r/BackpackingDogs

Hey everyone! If you’re heading up north to Skardu anytime soon, you absolutely have to carve out a day or two for Deosai National Park. It’s located just southeast of Skardu city, and honestly, pictures don't do it justice.

It’s a massive high-altitude plateau (over 350,000 hectares!) sitting right at the junction where the Himalayas meet the Karakoram range. It feels like you’re driving through a desktop wallpaper.

A few quick tips for anyone planning to visit:

The Wildlife: It was actually made a National Park back in the 90s to protect the Himalayan Brown Bear. If you’re lucky (and quiet), you might spot one. Keep an eye out for Golden Marmots too., they are everywhere and pretty fun to watch.

The Landscape: Because it’s a "biodiversity hotspot," the flora and fauna are unique. You’ll see everything from Tibetan wolves to Himalayan ibex.

For the Fishers: The streams there have local snow trout that grow surprisingly huge because the ecosystem is so well-preserved.

Best Time to Go: Remember, this is high altitude. The weather changes fast, and it’s only accessible in the summer months (usually June to September) before the snow shuts it down.

It’s a fragile environment, so if you go, please make sure to pack out your trash and respect the habitat of the bears.

We spent the week exploring the Cranberry Wilderness. We had a mix of warm, sunny days and cold, stormy days. We love the Monongahela National Forest so it was my first choice to test out some recent gear changes and additions. I've been combing this sub along with some others and the Facebook group, Thru-hiker Dogs, for ideas and resources. My focus has been in finding the lightest possible gear without compromising functionality. A lot of my searches led me to products that don't exist anymore so I thought I'd share some of what we use that is available today.

Our new Woofo raincoat performed perfectly! I originally shared about the raincoat here a couple weeks ago. I knew when I bought it that it didn't cover the legs as completely as the Hurtta. But it was easy for me to just dry my dog's legs with a lightload towel so he didn't soak our bedding. The Woofo raincoat never wetted out despite the rain and also brushing constantly against wet grasses and spruce trees. I was happy to see that it didn't limit my dog's range of motion, either. He was able to jump over fallen trees and even Spiderman his way across a tricky water crossing. Of course he did that five seconds after I stopped filming and prepared to carry him across myself.

I also got a new Ruffwear Flagline harness that I'm pretty impressed with. My dog hates having anything put on him and he'd act like I'd just broken his back when I first put it on, but then he'd forget and he was off running and jumping. I did not need to use the handle on the back of the harness this trip but I did test it. The handle is strong enough for me to lift my 37lbs. dog and the harness design is fantastic for providing him with support in carry mode. The belly portion of the harness extends further back than regular harnesses so his body didn't fold in half when I lifted him. I wouldn't trust it for an evacuation or a wide water crossing, but it's strong and painless for lifting over fallen trees or short water water crossings or grabbing in the event of a slide on sketchy terrain. The straps are very thin webbing but very strong and they didn't slide out of position once I fitted them to his body, even in lift mode and when they were wet.

While I did allow him off leash at times, he spent more time on leash than the pictures would have you believe. I paired his harness with the Ruffwear Hitch Hiker UL waist leash, which we've tested extensively hiking the woods near home this past winter. It extends out to 12 feet and has a really cool locking mechanism for setting the leash length. It's also super light and I forget I'm wearing it. The collar or harness attachment is really nice because it has a sliding lock on it. The whole thing weighs 8 ounces. 8 ounces! I used to use a waist leash that weighed four pounds and I cannot express how happy I am to have something so lightweight.

It was cold enough at times that he needed his coat. I found an old recommendation for the Gooby fleece vest and was happy to learn they're still available. It's very well made and keeps him toasty. I would like something lighter and not as bulky though, so I plan to use the Gooby as a pattern and make him one using Alpha Direct. I'm sure my little drama king will still act like he's had a load of bricks dropped on his back until he sees or smells something interesting and magically regains control of his body again.

This was our first backcountry trip since making changes to his backcountry food and water intake. He gets really excited and too overstimulated to eat or drink. After consulting with his vet, I sprinkled some homemade chicken broth powder over his kibble and it was a success! I think it helped that I traded the titanium pan we'd been using as a food dish for a Snapfold bowl. We had tested this on the familiar trail at home where he's not as overstimulated because he's used to all the scents, sights, and sounds. I was reasonably confident we'd finally found a solution to his backcountry anorexia, but we did camp the first night just half a mile away from the car where I had some canned food I know he'll eat. I was so happy that the chicken broth powder worked and we didn't need to cut this trip short! After a few days he would eat without me having to add the powder.

