With my father-in-law in town for a full week, Ryan and I wanted to be sure to show him some of our favorite places. Even though we’ve only been in North Carolina for three months, we’re quickly narrowing down a handful of go-to places for everything from brunch and hiking to shopping, ice cream, coffee, green juice, pizza and quality paved walking trails. One thing on my father-in-law’s request list during his stay was hiking.
Ask and you shall receive!
The three of us dedicated the majority of the day on Saturday to hiking. We picked a trail located close to the Blue Ridge Parkway on the Tennessee/North Carolina state line.
It was quite far from our house, but worth the drive since we had a special visitor in town!
We took Greg up to Carvers Gap where we parked our car and headed out on a two-hour hike on the Appalachian Trail over The Balds, a series of treeless mountaintops that offer fantastic panoramic views of the Appalachian Mountains.
Ryan, Sadie and I have conquered this hike before, but that was back in July and it was much warmer and much greener. The leaves are slowly beginning to change and I cannot wait to do TONS of hiking in October and November!
Temperatures on Saturday’s hike were in the 60s which was absolutely perfect. It was warm enough to hike in a tank top once we got moving, but chilly enough to instantly feel cool whenever we stopped hiking to take a break and enjoy the views around us.
Of course Sadie came along on our hike and had a ball.
Ryan and I both commented on how much we love seeing so many dogs out and about in North Carolina.
So far, on the hiking trails and in the areas we’ve visited, North Carolina is proving to be a rather dog-friendly place to live which, naturally, I love. We’ve also noticed a lot more big dogs and this makes Sadie quite the happy little camper. For some reason she is 10,000 times better with big dogs than little dogs. We actually ran into a giant St. Bernard on a walk with Sadie last week and you would’ve thought she met her best friend for life. She whimpered and jumped around and the St. Bernard just gave her the side-eye and looked at her like she was the looniest little creature he’d ever seen (which, I’m sure, she was).
Ryan and I have a theory that Sadie’s preference for big dogs stems from the fact that smaller dogs generally seem to be more likely to bark at her than larger dogs and Sadie apparently has fragile ears and a very low tolerance for yipping and barking. Such a goof.
Question of the Morning
- Pet owners: Does your pet seem to show a preference toward large or small animals? Any theories as to why this may be?
Sadie definitely prefers larger dogs to smaller dogs. She is also totally indifferent to cats which absolutely shocked us. Ryan and I thought she would chase my mother-in-law’s cats and want to play with them, but she typically ignores them. (Squirrels, on the other hand, make her foam at the mouth.)
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oh our doodle is crazy 🙂
HE WANTS TO LOVE UP UP UP EVERY DOG HE SEES 🙂
no matter the size or BARKYness.
Gorgeous views!
I have a small-er dog… she’s about 23lbs, but she’s always gravitated toward bigger dogs. For her, though, I think it is because she was the only small dog at Puppy Kindergarten so they put her 13lb self in with the big puppies. One of her buddies was a Mastiff puppy that had a head the size of her body. Ever since then, little dogs just confuse her. 🙂
Aw! This is so adorable!!! I’d love to see a pic of your dog w/ the mastiff puppy! 🙂
What a beautiful hike! I love the picture of Sadie and Ryan on the rock!
Punkin hasn’t been around many other animals but he’s definitely a people person. He loves getting attention, food, and lots of belly rubs! Haha
A great family friend and blogger just moved to Charlotte, NC! Those hikes look beautiful and I love how photogenic Sadie always is – adorable!
Oh, I wanna go hiking so badly! The Blue Ridge Parkway has a ton of great spots. We love a few of the hikes in Pisgah National Forest.
That hike looks so gorgeous! Sometimes surrounding yourself with nature is the best reminder that those trivial things in life we worry about, don’t really matter in the grand scheme of things.
My dog is so tiny but she loves bigger dogs! Dogs are too funny!!
gorgeous photos!!! I love hiking and all the beautiful scenes thats come with it!
What a beautiful hike! My pup is 10 lbs but loves big dogs. It’s so funny to see him try and play with huge labs and retrievers. They probably think he’s nuts. Ha!
My little dog likes BIG dogs and my bigger (49 pounds) likes SMALL dogs. GO figure! The boy dog likes girl dogs and the girl dog doesn’t like other girls. HAHA. Guess we have the perfect pair!
Beautiful hike! I seriously have to go there too!
