Another Puppy Run

Uncle Klaus with Miss Zala(or Miss Hollywood as some would say)

Zodiak with Uncle Klaus. His feet are bigger than Klaus'!

Klaus and Zodi

Oken and Aunt Sweet Pea

All pups are where they should be. Zodi is i n lead with Klaus.

Oken and Uncle Klaus

Klaus and Oken

Zodi with Aunt Sweet Pea. He's about as tall as she is!

The view before the descent into the dog yard.

Zala next to mom, Tuloon

Zala is very much like Tuloon

Zala

Time for a nap after the run

The day was slow for tours at Gunflint Lodge so I took this opportunity to take the Tuloon/Bazil puppies, who are now 5 months old, out on their third puppy run.

This time they each ran next to an adult, Klaus, Sweet Pea or Tuloon, and had a turn at each position during our very short one mile run. I began with Zala in lead with Klaus. She was quite something in lead. Once hooked up, she stood next to Klaus patiently waiting for take-off. When I gave the command, off she went, keeping the tug line tight. When I noticed her attention span dwindling, I stopped and moved her back to point and placed Zodiak in lead. He did just as well; tug tight and no looking back.

Finally it was Oken's turn so he went from wheel position where he ran next to Aunt Sweet Pea, to lead, next to Uncle Klaus. He was placed initially next to Sweet Pea based on the results of the last puppy run. He was the one who didn't seem to be able to stay on his own side of the gang line. I knew that Sweet Pea wouldn't allow this behavior and would give him a few gang line etiquette tips. She did just that because Oken stayed completely on his side while next to her. When he was put up in lead, he promptly went under Klaus' legs to get to the other side. After a brief lesson from me and a growl from Klaus, he stayed on his side and ran in lead on the return trip. He was a bit more distracted than the other two pups but, to me, this means very little at this age. We will just have to wait to see how they all progress as they mature. If anything, how they did today gives me a training direction for each of them.

Back on the Sled

Waiting patiently on the lake for our guests to arrive

11' freight sled

Team of six freight dogs can easily pull the musher and two clients in the sled, on the lake.

At the start. Icoa and Ilu in wheel with Phoenix and Sweet Pea in point

The "bug" that I and half of the Gunflint Lodge staff had been sick with for the past few weeks is now gone. I and the other Points Unknown mushers have spent the time since the PUWWA2008 with a booked schedule of adventures with lodge guests. President's Day weekend was a busy weekend and now after two days of rest for both mushers and dogs, Helen and I were on the lake today for our Gunflint Lake Experience with four guests.

The DNR Becoming and Outdoors Women Winter Event is scheduled for the first weekend in March. I will be attending this event while Helen and Erik run the Winter Tracks Festival dog mushing events at the lodge with the help of Don who will be returning with his dogs for the festivities. The following weekend, which is the second weekend in March, Gunflint Lodge will be hosting the PUWWA2008 (Points Unknown Women's Winter Adventure) at Gunflint Lodge. This puts us almost to the middle of March. Lets hope the snow and cold weather stick around until April 1st! It will be sad to see this dog mushing season end.

Dog Pictures From the Weekend

Mascot Copper with Karen

Zala and Oken

Me and Zodi

Zala - of course dogs are allowed on the couch!

Frankie - Chris, my handler's dog

Lily - Chris, my handler's dog

Zodi

Oken and Zala

Oken

Zodiak

Ilu

Tuloon

Tukisi and Isis

Zodi and Mom, Tuloon

Sweet Pea

Sweet Pea and Journey

Oken

Phoenix

Icoa

On the picket line

Phoenix and Oken

Zala and Grandpa, Zulu

Klaus

Journey

PUWWA2008 February Pictures

Karen, Terry and Team

Peg, Winnie and Team

Winnie, Peg and Team

Peg and Ilu

Winnie and the view from the cabin deck

Karen and Zulu

Winnie and Team

Karen and Team

Scott the chef and Team

Scott with Blue watching to make sure it was done right

Instructor Karen and team in tent

Sheep were flying in the cabin on this night!(little yellow stuffed sheep)

Scott and Zodi

Peg and Zodi

Puppy Run!

Canicross work earlier in the week

Zodiak at his first hook-up

The three 4 1/2 month old Tuloon/Bazil pups at their first hook-up

Tuloon and 8 1/2 month old Journey in lead

A short break on a hill

Once back at the truck

Zala

Oken and Zodi

Zodiak is already bigger than Tuloon!

Puppy butt shots on the trail

2/13/08

Being too stricken by the sinus infection, on the way into the cabin prior to the Women’s Adventure, I opted to make three trips on the snowmobile to bring each of the Tuloon/Bazil pups rather than walk them each the mile. Feeling a bit better on the way out of the cabin the following Monday, I was up for an adventure.

