures! I’m so lucky that Poncho and I found each other.

The Long Trail is America's oldest long distance hiking trail. It was the vision and dream of James P. Taylor in the early 1900s. He created the Green Mountain Club in 1910 and the first section of trail was cut in 1912. The final section of trail was cut in 1930. We visited the Club headquarters in Waterbury: it is very nice! Stop in when you visit VT!

Long before the creation of the Green Mountain Club, there were the Green Mountain Boys: a militia led by Ethan Allen. They, in a large part, are the reason Vermont is a state today and not part of NY. NY wanted those lush Green Mountains for themselves!

The GMBs' most famous feats include the capture of Fort Ticonderoga in 1775 from the British and they assisted in the Battle of Bennington which was also a victory over the Brits. Ironically, both locations are situated within the state of NY.

We were glad to visit all of these historical sites! We even made it up to Montreal for about 24 hours. The Green Mountain Boys also tried to take Montreal but failed. Our brief trip up there was also a bit of a failure as our Green Mountain Boy did not enjoy the busy streets!

Thank you for reading about our historical side trips and nerdom! We were pretty excited to meet some Vermonters who would recognize Cooper's special edition pack but only met 3 people who caught the pack's resemblance to the Green Mountain Boys' flag.

Powder River and I planned to do a little more than one third of the Long Trail on this trip, from the border of Canada to Appalachian Gap, VT 17. We left our car at the Hyde Away Inn in Waitsfield (we highly recommend this Inn!) and paid for a shuttle to the Northern Terminus of the trail, about a 2 hour drive. Thank you Carlene for the great shuttle!

The Long Trail is 273 miles long from Canada to Massachusetts. It joins the Appalachian Trail at VT4 near Killington. It (as well as the AT) is marked with white blazes.

We arrived at the trailhead parking a couple hours before dark. The hike to the actual start of the LT to the Canadian border is 1.3 mile. We really enjoyed hanging out near the border! Our shuttle driver pointed out how the American border police SUV was parked nearby and we thought of what that job must be like. We camped about a half mile south of the terminus. 

So Day One was brief but lovely! Day Two we hiked 8 miles to Laura Woodward Shelter (at the northern base of Jay Mountain). It was very difficult, as we expected! We remembered what Maine and New Hampshire were like on our respective thru hikes of the AT and knew that the Northern section of the Long Trail would be similar. The unknown for us on this trip was how Cooper would do. He is prey driven and we kept him on leash always, with the occasional brief spurt of "catch and release" to let him climb up or down major rock scrambles. I would release him and he would run to Powder River. No treat can ever trump his love of chasing animals and our caution was not too extreme (last summer he chased some moose that we had not seen fast enough to prevent him from chasing). What was extreme was Powder River's experience of being constantly bound to our Tuxedo Mutt on this incredibly rugged trail!

On Day Three we sat down on the side of the trail and thought maybe Cooper is just not ready for this kind of rugged trail and he needs more leash training. We also admitted that we were not in our old thru-hiker shape and this trail is really tough! I am sad to admit that we tried to bail on our hike and hitched down to Montgomery Center on Rt 242. God was good to not let us give up so easily and after a couple aimless hours in that tiny town with no cell signal, we hitched back to the trail and decided to hike to the road crossing for Eden. Good thing because our hike became much more enjoyable over the next several days! 

The morning of Day three we had a great time on the fogged summit of Jay Peak. We hung out in the ski tram hut and ate amazing sandwiches from the cafe and drank Tram Ale, made especially for Jay Resort by Long Trail Brewing. Cooper was not a fan of the tram arriving and departing and kids coming and going. But he did receive some nice trail magic up there in the form of a bungee leash that was given to us by a day hiker!

When our hitch delivered us back to the trail, we hiked north of the road to camp and Jay Camp. 
Day Four: We started working with Cooper to stay leashed and behind Powder on descents. It wasn't always perfect, and Powder had an active time preventing Cooper from passing him by planting his trekking poles in just the right spots so that Cooper could not squeeze through. It was possible though due to just how narrow the trail is and how incredibly dense the woods are! I'm actually amazed moose can travel through this mess of pines trees, each one tangled in it's neighbor. We saw moose tracks and fresh poop but never heard or saw one, probably for the better. (For those unfamiliar with moose: they are not to be taken lightly! They are very territorial and WILL chase you down to get you off their spot, as Powder can attest!)