Great pics! We hiked part of the Appalachian trail this weekend too, but in GA instead. 🙂 Our oldest dogs gravitates towards smaller dogs that aren’t as fast as him because he likes other dogs to chase him when playing – as where our younger dog gravitates towards bigger dogs because he likes to wrestle when playing. Crazy pups…
My greyhound adores small dogs. Unfortunately at 70 pounds, she scares most of them. She is very picky when it comes to large dogs. She likes all pit bulls but despises labs. It’s really funny.
My 90lb boxer George grew up with a Pomeranian and a Chorkie which has in turn led him to believe that he too is a lap dog!!!! He is so good at playing with the little dogs too, getting down on his belly and simply moving his head around and not swatting them with his giant mitts!! We did recently rescue a boxer mix though who he ADORES! He finally has a friend his size and she has quickly become his BFF… although neither of them are aware that they are big dogs 🙂
I love hiking! If you and Ryan ever head out west, you’ll have to conquer your first fourteen-er!
I love the colored pants with the neon shoes, sometimes my plain old black gets old!
Looks so pretty! I was lucky enough to visit my best friend in Oregon this weekend and we did a TON of hiking as well!
I have hiked that same trail. It is beautiful up there. We went ziplining at Navitat Canopy Adventires in Ashville. If you get the chance, I’ll bet it would be beautiful this time of year. Such a blast! http://www.navitat.com/
My 84 pound dog HATES puppies. She can be a bit of a bully with energy bound puppies.
Thanks so much for the recommendation — adding it to our list!
You won’t be sorry. It was such a good time and the scenery is incredible.
Wow, what a gorgeous hike! That 6th picture looks like it should be on a postcard! TN is really such a beautiful and underrated state. My boyfriend and I vacationed there twice while he was working in Atlanta, once to Gatlinburg and another time to Nashville. We had such a great time in both cities and I’ve been wanting to get back there so bad, looks like I’ve got even more reason to now! My family has a little white cockapoo (cocker spaniel poodle mix) who seems to love to chase around all animals equally…big, small, and human alike 😛
Ahh it looks absolutely beautiful there! North Carolina seems to be a pretty awesome fit for your family. Sadie has great taste in dog friends. Large dogs are the way to go! Love the blue tights you are wearing to. Where did you get them?
The scenery looks beautiful out there. Glad you guys (and Sadie) had a good time.
My puppy is scared of bigger dogs. She always goes up to them like she wants to be friends and then changes her mind, tucks her tail between her legs, and runs away. She does better with smaller dogs but they usually don’t like her too much because she spends the whole time jumping over them. She’s a goof. Looks like an amazing hike!
Fabulous views! Looks like you had a great time. Have a good Monday!
Beautiful photos! I haven’t been on a hike in years! I love how you can bring Sadie with you!
It looks like a beautiful spot!
Margaret doesn’t discriminate and loves every dog she meets regardless of size! I think she does better with bigger dogs though as she likes to rough house and the little dogs don’t seem to like it as much.
My dog is a black lab/German shorthaired pointer mix, about 60 pounds, and the Great Dane that lives next to us is her best friend. But if we pass a smaller dog on our walks, she is NOT a fan. LOL
Those mountains look BEAUTIFUL!
I love hiking! I would love to do the Appalachian trail someday. Yours and Ryan’s matching outfits are too cute!
I don’t have a dog, but my cat likes both big and small dogs. I think she just likes to tease them. She HATES other cats though.
Our lab is 85 pounds and scared to death of small dogs!!! But, typically the smaller dogs are the most yappy and snippy ones towards her, which makes our dog tuck her tail and want to hide, it’s so sad!
Hiking is not my usual activity of choice but those views make me think twice. That looks amazing!
So glad you guys had a fun weekend with your father-in-law! Your hiking views look incredible.
Our dogs (labs) definitely prefer larger dogs to smaller dogs. They want to play with larger dogs, but they seem to be more crabby and get more protective with the little dogs. I have no idea why… Maybe because they’re used to one another? And little dogs resemble cats? Ha! Who knows.
Such a fun hike!
I have a 45 lb German Shorthair Pointer who LOVES big dogs. Some of her best friends at the dog park are Rottweilers and Great Danes. The bigger, the better. I think little dogs remind her of rabbits and birds and the like so she’s not sure whether she should play with them or eat them.
One of my dogs, Bonnie, is ~35lbs Australian cattle dog (i.e. herding dog with boundless energy similar to Sadie’s!). She apparently takes her herding role very seriously and will try to heard and corral this giant St. Bernard that we see in our neighborhood park every so often. She is such an jerk about it and nips at his heels and runs circles around him barking like crazy! She also hates all the neighborhood cats, as well as rabbits, squirrels, and any other objects that appear to be such are all on her chase list as well–sheesh, she sounds like such a butthead, haha! I can’t figure out why she likes certain dogs and goes nutso about others, but it doesn’t seem to be about size since she is dog-park BFFs with a big Briard. She’s a weirdo and I <3 her!
