#ADIRONDOG

Do you have four paws, lots of fur, a nose for mountain air, and eyes for adventure? If you and your furry friends are looking to get your hike on, tell your humans to get you to the Whiteface Region. 

These Adirondogs will take you to the summits of a few of their favorite hikes in the area. Which Adirondog are you?

Meet the Adirondogs:

Bailey: Hound mix, age 8 — Favorite snack is carrots because I love playing with them before eating them.

Belle: Border Collie-Lab-Chow mix, age 7 — Favorite treats are sticks, dead things, and those gross beef knuckles they sell at the hardware store.

Dax: Retriever mix, age 1 — Favorite treat is peanut butter.

Eli: Australian Cattle Dog-Jack Russell mix, age 1.5 — Favorite treats are Pupperoni, bacon, and carrots.

Roscoe: Australian Kelpie, age 3 — Favorite treats are Pupperoni and peanut butter.

Zorro: Pitbull-Australian Cattle dog mix, age 3 — Favorite treats are broccoli, venison, and mangos.

Jay Mountain, 3,600 feet in elevation

Zorro’s summer hike

(Zorro) Jay is a favorite among many of my four-legged friends. I think our humans love it just as much as we do, because we keep going back. The first leg of the journey is a 2.5-mile-long trail that takes you up to the western end of the Jay Mountain Ridge. From there the hike up to the summit is not too steep, instead it was recently rerouted to include many switchbacks. This helps avoid or reduce adverse effects such as trail erosion, and also helps to make the climb a lot easier for the humans. Unlike humans, my four paws can bring me anywhere without any problems. 

The Ridge is Jay Mountain’s charm. For about 1.5 miles you can follow the open ridge with astounding views.  Here you become spoiled with vistas of the Adirondack High Peaks, Lake Champlain, and the Green Mountains of Vermont. I haven’t stopped bugging Adam, my human, to take me back here. 

Dax, Bailey, and Eli’s winter sunrise adventure

(Eli) I wasn’t really sure why my human, Emilee, woke me up so early. The sun hadn’t even started to come up. Before I knew it, she had put food in my dish and my hiking harness was on me. About 15 minutes later I was jumping out of the car at the end of this dirt road, in the middle of nowhere, in the cold darkness. I knew it had only been a few months since my "gotcha day" but was she already done with me?

Thank goodness I was not alone! My friends Dax and Bailey were already there waiting for us at the trailhead, and my human really does love me after all. We sprinted and played the whole way up the mountain and we didn’t understand why our humans were taking so long. They had these weird things strapped to their feet that they called snowshoes. The snow didn't slow me or my furry friends down, and we all quickly warmed up. Soon we made it to the ridge only to be engulfed by the clouds. Although the sun was now up, we couldn’t see anything. Although we started out in hardly an inch of snow, there was several feet up here to play around in with Dax and Bailey! We all played "keep away" with these large chunks of ice. 

I think we can all attest that this was a paw-some hike! 

Bear Den Mountain

Eli’s first short hike

(Eli) My first hike took place up Bear Den Mountain. It’s a quick one but don’t let that fool you — because it’s short and steep. The trail was a bit difficult to find as we were breaking trail in some deep snow. I kept wondering off trail and my human had to keep telling me where to go. The first time I hiked it, it was a little too cold and windy at the summit for my liking. The view was fantastic so I knew we would be back.

The second time we went I was feeling a lot more ambitious, thinking I could get used to this hiking thing! I’m glad we went again. The summit was a bunch of bare rock offering nearly a 180-degree view. You could see most of the ski trails on Whiteface and the rest of the mountains throughout the valley. It was still windy but a lot warmer than last time. I even hitched a short ride on my human’s backpack! Don’t tell her, but I really wasn’t that tired. 

Cooper Kiln Slide/Pond

Belle and Roscoe’s dig-doggedy buggy hike

(Roscoe) I knew it. I knew we were going to go for a hike the second we got in the car. I could just smell it, something was up, and boy did we end up going up — for about 3.2 miles to be exact. Belle and I tried desperately to lead the way for our humans, but they wouldn’t run with us, even though we had them on a short leash. The plan was to take our humans up to the Cooper Kiln Pond and then take a short side trail to Cooper Kiln Slide on the way back. 

The pond was beautiful! It was not a very large pond but it was filled with lily pads and surrounded by the mountains. We hung out on the rocks and munched on some treats as our humans ate their lunch. Right on the edge of the water was a lean-to we all sat in for a bit. It was a buggy day so although we would have all liked to take in the vista a bit longer, we were off back down the trail and on our way to the slide. 

It wasn’t long before we were on the trail to the slide. This slide was a bit of an older slide as everything was starting to grow back in. Belle and her human took off straight up the slide! They were on a mission. My human got distracted by all the wild raspberry bushes hidden among the rubble, so we ended up watching Belle and her human scramble up the barren rock off in the distance.

It was a long day out but worth every tail wag of it! Start preparing for your hike my furry friends!

*Dogs should always remain on a leash when hiking.

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