You can probably guess by now that we were not on track to do our planned 100 mile section in our allotted 10 days. Possibly Powder and I could have done it without Cooper, but it still would have been very difficult and I know my legs would have been shot after the third 11 mile day and I'd be back on my ibuprofen regiment. We chose the pace we could handle comfortably which turned out to be about 8 miles a day. Day Four we did 7 miles and camped just before Rt 58 and the major climb up Haystack Mountain.

Day Five: We climbed for hours over several false summits of Haystack Mountain. We made it to Tillosten Shelter around 4pm and a nice Canadian family with two young kids came in for the night. We walked on, past the pond and another 2.5 miles to Belvidere peak. A Nobo had told us there was a nice fire tower up there and that he had camped up there. And it was lovely!!!

Day Six we hiked out to VT 18 with a plan to hitch to Morristown, get a rental car and drive back to the Hyde Away Inn (reunite with our car and then return the rental car). We prayed for a hitch after trying to call around a get a shuttle but to no avail. Our prayer was answered in a big way: the second car that passed us picked us up and took us to Enterprise rental car! Our driver was really great and told us about his son who was "our age" and was a scientist but is currently a studio artist in Bennington. He gave us his son's business card and we were able to visit him at his studio at the end of our time in Vermont! What a pleasure to see your work in person, Aaron! Such an inspiration to see your work and know where it comes from! You can visit Aaron's studio in the 400 block of Pine St, Bennington, Vt behind Speedy and Earl's coffee.

We got back on the trail a after a couple of days off and started where we left off: VT 118. We were excited to scramble through "Devil's Gulch." A Nobo we met on day one told us that it reminded her of Mahoosuc Notch on the AT in Maine. We were excited for that and also remembered that it took us 2.5 hours to do the one mile Mahoocuc Notch. So we figured it might take us a while to go through the gulch as well- but we also had no idea that it was so short in length, maybe 0.2 mile... It was fun but only took about 10 minutes and we only had to pick Cooper up by his harness handles one time. 

We stayed at Spruce Ledge hut/camp directly after the gulch and met Anthony + Lisa; Kevin and dog Gibson: Sobo Long Trail thru-hikers. It was fun hiking with them for a day and they inspired us to do a big mileage day: 15 miles from Spruce Ledge to Roundtop Shelter. We had fun getting to know them and know that they must be having a great time journeying on the LT this month! Cooper enjoyed meeting Gibson! The next day we hiked out to the road where we completed this year's section hike, at VT15. We landed another God-sent hitch and made it all the way back to our car at the obscure trailhead parking of 118!

We re-learned that we struggle to press on when we know our car is in the area and we again discussed what an admirable feat it is to be a section hiker! Powder and I both have this wonderful memory of our thru-hikes and what it was like to hike through pain and all sorts of trail and weather conditions to meet the end goal. We are not great section hikers however, and it's good to just remember that even though at one time we did 15-20 mile days, day after day for 6 months during our thru-hikes, we maybe need to set out with more gracious expectations for ourselves when we plan section hikes. Also we love to go to historical sites and we didn't exactly make time for that in our original plan to hike 110 miles, but when we decided to trim our section, we had more time to go to Montreal, Fort Ticonderoga, The Ben and Jerry's Factory, The Green Mountain Club, visit with our new friend Caitlin and her dog Vaida, go the the home of Ethan Allen, etc etc. It was a great trip and I'm glad we got to explore the area with our car as well as our feet on trail. The weather was also much hotter than we expected and we were glad that as section hikers we could bail and not press on over those rugged mountains with 90 degree temps!

