A dog doesn't have to be huge to carry his own pack. Small dogs need less food after all...

Were I to get a dog, I would definitely get one that would go hiking with me. I would probably rescue a Jindo - they are not for everyone, they are very smart and require a lot of attention, but I think that a Jindo's personality would be a good match for me. The difficulty would be that some of my favorite places to go prohibit dogs.