The Start of a New Goal, Hiking With Haley

When we began thinking about getting a puppy, the one thing that mattered most was we needed a puppy willing to go anywhere and do anything! And I always dreamed of a pup that would do crazy long hikes with me. Haley has proven that she will be that dog. At just 4 months old, Haley hiked her first mountain, North Kearsarge! It was a massive success with her doing over 2,000 feet of gain and about 7 miles of hiking. She crushed it and loved every minute of it!

However, at that time, Haley was not doing well walking with just me. We believe the only reason that hike went well was that Derrick and I were both hiking with her. But I dreamed of hiking solo with Haley. So every day I would work on walking the local trails solo with her.

Then on December 11, 2022, it was time to see if all that work would pay off. My goal was to start small and build up to longer days and higher peaks. So we started our goal of Hiking the Belknaps of New Hampshire because they have a “big mountain” feel but typically have less elevation gain and shorter distances. Plus they’re only like 2 hours from my home.

So we went, Haley wore her Ruffwear Backpack to carry all her stuff and we hiked. We hiked Mount Whiteface & Piper Mountain via Whiteface Trail and Piper-Whiteface Trail.

Stats from my Garmin:

• Time: 2hrs 20 minutes
• Distance: 4.72 Miles
• Elevation Gain: 1,442

The weather was overcast with snow flurries but the clouds remained high, keeping beautiful views throughout the hike. We had the trails mostly to ourselves, only seeing two pairs of people. The trails were super well-marked and pretty gradual.

Haley experienced ice for the first time on our way up Piper which has a slab summit. She slipped and slid around but eventually figured out how to navigate around the ice. She was highly focused and enjoyed every minute of the hike!

I seriously cannot wait to get out there again soon!