[nagdu] Backpacking

Natalie nrorrell at qwest.net
Wed Jan 25 22:57:13 UTC 2012 

Hi Jeff, et al,
I've also heard of giardia being called "beaver fever."  Didn't know it was 
also called backpacker's disease.  Guess the reason for the beaver fever 
name is maybe because it's more commonly from mountain streams and beavers 
reside there.  Will have to do some looking on that, though.
Best,
Nat and Liam Joshua

----- 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 5:20 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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