Are these dogs ready to run or not?
Friday, March 4, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Mushing after the lunch break
We all had a great shore lunch, lots of hot drinks and not so gourmet food that tasted wonderful. The dogs had a nice nap and stayed calm while we ate. Oh except for Mawson our one lead dog and another teams lead dog named Curly. Both had to be separated and sent to their own corners for causing mischief. The big challenge after lunch was to turn the sleds around because we needed to return to camp on a trail that was behind us. Turning sleds is easy, turning the dogs attached is tough. Our sled was the last in so the first back out and was easy to turn. Of course I was kneeling on the lake with Mawson in a bear hug to keep him from devouring Ramona during the wait. I must have been distracted for a second, before I know it Mawson is turning around, dragging Ramona with him and heading back up the trail, I'm scrambling after him. Before I know it, our second position dog, Hobbs, is on top of Mawson sounding wicked. Ramona gets after both of them and it's all I can do to drag about 150 pounds of dogs back to the front again. Dam, these dogs are strong!! We finally get most of the sleds turned enough so Vera and I head out into the lake and stop for the rest to line up behind us. Might be fun at the front for a while. Whoa! here comes two more sleds, mostly out of control, drag brakes on fully and the mushers yelling WHOA, WHOA to no avail. My dogs were good for the moment and I remembered what the guides told us the first day; Don't let another sled pass. I jumped over to the one passing us and grabbed the lead dogs and slowed them down until the guide told me to just let them go and get by so no fights would break out between teams that would be side to side. All right, so now we are fourth in line. It's not a bike race so it really doesn't matter who's in first so off we all finally go.
Most of the trails are dog sled only, with the woods trails ranging from easy and flat to twisted and steep up and down. We are all getting better at sled handing, jumping off and pushing on steep uphills or soft snow sections. The sleds have handles with built in brush bars for your hands which is good because there are plenty of times we used the trees and bumpers to bounce us back to the middle of a trail. Always keep your hands inside and watch for some very low fallen trees. The rest of the trip back to the lodge went well. We did have to stop close to the end and wait for a day trip group to clear off the trail ahead of us. We beat them to the lunch camp fire pit but they got back to the lodge before us. By now the dogs can sense they are close to the kennels so all the teams are howling and creating more of the daily chaos. We waited a long time, getting on the move just in time I think. Ready, HIKE and the teams are sprinting again, heading up a steep hill and then down a zig zag trail and eventually to the lake at the lodge. The first team goes down the hill, sharp off camber left turn, both bodies get tossed from the sled, LOOSE SLED! More extra work for the guides. Vera and I get ready, our dogs are just wild and hit the same turn, I fly off the sled to the right as the dogs hit the curve, the sled picks up speed and spits Vera out the other side, LOOSE SLED! Damn, work extra work for John again. Both sleds were captured and all the sleds came to rest at the lake edge waiting to go up the trail I missed this morning and then finish the day. One by one we make it up the short trail and tie off the sleds so we can unchain the dogs and kennel them up. Off with their harnesses and then food and water for all their hard work. Quiet falls over the kennel at last.
Most of the trails are dog sled only, with the woods trails ranging from easy and flat to twisted and steep up and down. We are all getting better at sled handing, jumping off and pushing on steep uphills or soft snow sections. The sleds have handles with built in brush bars for your hands which is good because there are plenty of times we used the trees and bumpers to bounce us back to the middle of a trail. Always keep your hands inside and watch for some very low fallen trees. The rest of the trip back to the lodge went well. We did have to stop close to the end and wait for a day trip group to clear off the trail ahead of us. We beat them to the lunch camp fire pit but they got back to the lodge before us. By now the dogs can sense they are close to the kennels so all the teams are howling and creating more of the daily chaos. We waited a long time, getting on the move just in time I think. Ready, HIKE and the teams are sprinting again, heading up a steep hill and then down a zig zag trail and eventually to the lake at the lodge. The first team goes down the hill, sharp off camber left turn, both bodies get tossed from the sled, LOOSE SLED! More extra work for the guides. Vera and I get ready, our dogs are just wild and hit the same turn, I fly off the sled to the right as the dogs hit the curve, the sled picks up speed and spits Vera out the other side, LOOSE SLED! Damn, work extra work for John again. Both sleds were captured and all the sleds came to rest at the lake edge waiting to go up the trail I missed this morning and then finish the day. One by one we make it up the short trail and tie off the sleds so we can unchain the dogs and kennel them up. Off with their harnesses and then food and water for all their hard work. Quiet falls over the kennel at last.
