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Adventure Hikes With Dogs

• September 2014
• Hi Steph Dogs Travel

Hello Steph Davis,
I’m a big fan of things you enjoy. I have read of your adventures spread out over the years and have always enjoyed your outlook on your experiences.
I’ve been having this sort of deep and thoughtful contemplation about America and how much I miss the landscape. I have been living in Australia for 6 years, the thought of a multi year grand adventure back to America is on my mind, but I have two beautiful dogs I don’t want to leave behind. In Australia, any beautiful park, any crag, most beaches, they don’t allow dogs. I dream of visiting the states, buying a van and touring the best hikes, climbs, canyons and other great adventures with my fiancé and our fur children.
Do you have some sort of information out, maybe with Ruffwear, about the best multi-day adventure hikes that can be done with dogs?
I liked your section in the book, women who dare too, good stuff. Anyhow, all the best.
Andrew

Hi Andrew,
I can’t believe Australia is so anti-dog! When I go to Europe, I get frustrated at the dog discrimination in the US by comparison (in Europe dogs are welcome in restaurants, on trains, in cablecars and on trails, just like human children are permitted in such places, and it’s truly unclear to me why there’s a double standard with this), however the fact is that you can do a lot of wonderful stuff in the States with a dog. Personally, I don’t really enjoy going anyplace my dog isn’t welcome, so I have very little interest in visiting national parks, and thankfully there is a ton of wilderness in the States that isn’t under the control of the NPS. You’ll find in the States that as long as you stay away from National Parks, you’ll be able to do a lot of adventures with your pups!

Moab has a lot of backcountry, and one of my favorite places to go with Cajun in the warmer months is the LaSal mountains just above the town of Moab. There are many peaks at 11,000 to 12,000 feet, very very few people, and I think it would be a lot of fun to go on a camping excursion where you string them together. I have only done day hikes up there, one peak at at time, but I’ve always wanted to do a multi-day and summit all of them in one adventure.

For later in the season, September and early October, the San Juan Mountains in Colorado are another beautiful mountain region where you can hike and not see many people at all, and have your pups with you. The Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho is another great area, and the local management folks told me in person that they are against dog discrimination in wilderness areas, because they want people to be able to use the wilderness and enjoy it 🙂

I don’t know much about Montana, but I know it’s a huge place with a lot of wilderness, so I’m hoping someone will chime in here in the comments with some advice. I did check with my friends at Ruffwear for some more suggestions, and I’m hoping to hear from others about their regions too!

Here’s what Vince at Ruffwear suggests:

Hi Andrew! We were excited when Steph forwarded your note to us. There are a ton of great dog-friendly multi-day adventures here in the US. There are a few places where there are limitations for dogs (either not allowed or must be on leash), but there are also a lot of places where you can let your dog off-leash to explore freely. We have had a few fans send us their trip reports over the years. Here are a few blog posts that focus on their dog adventures – Backpacking the Wind River Range, Backpacking in the Trinity Alps, Winter Wanderings. These are just a few of the stories we have received.

We are based in Bend, Oregon. There are many trailheads within a 30 minute drive where you can take your dog and head into the mountains for countless miles of backpacking bliss. As Steph travels with Cajun everywhere, she also knows great places to take Cajun in the desert southwest. When are you planning on coming to the US? Do you know where you are planning on traveling to? Feel free to contact through our Facebook page or email us at marketing(at)ruffwear.com as you plan your trip and we can see if we can help!

Happy travels!
Vince at Ruffwear
about me: I handle Ruffwear’s social media, PR and other marketing initiatives. I also have lots of animals :).