Shelter for backpacker and dog

“I've been thinking about my shelter strategy for a three week trip with my dog (my wife will join us for just one weekend).

My options are:

1) My Hennessey Hammock. Loki could sleep under the hammock and tarp, perhaps with some kind of ground cloth.

2) A one person Walrus Zoid. Its a little cramped when Loki and I are in it, but its workable and neither of us need touch the side walls.

3) Sierra Designs Clip 3. Palatial for a person and a dog, but heavy.

4) Buy something new, prolly from Shires. I don't want either of us getting bug bit (I especially don't want things crawling in at night), so I want something with bug screening. Downside: expense.

I'm leaning towards the Zoid and a strategy of staying in the wooden shelters when there is room and people don't object. It is a good excuse to buy new gear, but since I could equip 7 people already, that seems decadent. Also, I'm not independently wealthy and am involved enought with charity now that if I wasted the money, I'd be thinking of all the good causes the money could have gone to.


Any other tips for a three week trip with a dog?
last edited: 7/31/07 2:45:18 PM”

“Ped,

I vote for the Walrus as well.

I dunno about your dog but you should consider bringing snacks for him. I keep plenty of milkbones available as "powerbar" snacks. I've found the regular dry food, which my dog eats in the eve, not to be enough for energy during the days on the trail. I can tell a big difference in energy output when I give her snacks (I assume you will be re-supplying).

Booties are good it there will be granite/rock for sustained periods. I use a horse blanket type cover sprayed with scotch silicone or nixwax for my dog when the weather turns.

Good tweezers for pulling out the ticks, thorns, etc.

Prolly nothing new here for ya but you do have to plan for the longer trips more than just a couple of nights or a dayhike...”

“For hiking with my dog I love my Trekker tarp with the insert. It's a little heavy, 4.5# I think, but it covers all bases.

You've got a comfy place to cook and hang out when it's raining. The vestibules are USEABLE. If the dog's nasty you can leave him under the vestibule and there will be plenty of room. This is the only tent I've owned that even my gear would fit under the vestibules without hanging out or pushing against the fly.

It's heavy, but very versatile. Also, I think about it like this. 10 years ago, a 4.5# tent was at least pretty light, no matter how many people it slept.”

“How about your house?

Leave the dog at home.”

“The Lunar Solo is excellent for a single and a dog. There is a "corner" in the middle of the sleeping area that is perfect for a dog or a pack, or in the case of my Mugsy (31-lb), both. The vestibule is large on the Lunar Solo as well, so the dog could stay outside if you liked.”

“My Hilleberg Nallo-2 is great set-up with just the outer tent. Huge amount of space for 2, with a dog, set-up in this mode. (No floor or bug protection though)

You could use the inner tent (floor & bug protection), and there would still be plenty of room in the vestibule, for a dog.

Hilleberg tent's are expensive though.”

“...strategy of staying in the wooden shelters when there is room and people don't object. .... - pedx

Most people won't say anything out loud to you, but most sure will be pi$$ed.
AT shelters and dogs are a bad mix. Read a few threads about the subject over on WhiteBlaze.”

“I've seen little 'mini-tents' meant for dogs. Embear had one that her lab carried in her own doggy pack. Keeps the wet dog off your sleepy bag and gives them shelter.”

“I agree with SS on this one. I love dogs, I have hiked with my dogs a few times, but I don't bring them into shelters. There is nothing like sitting in a shelter while it is raining, and someone comes running up to the shelter, climbs in with their dog, and the dog starts shaking water all over everything. Not a good thing.”

“Bringing a dog into a shelter is the height of arrogance.”

“What every dog owner needs to understand is their own view of their dog's behavor is too often blinded by love of the dog.
Other sheltermates will not have that love or that same view.”

“Depending on which dog I have with me, really determines where the dog sleeps, the one dog stays chained to a tree away from others and he has his tarp or tent just depending on the season. The other one sleeps with me where ever I go, but here again away from other people. Don't ever take your dog into a shelter, unless your by yourself and nobody else shows up. And then your just asking for problems. Remember dogs are just dogs and act like it most of the time. My advice to you is this, unless you have a dog that is really a outside dog at home, leave it at home.
last edited: 7/31/07 5:21:09 PM”

“while i wouldnt say that "Bringing a dog into a shelter is the height of arrogance", i would say dont do it, unless theres scores of room, and youre not inconveniencing anyone else”

“Is it a cute dog?”

“I have no advice; I have no dog:(”

“It shows a complete disregard for fellow humans.

I know in this bizarro world called trail talk, child molesters should get therapy and people who dog fight should be executed, but only a complete jerk would take a dog into a public shelter.”

“do you have something against dogs?”

“No, he's trying to hone his political correctness skills.”

“Dogs are fine as long as they aren't rubbing against me, jumping on me, laying on my sleeping bag, eating my food, stinking, barking, biting, drooling, underfoot, growling, crapping, magnets for ticks and fleas, chasing things and generally being unnecessary.”

“i mean, christ, its just a dog. yea, bringing a dog into a crowded shelter is kind of obnoxious, but you act like its akin to taking a dump on the shelter floor

oh, seeing as how child molestors generally dont go away for good, then hell yea they should get therapy, not for their sake, but so they dont fcking do it again, and create another fcked up kid who becomes an abuser himself”

“On the Drunk=furst we had a couple dogs. For the most part they were well behaved and I did not have a problem. However one of "our" dogs was attacked on the way in by a dog which was not leashed and not evident. That dog rushed out from under the picnic table at the site and attacked the leashed, controlled dog as they went by. I would take my dog backpacking with me if I had a dog pack for him. But I would make very sure he was not able to soil or damage anyone else's gear.