More mushing
We are off across the lake with a major burst of energy. It's like a group bike ride, everyone is trying to prove something right away but as the trip moves on the energy level drops to a steady pull. We stop a few times along the trail waiting for sleds to clear into woods trails, up hills and around curves. The temps are in the high teens with a lot more wind than yesterday. Over cast skies and some snow flakes mixed with shots of sun make it a great day to be on the trails. There is a lot of work to do not just relaxing on the back of a sled. Every time we stop, someone needs to go to the lead dogs and control them so they don't turn around and cause chaos. The brake man of course holds the drag brake down as hard as possible to keep the sled in place. The brake by the way is just a metal spring loaded flap with 2 long bolts hanging out the bottom. They dig into the snow and ice and create an effective means of slowing and stopping the sleds, most of the time anyhow.
Eventually we make our way to lunch camp, make a fire and dig out the food. John is busy making pizza tortilas in a big fry pan while we munch on cheese, ramen and other snacks.
Eventually we make our way to lunch camp, make a fire and dig out the food. John is busy making pizza tortilas in a big fry pan while we munch on cheese, ramen and other snacks.
Day 2, on the trails
With 5 sleds in our group, there is a lot of work to do before leaving. All the sleds need to be lined up single file and tied off to the kennel wall. If you don't tie them off the dogs will just drag the sled off down the trail without you. Then the dogs need to be harnessed and brought one at a time to the sled and chained on. All the time this is happening the dogs are barking and howling like crazy because they so desperately want to be picked for a sled. As the chain line is filled more chaos occurs with dogs growling at one another asserting their dominance. Finally the sleds are ready. The plan is to head down hill to the lake, gather again and then start the trip. One person man's the sled to the lake. I'm the 4th sled in line and we take off with a sprint, get to the turn and my lead dog goes left up and over a log that is blocking that trail instead of to the trial to the right. There was no one to follow so they just went the way they were used to go. Lucky for me all the dogs and the sled jumped the tree and made it to the lake where John the guide met us to lead the dogs around to the rest of the teams.
Alright time to get up for breakfast, more later.
Alright time to get up for breakfast, more later.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Day 2 Part. 2
And so the tale continues. The day started the same as yesterday, up at 7, put on multiple layers of warm wear and head to the dog kennel area to feed, water and clean up after the dogs. The kennel is about 2 blocks from the lodge and as you get close, the dogs hear you coming and greet you with continuous howling and barking. There is about 40 or more dogs so the noise is impressive. Once you get to the kennels, which is an outside area and each dog has a wood shelter to sleep in or stand on, they just get wild. All are large dogs, some huge and a bit intimidating, but once you get near them they become very friendly and love physical attention. They may snarl at their neighbor but always seem to cozy up for a rub. Back to the lodge for our breakfast and some casual lounging and then down to the kennels again to harness the dogs and chain them to the harness line. There are 5 sleds in our group with 5 dogs per sled staggered 2, 1 and 2 mostly. Mawson and Ramona were our 2 lead dogs again. They both pull and lead great but want to eat each other alive if they spend to much time next to each other without pulling. This means every time the sled stops, one of us has to step on the rear drag brake while the other runs up to the front and controls the lead dogs so they stay up front and don't get in a fight. Vera was the brake man and I was the one to control the dogs. I really like Mawson, he will be snarling at Ramona and then relaxed and friendly with me immediately after.
Ok, so the story will have to continue tomorrow, time to call it a day.
Ok, so the story will have to continue tomorrow, time to call it a day.
Day 2
7 hours latter we are back at the lodge.
Dog sledding, the art of controlled chaos where one moment things are peaceful and serene and the next moment is a dog fight between any number of dogs snarling and growling with bared teeth. The human role is to try and stay on the sled at all times and to break up the dog fights. Needless to say if you are afraid of dogs and shy about reeling them in when they look like they are ready to bite your face off, maybe dog sledding isn't a good choice of winter activities.
Time for short break and then more tall tales or is that tails?
Dog sledding, the art of controlled chaos where one moment things are peaceful and serene and the next moment is a dog fight between any number of dogs snarling and growling with bared teeth. The human role is to try and stay on the sled at all times and to break up the dog fights. Needless to say if you are afraid of dogs and shy about reeling them in when they look like they are ready to bite your face off, maybe dog sledding isn't a good choice of winter activities.
Time for short break and then more tall tales or is that tails?
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