I get it, Roon. I get it.
Our goal is to post a picture every weekday. You can see the latest pic on our homepage and you can see all of the past entries by clicking here. Rooney is a lot like us - he works hard for the views and then stands there breathing in the moment. This pup loves a vista and loves to stick his face into the breeze and let his adorable ears flop around.
I get it, Roon. I get it.
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Our goal is to post a picture every weekday. You can see the latest pic on our homepage and you can see all of the past entries by clicking here. I don't have a good reason for putting my coat on Rooney, other than it's crazy adorable. Normally Rooney would shake this coat off right away, but this was one of those crisp (i.e. freaking cold) mornings on the trail so he let me document this little moment, as long as it meant he could keep the coat. His facial expression seems to be saying "enjoy this moment, lady, because it ain't happening again." :-)
Our goal is to post a picture every weekday. You can see the latest pic on our homepage and you can see all of the past entries by clicking here. Can you spot Rooney in this pic?? That pup loves to wander and explore. This pic was taken during one of Serial's many forest preserve excursions and happened shortly after Chicago was hit hard with rain and flooding. You can see that there is still so much water lingering, even a full week after the storms. Crazy!
This post is part of a series on Chicagoland Parks. You can read more about how we are finding the woods while living in the city here. You can read all of the posts in this series here.
I've been traveling around to various Forest Preserves in the Chicagoland area and have found Lake County to have some of the niceset, most manicured parks around. Rollins Savanna Forest Preserve, being one of our favorites, is 1200 acres of mostly open, rolling prairie and a few ponds with 5.5 miles of trail that meander about making two separate but connected loops. The trail is the size of an old forest road and graded for running, biking and cross country skiing. Rooney and I typically head out there in the middle of the afternoon, when there aren't too many folks, though I can imagine it gets pretty crowded during peak hours and days. As far as the hiking goes, this is pretty tame and an adventure I'd piece together with another Preserve to make a full day. Also, the ponds are a haven for several species of birds, so keep a look out. This post is featured on the Appalachian Trials Blog. Click here to learn more and to connect with other AT hikers through this wonderful blog. If you missed Part 1 of Hiking with a Dog, you can click here to read it. We covered diet, paws, ticks and gear. This time we wanted to talk about a few things to consider before hiking with your dog. Before we get to that though, we wanted to give an update on Rooney. In Part 1, we talked about the dangers of ticks and we mentioned that our pup contracted a tick-borne illness on the AT. Several people sent us messages asking how Rooney was doing today and we wanted to say thank you for the concern! We’re happy to report that he’s doing great and is fully recovered. We got off the trail when his injuries first occurred and took him straight to a vet. He had a cast for a few days (to protect his swollen paw) and a month of medication. Bottom line, we took time off the trail and made him our priority. Today, he is back to his normal, healthy, happy self. Quick disclaimer before we continue with this post - we are not veterinarians nor are we experts on dogs. But we do have a good deal of experience on the AT. We were living in Damascus, VA when we first brought Rooney home so he grew up on the AT and between hiking with Serial and trail running with Minutes, Rooney logged a consistent 40-50 miles a week. When it came time for our 1400-mile section hike, Rooney was ready and we knew what to expect. Our goal with this post is to help you look at the pros and cons of bringing a dog on a long distance hike and to help you determine if it’s the right move for you. Is your dog ready for a long distance hike? This is a touchy subject for some because the truthful answer is “probably not.” It takes a lot of work to thru-hike. Most people don’t make it to Katahdin and even fewer dogs do. It IS possible though, if you have the right dog and you have the right preparation and mindset going in. If you can answer yes to these questions, then you’re on the right track.
Pet policies on the trail. There are two places that you are not allowed to take your dog on the AT and will require extra planning: The Smoky Mountains and Baxter State Park. When you get to the Smokies, you are looking at 5-7 days of hiking that your dog will have to skip, unless you have a service dog. If your dog is not a service dog, you will need to plan for this section and there are two main options: skipping this section or boarding your dog. The Smokies are epic so we don’t recommend skipping it, but that’s your choice. We boarded our dog through the Smokies and it was a good break for him and also a good break for us. Taking care of a dog on the trail is hard work. It was really nice to have a week off to just hike together and not be managing Rooney’s needs. The place we boarded him met us in Fontana and picked Rooney up. Rooney stayed at their hostel at the end of the Smokies and we hiked to him. When we exited the Smokies, Rooney was waiting for us and was rested. He was really happy to see us and start hiking again. If you want to know the specifics of how much it cost or which hostel we used, send us an email at jill {at} atraillife {dot com}. Baxter State Park is the second time you will need to make arrangements for your pooch. Since it’s the end or the beginning of the trail for most hikers, it might work best to ask someone to pick you up/drop you off and stay an extra day to watch your dog. There are boarding services there, but we can’t vouch for them personally. When Serial thru-hiked, we didn’t have Rooney and our section hike ended in NY so we haven’t dealt with a dog in Baxter. Trail Etiquette. It’s always better to be extra respectful of others on the trail, especially in the beginning. Once you get to know the hikers around you and have a hiking crew that you see everyday, you can relax a bit but that takes time and will depend on the hikers in your group. Use common sense and these basic tips that we learned to make it a pleasant experience for everyone.
