[nagdu] Backpacking
Mark J. Cadigan
kramc11 at gmail.com
Mon Jan 23 04:30:43 UTC 2012
I go backpacking all the time. For water purification I just use the
purification tablets you get at any camping or army surplus store.
You can set up your tent completely independently; it just depends on
practice, and having a small tent. Chances are, if you are backpacking you
will have a small tent.
For food, I like the freeze dried food. It's a lot easier to carry than
canned food.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeffrey Young" <jeff.young8806 at gmail.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, January 22, 2012 7:20 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Backpacking
> Thanks Tami. We probably won't do any hiking in the first year, but maybe
> some car camping.
>
> Abigail, the biggest issue on a long trip is water. It doesn't sound as
> though you are, but if you or anyone is backpacking in a dry desert area,
> I would not recommend bringing a dog. The reason being that you have to
> pack all of your own water. This can become very heavy, and packing the
> additional water for the dog would be hard to deal with. Ideally you will
> only need to bring two or three leaders along with a water purification
> system. You can get water from streams, but it needs to be purified so you
> or your dog do not contract geardia. I'm sure I misspelled it, but it's
> also known as backpackers disease. It's easy to cure when near a hospital
> or vet, but not in the wild, especially because you won't have a
> functional bathroom.
>
> Check with the organizer of the event to see if he or she is bringing a
> purifier, that way you won't need to by your own. Another thing is to make
> sure you are familiar with your own equipment. IE setting up your tent on
> your own ETC. You will need a hand with most tents, but you will need to
> make sure that you can do the majority of the work. Everyone else on the
> trip will have their own equipment, and having to help someone else a lot
> can be annoying to them.
>
> This is all stuff I learned on the trips we took. I was twelve and
> theirteen on most of ours, and my dad came on one and basically told me if
> I wanted to keep going I needed to be more independent.
>
> Good Luck, and don't hesitate with any other questions. Also, you can find
> a lot of first time resources online.
>
> Sent from my iPad
> Jeff Young
> Home of the world's healthiest energy drink. No Caffeine, no added sugar.
> E-mail me for a free sample today.
> Phone: (318) 243-3003
> E-mail: jeff.young8806 at gmail.com
>
> http://actoverview.com
>
> On Jan 22, 2012, at 3:55 PM, Tami Kinney <tamara.8024 at comcast.net> wrote:
>
>> Jeff,
>>
>> These are all excellent suggestions of things to consider. And
>> congratulations on your soon-to-be first child. You will certainly be too
>> busy to go camping! /grin/ Unless you decide next year your brave enough
>> to put the kid in a backpack and go for it. I know people who do and
>> don't know whether to admire their courage or wonder about their
>> sanity... Just kidding.
>>
>> Another piece of good advice I got from an avid guide dog using hiker and
>> camper was to always wear sunglasses to protect your eyes from low
>> hanging branches, just in case. And also to wear a baseball cap, for the
>> same reason. This is certainly something I do when using the cane on a
>> trail, and good thing! With the tame trails we usually do, I'm not as
>> motivated to remember when I'm using Mitzi, but I really try to make it a
>> practice. Just in case! /smile/
>>
>> I've only gotten out on short day trips with Mitzi so far, but one thing
>> I did, knowing I wanted to add more of that in the future, was to use the
>> off leash obedience I'd taught her to give her freedom to explore the
>> first time or two, while I used my cane to navigate and try to figure out
>> how I planned to use her as a guide dog. So then, when I did start doing
>> trails with her in harness, we were able to work out the kinks together
>> pretty well. I haven't gone on any of the really good backpacking and
>> camping trips I would like to. Yet. But I do like using more than one
>> tool, depending on which works best in which environment. Well, and Mitzi
>> really does do the jingle guide and squeak guide thing, in addition to
>> leash guiding, so that gives us a lot of flexibility.
>>
>> That wouldn't work for everybody and every dog, though, so on a safety
>> first basis: Don't do it unless you're sure your dog will be safe.