We learned our own limits and Cooper's limits on a section hike on difficult trail in high temperatures. Cooper had to wear his booties (made by dogbooties.com) the first several days to protect his pads from the onslaught of granite. He became very good about us putting them on! This amazed us that he some how knew and allowed us to take care of his feet for him. At the end of our trip, his pads were more rough than when we started and his declaws were a bit irritated, but he had no cuts on his feet. We have seen from some hikers in New England that dogs can lose a whole toe pad and we were glad to prevent that from occurring!!

We carried a waterbottle just for Cooper and needed to offer him water about as often as we ourselves would drink. It was really hot and just as we would stop on an ascent to drink a swig, he would also want a drink (and a mini nap!). Whatever water he did not finish in his bowl would be poured back into his bottle so that we'd have as much water as possible for him between stream crossings. When we'd get to a stream crossing we would tell him to drink (this is a command he knows) and often he wouldn't drink for long or at all, but he would drink from his bowl on the ascents. 

Thanks for reading about the first section of our Long Trail section hike! 
Most of the photos in this post were taken by Powder River. You can visit his professional photography page here: www.jeffsellenrick.com

I realize Valentine's Day isn't a hugely popular "holiday." But we can probably all agree that celebrating love, whether Agape, Philia or Eros is important no matter what form that celebration takes. This year for us, it did not come in the form of Russel Stovers and flowers. (Although I do like getting flowers and prefer any chocolate but Russel Stovers!) I'm so glad our celebration came in the form of a night at Hogcamp Gap and a night at the fairly new Three Springs Hostel in Central VA on the Appalachian Trail (North of Rt 60/Buena Vista, South of the Tye River).

Our church had a sermon on "What is Love" (queue the Haddaway song) recently. There is no one definition! Because love is not easily definable, it must be other-worldly: out of this world! On Wed night as we were pitching our tent under a perfect blanket of vast cosmos, we were engulfed with this other-worldly LOVE. Seemingly so unreachable for some, and yet always SO near to ALL. 

Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
    let the sea resound, and all that is in it.
12 Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
    let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
Psalm 96:11-12

You know us, love of course also comes in the form of a sweet black and white face, always so thankful for these trips to "the woods" as he calls it. We enjoyed some day hiking in the Mt. Pleasant/Hogcamp Gap area and let me tell you, it was nice to not carry a full pack!

It was so great to meet Oma and Marcia, the owners of the Three Springs Hostel! We sure enjoyed our stay and were glad they allowed Cooper since it's the off season and we ended up being the only hikers there that night. One of our plans for this mini trip was to spend Thurs night on top of Priest Mountain at the shelter and it was probably below zero up there with high winds, so-- glad we didn't!

The hostel's first season was last year and I'm sure they will have even greater success this year. For $54 (tax included) you get a comfy bunk in the 6 bed bunk room, Oma makes you dinner and breakfast, you get to love on Skiddy the kitty, laughs from Marcia, a shuttle from either Hogcamp Gap or Rt. 60, and long distance calls from the landline. A pretty great deal! We had spaghetti with meat sauce and a salad for dinner, yum! And breakfast was fried eggs, bacon, toast, cheese grits and Marcia tried out her new test kitchen recipe, a ham omelette made in the waffle maker! The food was great!

The property has a neat story. The land was originally owned by the owners of Sweetbrier College. They passed it down to an adopted son and at that time it was 100 acres. He had a working farm and then sold it to a guy who made it into a hunting retreat. That man created the pond out front which is fed by one of the three springs. I asked Oma if anyone swims in there and she said not by choice, it is just too cold! This place is so special and I guarantee you will have a great rest here. Folks like Oma and Marcia add to the atmosphere of the AT trail family. They love to serve and their mission is to make your day full of light and healing.

On Friday we climbed Tar Jacket Ridge up from Hogcamp. We found some ice on the dirt road and tried out our new MICROspikes. They work great! 

In about 1.7 miles we reached Maupin Field campground and shelter area. We didn't walk down to the shelter, but kept up our pace and continued on, now climbing Three Ridges Mountain. This loop hike is very special to me. I've hiked it with many friends throughout the years prior to my thru-hike. It's about a 3.5 hour drive from where we live and so worth the drive for the views and incredible workout. You don't soon forget this hike, as your body reminds you of it a couple of days after and the overlooks become ingrained in your mind. It has become a special place for my family as well: my parents are now members of the Tidewater Appalachian Trial Club, the group that maintains the A.T. from Rockfish Gap to the Tye River, including Three Ridges and the Mau-Har Trail.

