So i took the boys out for a quick triple 13er hike the other weekend. 6m RT and under 2K of elevation gain but it was better then staying at home. Wind made it chilly but we were the only ones out there till we were coming back over the last peak and some older people were just starting out. Finn is getting better on his hiking leash. I almost lost Jack for the first time ever, ok maybe the 2nd but this was the first one due to animals, goats to be exact. they were not there when we were on our way up the last summit but a heard of them were there on the way back off it.... I called Jack (off leash) over to me to get him leashed before he spotted them off in the distance, as he was on his way back to me he must have seen or smelled them and no command would bring him back. he worked his way over to them till they saw him and took off, then he took off after them over a ridge and that was the last time i saw him. Finn and i just started running in that direction and i was screaming at the top of my lungs for him. after what seemed like forever, but more like 5-10 min the little shit popped back over the ridge and made his way over to us. I did not go look over the ridge but my guess is they got into some rocks and Jack hates rocks and he turned around. He stuck real close the rest of the hike back. I was so scared he was gone. I need to be more careful with him, i would think at 10 and 9yrs of hiking he would know better, but i guess not.
ok enough of my typing, here are some pictures


starting off, yes leashed near roads




on 1st summit looking at 2nd summit in the middle and 3rd summit in the way back


Finn and i on the 2nd summit


Jack on the 3rd summit


last photo i though i would have of Jack. he is near the big rock on the right


Jack catching his breath


grass is good



Till our next adventure...

Very cool.

When you walk both of them at the same time, does one of them have to be in front?

The couple times I've walked our two, Mika HAS to be in front. I don't have them walking very good on-leash yet, so that might be part of it, but she has to be leader for sure.

Love your summit pictures. How far up the mountain before you let the dogs off leash? And...you know me and my squeemishnes: Are there rattlesnakes that for up the mountain?

Mike, i have been lucky that even when i had all 3, no one really needed to be in the lead on our daily walks. on the hikes they have no option but to be at the same distance as the leashes are, but when Jack is off leash and hanging close Finn does pull to get up to him, but once Jack puts some distance in Finn is fine and just does his thing, he still pulls like bloody hell going up and down the damn mountain and i forgot what a PIA that is. S&J had been off leash for years....

Amy, I keep Jack leashed in wooded areas, once we are above tree line i let him off. in cases like this one he was kept on leash till we hit the first summit as we were far enough from the road at that point and i had good views of the rest of the route and figured he would be fine, as i did not see any critters. Snakes are not found this high, i want to say its below 12k they hang out. knock on wood we have not come across one yet. i do not take the dogs out on front range hikes in summer to avoid them, we hike fall-spring near by.

Heart in mouth time!
I was glad Bodhi was leashed when we saw a bear on our last hike.
He wanted to go play with it.

Jennifer - I use ecollar for off leash stuff in our back acreage. Which, until this morning I have been fine with...and for the most part, still am. But someone on one of the FB husky groups posted about both her dogs at the vet for copperhead bites. At the moment we have no poisonous snakes. And then I come across another story, Kentucky, I think, about 3 horses, a dog and a husky killed but what is thought to be large cat. We have no large cats here, either but suggestions are they may be coming.

Short story? Think when I am in unknown territory (since I doubt I will ever be above 12000 ft on summits) I will be keeping the dogs on short leashes close by...Though Jack does look to be having a ball up there...

And. Damn dog. Ami just raked my arm and tore my skin again. He thinks its dinner time but he has an hour to wait!

Thanks Jennifer. Which packs are those? They look like Ruffwear Palisades(?). I noticed massdrop has mountainsmith packs which have good reviews. Ruffwear seems to be the most popular, though.

Thought I'd try one out- was hoping to get one that I could interchange between both dogs, but I'll probably need to get two different sizes since Max is bigger/ stockier than Mika.

Mike, they are RW palisade packs and i LOVE them. i like that the packs snap on. so the dogs go in the car with their harness on and at the TH i just have to snap a pack on them and not wrestle them, which i do just for the pack, but much less work then trying to get a harness on and not losing your dogs being unclipped. Jacks pack has lasted him about 9 years now, it shows its wear but still works great. Jack is in a Med (65lb) and Finn (mid 40's)fits Sierra's small pack.

Jack has always reminded me of Kohdi, being vocal, excellent on hikes and with walking, etc.and he pulled that on me a couple months ago at the lake with thinking he could be trusted off leash and running off, only with Kohdi, he treated it more like a game with stopping and dancing around and looking at me like "catch me if you can, lol" but I swear my heart dropped to the ground when he just didn't listen to me to come back! I totally feel for you on that, Jennifer. Scary! So glad he came back to you!

Excellent pics, as always. Scenery is just awesome.

@Mike...I think it's a female thing, Mishka ALWAYS has to be lead dog and my last Huskies, my girl Anuschka was always in front too.

Thanks Jennifer. RW sounds like a winner. I agree with your point regarding being able to remove the packs from the harness. Great feature.