[Britster]

Jackson goes hiking all the time with me. He is a bigger boy, at 17lbs or so, but any healthy dog no matter the size can go hiking. I know 6lb Papillons and 4lb Chihuahuas that go with their owners all the time. And like you said, it doesn't sound like what you're doing is going to be super strenuous anyway.

I usually carry a backpack with a portable water bowl (I like the popware ones, pupperware, or something?), a big bottle of water, some treats, an extra leash, I usually bring a regular 6ft and a retractable in case I want him to have a little more room. Poop bags.

Ummmm, I think that's about it for us, unless I am missing something. We don't do booties or anything. He climbs on rocks, etc, and never has issue, but we've never gone to an extremely rocky place either yet.

Cold in September? I doubt it. We've been hiking in the dead of winter when it was like 25 degrees F one day and I had a jacket on Jackson but he seemed to get warm, so I ended up taking it off. When you're moving a lot, and walking at a decent pace, he seems to stay warm enough, and he's cut short all year round.