Questions from Readers. Thank you to Tracy for submitting the wonderful questions!
We hope this was helpful for those planning their hike. It wasn’t our intention to discourage you from bringing your dog, we just wanted to be realistic about how hard it is to hike 8-10 hours every day and how much extra work it is to have your dog with you. We love our dog a ton and have been living and hiking on the AT with him for 2000+ miles and 3 years, but even we’ve had days when we wished he wasn’t there. It’s just the reality of it. We never once felt that Rooney was being pushed past his limits physically, but we regularly felt that we were putting his needs over ours. And that can take a toll on a hiker. So pause a moment and really think it through. If you don’t want to bring your dog, don’t feel guilty. And if you still want to bring your dog on the trail, that’s awesome. We’ll do everything we can to help you prepare! If you have other questions, leave them in the comments or send us an email. We’d be happy to answer them! In the meantime, you can read all of our posts on hiking with a dog by clicking here. And don't forget enter for a chance to win a waterproof camera case from Aquapac? This post is featured on the Appalachian Trials Blog. Click here to learn more and to connect with other AT hikers through this wonderful blog. The topic we’re asked about most frequently (aside from “why in the world would you hike for that long?”) is hiking with a dog. It fascinates people and they are always curious how our dog, Rooney, handles living in the woods. So we thought we’d take a minute to sum up what we’ve learned and how we make hiking with our dog a positive experience. Real quick, we’ll give you some background on Rooney, to put everything in context. He’s a 3 year old Weimaraner, which is a very high-energy bird hunting dog with a natural prey drive (i.e. his instinct is to chase wildlife). He’s incredibly athletic and strong. He weighs anywhere from 70-80 pounds, depending on his level of exercise and his diet. On the trail, he was a solid block of muscle weighing in at 75 lbs. He’s friendly, cute and likes to be around people. Another quick disclaimer: we are not veterinarians or experts on dogs. We are just sharing what works for our dog and us. We encourage you to do your own research and talk to your vet about your dog’s situation. Each dog is unique. Diet. We started our hike with dehydrated dog food (they sell it online) and bought enough for the first month, then shipped it ahead on the trail in mail drops. We wanted to see how it went for a bit and then reevaluate our options. We had used this food before on weekend hikes and it worked perfectly, but we weren’t sure if it would work for months on the trail. And sure enough, it didn’t. There weren’t enough calories in the dehydrated food and Rooney dropped about 5 pounds in the first week. He was always hungry for more food and never seemed satisfied after a meal. It was clear right away that we needed to adjust. We switched to dry bags of food and supplemented it with olive oil for extra calories. This did the trick and he put the weight back on quickly. When we walked out of town we typically had a 6-7 lb bag of food and a big bottle of olive oil, for 3-4 days on the trail. In town, we fed him a TON of food. Pretty much anything we could afford to get our hands on. Raw meat, sweet potatoes, eggs… anything that was safe for him to eat. And again, to put it in perspective, his diet before the trail included raw foods. We would not have introduced him to a brand new diet on the trail. A typical day for Rooney pre-trail was 2 raw meals (chicken, sweet potato, kale) and 1 dry meal (regular dry dog food) so the trail was just an increased amount of things he was already familiar with. We also carried acidophilus supplements, to prevent/reduce infections in his floppy ears. Paws. One of the concerns for dogs that are walking all day is that their paws may crack or wear down. Thankfully, this wasn’t an issue for Rooney, but we do have a few suggestions for keeping paws healthy. Many train their dog to hike in boots. We started out carrying boots, but it was pretty clear that Rooney wasn’t having it. Plus we felt it was a little risky to mess with his agile footing on such tough terrain. His paws are massive and strong which is one of the reasons he hikes so well. So instead we did some research on other options and found a paw wax product called Mushers Secret. We started using it in Damascus and it gave his paws extra conditioning and protection from the elements. But the best thing we did was work up to our hike. Rooney grew up on the AT and was used to the terrain so his paws were conditioned over time. Ticks. The only thing I truly fear on the trail. They are so tiny and yet require so much attention. Last year was a reportedly bad year for ticks because of the mild winter so we found a LOT of ticks on ourselves, but mostly Rooney. We applied a monthly tick treatment and checked him multiple times a day. It wasn’t unusual to find 10-15 ticks in one day. We carried a tick key and tweezers and used a rock or flame to kill each tick after removing it. Even with all of our best efforts, Rooney did end up with a tick-borne illness. We’re