dog access question

[FARMER]

is the willey range trail from ethan pond trail to mt willey navigable for an agile mountain dog? the WMG mention ladders and steep scrambles i am planning to ascend to mt willey summit and descend back to ethan pond trail? thanks
for any help


ryan

 

[Chip]

I went up Kedron Flume to summit Willey, the "ladders" are steep wood steps. The dog should be fine. We went on to Field and Tom, though, not back down them.

Pic of the "ladders".

 

[HockeyPuck]

Yes. I took my Black lab (shown in Avitar) up Willey via the same route and he ascended the ladders without any problems. I was prepared to carry his 90 LBS if necessary but his agility was impressive..

I can't provide insight on the descent, Our route coutinued over Field and descended the A-Z trail towards Zealand and had a easy walk on the AT (RR grade) back to Ethan Pond. I believe it was approx 16 miles Round Trip.

EDIT: I said yes because of your 'agile mountain dog' statement. I wouldn't recommend this for non-agile, non-mountain dogs.

 

[rocket21]

I'd say a medium sized dog should be fine - there are a few scrambles that a small dog might not be able to ascend, but a moderate sized lab or retreiver shouldn't have an issue.

Just to be sure, you might try descending down the first or second set of stairs immediately after ascending and see if the dog has any difficulties with that - if not, you're probably good to go.

 

[TC3]

is the willey range trail from ethan pond trail to mt willey navigable for an agile mountain dog?

Our 4 year old Yellow Lab had no trouble doing this last November. There was little snow, but ice here and there. Even so - she blasted up and down the trail and, in typical hiking-dog fashion, loved every minute of it.

For an "agile mountain dog", should be no trouble.

 

[rocket21]

Here's a photo of the "ladders" by the way:

There are a few more out of view, but same design/pitch.

 

[kmorgan]

If you want to be on the cautious side and be prepared, I bought a harness from www.ruffwear.com to use on my older female husky when we take her with us to New Hampshire.

She's diabetic and has some arthritis from lyme disease. This harness (RuffWear Harness ) has a handle on the back for lifting that really helped on steep sections and stream crossings where she was having trouble.

Kevin

 

[Tuco]

Ryan- I suspect Bandit will handle it better than I did.....

 

[FARMER]

thanks for the input. bandit is a 125 lb greater swiss mountain dog who thinks he is gods gift to athletes. i had to lift him once on the falling waters trail but thats it. yes KMorgan thats a good idea Bandit wears a mountaismith pack that doubles as a harness and includes a handle

 

[Grandaddy]

Bandit wears a mountaismith pack that doubles as a harness and includes a handle

My dog also has a Mountainsmith. The handle is very convenient as I can grab it when I need to quickly round up my dog when there is another hiker approaching.