Thru Hiking with my Dog

[natecolsen]

Hello HAZ Community,
I am a Phoenix resident planning a "solo" thru hike of the AZT South to North this upcoming February. When I originally made this decision, I was dead set on having my Queensland Heeler, Bandit, accompany me. However, due to backlash from my family, I am reaching out to the HAZ community for advice. He is a year and a half old, hikes with my regularly, and his biggest adventure so far was a 36 mile, 4 day trek through West Clear Creek. When day hiking with him, he carries his food, bowls, and sometimes a few rocks in a dog pack, and we typically cover around 14 miles. I wanted to open this discussion up, and hopefully receive some feedback as to whether or not this is a good idea when considering the added logistics of bringing a dog on this journey. Obviously, the added weight of his food and water will slow me down considerably, but in my eyes, this is not a deal breaking factor. I thank anyone in advance for their opinions on this!

[natecolsen]

Thanks Sirena! Hope to see you out there as well and thank you for all you're doing for the AZT!!!

[natecolsen]

Just an update to everyone out there. Bandit and I finished our thru hike on June 6. I have nothing but good things to say about the people I met and the experiences we had out on the trail. Nothing but trail angels. Bandit was a total stud the entire way! Just a few cholla here and there. One of his pads needed some bag balm near the second week, but all held fine the rest of the trip. He was a saint with the cattle, horses, deer, elk, etc., but I let him have his fun with any rabbit we came across (never caught one). It took about two or three rattlesnake encounters before I had him well trained on how to react when he found one (the next 15 or so snakes were no problem). I was able to have him off leash about 80% of the trip as his adherence to verbal commands only sharpened as the days went on. He likely covered a good 100 more miles than myself due to all his extra exploring, fetching, hunting for shade and running circles around me. Now that we're home, I'm afraid he is going to develop some depression or something! So I guess we'll just have to keep hitting these trails

[outdoor_lover]

That's awesome!!! Congratulations to you and Bandit both!!! Glad it was a good Experience all around...btw, the Cure for Dog Depression is another thru-hike! Grand Enchantment, PCT, John Muir.....

[RowdyandMe]

I just got a rescue dog about 10 days ago. I am going to get him some training before I take him out on any long hikes.
I can hardly wait.

[smithf4e]

Do it! The dog will love it. Bring booties, be careful of snakes (a possibility, however rare, its HAS happened).

We've done about 400 miles with our Border Collie.

Chris Smith

[nolapeach666]

this is quite an old thread, but thought i'd give my question a go on here anyway.
which passages on the azt allow dogs and which passages do not? i know national parks dont allow dogs, but i was curious about the other passages and if they have dog restrictions.
thanks!

[joebartels]

Just added a paw print to the list of passages here on HAZ in a small available space that displays on all devices under the mileage column.
Arizona Trail Passage List

• Only displays if reported
  • Anyone may submit edits to the guide pages
    edit page > ops tab > Dogs

Reading the passage information, the first allows for the majority but not the southern end. It's not always a solid yes or no, so I added a new varies option.