not trying to scare or discourage you, but we do want to stress that it’s a real risk and not one to be taken lightly. If you would like to learn more on ticks, associated diseases and tick removal, please visit these websites: Dogs & Ticks and The Humane Society. Gear. Rooney carried his own pack and gear. On average, it weighed about 5-8 lbs (remember, he weighs ~75 lbs) and fit him snugly, without being over-stuffed, so that it didn’t move around & chafe him while he hiked. He carried his food, bowl, supplements, pack cover and first aid kit. We often carried 2-3 lbs of his food in our own packs – be prepared to help your dog with the extra weight coming out of town. For a complete list of his gear, click here. That’s it for Part 1. We’ll be back later this week with Part 2 which will cover trail etiquette, dealing with pet policies on the trail (hotels, the Smokies, etc) and tips for determining if your dog is ready for a long distance hike. If you have any other questions that you’d like us to cover, please leave them in the comments. In the meantime, you can read all of our posts on hiking with a dog by clicking here. And be sure to enter for a chance to win an Aquapac Mini Waterproof Camera Case. Update: to read Hiking with a Dog (Part 2) click here. This post is part of a series on Chicagoland Parks. You can read more about how we are finding the woods while living in the city here. You can read all of the posts in this series here. Dog parks here in Chicago are pretty common, but they are always crowded. Even in the middle of a weekday, in crappy weather, there are a bunch of dogs. And I don't know if I'm just overprotective, but I don't trust most of them. We've been taking Rooney to dog parks his whole life so it's not the idea of it that I'm nervous about, it's the specific dog parks near our house. The dogs are just kind of aggressive and the owners barely pay attention. One time there was a 3-4 year old little kid running through the park with two tennis balls in his hand...madness. Anyway, before I start sounding like a grumpy chick, I'll get to the good part of this post. Montrose Dog Beach! Yep, the exception to the dog park craziness. It's great because it's really big and open so dogs can stretch their legs and really run. There's enough room to play catch without having every single dog in the park chasing the same ball. There's more room down the beach, away from the main entrance, to be by yourself with your dog if you prefer. And there are a bunch of trails for running and biking nearby so you can take your pup for a run after playing at the beach. Love it there. It's my favorite choice for a quick way to exercise Rooney. The best part? It's a super easy drive for us. It's right off of Lake Shore at the Montrose exit so it only takes 10 minutes in the car. Plus, it's beautiful! Sign me up. ![]() The day we brought Rooney home. I've had a few people ask me how Rooney is doing these days so I wanted to give you guys a quick update on his health/diet and how he is adjusting to city life. If you're just meeting Rooney, he's our super cute and feisty Weimaraner. He's two and a half years old which for a breed like his means he is still very puppy-like. To us, he's calmed down a ton from his early puppy years, but if you're used to a chill dog that doesn't need to exercise everyday, our dog would give you a run for your money. For us though, he's the perfect pupper. He loves the woods and has energy for days, which keeps us active too. But when you get home at the end of the day, he wants to snuggle you and be a little velcro dog. ![]() With his cast - saddest little pupper face. When we hiked 1,400 miles this summer, Rooney was right there with us. He hiked everyday, lived in the tent with us and was a resident of the woods for 4 months. And he loved it all. Well, maybe not all of it. The bugs drove him bananas! Remember this post? And as annoying as the bugs were, the ticks were the real nuisance. They were always on us and we pulled 10-15 off Rooney every single day. I guess looking back it's not that shocking that he ended up with Anaplasmosis. It's a tick-borne disease kind of like Lymes. We got off the trail and found a vet that hooked us up with meds and a cast for the pup's swollen paw (a side effect of the disease). ![]() Bliss. The meds were a month-long treatment and they kind of did a number on Rooney stomach. Even after we were off the trail and his meds were done, he still was having tummy trouble. We found a vet here in Chicago that we love (she's a holistic vet and truly looks at everything in Rooney's life and not just the symptoms he presents with) and she helped get him on the right track again. We adjusted his diet back to raw food (he was raw before the trail) then started incorporating pumpkin and probiotics into his daily diet. I'm super happy to say that he has made a full recovery and is doing so well now. Everything seems to be back on track and we're so grateful. Thank you for the concern and questions about Rooney - it seems he has quite a fan club. I get it though - this is a hard face to ignore :-) If you like what you read, I would love to hear from you in the comments section! It's fun to get feedback and it helps me create future