My girl Maggie is a year n a half, I found her when she was small. She's a blue heeler/border collie and I knew almost from the start this energetic little thing would be my hiking buddy. Even in the heat she loves to just go. We've been both hiking and back country camping together. I couldn't be more thankful for her, especially when she spots something like a bison near the trail before me. (Yes, that has happened.) I look forward to many years with her and both us learning more with each thing we do together

OK, first let me say I love you. I want to marry you. Great video you made, especially about the boundaries, it’s very good advice. Me and my two are about to take our first hike. They are totally under my control. One is seven years old. One is nine years old and I think we’re gonna have fun. But never thought about not letting other people pet them especially when we are on the trail. Thank you.

Which campsite did you camp?

What state are you in?

ok melting the musher's goo into old chapsticks is genius!

Actually got time to watch! So fun! ❤❤❤that your back!

people underestimate how much courage it takes for someone to get out of their comfort zone and do something truly difficult (and do it alone). And after getting their but kicked, to get up and try again. excellent video and great comeback.

Great job to keep going! I loved the snippet "the counting keeps the voices away!" ... sometimes it's small things like counting or whatever that keeps you pushing and going through whatever negative space your mind tries to enter! Hopefully you three are having a fantastic 2024 and that your knee is doing better!

Beautiful video! I love your creative cinematography as well! This was a lot of fun to watch (I hate that you were in so much pain at the end, though!)

Great video. Love your creative cinematography and story telling! 🌟

Awesome job and video. You should post your itinerary: each day/leg/milage/campsite, how you resupplied, etc. congrats

Can’t wait!!! ❤❤❤❤❤🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉❤❤❤❤ WB!!

I'll be in GH next week, cant wait!

Where God Leads, God Provides! I've found this to be true over and over again, even in my own recreational hobby of hiking out in nature. I feel Him and see Him most in Nature, I have MANY stories on how this has happened over the years.

this is the 3rd video of yours I've seen. I subscribed. I love your ability to tell the story in the way you do! I watched your Art Loeb hike, the FHT, and this one Panthertown. I did this very hike back in May, such a good experience! I also love your choice in music during videos.

Great job! This is on my wishful thinking list, time for me to get to it! Youre a great storyteller! Loved watching your video, thanks for sharing

I'm a new dog momma! I've taken my rattie girl out to a local trail a few times and want to expand. I was thinking about what camping might look like. I've been a little scared of going on my own but now I have new adventure ideas! But I need to be realistic about things. This video helped in a lot of ways in how to handle interactions, setting boundaries, and assigning some work to the dog. We've been together only a month so it's way early. But I hope that we get to do more adventurous things like camping with others who have experience with dogs in the woods this summer.

I totally agree with your stance on not socializing your dog on the trail. My dog is only allowed to socialize with dogs I know.

one other thing I have taught her when we are going down hill and its not easy going she will go a few steps and wait for me to nav the trail and when we get to a log or something blocking the trail she will go up to it and wait for me to get up to it and then she will jump over then wait for me to cross

first grads on the little hiker, I like your vids on hiking with a dog some of the things I have learned from your stuff and learned just doing it on my own. I'm like you I dont let people pet my dog or interact with her she has a different attitude when we are out on trail she is not interested in other people and doesn't like other dogs not aggressive just knows this is her space and thats my hooman so stay back. in the tent she must of been tired and laid down on her mat now when she would hear something she would go into alert mode. her nails I would trim but if you use a sander to round them off it helps not to have sharp edges.as far as treckin poles I take both but most of the time I use just one and use my free hand to take up the slack in her lead which I use a 1 inch nylon lead 15 foot and my end is looped to my belt I dont care for the retractable ones for reason if she falls or gets into a bad spot i can lift her or pull her out with it I just dont trust the little rope in those other ones even if it says it will hold 100 lbs or so. no bears where I'm at and too old to be going so far I need resupply

I have a Malinois and Border Collie....both are rescues. My BC lived in the streets of Mexico for a very very very long time. My Mal came from a loving home where circumstances changed. Idk if its bcuz my BC is soooo grateful or what but he feels the need to protect me from strangers. While the Mal goes in for pets, my BC goes for the jugular😂😂😂 with "my people" the border collie is a love bug who smiles on command or whenever he wants something. He is quite the charmer actually ❤ I am definitely a "dog person" but i totally understand what you are saying and its sooooo true.

Hello! Thanks for update! Wanted to come back to see how channel is doing and realized I did not subscribe. But always take care of your self first!

That's normal, stinky plastic does not stop stinking. You have to dry the stuff in fresh air as soon as possible. It's the same as climbing shoes. Once you let them stink once they stink forever...

Will your shepherd stay at camp without being tied up?

Great video. So glad I stumbled across it. Taking my shepherd camping/hiking to Monongahela next week.

