Big adventures with little dogs

Little legs don’t mean little walks, at least according to Adventureweiner Club founder Jessica Williams.

Williams owns two miniature dachshunds, each under 10 pounds, who regularly join her on challenging hikes around the Northwest. She says people are always surprised, but the little pups perform great on the trail.

For beginners, she says it’s best to start on an easy trail. A few easy spots she recommends are Discovery Park and Cougar Mountain.

“I recommend just going to Discovery Park. There’s actually a lot of trails to explore there, a lot of terrain. You can keep it flat, you can hike down by the light house and it’s steep. Another good one is Cougar Mountain. It’s real popular with trail runners because it’s not super steep up and down.”

Another hot spot for her Adventureweiner Club is the walking path at Green Lake. The Adventure Weiner group meets up once a month to walk the near 3-mile loop. At their last meeting, over 70 dachshunds participated, proof that a large number of the little guys can make the distance.

Williams also recommends a few more intermediate and difficult options for people and puppy pairs looking for more of a challenge.

Intermediate

• Lake Twenty-Two (Mountain Loop Highway)
• Little Si (I-90)
• Rattlesnake Ledge (I-90)

Difficult
• Mount Si (I-90)
• Mailbox Peak (I-90 – not done but on our list!)

Overnight
• Marmot Pass (Olympics)
• Tonga Ridge/Mt Sawyer

For more small dog hiking ideas and proof they can do it, visit Williams’ website youdidwhatwithyourweiner.com.

Listen to Jessica Williams’ full interview on It’s Raining Cats and Dogs. Listen to KIRO Radio every Sunday at 1 p.m. for more pet stories, or listen anytime ON DEMAND at KIRORadio.com.