>> Honestly, I can't see myself trying it at all with a program-trained dog,
>> simply because the pups are protected and streamlined for guide work, not
>> for running wild and free in the wilderness... Mitzi ran free with a big
>> pack o' poodles and other dogs until she was 7 months, so the other dogs
>> taught her the fundamentals of doggy safety. That made socializing her
>> and all in the city quite the adventure, but it has given me a lot of
>> freedom to train from the beginning towards the outdoor life. She does
>> really well at city slicker stuff now, of course, but that doesn't mean
>> we can't throw off our fancy duds and hit the trail! /lol/
>>
>> One way to work with a dog without risking letting it run off leash where
>> it doesn't know the dangers or might get too excited and run off and
>> forget to come back would perhaps be to do some long leash work with dog
>> while you use your cane. Our dogs are about as not stupid as dogs can be,
>> after all, and they really do seem to grasp that their purpose in our
>> lives is our safety and theirs. So giving the dog a chance to observe
>> some of the special obstacles and other challenges of hiking a trail
>> could be to give the dog an opportunity to watch you take them on and
>> figure it out with your cane. If that makes sense. Also, I have found it
>> to be a good way to plan *how* I want to hike with my guide when the time
>> comes that she will be in harness and I will be using a rigid cane or
>> trekking pole in the other hand for gauging distances up and down.
>>
>> If that makes sense. /smile/
>>
>> Tami
>>
>> On 01/22/2012 12:09 PM, Jeffrey Young wrote:
>>> So I have done extensive backpacking as a boy scout, but I haven't had a
>>> chance to do any with my guideDog. One thing I'd recommend is to bring a
>>> cane along. A good sturdy cane not a telescoping one. The cane would
>>> serve two purposes. One as a walking stick. Most backpackers use a
>>> walking stick. A walking stick is especially useful on steep rough
>>> terrain.
>>>
>>> Secondly, when hiking you may encounter many obstacles that your dog
>>> might not normally encounter. You can use the cane to explore the
>>> obstruction before moving on. Also, make sure your dog is well fortified
>>> against flees and especially ticks. I don't remember if you said in the
>>> first email, but you might want to find out how rough the hiking will be
>>> and how many miles per day you will need to travel.
>>>
>>> If you and your dog only travel a mile or two a day on city sidewalks
>>> and you are expected to travel six or seven miles a day on the trip,
>>> then this could pose a challenge of potentially overworking your dog as
>>> well as yourself.
>>>
>>> I could probably come up with some other tips, but I don't want to
>>> ramble to much. If you have any general backpacking questions feel free
>>> to let me know. Also, I'm sure we have some other backpackers on the
>>> list.
>>>
>>> I should add that I can't wait to take Hansel on a trip, but we are
>>> having our first child in August, so their won't be much, if any camping
>>> this summer.
>>>
>>> Jeff and Hansel
>>> Jeff Young
>>>
>>> Home of the world's healthiest energy drink. No Caffeine, no added
>>> sugar. Email me for a free sample today.
>>> Phone: (318) 243-3003
>>> E-mail: jeff.young8806 at gmail.com
>>> Website: http://jhyrumyoung.drinkactweb.com/
>>>
>>> On Jan 22, 2012, at 9:57 AM, Abigail Lanier wrote:
>>>
>>>> Julie,
>>>>
>>>> The book's title is "Blind Courage" and I am going to try and get a
>>>> copy of it.
>>>>
>>>> The good news is that I already live in the mountains of North Carolina
>>>> and Alexa and I are fairly used to hills and such. We have done some
>>>> hiking, but I wouldn't say that we are well seasoned or experienced
>>>> hikers.
>>>>
>>>> I'll let you know of our "progress" :-)
>>>>
>>>> Abigail
>>>>
>>>> On Jan 22, 2012, at 9:01 AM, Julie J. wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Abigail,
>>>>>
>>>>> I have been backpacking, but not with my guide. The trip I went on
>>>>> was 5 days in Colorado in the Rockies. I'd estimate the pack I
>>>>> carried was 50 pounds or so. It was just about all I could do to
>>>>> carry the thing. *smile* Of course that was just my stuff. I agree
>>>>> with Nicole to have your guide carry her own food.
>>>>>
>>>>> My suggestion would be to get a pack for yourself and for your
>>>>> guide now and start building up your strength to carry it. Add in a
>>>>> little more weight each day, practicing going up and down stairs to
>>>>> simulate mountain hiking. Your guide won't be used to carrying weight
>>>>> and will also need to build up strength to be able to do so
>>>>> comfortably. There are a lot of web sites that talk about dog
>>>>> backpacking, you could check out some of them to get an idea of how
>>>>> much the maximum weight is that your guide could potentially carry.
>>>>> I'd subtract a bit from that because guiding is work too.
>>>>>
>>>>> There is a book about a guy who hiked the entire Appalachian trail
>>>>> with his guide dog. NLS has it. I want to say it was called, "Blind
>>>>> Courage" but I could be misremembering. I've read a load of dog books
>>>>> and they sometimes get cross-wired in my head! *smile*
>>>>>
>>>>> Best of luck,
>>>>> Julie
>>>>>
>>>>>
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>>>>
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