Breaking Trail/Exploration

This trip was all about exploration and seeing how much trouble we could get into. With this team anything we got into I found we could easily get out of...

Ive decided this year not to take some dogs who are very hard for me to be around when we are stopped. Buddy is one of those...

He is getting on in years and is slowing down anyway so its easier for me to justify leaving him behind. The problem with labs, and lab crosses, is that they bark, and bark, and bark... when they are working they are very quiet but when we are stopped to fix a tangle, take a turn or camp they tend to bark non-stop. Its amazing how one dog can make a trouble spot seem like the end of the world if they cant be quiet and let their musher think.

Some Alaskan Huskies can be this way too but fortunately the ones I have in my team were very easy to train out of that behavior. So this year our time on the trail is turning out to be very pleasant and quiet! : )

On this trip we forged a new path trying to discover an old trail that many have forgotten about.
Its clear on the map that its there but finding it is another quite another matter.

We had quite a few turn arounds, some really boggy areas and stumbled upon another trail that was a real sled buster! That path was horrible but the dogs forged through as well as I, angling the sled to ride sideways on the trees. Not the best maneuver, but it helped keep it from damage and reduced a lot of jarring on the dogs if I let the brush bow get jammed time and time again.

Eight dogs were on the line at the start of our run (Hermes and Thani loose), after a few miles Thani was hooked in and Griffin taken out. A mile or so more and Hermes was put in. When we hit the new trail I had to slim everyone down and run four dogs single file. The dogs in single file varied as well as the number. At one point I only had two dogs pulling us out around the tight switch backs through the trees.

Ichabod pulled his weight and then some. He was the only one attached to the sled when I wrestled with it so we could turn around for the third time after coming upon another dead end. As I was getting the lines straight the sled started jerking and moving! I looked up and there was Ichabod taking the turn around command without direction and yanking with all his might (see photo) to get the sled back in the other direction!

I don't normally let them bang on their harnesses like that but his timing was so funny, and productive, that I just laughed and let him help.

Most times I will only let the dogs Ive raised and can trust off the line but this time I decided to take a chance with the others and see what happened. Reba and Salmon have always showed signs of being calm and collected but have never been loose out on the trail. I was so caught up in our little mess that I was forced not to pay too much attention to where any of the loose dogs were and to trust that they would all be fine.

When I was ready to hook them back in I saw Reba right away but no Salmon. For a moment I had a bit of a panic until I looked behind me and realized she had been at my feet following me the entire time!

It was a very good feeling to know that I could unhook all the dogs in the team if we came into trouble and that they would be ready to get back to work as soon as they were needed.

The pups learned a few more lessons out there. Boreas perfected the art of hanging himself up by his neckline on trees as they went past and how to back up and get out of it on his own. He had a few times where he needed assistance but most of the time he would back himself up and get around it. Thani also learned about rough trail and how not to give up even when hidden holes were grabbing at his feet over and over tripping him up.

The boys also learned how to rest and I got to play with fire a bit when we came back on the main trail to snack the dogs, myself and to make a bit of drinking water. Right as we were packing up to leave two snowmachiners came up behind and chatted for a bit. Most of the dogs were lined out and acting very well with only a few warning barks from the big boys like Boreas and Remus.

Turns out that the snowmachiner was a dog musher as well, has been running our trails since last year and was out packing down the way for his own team. I had been wondering who the mysterious sled tracks had been last year since only a handful of us work these trails by dog team.

He recognized Griffin resting on the side of the trail from his 'fame' on the note cards I produce for the local companies around here. It was pretty funny to be noticed like that out on a quiet trail working my life's dream.

The musher/snowmachiner shared many trail tips with me and planted a few seeds in my brain for our future adventures.

The longer we talked the more the dogs got anxious but all remained quiet and content with only Juno trying to turn the team around slightly to find out what was going on. By the time we were ready to leave my team was still on their feet and still very quiet. I loaded up Gaea in the sled, pulled my snub line and they were off quiet and fast... an impressive sight and testament to their wonderful calm manners.

I had my GPS with me and logged 11 miles for the day with a max speed of 19.8 mph! I found it quite comical that our run/rest time was about the same, 2 hours of run time and 2 hours of rest (which was more like work!)... it was a hard, hard trip but well worth the exertion...