Lee and I had hiked the Howe Sound Crest Trail once before. (Let’s call it HSCT for the rest of this post.)

It took us two days and felt pretty easy for us. We had been trail running all year and were also climbers. The scrambling didn’t faze us.

Once we got Jasper, we were curious to try again. She had been on several overnight trips and alpine hikes in her first year of life. This seemed like a possible next step.

We did some research beforehand and couldn’t find much about dogs doing the HSCT, so we created this video documenting our trip.

So can a dog do the HSCT?

I mean ….. yes? Jasper hiked the whole thing.

But she’s a young, healthy, agile dog who is an experienced alpine hiker and backpacker. And her parents are willing to pick up and carry her (a 55-pound dog) over technical terrain when necessary.

If someone asked me if they should take their dog on the HSCT, I’d advise them to be very cautious.

Why?

First of all, it took so long. It took three long days with her on the HSCT instead of two easy ones by ourselves. Every technical bit meant we paused and strategized how to get her through. We often did terrain multiple times so we could go through tricky bits with our big packs first and then her after.

Oh yes, and our packs were so big! The extra day meant more food. But we also carried her sleeping bag, her sleeping mat and her surprisingly large amount food. It may not seem much, but it really adds up over rough terrain like the HSCT. (And yes, dogs need warm, somewhat comfortable places to sleep on backpacking trips! They need to recover their strength just like we do.)

Secondly, she got scared sometimes. Not usually on the same stuff that would scare a person. (Like boulder fields, she hates those! But James Peak? She just walked right across.)

Lee sees things really differently. She sees this as an important training step for Jasper. And she also doesn’t mind if our packs are heavier or if things take so much longer. She loves bringing Jasper everywhere.

I would definitely recommend doing the HSCT without your dog first, so you know what you are getting into. Many people find the trip very difficult without a dog. And also, plan your escape routes in advance if the terrain gets too difficult for your party. There are a lot at first, and then they get a little harder to access as you go along.