I have a small dog (Sheltie) and he does not like big dogs, labs especially! Which is funny because two of our close neighbors have labs…My little Sheltie gets all high and mighty and believes that he can take on any big dog. At least he is confident!
I am going on my first “real” hike this weekend and I CANNOT WAIT! Of course I have done shorter ones, but I used to live in the prairies so opportunities were few and far between. No more, though! That scenery looks stunning. <3
Hope you have a blast!
I have a 100 pound German Shepherd who is absolutely fascinated by small dogs! She lets them jump all over her and hang off of her ears! She doesn’t mind large dogs either, but she is total princess and hates to be bullied or forced into wrestling if she doesn’t feel like it. TOTAL PRISS!!!!
I have a Great Dane who is 170lbs so pretty much every dog is smaller, so he doesn’t really have a choice! Haha 🙂
I have those shoes! Where are your capris from?
The brand is Splits 59 but I got them on sale at Nordstrom Rack!
I went hiking in Northern California this weekend too. My husband and I took a picnic lunch over to the Marin Headlands (just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco) and it was probably in the 70s and very breezy. We love hiking too!
Your dog has the personality of a human. She’s so photogenic too. Crazy!
I have a 7 pound yorki-poo (Meeka) and she LOVES all dogs of all sizes, but I have noticed that big dogs tend to like her more than little dogs. So maybe most little dogs are a tad more snippy than large dogs, but I have a weird tiny dog that loves everyone! Haha. I have had so many people comment on how much she loves every person/dog she comes across. It’s almost embarrassing sometimes, she is SO EXCITED about every single living being lol. Your Sadie seems like such the sweetheart, maybe Meeka would be the one small dog she would like haha.
I bet that hike will be so pretty in the fall with all the trees changing colors. That’s hard to see in Southern California (where I’m from)!
My little Bichon Maltese mix definitely has a preference for smaller dogs ever since he got bitten by a big dog on a walk around our neighborhood. Ever since then, he will run over to small dogs with excitement and give bigger dogs the side eye.
With all the cartoons, I was a firm believer until the age of 7 that dogs and cats hated each other.
beaaaautiful hike! I’m SO happy to be hiking in fall weather. i really don’t love anything more!
Oh my gosh, you’re pictures are making me want to plan a hiking day soon! That’s the perfect way to spend a Fall saturday.
This is completly off subject but I had to tell you, I added egg whites to my oatmeal this morning and it was delish! The texture was a little weird at first but really tasty. Thanks for the idea!
So happy you were a fan!!
We have a 10 pound cavapoo that has never met an animal he did not like. He loves playing with dogs his size but also enjoys trying to make friends with labs on our walks. We met a horse the other day on our walk and he begged and whimpered to let him say hey! Same thing with birds or even insects- he is a mess. He does the exact same thing when an animal is on tv he runs to the tv and jumps up at the screen trying to meet them. He then will run behind the tv to try and find them!
Such a pretty hike! And gosh, you reminded me how much I want a puppy!
the second last picture of Ryan and Sadie is hilarious!! She is so cute and funny! she looks like a baby
What stunning views! Man, seeing this makes me homesick for the south. Yall are so lucky to have moved just in time for autumn…it’s perfect hiking/exploring weather, and there’s hardly any place more beautiful this time of year. Lucky for Sadie, too. 😉
Our dog also prefers big dogs, the bigger the better! She’s a 60lb white german shepherd, corgi mix, and her boyfriend at day care is a mastiff. Little dogs annoy her, probably because they can be a bit yippy and up in her face.
Mine is on the smaller side and seems to play best with dogs about her size, but is pretty good with all sizes. I have noticed too though that some smaller dogs bark at big dogs. We’ve been going to a park at night where up to 40 dogs (all sizes) come. My dog usually runs around trying to get ANY of them to chase her. Dogs are hilarious.
I have a big dog, (Lola’s 89 lbs and all legs) and she loves all dogs, but mostly the bigger ones, probably bc the little ones are terrified of her. When we go to dog parks, she’s the official doggy greeter and will stop what she’s doing to sniff the new dog coming in. Most little dogs are terrified by her and bark at her, but she usually just ignores them and continues to sniff and moves on. I live out in Colorado, and we just backpacked part of the Colorado Trail. Lola loves being out in nature, she usually runs off ahead and then waits for us with a look that says you guys need to hurry up!