I also added a flavored canine electrolyte powder to his water to entice him to drink more and also make up for the fact that he never drinks enough. I carry a 750ML CNOC flask for his water anyways because I save the water when he refuses to drink it or if he only takes a couple little sips. I don't want to have that in my water bottles though, so I bought him the flask. It turns out that's the perfect container for adding the electrolyte powder because I can smoosh the clumps that inevitably form when adding the powder to the water. You can see the powder and flask in the last few pictures. I highly recommend the flask for anyone who wants to have a separate water bottle for their dog.

This was also our first time using a Dyneema water dish, which I got from HikeLight on Etsy. I had a spare on me in case of punctures or if I lost it. It worked really well for us! I kept it clipped to my shoulder strap while we were hiking and could quickly have water available for my dog when we took breaks.

This was our last outing with his hodge podge sleep system. I've been using a combination of a MYOG sleeping mat made out of Tyvek and polyester quilt batting, Reflectix insulation, and a down blanket from Get Out Gear. It's a perfectly fine setup in dry conditions down to around 45°. Unfortunately it wasn't dry most of the time and nighttime temps were dropping to freezing or just below a couple nights. My quilt and sleeping pad aren't big enough for me and my dog but we tried. I'm really excited about the dog bivy we have on order from Nunatak! It will be less weight and less bulk while being better cold weather protection for my little guy.

I still need to find or make an emergency sling. We tried the FidoPro Airlift and it wasn't right for us. My dog fit perfectly but almost fell out when I attempted to stand. It just wasn't a great setup for a dog his size to be lifted on the back of one person without someone else to keep him steady during the lifting process. I was already unimpressed with it because it was so big and heavy. I really expected it to be better quality materials for the price, too. We're thruhiking the PCT next year so I'd like an ultralight sling I can use to frontload him for water carries while I'm still wearing my backpack. That will help me with balance and also mean I don't have to do every water crossing three times. The search continues but I'll share when we figure out the right setup for us.

Hello everyone, i’m trying to plan a backpacking trip to Europe in August 2027 and looking for some advice from anyone here that’s done anything similar.

The black line has the country circled that I’m interested in seeing, I’m looking to spend 3 weeks and try to go through as many countries as possible.
I chose this area due to the countries being smaller and having great culture. I’m open to any countries in this area if anyone has a trip recommendation to some of these countries that are “backpackable”. What are y’all’s experiences backpacking through these countries?

Also trying my best to make it a cheap trip, camping as much as possible and staying in cheap hotels when in the city.
So any recommendations for saving money would be great too!

I already got a decent 40L Bag,
fire maple camping stove,
Inflatable sleeping pad, sleeping bag,
Small air pump (sleeping pad & pillow)
Life straw
Small backpacking chair
Inflatable camping pillow
Small backpacking chair

I will be getting ⬇️

Dried food
Filtered water bottle 30L
Tent- Really need recommendations under $250
First aid kit
Great hiking shoes - any recommendations- Male
Solar power bank
Rope 30ft?

I know I’m definitely missing a good amount, please share anything else I would want for supplies!
Any suggestions at all would be great appreciated as this will be my first backpacking trip for more than 2 days.

Thanks a lot! Take care everyone

Looking for either a harness or leash for my 6.5 lb chihuahua. We are quite the hikers, in fact she did her first 20 mile hike with me this past weekend and did amazing! We trained but she was not used to the 1,000 other people during this event that joined us. Looking for something bright yellow that says Caution, approach slowly or Nervous..something along those lines in hopes people will give us space on the trails. Only downside is she is so small everything I have found are larges thick leashes or collars. Haven’t found any small harness or anything I can put a Velcro patch on. I’ve see those therapy like vests however I’m sure it would be way too big for her body. Hoping someone could point us in the right direction of someone who do a custom order or know exactly where I can look or shop online. She is sorta deep chested and awkward so finding harnesses or sweaters to fit her can be a challenge.

Thanks in advance!