Pair of cocker spaniels have climbed 90 mountains in a year

By Ellie Forbes via SWNS

A pair of adorable cocker spaniels have scaled 90 mountains in just a year - and love wild camping with their owner who gives them their own sleeping bags.

Adventure dogs Hugo, aged five, and Spencer, aged two, love running around the hillsides with their owner Hollie Jenkins, 26.

Hollie, from Edinburgh, Scotland, got into hiking during lockdown and climbed her first munro (Scotish mountain) Ben Nevis, for her 25th birthday last year.

At the time Hollie didn’t know what a munro was but she quickly caught the bug for completing them.

She has now scaled 78 unique and 12 rebagged - sometimes climbing up to seven in one weekend.

Hollie wild camps with the brown and ginger pooches and said they love having snuggles at the end of a long hike in her hammock.

The pups have their own sleeping bags for in the tent when it gets cold and lights for their collars.

They also have coats, and booties to protect their paw pads if they start to get worn or are needed in snowy conditions.

Hollie, who works in vet healthcare marketing, said: “For my 25th birthday I decided I wanted to climb Ben Nevis – at that point I didn’t even know what a munro was.

“After that I thought 'let’s do another one' and I just got the munro bagging bug and knew it was for me.

“It’s a different world when you are on top of a munro, I love it."

“I have climbed 90 in total, 78 unique ones and 12 I have done more than once.

“During lockdown my eyes were opened to hiking and I got really into it.”

The dogs wear a harness to which Hollie can attach a bungee lead – but she said the pair are free to roam around and know to come back when called on.

“I put a harness on the dogs and I wear a bungee dog lead around my waist so I can still have my hands free.

“They have black and orange coats and 80s Lycra suits that look like Spandex because the temperature can drop and it can get really cold.

“In the winter the suits help keep the snow off their fur.

“They each have a doggy sleeping bag for in the tent when it’s cold.

“They also have little booties that I take with me for when we are scrambling to protect their paw pads and they help keep the snow off their paws in the winter.

“They are really good and handle themselves so well."

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“We have figured each other out now, I let them roam and run around themselves, but they know when I call them they have to come back.

“They love to snuggle up with me in the hammock when we stop and are always trying to get into my sleeping bag.

“They will run about the whole time nonstop but as soon as we pitch up, they know it’s time to chill out.

“It took time to build up their fitness.

“Day-to-day now our normal half an hour to an hour walks are not really enough anymore.

“They know as soon as they see the camping gear coming out that we are off.”

Hollie said she doesn’t get bored scaling the munros alone and that the dogs provide endless entertainment.

She gained more than 100,000 followers on her Instagram page in just a year which documents their adventures and gives other people advice on hiking with dogs.

Hollie said: “I feel safe wild camping with the dogs, it’s not something I have ever really worried about.

“Most of the time at the summit I am the only person around and when we camp at ground level they will bark when someone walks past the tent.

“I like being out by myself and just having time to think – it’s never boring with the dogs."

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