posts. Oh and it wouldn't hurt my feelings if you pinned, tweeted and/or shared this post ;-) And be sure to stay in touch on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest or RSS! It's been awhile since I've blogged about hiking. We have been adjusting back to our city lives and I really haven't given my gear much thought. I haven't uploaded my pictures or gone through my trail journal. I think I just needed to clear my head for a bit and focus on something other than hiking. I still love hiking and camping, don't get me wrong. We went camping in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan not long ago, simply because we missed the woods. But what I didn't miss was thinking about gear lists or trying to plan out a food bag. Until today! Two of our very good friends from the trail finished their thru-hike last week (congrats, Bearcub and Guy Line!!) and we had lunch with them today. It was so great to see them and I love that we all live in the same city now. We have one other Chicago friend who should be finishing his thru soon (good luck, Waldo!) and once we are all back in the city it will be so nice to have them nearby. Reminiscing about the trail and sharing so many laughs inspired me to revisit my AT gear lists. Basically this is my long-winded way of telling you that I went back and reviewed the gear lists that I put together before our hike and updated them to include notes. I added comments about how the gear worked and whether or not I would use it again. I hope you find interesting and maybe even useful in planning your own gear list! Click here to see Jill's updated gear list Click here to see Rooney's updated gear list And of course, if you have any questions or if you would like me to review your gear list, give me a shout!! If you like what you read, I would love to hear from you in the comments section! It's fun to get feedback and it helps me create future posts. Oh and it wouldn't hurt my feelings if you pinned, tweeted and/or shared this post ;-) And be sure to stay in touch on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest or RSS! Friends, we have so much to fill you in on. The past week hasn't had much hiking because we have been letting Rooney heal up and taking a few days to enjoy NYC with friends. Tomorrow we head back out to the trail, but not to the AT.
I'll wait a minute while you process that. Heck, I'm still processing it. For a number of reasons we won't be hiking the AT any further this year. It's a combination of things from money to schedule to work and everything in between. It basically boils down to this: we have one month of hiking left before we need to return to our lives. So we weighed three options for how we wanted to spend this month. Option 1 was to shuttle up to the Whites in NH and hike to Katahdin. Option 2 was to hike from MA to VT. Option 3 was to do a totally different trail. We picked option 3 and we're really excited about it. Of course we have mixed emotions about leaving the AT and I already miss it, but I'm not one to dwell on a decision and question it. I'd rather be positive and focus on the adventure in front of us. Ok, ok, so you probably want to know what that adventure is. Drumroll... the Great Allegheny Passage. It's a rail to trail line that runs from Pittsburgh to Washington DC and is about 330 miles total. We actually crossed this trail on the AT and it caught our eye. We made a note to hike it one day...we just didn't think it would be today! But there are a lot of positive aspects that just made it appealing to us. It's incredibly flat so it will be gentle on Rooney while he is finishing out his meds and will allow us to log more miles each day. It's closer to Chicago and will be easy to get home from in Sept. It's near plenty of towns so I can be looking for work and possibly interviewing along the way. We will get to hike the full trail in one shot. It's not easy to give up on our goal of an AT thru hike and thru hiking this trail gives us a different goal to work towards. So that's our big news. I hope you guys can continue to support and love us like you have through our AT hike. It wasn't a decision that we made lightly and we truly think it's the best choice for all 3 of us. We are proud of what we accomplished on the AT...1300 miles and 8 states. Once we complete the Allegheny it will be over 1600 miles and five months of hiking this summer. Not too shabby! I'll continue to post updates here and keep in touch like we did on the AT. Until then, we appreciate you all and hope you're enjoying your summer as much as we are. Much love. ~Minutes, Serial and Rooney |
Update! Life has become busy in a great way, so we don't have a lot of time for blogging these days. We've left the site up as a reference, and we do check our blog emails whenever we can, but we are no longer actively posting or commenting. Thanks for understanding and have a wonderful day!
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I'm a Chicago girl who loves the outdoors and everything DIY. He's an Appalachian Trail thru-hiker and addicted to nature. Follow us as we share our experiences with home projects, recipes and hiking with our energetic Weimaraner, Rooney.
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