Mt. Princeton and dogs?

Petra · Post by **Petra** » Fri Jul 11, 2014 3:46 pm

Hi everyone! I am planning to do Mt. Princeton tomorrow and am debating wether or not to bring my dog. She is a 4 year old boxer/pit mix. Great hiker and so far has completed two 14ers with me (Mt. Sherman and Bierstadt). Last week I brought her with me to do Blanca Peak and she did very well but about 300 feet from the summit the level of exposure & difficulty of the terrain got to the point I was no longer comfortable with my dog jumping from boulder to boulder. I have decided to wait with her while our friends peaked Blanca and then had them wait with my dog while I finished. I know I am probably just too overprotective but I don't want to risk my dogs safety and well being... Do any of you have experience with Mt. Princeton? What is the terrain like? I looked through all the photos and read a bunch of reports but it's so hard for me to tell what the exposure & terrain looks like... Any info and advices would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you,
Petra

Liquid Shadow · Post by **Liquid Shadow** » Fri Jul 11, 2014 3:53 pm

We did Princeton at the beginning of the month, and saw a guy with 3 dogs. They all made it to the summit. One of them was a pug and she was having a rough time, but still managed to make it. I think your dog should be ok!

JimR · Post by **JimR** » Fri Jul 11, 2014 3:57 pm

I was up Mt Princeton on 4 July in a group that included 3 dogs. They all turned back at various points (one within about 50 ft of the summit), but all due to limitations of the owners rather than the dogs. As far as I know, none of the dogs had any problems (until the lightning, thunder & hail started). It's a decent trail "most" of the way, although there is a significant section that is sideslope across talus. Even across the talus there's something resembling a trail most of the time. I don't know your dog, but I would guess it would be ok.

Petra · Post by **Petra** » Fri Jul 11, 2014 4:05 pm

Thank you so much for both responses and all the info.

Nelson · Post by **Nelson** » Fri Jul 11, 2014 4:10 pm

Princeton is a lot easier, in doggie terms, than Blanca.

Max, the wonder dog, made it with no problems, but then, he is the wonder dog!

polar · Post by **polar** » Fri Jul 11, 2014 4:11 pm

Petra wrote:I know I am probably just too overprotective but I don't want to risk my dogs safety and well being...

I don't have any experience with Mt. Princeton, but I just wanted to say that I for one don't think you're overprotective. Our dogs trust us and reply on us. My dog is my best friend, and I'd hate to have something happen to her because of a stupid decision I made. Good on you for recognizing your dog's limit and not pushing her. Dogs don't really care about summitting 14ers anyway, they are happy on any mountain as long as they're with you.

LostSole · Post by **LostSole** » Fri Jul 11, 2014 4:19 pm

I did Princeton many years ago with a friend that ended up having to carry his beautiful dog (an Australian shepherd) for a couple of miles because her paws were injured. The talus can really take its toll.

jmanner · Post by **jmanner** » Fri Jul 11, 2014 4:25 pm

LostSole wrote:I did Princeton many years ago with a friend that ended up having to carry his beautiful dog (an Australian shepherd) for a couple of miles because her paws were injured. The talus can really take its toll.

Yea, I had that same problem on Princeton, the only mountain out of 20+ 14ers that he ever had a paw injury...

highpilgrim · Post by **highpilgrim** » Fri Jul 11, 2014 4:25 pm

LostSole wrote:I did Princeton many years ago with a friend that ended up having to carry his beautiful dog (an Australian shepherd) for a couple of miles because her paws were injured. The talus can really take its toll.

If your dog has not been hiking or walking extensively on hard surfaces, his pads will be subject to a lot of abuse. The last time I was on Princeton, a Labrador had its paws torn up quite a bit.

It left a blood trail down the mountain because it was too big for the owner to carry.

Good luck.

EDIT: in direct response to the question you asked, the trail is easy and there is no exposure, so aside from the issue I mentioned above, you will have no problem at all...

Petra · Post by **Petra** » Fri Jul 11, 2014 5:23 pm

Thank you so much everyone!!! I can not tell you how helpful all your responses have been!
Bailey does have dog booties which she wears when the terrain gets too rocky but her paws are used to hiking, running, camping to the point where she did not need to wear booties on our 11 hour round trip on Blanca Peak.

Btw. So happy I found out about this page! Thank you everyone for your help and I am pretty sure Bailey is super happy as well now that she gets to climb her 3rd 14.

GeezerClimber · Post by **GeezerClimber** » Fri Jul 11, 2014 6:00 pm

I've been up Princeton 11 times and I've seen lots of dogs. I've climbed with a dog myself a couple of times. Most were just fine, but cut pads are not uncommon. My own dog got a leg stuck between two rocks himself the 2nd time. He was not injured, but I'll leave him home for #12. If you take him, bring bandages and booty just in case.

Dave

Petra · Post by **Petra** » Mon Jul 14, 2014 8:57 am

Thanks for all the help and info. It was a great, 15.67 mile round trip and Bailey absolutely kicked some ass! Super happy I took her with me.

Mt. Princeton and dogs?

Mt. Princeton and dogs?

Re: Mt. Princeton and dogs?

Re: Mt. Princeton and dogs?

Re: Mt. Princeton and dogs?

Re: Mt. Princeton and dogs?

Re: Mt. Princeton and dogs?

Re: Mt. Princeton and dogs?

Re: Mt. Princeton and dogs?

Re: Mt. Princeton and dogs?

Re: Mt. Princeton and dogs?

Re: Mt. Princeton and dogs?

Re: Mt. Princeton and dogs?

14ers.com

Social

Mobile App