We decided it would be nice to make our hot meal at the overlook instead of waiting for camp when it would be dark and cold. (Who enjoys doing "the dish" in the dark and cold at camp in winter??) There was a cold wind on Hanging Rock but the sun and view warmed us and we all enjoyed the break. From this spot we climbed another 300 feet in elevation to the tree-covered top of the mountain and then began the 3.5mi descent and lost 2,000ft in elevation to Harper's Creek Shelter. (Knee killer). 

This section of the A.T. is a doozy even for thru-hikers. It's one of those rare occasions of 3,000ft of elevation gain and loss within 10 miles. Three Ridges is on one side, the Priest on the other and the Tye River in between. If you have several days for a trip, I recommend hiking Three Ridges, the Priest and Spy Rock and get a shuttle back to your car from the fish hatchery near Spy Rock or go all the way to Hogcamp Gap.

We had some laughs when we got to camp and realized the tent we had carried was not the tent we thought we were carrying! Powder River and I have a nice non-free-standing tent collection from Tarptent, Six Moon Designs and Gossamer Gear. I give all the credit to Powder River for the gear/tent obsession which led us to starting Groundbird Gear for backpacking dogs. Anyway, in our gear storage area at home, all of the tents are lined up on a shelf in similar sized stuff sacks. The Tarptents are made from the same pale green-grey silnylon. Instead of grabbing the tarp and inner of the two-piece Tarptent Stratospire, I had grabbed the single-man Contrail and the inner of the Stratospire. It actually worked out with me, Kathleen and Cooper piled into the one-person tent. We were quite warm and thankfully there was no condensation so our bags which were touching the tent walls did not get soaked. I will be marking the outside of each tent's stuff sack!

As you may recall from my blog post about our trip to Grayson Highlands this November, Kathleen LOVES to identify fungi! We weren't really sure what this stuff was, possibly decaying chicken of the woods... best not to eat it! :)

The Mau-Har Trail is not for the faint of heart. It has grueling ups and downs. Well worth it for this fun 3/4 mile section next to the Falls of Cambells Creek. Can't wait to go back in July and enjoy those swimming holes!!

Yeah, it took us about 3 hours to do the 3.8 miles from Harpers Creek Shelter to Maupin Field. I say that just to show how strenuous the Mau-Har Trail is. Quite worth it and we were looking for a good workout! The temperature dropped as we came back up to the Maupin Field Shelter and I put the camera away. The descent down Bee Mountain back to the car was so icy, I wish we had micro spikes!! No joke! We had to slide down on our butts and then skip the last bit and just walk on the Parkway to get back to the car. We immediately drove into Waynesboro and since Wheezies Diner (terrible name, I know) was closed, we ate at the Mexican restaurant across from the infamous Tastee-Freeze. Yum! I'm not sorry that I was too tired to make it to the Super Bowl party when I got home. We had a great weekend and I'm so glad we were able to break up the dreary urban winter that drags on and on here in Baltimore! It's much nicer to be out in the cold and moving than caged in a grey city. Thank God for healthy bodies and beautifully maintained trails through the most special parts of Creation!

What better way to celebrate the end of a great year with a short overnight hike on the Appalachian Trail! Thank you to our dear trail friend Bigglesworth (AT '08, JMT '14, NPT '14) for making this trip happen! We have a tradition of freezing our butts off with Biggles each winter, and glad we could do so this year in our home state, Maryland! We didn't manage to beat the low temps from our trip last winter in the ADK but I think we did get down to 10 degrees! Yay for feathers! Birds rule ;)

Camera: on this trip we decided to leave our big three pound DSLR (Canon 6D) at home and instead took the small Panasonic LUMIX GX1. Very happy with how these photos turned out!