Never camped with my dog before, thinking about taking the jump this spring/summer, thank you for your candor, I think you explained yourself well and your concerns/praise of camping with the dog, I too have a GSD, he's 5 and very well trained luckily, I'll report back on how it went, I expect we will encounter very similar situations! - Thanks

Panthertown Valley is an amazing place. I have enjoyed backpacking there for years. Schoolhouse Falls is nothing spectacular as far as height and water flow, but it is just stunningly beautiful to me. Thanks for sharing your journey with us.

Just something to think about before you dip into your mushers wax because you forgot chapstick. Your dog’s feet are on the ground. The very nasty ground. All that dirt and bacteria. Just be careful

This!!! 100% this. Specially the last part. My dog is my everything, well behaved and thinks everyone is her friend. That said i never let her w/o a leash on the trail cause i know not everyone like dogs as much as i do, for me is more important to keep my dog safe and make other people feel safe than leting everyone know how great my girl is. It also exhasperates me the people who let their dog loose and claim "it's ok, he's friendly" yeah, maybe, but my dog may get scared or anxious if approached suddenly and then throw a bite at yours which may then respond back and get us in a fight. And finally those people who think that because a dog is very well behaved at home but only take it to the woods once or twice a year: the dog may behave very different in a new environment they're not used to, so having a very well behaved dog when you're watching series in your living room doesn't guarantee it'll behave the same outdoors where theres a lot of stimulus he's not used to.

Welcome back! Cool to see the next generation of backpackers getting started early 🤙

Hey, Seagrass! I just recently found your channel and website. You're all around my neck of the woods and I'm thrilled to see so many familiar places and others (like Cumberland) that i want to get to. It feels good to find a kindred spirit. Thanks for all your work here and on your website!

Congrats to you and Jordan for your new baby girl “Wiggles” (great name by the way). Thanks for the update. Know that I have you, Jordan, “Wiggles” and your mother-in-law on my prayer list. Take care of yourself and family (they always come first). Always enjoy your videos.

Great to see you again. When I had my firstborn, if I was able to get us both out of the house fully dressed and with diaper bag in tow within a 2 hour timeframe, it was a win. Prayers for your mom in law. God is able! Wishing you and your family all God's blessings!

Dogs have extraordinary hearing and sense of smell, and they can sense danger before we do. I hike with my big German sheperd and we have a great time. The important thing is to have the dog socialized with people and other dogs, and to be trained to obey commands. I usually let him roam free, but if we approach bikers or horses I put him on a leash. Some people are frightened of dogs, especially large ones, and will overreact when surprised by dogs. It is the owner's responsibility to control the dog at all times. Do that, and you will have a good time.

Thanks for the update amd for keeping on with the videos. We have 4 kids and syarted them backpacking alwhen they were months old also. They are all grown, married, and gone now but still love the outdoors, hiking, and backpacking. Keep it up!

Enjoy your Wiggle time.

The Roan Mountain Shelter is the only AT shelter I've actually stayed in so far. I wanted to stay in it because it's the highest shelter on the entire AT. I stayed in the loft while two people camped underneath. The loft floor is rather thin, maybe 1/2 inch plywood which felt kind of spongy. Anyway, every time I knocked a piece of gear over it made a loud BANG! which I'm sure kept disturbing the two beneath me.

That black pipe where you tried to get water is at Low Gap. I recognized it from when I camped there on a section hike a few years ago. The water there has a slightly sweet taste, some of the best on the AT. It was just dripping and I knew it would take forever to fill up my hydration bladder. I noticed the pipe was just laying on top of the ground where some water was coming out. So I shoved the end of the pipe back into the ground and got a decent enough flow to come out.

I'm one of those backpackers that still uses a hydration bladder instead of a smartwater bottle (Gasp!), a pump water filter instead of a Sawyer filter (Gasp!), and I wear Keen hiking boots with ankle support (Scream!). I don't listen to backpacking influencers when it comes to water weight, footwear weight, guns on the trail, etc. Don't listen to those fools who say you don't need to carry much water, there's plenty of water on the trail. Maybe there was when they hiked that trail a year ago, but what if there's a drought? A few years ago all the springs on the entire Georgia section of the AT went dry and thru-hikers had to rely on trail angels for water. So when these KZfaq influencers give advice on how to backpack "the right way" always take it with a grain of salt.

I noticed you didn't eat the dog instead. Was that because you didn't have a life insurance policy on your dog? Ha-ha!

You prefer low cut shoes for hiking?😊 Have you ever tried vivos tracker boots?

So really true what you say, exspecialy tey just wanna be with you, soo rewarding.....love your topic... i hought i was alone whos think so...thkx!!

Almost to 1.5k!

More Dog POV!! Keep up the good work!

Burying poop??? If we found a choice rock we’d just throw some dirt on it . What is the wilderness for at that point???

Nice touch w/ the 3rd person shots! Especially at 24:28

I appreciate the highlight of those ferns waving at you 😊👋👏👏

Nice video. Good shots and vid is engaging!