bag for a dog that thru-hikes

[charliethruhike]

So I am hoping for a thru-hike summer 2014, and just looking through things, I've noticed that the size bag for my dog, a 70 lb, but very skinny, chocolate lab, don't lend to holding much more that 3 days of food. Has anyone found a pack that holds more (I have the outward hound standard model) for a dog in a medium sized pack?

[Swordpen]

I have the same dog, only in black, lol, thinner 70# lab (hunting lines so not a chunky monkey lab).

Anyway, the Ruffwear Palisades pack is great in medium. Will hold nearly 6 days & has loops on top for attaching other things (a blanket, water etc). Its attached to a harness that the pack system comes with, & the packs clip off (so you can take them off at rest stops) & leave the harness on. Its a great system, & I think its the best system out there!

HTH

[Grammie Bear]

My dog wears a Mountain Smith pack. She eats more than she can possibly carry, so I pack our food and H2O while she lugs a collapsible bowl, the toys, a brush, her foul weather gear and her doggie sized sil-nylon tarp.

[JybbaGirl]

We used the Granite Gear Long Howl Dog Pack and it held about 85% of our dog's gear and food, we had to carry the rest. But I don't think we could have put a larger pack on him, it was just that he was eating so much food so we had no choice but to carry the extra weight for him. On our weekend hikes, this pack was always a perfect size, he just ate a lot more on the AT. The thing I really like about this pack is that the vest is separate from the bags so when we took a break we could easily take the weight off of his back without undoing the whole pack.

In case it helps, here's a list of all the gear that Rooney used on the AT - http://www.atraillife.com/rooneys-gear.html

[charliethruhike]

In case it helps, here's a list of all the gear that Rooney used on the AT - http://www.atraillife.com/rooneys-gear.html

I like the gear list!!! huge help! Now heres a question a list can't answer, how much weight do you think that rooney ended up carrying? The bag I have used, which is here, has broke twice, as two seperate backpacks. First time the saddle itself broke, and than when I got a new one the strap broke? anyone have any problems like this?

[JybbaGirl]

I like the gear list!!! huge help! Now heres a question a list can't answer, how much weight do you think that rooney ended up carrying? The bag I have used, which is here, has broke twice, as two seperate backpacks. First time the saddle itself broke, and than when I got a new one the strap broke? anyone have any problems like this?

Shoot - sorry it took me so long to respond, I didn't see your question until now! I'd say Rooney's pack weight was ~8-9 lbs heading out of town (he weighed 80 lbs and was solid muscle) and maybe ~3-4 lbs coming into town. Serial and I probably each carried ~1-2 lbs of food for him too, heading out of town. Coming into town, our packs were lighter so usually on that last day, we just split up all of Rooney's gear & remaining food so that he could hike without a pack.

I remember when I was making my spreadsheet and planning our hike I would freak about every single ounce that went in my pack, but after 2 weeks on the trail it all kind of felt the same on my back (my pack ranged from 20-30 lbs with food and water). So picking up a few lbs from Rooney didn't really bother either of us and Rooney loved his "packless" days.

I guess my long-winded advice is to focus on getting a pack that fits your dog well and is tough enough to endure a thru-hike. Fit what you can in it and carry the rest - it sounds like a pain in the butt now, but you really won't care much about carrying a little extra. Good luck!!!!