We parked in the gravel lot on Wolfsville Rd. and hiked 5 miles to Raven Rocks Shelter. The shelter is a new one, very nice and we decided not to pitch tents afterall. (Although tents would be warmer. We decided we didn't want to pack up a wet-from-condensation, frozen tent in the morning though.) We were the only hikers at the shelter that night. We did see about 3 groups of hikers and 2 solo hikers on our short trip! More hikers than we typically see! I think many people enjoy getting out for the New Year. Last year on New Years we were also out on trail. We hung out around the fire for an hour or so and grilled some kielbasa. Pretty sure we went to sleep around 8pm. So goes "hiker midnight." And we slept for 12 straight hours. Cooper is always ok with this, especially since he was sharing my sleeping bag and air mat.

The walk itself was really nice. A few good climbs but nothing over 500 ft. We certainly didn't mind the workout, post Christmas and all. Most of this short section is what we consider "very flat." And the rocks on trail were dense but not irksome for us. There are several road crossings, stream crossings, a farm field crossing and several powerline/pipeline crossings. We saw no animals although we did have an animal visitor in camp at night and our efforts shining the headlamp did not reveal what creature it was. 

Fun Trip! Below is a breakdown of my (Bobwhite's) winter sleep system and winter clothing. On this trip Cooper carried: 2 TurboPUP bars, 2 cups of kibble (in ziplocks), 0ne spare Muttluks boot (in the off chance of foot injury), one roll of vet wrap, a can of paw wax (although we didn't actually wax his paws this trip...), a plastic container as a bowl, and his homemade jacket. We carried for him the 40 degree Western Mountaineering summer weight sleeping bag and he slept on my winter air mat.

FF: Feathered Friends, UL: ultralight, BA: Big Agnes, MH: Mountain Hardware, HLMG: Hyper Light Mountain Gear.

Since my (Bobwhite's) 2011 Southbound thru-hike of the A.T., I have been wanting to return to Southwestern Virginia. More specifically, Powder River and I have discussed doing a big 150 mile section from Rockfish Gap to Catawba in Autumn with our sweet boy Cooper. Well, this year we put in about 25 miles and it was grand... great fellowship with our dear friend Kathleen and amazing scenery and the woods were alive with color. We'll keep that longer hike on our clipboard. Maybe we'll even tackle it as a full-on winter hike... the crazies that we are! :)
Photography: photos on our hikes are primarily taken by my husband Jeff, a.k.a. Powder River: www.jeffsellenrick.com

Our hearts were aglow as we entered the rhododendron tunnel. The woods of Southern Appalachia resonate with us and we long for them from our concrete jungle, Baltimore. Kathleen has committed much of her adult life to serving as an educator naturalist in our National Parks. Most recently, she worked at the Smoky Mountain Institute at Tremont. During her time there, she became an expert in fungi. We had a lot of fun identifying many types of fungi on this trip.

We planned to hike for 4.5 days, camping 4 nights on a 45 mile loop hike of the Iron Mountain Trail and Appalachian Trail through Grayson Highlands. On my thru-hike through this section of the A.T. I was doing around 20 mile days. I was hiking with a very strong athlete, "Teeney," and we had our trail legs for sure. The point of this small section hike was to just enjoy our surroundings and each other. Cooper also isn't cut out for 20 mile days, although he could get there if we built him up to it. Cooper enjoys his surrounding via lots of interesting smells, and macro beauty. He's not really a guy for overlook vistas, but more for the "macro" world that is right in front of him. He does have a stance we call "pride rock," there will be a picture later, in which he stands on a nice boulder and surveys the world around him. His goal for the hike was to score lots of treats, especially smoked mozzarella from Kathleen, and score lots of kisses and butt rubs from his lady Kathleen.

If and when we do a longer section hike around 100 miles, we will probably average 15 miles in Fall (fewer hours of daylight) and maybe 18+ miles in summer (more daylight). It is pretty funny how much night hiking we typically do. And we did a bit on this trip too! The frustration of it is always searching for the shelter/campsite and the nagging feeling that maybe you've missed it! Cooper stays on leash during night hikes- his senses are always alert and maybe more so at night when all the animals are out, and we would never want to risk him tracing a scent and then not being able to find us in the dark. Again and again, he proves to us that his night vision is no better than our own. Although his night footing is far superior to our own!

