I only did a handful of hikes before this year, but was starting to like it, so I thought if my puppy was into it we'd try to bag all 48 together since that's a "NH thing to do". In July, my dog graduated from Puppy to Dog, and I had recovered from ankle surgery, so we took off. Cori just bagged her 10th yesterday (Owl's Head), so of course, I'm now petrified of how we'll do the Bonds. Can I ride my bicycle on Lincoln Woods Trail? Seems like I have to do a traverse anyway, so I don't think that even helps...

I've seen some posts about dogs pads getting cut up on rocks. I just got a people first aid kit, and also a tiny bottle of styptic powder to add to the booties I keep in the pack in case a paw or nail gets cut. We get a lot of miles in every week to toughen the pads up, including pavement (she is fine on the leash next to my bicycle), and I haven't seen an inkling of a problem yet. She was fine on the "chimney" between Osceolas, the scramble up Owl's head, and Lincoln/Lafayette (though she took 1 boost on the last, that'll be my excuse for doing that one twice).

Any advice for optimizing the remainder? Any seasonal recommendations? I did Owl's head yesterday partially because it sounded like the crossings were difficult, but it's been really dry. And the crossings were easy. The higher peaks seem like it might work better in the summer to avoid the cold combined with the higher winds above treeline. Longer low hikes it's nice to avoid the heat of midsummer, but for a long hike it's nice to have extra daylight, just in case. So, not sure about that tradeoff for the Bonds. Not sure about the Willey stairs - do most dogs make it OK (Cori's 70#)?

If you can do Owl's Head out-and-back from Lincoln Woods, you can do the Bonds the same way, though it's a rather long day. It's only five miles longer, but it is 1000 ft more gain. The traverse vea Zealand shortens the route by about three miles, via the Twins it's similar as via Zealand with a teensy bit more elevation gain. Either traverse offers a pretty spectacular viewpoint along the way, at least one other 4000-footer, and a nice option of camping at Guyot. Note that the nights are getting cold.

If you're following the AMC peak-bagging rules, bikes are not allowed anywhere you couldn't take a car.
If you're only concerned about Forest Service rules, bikes are allowed outside the Wilderness boundary - i.e., up to the Franconia Brook crossing.

I'm not a dog person, but I hear that the Northern Presis are significantly more likely to cause issues with pads than any other peaks - those peaks require a much longer time spent on rock, and the rock is especially rough.

The stairs on Willy should be no problem. In the unlikely event she's bothered by the gaps between the treads, going around is easy enough.

What Nartreb said. The northern Presidentials like Adams and Madison are cinder cones. Great rock to scramble on but much less kindly to dogs. Keep the booties handy. If your dog can go up the rock chimney between the Osceolas I can't think of any earth based terrain feature that would stop it in the Whites. The stream crossing at the very beginning of the western approach to Wildcat D is definitely NOT dog friendly though and if you do the Hancocks do it before it gets very cold because you'll have to cross the stream on the approach several times with no log bridges to speak of.

Thanks for the info, a big help.

I hadn't really separated the problems of rough rock on the pads, and the dog's ability to actually climb something. Do dogs scramble just as well in the booties? It really seems like Cori is using her claws a lot, and I'm not sure about the booties fitting snugly enough to be secure. Maybe put on the booties for the rough parts where it isn't too steep (like across the ridgeline)?

Psyched there's a route around the Willey stairs. I think my bailout plan was going to have me going the opposite direction than I wanted.

I did have 3.5 hours of daylight left when I finished Owl's head, but all conditions were perfect, and I was wiped when I got back. Best I could figure is the traverse ending at Lincoln Woods - From elozzy's peakbagging site: "One way is by the Zealand, Twinway, Bondcliff and Wilderness trails, picking up Zealand as a bonus (lp: 19.5 miles, 3,700 feet, 11:35)". I told my best hiking buddy that he has to be ready for this next summer. Hopefully we can catch a cool, dry day for it.

Are the crossings on the Hancock loop tough now? I did this without a dog a couple years ago, and I remember it was kinda muddy and I had to rockhop a few times, but never got wet, wet. Maybe I should bang that out this Fall, even though I didn't really like that hike.

It feels like it's been an unusually dry summer and into fall now. Are the water levels lower than normal, and if so any others that would be good to do now because of that?

I know people that swear by the "liquid bandaid" products for repairing torn up paw pads. Have it in my pack just in case for the pups (after a mishap years ago), but luckily have not yet needed it. I know their nails do help with grip on steep terrain.

Early fall is often dry, but levels are even lower than normal. http://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?01053500

The 4Ks with big crossings are Owl's Head and North Twin, but there are lots of others with easier crossings (e.g. the start of carrigain via signal ridge) or where the trail goes back and forth over a small stream (eg isolation via rocky branch), that could cause wet feet, which as the weather gets colder, becomes less fun. I don't remember the streams on Hancock being any big deal, but I do remember the trail itself was very badly eroded and also had some large mud pits. Kind of a tough hike for very limited views.

Yeah, I'm not really happy that Hancock was one of the few I did before I got my dog, so I'll have to do it twice. A friend actually brought his 8 yo. son up Hancock for his first 4k, and now that kid doesn't want to hike anymore at all...

Neat water link, we're way below 25th percentile, probably like 5th.

I think I'll try to switch my next weekend hike to Wildcat A/D, because of the water levels. A trip report from yesterday of the wildcats said "All easiily rock hop-able I feel blessed to have done many notoriously wet trails this summer that have ended up being dry as they'll ever get! "

As dry as it has been I agree with your plan to do Wildcat now. Stream crossings in the Whites rarely make me think danger but after a good storm, the crossing to Wildcat D would send many dogs hurtling downstream.

The trail to the Hancock loop isn't dangerous but in cold weather your dog will get wet and stay wet, so it's something to consider if your dog chills easily. On the other hand I have seen black labs slathered in rain and muck at 38 degrees Fahrenheit that think this whole hiking thing is the best thing master (or mistress) has ever done with them.

Although I have never been between Wildcat A and Wildcat D a few hikers I've spoken to have mentioned it's a very rough section of trail. The trail for Wildcat D is harsh by eastern standards (it gains elevation fast) but should still be doable by a dog. Wildcat A is accessible from the eastern side if you don't want to traverse the entire ridge line and summit E, D, C, and B first. The views make the Wildcat summits worth it though.