Solo

Is it considered a "Solo" hike if your dog is with you?

pegbert said:

Is it considered a "Solo" hike if your dog is with you?

Click to expand...

Not for you. But maybe it is for your dog.

I would say that unless your dog is capable of going for help and leading rescuers back to you that the answer is yes.

Tucker says - WOOF!

I don't know if he means yes or no. As for your question - when you are solo - you are entirely dependent on yourself. But with a dog? Tucker is a pretty good route-finder and is more helpful than a lot of hikers I know (although I am a better map reader.) And he invariably pauses at trail junctions, to see which way I want to go. We don't always agree........

It is solo unless your dog is Lassie

That's a good question. Most people would probably say that it is a solo hike, but I think it's mostly in the eye of the beholder. Personally, I don't feel like I'm solo hiking when the Brutasaur is with me. In a pinch, we could probably help keep each other warm - he weighs as much as I do.

depends on the dog!

TomD said:

I would say that unless your dog is capable of going for help and leading rescuers back to you that the answer is yes.

Click to expand...

... just ask Danelle Ballengee! (see amazing rescue post)

Ed

Ed Poyer said:

... just ask Danelle Ballengee! (see amazing rescue post)

Ed

Click to expand...

I was thinking the EXACT same thing..

M

Yes and no. Yes in that you (and your dog) have to depend on yourself for rescue. No in that you have some companionship. I tend to lean for the "solo" vote.

And along the same lines as Dugan's, if you were hik'n with a small child you would not be solo, but the child might not be able to go for help

Having said that, I say YES, hik'n with a dog is a solo. JMHO

pegbert said:

Is it considered a "Solo" hike if your dog is with you?

Click to expand...

Only if your dog is trying its best to ignore you.

i would say definitely not, if one takes their animal hiking then i would imagine the love and camaraderie the animal emits is comparable to a group of hikers.

I guess if the only reason one hikes with humans is for safety than ....maybe...but I think hiking with a dog is not hiking solo.

Interesting thread - when I first read the post I immediately thought that hiking by myself with my dog is the same as hiking truly alone. However after thinking about two of my "solo" trips: one to Owls Head (no dog) and one over the Hancocks (with a dog) I realized they were very different.
To me, the true solo hike meant that all decisions revolved around my concerns. With my dog I had to also consider what she was doing and thinking. At some level this is similar to how I hike with another human. Presumably they are making considerations (within their species specific capabilities) about me as well.

In other words the decision to have a drink, rest, or turn back etc. relies on the group. That could be me as a "group" of one, me and my dog, or me, my wife and three dogs....

I thought solo, but I think the last couple of posts turned my decision around. Alone is just you influencing your hike. A canine friend impacts route, speed and ability in some manner... therefore you're not alone.

Does it matter? If you think it is solo, then that is what it is.

How about the 14 year old who sailed across the atlantic. The media reported it as Solo but his father was sailing behind him and within radio contact. Solo but supported perhaps?

If you want to count your dog as being not solo, then I guess we're never solo, we share our hike with the animals of the forrest!

Jay

Jay H said:

How about the 14 year old who sailed across the atlantic. The media reported it as Solo but his father was sailing behind him and within radio contact. Solo but supported perhaps?

Click to expand...

Not what I would call solo.

The purest definition of solo would require that there was no evidence of another human or his animal companions from trailhead to trailhead. And noone to help if you get into trouble. (A bushwack alone might qualify, but not if you were following a herd path or tracks.)

One can split hairs forever on such issues.

Doug

sapblatt said:

It is solo unless your dog is Lassie

Click to expand...

...and you're trapped in a well.

Jay H said:

.... then I guess we're never solo, ....

Click to expand...

Right you are, Jay!

Even when I'm alone, I'm never solo. Those voices in my head are always there with me. If I were a religious man, I'd say it was God talking to me. Since I'm not, I'll blame it on bad drugs.

After some thought, I don't think it is soloing, for the following three reasons:

First, the companionship as many have mentioned. I love to see the joy my dog experiences in the wild.

Second, a dog presents some serious responsibiliities and consequently, some additional risk when you hike. My dog once cut up the pads of her feet on Tumbledown Mt. and I had to carry her down the steep and slippery Parker Ridge Trail. Not recommended. I also felt guilt for weeks.

Third, when you lose the trail or herd path, a dog is great at finding it. I wish Sapblatt and I had my dog with us last weekend. Maybe we wouldn't have chosen that nasty bushwhack through ten foot grass, swampland and pricker bushes

Marty