Dog Friendly Trails in the Seattle Area and Beyond

For our first hike of the year, that counts toward our 250 miles, we hiked up Oyster Dome. This dog friendly hike is in the town of Bellingham, about 1.5 hours north of Seattle. It may be "in" a town but it's certainly not an urban hike. It's a strenuous wilderness hiking experience. The trail climbs Blanchard Mountain, which is part of the Chuckanut Mountains. The Chuckanut Mountains look more … [Read more...]

We can't always drive to the mountains to hike so urban walks are our staple. Sometimes we just want to commune with some nature and smell the trees and dirt instead of walking the neighborhood sidewalks though. We are lucky here in Seattle because we have several large parks within the urban area so I thought I would tell you about some of them. Last time we told you about Ravenna and Cowen Parks … [Read more...]

We've had a love affair with Zuke's since before they had any idea who we were and we are proud to have them as one of our long-term sponsors. Their continued support helps to make sure we have the treats we need to fuel our adventures and that I can continue to share our stories and tips. We are lucky here in Seattle because we have several large parks within the urban area. We can't always … [Read more...]

I admit we haven't been the best K9 Kampers this time around. The challenge this month is to be active 30 minutes extra, 3 - 4 times a week. Right now I am so busy with school that any kind of activity at all is "extra" for us. We just HAD to get out and hike last week. Not only was I stressed out, and Chester and Gretel really bored, but snow will be coming to the mountains soon. In the winter … [Read more...]

When you are a tourist in a new area, it can be hard to find some of the "best" local things to do. A Google search often lists the most popular actives or places. However, just because they are popular, doesn't mean they are the most interesting or most beautiful. During our recent trip to Bend, Oregon we wanted knock out some of the best day-hiking trails the area has to offer. I searched for … [Read more...]

I want to start making "theme" lists of dog-friendly hikes in the Seattle area. I wrote before about unknown dog-friendly trails around Seattle and I plan to make a list of easy hikes later. We are nearing the end of the hiking season so I wanted to start off my list series by telling you about some trails that are good for our more seasoned hiking fans - those of you who have been regularly … [Read more...]

Monday was out first long hike of the season. As I have said before, when hiking with your dog you have to start small and then go big. You can't lead a sedentary life, or only walk a mile or two a week, and decide to go climb a big mountain tomorrow. Both you and your dog have to be properly conditioned for that kind of hiking. Yesterday we hiked 7.5 miles to Annette Lake. For most small … [Read more...]

I admit that almost all of the trails we hike are a few feet wide, open (not overgrown with brush), are defined, and easy to follow. Aside from the fact that they are straight up the side of a mountain, they are pretty tame. I didn't realize how tame actually until the other day. Usually I suggest the hikes and hubby follows us wherever. The other day he came to me going on and on about this … [Read more...]

For the time being it seems like we skipped right over Spring into Summer. It's been in the mid-60s here this week with plenty of sunshine. Since I know our summer dreams will dashed by another chilly snap and a rainy spring, we decided to take advantage of the sun to hike with our friends. Since all of are out of hiking shape, we went with one of our favorite beginning hikes - Rattlesnake … [Read more...]

Last Monday we finally got out and went for a hike. Because of family obligations, and planning for my wedding, it had been a long time since we got out in the woods. Mt. Si is about 45 minutes from Seattle in the Cascade Mountains. Views from the tip include Puget Sound, Cascade Mountains, Seattle and the Snoqualmie River Valley. Wikipedia says about 80,000 to 100,000 people visit the Mt. … [Read more...]

No, I did not get poo on my hand again. Last weekend we got two special treats. We had an Adventureweiner friend, Spartacus, come and stay with us. We also had a rare winter (weekend) day of sun and clear blue skies.  It was the perfect recipe for a hike so we loaded our gear and the dogs in the car and headed to Poo Poo Point. Poo Poo Point is a grassy knoll on Tiger Mountain where local … [Read more...]

Usually when we go somewhere we have a plan. We know where we are going, how far we are hiking, what kind of weather to expect, what gear to bring, etc. We decided to take a hike on Thanksgiving but both S and I were feeling non-committal. Chester and Gretel didn’t have any suggestions either :) We decided we would head to the mountains not really knowing where we were going or what we were … [Read more...]

When we hiked up to Snow Lake a couple of weeks ago we discovered Source Lake. The Source Lake Trail branches off the Snow Lake Trail where the switchbacks start in the trail. I remember thinking “Source Lake” is such a generic name. If you are in the mountains the chance is good that what you are looking at is a source for something downstream. However, I later learned that this lake is the … [Read more...]

OK...we didn't really "almost die". We encounter a few sketchy moments though. I have a strong stomach for risk and adventure. This hike weirded me out a couple of times though. We decided to finally (it had been on my list for well over a year) hike to the Red Top Lookout. It’s a fire lookout in central Washington. It is still in use during the summer by the Forest Service. Once we made … [Read more...]

People who own Dachshunds, or small dogs, often have to deal with Wet Belly Syndrome. Chester has it really bad. We have been on hikes in the past where he has gotten so wet and cold that he refuses to go on and we had to carry him. As you can imagine, he is particularly susceptible to this on fall and winter hikes. This last weekend we wanted to get off the couch and go see the fall colors in … [Read more...]