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Icehouse Canyon with the Dogs

Posted on November 16, 2009 by: Traveler

Closest City: Mount Baldy
State: California
Country: United States

Doggy Hike to Icehouse Saddle

Cucamonga Wilderness

One of my backpacking dreams would be having a canine companion unleashed strolling alongside me. I am sure the locations exist, but off hand, I can’t think of a single trail where unfettered dogs hiking are sanctioned. From my “Double Tee” hike the previous week, I knew the walk up to Icehouse Saddle to be “dog friendly” as long as they are leashed. I have no problems with keeping my dogs on a leash because not all outdoors people care for pets and it becomes a matter of courtesy. True wilderness, where humans are seen every couple days, is the location I dream of when imagining hiking with my unleashed pooch.

Icehouse canyon is a gorgeous hike Danielle would also enjoy so we headed out by 8:00(ish) and were at the parking lot off of Mt. Baldy Rd. a little after 9:00am. Note: The Icehouse Canyon trailhead parking lot is heavily used on weekends and we had to park in an area I’m not even sure to be designated for such. The pavement had a white line to th e left side of our parked vehicle but there was nothing on the right. Oh well, we didn’t get cited by the Forest Service… which brings up another good point. All parked vehicle MUST display a day use Forest Service Adventure Pass. While signing in for the trail at the Ranger Station (also mandatory, you will be turned back if caught without a trail permit), I purchased a year Adventure Pass for $30. A second pass can be purchased for just $5 more (give it out as a gift). The ranger station is just down Mt. Baldy Rd. in the mountain hamlet of the same name.

There were a lot of hikers with dogs the previous week Beer Gut and I tackled the Double Tee (actually called the Three Tee’s Trail in reference to the three summits of Timber, Telegraph and Thunder mountains). With the (fairly) gentle grade to the saddle, I figured this to be a good “test” trail for our Shepherd/Collie mix (Tanner) and Rottweiler/Shepherd mix (Blue) along. They are both roughly two years old and have grown inseparable since we adopted Blue over the summer of 2009. We have had Tanner since he was three months old. Both dogs are insanely obedient and we looked forward to seeing how they would do on their first wilderness trail.

At the trailhead, Tanner and Blue’s senses immediately went into overload and they tugged hard at the leash from the get-go! It was awesome to see them bounding up Icehouse and then we noticed something extremely weird. If Danielle and I each took one of the dogs and they were separated, the pooch following behind would wine until reunited with the lead dog. They wanted to walk side by side and they stuck to the actual trail. I have come across wild critters like bears and deer on trails in the Sierra backcountry and I understand “the path of least resistance” would apply to them as well as I. It is just that even when Tanner and Blue had alternatives to the left or right or at a turn of a switchback (instead of continuing straight ahead) they stayed on trail.

A creek flows through Icehouse Canyon so we walked down at a couple points to see if the dogs needed a drink. Tanner stepped into the chilly water only briefly but didn’t drink anything. Blue wanted nothing to do with getting wet and only drank from the nylon (collapsible) Ruffwear dog bowl we brought. The views were great and the air was noticeably chilly. Wind howled down canyon at some points but was noticeably absent for most of the hike. That didn’t stop Danielle from wearing a beanie (with “cute” crystal beads depicting a pirate skull J), gloves and her outer shell the entire hike. We have Ruffwear dog booties (from a previous dog) but did not have the opportunity to acquaint Tanner or Blue with them. The Icehouse trail is a mix of dirt, large rocks and small pebbles. At home, we checked their paws and didn’t notice anything wrong. In the end, it comes down to the fact they are animals, and animals don’t walk with shoes on.

Toward the top of the saddle, I looked across to the north slope of the south canyon wall (the hike up is heading mainly east so it was the right side of Icehouse) and saw a dusting of snow from the most recent storm. The canyon wall exposed to the sun was entirely snow free. Danielle was up top before me (the two “doggy power” helped propel her along) and she was already playing with the dogs throwing snow on their heads. I know Tanner has never stood on / been exposed to snow but am unsure of Blue’s history. We rested up top with the dogs for a while until they started to get antsy. I would have thought walking 3.4 miles and 2,655ft. up would have wore them out. Danielle and I took turns holding the leashes on the return trip and they didn’t slow down once.

Now I know… and I can’t wait to take Tanner and Blue to some remote areas of the Eastern Sierra. Now, I have to see how they will do cooped up inside of a tent overnight. Practice, practice J.

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