They can be very unpredictable. Even the best of them.”

“Political correctness is nothing more than lying.”

“Not to get off topic crash, but people who molest children are not going to be fixed by therapy. It would be like convincing a heterosexual he can only have sex with chickens. Not going to happen.

If a person is into women you can't change his mind. Same thing if he is into dudes or kids.”

“Not to get off topic crash,

But what the hey.... let's do it anyway...”

“maybe not "fixed", but maybe less likely to do it in the future. if that only works for 1 in 100 molestors, its worth it. if you can show me some legit studies that say therapy doesnt work to lessen incidence of molesting, then ill agree that its a waste of time”

“crash bang... I could better than that. I could introduce you to people for whom therapy _has_ worked. Last word from on the subject.”

“Ramblinrev: cured and into adult women for 5yrs.


:D”

“longer....”

“I think one of the risks of humans sleeping in shelters is running into folks that pontificate like bacpac.”

“Swore off the chickens,eh?”

“Thanks for the input and interesting discussion. I had some very different takes on the dog issue elsewhere.

The input I've had and the experience I've seen is when there is lots of room in the shelter and the dog can be kept a good distance away from others, people don't seem to mind. I'm inclined to ask people's permission and to keep her on leash at the shelter. Some have said, don't ask, but some will suffer in silence if not asked and some people do have allergies. Things definitely change North of the AT. More than half my shelter nights North of Maine junction, I was the only one in the shelter.”

“I was kind of thinking the same thing. I wasn't thinking it would be all that crowded up there.”

“oddly, on the AT from the white mountains and north, the shelters were full every night, in 2004. never been on the northern section of the long trail, tho, so i cant comment on that”

“Once when I was in Virginia, I was approaching a shelter during the middle of the day to take a break. I was about 30 feet from the shelter when a big dog started snarling and growling at me from inside the shelter. No one else was around, the dog was in the shelter by itself. I just froze for a few seconds, then a guy came up from behind the shelter. He left the dog there while he went to the privy. He said he never seen his dog act like that. After a few minutes with the owner there with the dog, the dog was fine with me, but it goes to show how dogs can act different when they feel like they are in charge. I wonder what could have happened if it was another hiker instead of me.
Another time in Pa I was caught in the rain. When I finally made it to the shelter it was dark and I was the only one there. I set up my sleeping pad and bag, took out some of my gear and layed around the shelter to let it dry out.
The next morning when I woke up, I noticed there was hair all over everything I had. It was on my sleeping bag, sleeping pad, my clothes, my food bag..everything. I was really ticked off. Whoever stayed at the shelter before me must have had a dog (or two) that sheded badly. It was bad enough that I was already soaked, but now I was covered with dog hair. It made me feel even more miserable.
And last but not least was the time me and Hyway were at the Springer Mt shelter. I had my sleeping gear in the shelter and a lady came up with a dog. Before I knew it, the dog was standing on my brand new down sleeping bag.
My own personal experiences are enough for me to believe that dogs shouldn't be in shelters.”

“Ped, I think once you get above Route 4, you'll find most of the shelters empty. At least that was the case for Sherpaman and myself last year. Over the 9 days from Lincoln Gap to the Canadian boarder we had the shelters to ourselves most nights. That was also the case from Brandon Gap to Lincoln Gap over 4th of July weekend.”

“Now if you really want to see some empty shelters, try the NPT starting Labor Day weekend. When we did that every shelter we came to was empty. We even went for almost 2 days without seeing another person.”

“im spending a year in a country that has 50 million people crammed into an area the size of the state of indiana, and urban development just about every square mile that isnt in the mountains. i would love to go two person-less days in the woods”

“"....never been on the northern section of the long trail, tho, so i cant comment on that”
crash bang
8:51:37 PM
7/31/07

Well, you better get your tail up there and hike that sucker.”

“Maybe I need to get my tail over there too. I've never hiked any of the southern half.”

“I have to hike about 225 miles of it..................none this year.”

“Well, you better get your tail up there and hike that sucker

its very high on my to-do list. if not next year, then maybe when i finish my next contract”

“the southern half of the long trail was one of my favorite sections of the AT. rugged and remote, with an occasional glorious mountaintop view, with some charming trail towns every few days. i dont think the trail ever went thru town, always had to hitchhike in, i believe. one of my favorite spots was styes peak, just north of mad tom notch”

“OK Crash, if you back out of the deal you will pilloried an Trail Talk for being a hypocrite.

Are you prepared for strident abuse?”

“Are you prepared for strident abuse?

ummmm as opposed to the strident abuse i havent been getting from you mooks?”

“Nice picture!

When do we leave?
last edited: 8/01/07 7:34:27 AM”

“tomorrow, i wish

ped, if you go into manchester center for re-supply (they have a nice-sized EMS store there), the manchester pizza house has awesome pizza”

““the southern half of the long trail was one of my favorite sections of the AT. rugged and remote, with an occasional glorious mountaintop view, with some charming trail towns every few days. i dont think the trail ever went thru town, always had to hitchhike in, i believe. one of my favorite spots was styes peak, just north of mad tom notch”
crash bang
8:29:36 AM
8/01/07

The northern half was the same, but there were plenty of views. I need to go back and rehike Mansfield and Camels Hump. When were were there Mansfield was in the clouds and we faced 100mph winds on top of Camels Hump.”

“Sorry for the thread drift Ped”