2008 Season Dog Yard Clean-Up

What season is it, anyway?

Dog yard cleaned up

Barrels on top of axles

Flooded dog sled trail

A chance encounter on the Gunflint Trail

Well, the lawn chairs are out on the patio at Gunflint Lodge beckoning summer, however winter isn't cooperating. There is still a good 12-18 inches of ice in the middle of Gunflint Lake. The shore ice is slowly melting and the trees that were sunk in the lake ice to tie down our sled dog teams prior to our lake adventures with clients, are now beginning to tip.

After trees were planted for the Gunflint Green Up weekend, I took the opportunity to do some final dog yard clean-up. The chains needed to be removed from the axles so as not to rust, the straw needed to be cleaned out of the dog houses and the houses were then tipped over on top of the axles to keep moisture from sitting in them over the next few seasons.

The trail out of the dog yard now completely flooded from the thaw, is only affecting two dog circles which is a nice thing to know in case we find ourselves up north during the thaw at some point. The musher shack, on the other hand, would not be functional during the spring thaw as it has a moat surrounding it that is filled with water.

The weekend was a productive one. It felt good to feel the sun on my face all day long again. Since arriving back to Oake Lake, many days are spent working on the computer inside. Although confining and undesirable, this is a necessary "evil" to support the sled dogs and the passion. The trade off is worth it.