As you can see from the image above, the blaze orange really helps make us visible even in low light conditions- in this photo the sun was setting. We hiked about 45 minutes in the dark before finding our shelter for the night, the Straight Branch Shelter on the Iron Mountain Trail. We chose to start our loop hike heading Northeast on the IMT from the Beartree Parking Area so that we could "build up" so to speak as we made our way around to the magnificent balds of Grayson and the climax of summiting the highest peak in Virginia, Mt. Rogers. (Mt. Rogers is actually covered in trees and there is no overlook on top, or on the way up, but it was cool to see Mt. Rogers from the IMT and know that's where we were headed!) The IMT is "old A.T.": it used to be the official A.T. and then a re-route was developed through Grayson Highlands. We are so glad the official Trail is now through Grayson! It is a highlight for many hikers, especially thru-hikers who do spend most of their days in the Green Tunnel. 

The first night was pretty cold but we did ok and Kathleen is now inspired to buy a nice down sleeping bag and replace her old, not very warm synthetic! Cooper once again was inspired to crawl in my bag with me, although he himself has his own sleep system. The photo above is from our lunch break at the Cherry Tree Shelter on the IMT. About a mile after this spot we joined the Appalachian Trail and started moving trail-South.

Cooper is always exhausted after a day of hiking. Here he is wearily looking out from Old Orchard Shelter (our second night camping) towards some guys who had a fire going and were hanging out. He is not one for crowds, even small crowds after a day of hiking. He definitely would not make a good Nobo, one more reason why he is my spirit animal. We set him up warm in the shelter so he could watch us making dinner at the picnic table in front of the shelter. Soon after, we put him to bed in the tent. 

The next morning we enjoyed hiking through some abundant green moss and ferns on our way up to the balds...

As soon as we got to the clearing, the beginning of our bald mountain hike, some rangers on an ATV drove up to us and warned us about the impending storm. Half a foot of snow and 50mph winds. We were planning on camping at Thomas Knob Shelter that night, at the foot of Mt. Rogers. Yeah, we changed our minds!!! We instead changed our plans and hiked on the Crest Trail to make our way over to where the wild ponies live (Grayson Highlands) and then make our way out to the road to look for a hitch back to our car!

Cooper was not at all stressed or disheartened about the change in plans!

We found a couple of cars willing to help us. Powder River got in a car with some Texans who were in the area geo-caching and he got to geo-cache a bit with them as they made their way to our car. Kathleen and I hitched with a nice couple out to Rt. 58 where we pitched a tent to stay out of the cold rain and wait for Jeff. Ended up being about an hour wait... the hitch was much longer than we though (17 miles!) . We are always thankful to the generosity we find in fellow man when we hitch. Thru hikers rely on hitches to town to re-supply and it is nothing new to Powder River and I.

We eventually made it to Damascus and were glad to be warm. We stayed at a new hostel for us, Woodchuck's and enjoyed the company of many other hikers who were also glad to be warm and dry. The next morning, we woke up to snow! Sadly we didn't take any photos. We headed out of town with a hiker named Gumby who just so happened to need a ride to the exact place we planned as our next destination of our altered trip: Catawba, VA. We had a great two hour ride getting to know Gumby. We dropped him off at the hostel in Catawba where he planned to stay for a while and do work-for-stay. We then headed up to the trailhead for the A.T. and made our way up to camp at the most photographed place on the A.T., McAfee Knob. We had a nice 4 mile hike to the Catawba Mountain Shelter, where we camped for the night. We attempted to hike up to the knob, and did get very close that night, but darkness and cold wind sent us back down to our sleeping bags. The next morning we left our tents set up and hiked to the knob soon after sunrise.

We didn't stay up there very long, it was incredibly cold and windy. The sky and fall colors made for some awesome photos! We returned to the campsite, packed up quickly and made our way back to the car and the famous Homeplace Restaurant in Catawba!!!