Katherine & Robin @RobinVentures

Today’s episode is with Katherine and Robin @robinventures and their southern California adventures that include everything from extraordinary to everyday exceptional.

Robin is a Pomeranian Chihuahua mix that Robin rescued from a kill shelter in Los Angeles as a young dog a little more than five years ago. Unfortunately, it took a few years for Robin to completely warm up to his dogdad Addison. But it didn’t take long at all for the adventures to begin. In the first couple months, Robin was going on easy hikes and trips with his new family. Within a year, Robin was getting into some serious adventures with Katherine and Addison in the San Gabriel Mountains along with friends.

Just a half hour away from their Los Angeles home are the San Gabriel Mountains, a national monument and part of the Angeles National Forest. An hour and a half drive to the east are the San Gorgonio Mountains, located in San Bernardino National Forest. For comparison, Katherine states that the San Gorgonio Mountains see less traffic and more serious hikers and backpackers due to being further away from the city and generally requiring more permits for day use. The San Gorgonio Mountains are also more rugged and scenic, in her opinion. For those more serious about hiking and backpacking, the Sierra Nevada Mountains begin about three hours north of LA.

A few specific spots they have been to in the last year include Dry Lake near San Gorgonio Mountain. For that trip, Addison packed in an inflatable raft! Leading up to a big backpacking trip to Mammoth Lake area, Katherine hiked Mt. Lukens and San Gorgonio Mountain. On their final conditioning trip to San Gorgonio, they dealt with altitude as well as getting caught by a surprise thunderstorm. At Mammoth Lakes in the Sierra Nevadas, Katherine and Robin hiked to Minaret Lake and Ediza Lake.

According to Katherine, Robin is actually quite a “lazy” dog whenever they are not on a big adventure, and she’s careful to pay attention to his fatigue level. Fortunately, during the ongoing pandemic and stay at home orders that have everyone on lockdown, Robin is just as comfortable hanging out around the house and getting his exercise in the yard. Hopefully, once the restrictions are lifted, they plan to head back to the Mammoth Lakes area to do some more adventuring.

With all their experience, Katherine and Addison have used and reviewed lots of different gear. To check out their carefully curated gear list and read more about their adventures, check out their blog at Robinventures.wordpress.blog.

Katherine’s shout outs go to her backpacking friends Elizabeth and Sparky & Dawn @muttsbelove, Kayla and Bo, Sadie, & Nash @misterbo619, and @jennyinthewild, her friend and dog gear color advisor Jen and Tybee @tybeetotherescue, and small businesses like Rachel @whyld_river, @muttruk, and of course @groundbird_gear.

Thanks for listening!