Passes with Dogs

[Snowtrout]

My wife and I are looking at possible future trips that include passes we are not very familiar with. The caveat: hiking those passes with our dogs. Our dogs are dachshunds, 10 & 15lbs, and have hiked on maintained, un-maintained and some off trail areas, mostly in the They west side of the Sierra off the 168 highway (Huntington, Courtright & Wishon areas). They have done 10 mile days and up to 30 mile trips. We have carried them at times but they really do not like it and carrying them through uneven terrain could create more problems.

The two passes in question.
Trip one plan would be hiking to Graveyard Lakes, going over Graveyard/Silver Fox Pass to Peter Pande lake. Per the description on HST, it looks like the south side is doable with the dogs but am a bit concerned about the talus on the north side. Comments or suggestions for taking dogs on this route?

Trip 2 plan is linking Bench Valley and Red Mtn basin. My wife an I have gone over Hutton Col (easy on south side, on the north side we went along the spine north before dropping down into Arctic lake). We believe the col is too much and too step with the dogs. The other option is going over Lucifers Saddle and dropping in to Big Shot Lake. The south side of the east saddle and on top looks doable but the talus going into Big shot is the concern. Any comments or suggestions?
Thanks

[paul]

I came over lucifer from west to east a couple years ago. From what i recall the trickiest bits for a smaller dog coming the opposite way would be the last bit up to the saddle, where I remember some big steps down; and then a short stretch on the way down, just below the upper ramp, that might be tough for them. Lower down towards the shots, i dont remember any tough terrain, just complex micro navigation to avoid it.

[Snowtrout]

Paul,
Thank you. That really helps. Worst case is that we have to carry them a bit.

[Harlen]

Hello Snowtrout, we too take our small dog deep into the Sierra.

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Wolfie is a 14 lb. Pomeranian, and he absolutely loves these trips!

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He does very well in all but the worst boulder fields. He bounced happily up this b.c. pass, which is a mixture of dirt, scree, and small boulders. It's the pass north of Clinch Pass, between the north and middle forks of the San Joaquin. To reach here, he also crossed North Glacier Pass, north of Mt. Banner, which does have scary boulder fields.

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Our worst fear is the possibility off losing him down a hole between giant boulders. To avoid this nightmare, we created this pack, adapted from one of our kid-carrying packs. It works well, though for Wolfie, it is an ignominious defeat. But just imagine having your dog slide into a deep space between boulders, and not being able to get him back out! So he must suffer these carries now and again.

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He later redeems himself by carrying a huge pack. We never load Wolfie with more than his own body weight.



Like you guys, we have enjoyed many trips out of Courtright Res./Maxon TH, Have you hiked out of the Woodchuck trailhead Snowtrout? Our favorite area is the Blackcap Basin, which is really dog friendly. We have base camped at Portal Lake, and just below for a fire camp, and rambled all around the high basins there.
Here's photos of one of those trips to Blackcap Basin: viewtopic.php?t=22002





Good luck wherever you go. Our first family dog was a dachshund-- they are super energetic, and we know of a pair of long-haired dachshunds that do tremendous long, hard backpacking trips. Cheers, Ian and Lizzie.

[Snowtrout]

Harlen, thanks for the info and pics. We often go out of Rancheria TH. Last trip was the Chuck pass to Crown pass semi loop stopping at Crown and Woodchuck lakes. The only part they don’t like is the dry dusty area about 1.5 miles before the parking area.

The pack for the dog you created looks interesting. Any other pics so I can get a clearer image of what it looks like?

[sekihiker]

Properly encouraged, dogs are even capable of climbing peaks and barking out a trip report.
See: http://www.sierrahiker.com/IndianLakes/index.html
Sadly, Beans is no longer with us. She passed away in 2016, well past 100 in dog years.

[nhrpolitic13]

This may be too late to assist you, Snowtrout, but for others interested, I crossed Lucifer's Saddle North to South with a buddy and my german shepherd two years ago. Other than having to help her up a step or two or guide her around a spot here or there, she didn't really have that big a problem -- when we got to the bigger scree boulders I took her saddlebags off and carried them, so that she had an easier time fitting between/around/over things.

Nothing like a good trail dog...

[nhrpolitic13]

Properly encouraged, dogs are even capable of climbing peaks and barking out a trip report.
See: http://www.sierrahiker.com/IndianLakes/index.html
Sadly, Beans is no longer with us. She passed away in 2016, well past 100 in dog years.

Sekihiker, your blog and trail reports have been an invaluable source of inspiration and route planning to me over the years -- I remember reading that report by Beans pretty much contemporaneously. I still chuckle when I come across it to this day. Glad you had such a friend. I hope you're still getting out there and having fun, and thanks for all the inspiration over the years!

[sekihiker]

Sekihiker, your blog and trail reports have been an invaluable source of inspiration and route planning to me over the years -- I remember reading that report by Beans pretty much contemporaneously. I still chuckle when I come across it to this day. Glad you had such a friend. I hope you're still getting out there and having fun, and thanks for all the inspiration over the years!

Thanks, nhrpoitic13. It was great fun traveling with her.
She really liked the outdoors and was able to keep up most of the time despite her small stature.
Best Wishes -
Bill