I put Tuloon and 8 ½ month old Journey up in lead behind a small empty sled. I then harnessed the three 4 ½ old pups. I put Zala and Oken behind the leaders and Zodiak in wheel by himself. Even though they had been harnessed and had been walking in front of me with a leash attached to the harness for a couple of weeks now, I fully expected some tangles, biting at lines and general chaos to ensue. Those pups just stood there, waiting, with tug lines tight. I pulled my quick release and tied it around my handlebars then pulled my hook. Off we went! I had planned on taking the mile out to the truck as slow as possible, fully expecting to walk and stop a lot to deal with puppy issues. There was no stopping. Those pups put their noses to the ground and pulled. Just pulled. No goofing around. What a treat!

The pups are still too young to do much more than a mile with an empty sled and older dogs in the team to help pull the load. They’ll get a few more chances this winter to run in a small team but mostly, they’ll just be puppies.

PUWWA2008 - February Adventure

Getting to know Ilu

Running a five dog team

Running a two dog team on the first afternoon

Balance training on the sled without dogs

The view below from the cabin deck

A snowshoe hike in the morning

Off they go!

Puppy time in the evening

Cabin Talk

More Puppies!

2/13/08

Little did I know it at the time, but I would be spending the entire Points Unknown Women’s Winter Adventure suffering and recovering from a sinus infection. Thank goodness for the Points Unknown crew. If it were not for Karen DeBoise, patient teacher and mushing role model who took over the bulk of the teaching, Scott Pampuch, chef extraordinaire, snowmobile driver and$$ substitute teacher and Chris Mueller, the dedicated dog handler, the adventure could not have taken place. Many sincere thanks to all!!

The women arrived on Thursday afternoon. Two were traveling from South Carolina, one from Virginia and the last from Minnesota. Karen greeted them with a dog team to transport their gear while they tested their new snowshoes on the approximate mile hike into the cabin. Temps were in the mid 20s, making it easy to be outside, even for those from the southern states.

By the end of the weekend, our four participants would be running their own team of five traditional freight style sled dogs with a partner in the sled. The first morning consisted of the introduction to the dogs and sled, balance training on the sled without the dogs, proper use of the snow hook and brake and techniques for keeping the gang line tight. That afternoon the ladies applied their morning training when they ran a two to three dog team around a loop assisted by the other participants and the Points Unknown Crew. The next morning allowed for free time to roam around the woods on snowshoe, and to mentally prepare for the afternoon of running a five dog team with a partner in the sled.

Our guests ran their five dog teams as though they had been running dogs all winter. All runs went off without a hitch. Everyone used the knowledge they gained the day before and had extremely successful runs.

On Sunday we had planned to take it a step further and have our participants run a three dog team solo, assisted only at take-off and upon arrival at the end of the trail. Instead, temps of 20 below zero F with wind chills of between 50 and 60 below zero kept us inside, safe from the dangerous and blustery weather. Our southern friends got to see and feel what a real Minnesota winter is like!

The Tuloon/Bazil puppies, now 4 ½ months old, came into the cabin for socialization every evening as we awaited our gourmet dinner prepared by chef Scott Pampuch of Corner Table Restaurant in Minneapolis, MN. After dinner was usually a short hike to view the impressively bright stars and to look for northern lights. One evening, we were surprised by the howl of wolves in the distance. The dogs were too as all 20 of them they howled back in an eery harmony.

Karen spent the nights, even at 20 below zero, with her five dog team, all cuddled up in a tent. Each dog had his/her own sleeping bag and a propane heater was used to warm the air for the six pack when temps dipped below what is a typical Illinois night. Scott and Chris also braved the cold in a tent while the rest of us spent nights in the cozy and sometimes overly warm log cabin. The Points Unknown sled dogs are used to these temps and would have been too warm in the cabin…….. or a tent. I did, however, put the pups in crates filled with straw the first 20 below night to keep them out of the wind. The following night, when the wind died down, those pups were perfectly comfortable staying out on the picket with the adults, with a nice nest of straw beneath them.

On Sunday afternoon, when the winds died down and the temp went up to almost 10 below zero, one final adventure was had as those who had never been on a snowmobile got a ride out to their trucks. All vehicles started without a problem which had been a concern with these low temps. With packed up and warmed vehicles, everyone drove away, hopefully with a little more respect for the wilderness and the simplicity of just being in it, as well as a new love for and understanding of our traditional sled dogs and how to work with them. It was so nice to have met everyone.

Many thanks again to the Points Unknown crew for making this trip happen and doing such a wonderful job!

Help Has Arrived!

2/3/08

Don Deckert of Tundra Star Siberians arrived at the Gunflint Lodge this morning. He will be the third musher at the lodge while I am away for the next week at the Points Unknown Women’s Winter Adventure 2008. Don works with Adopt-A-Husky and has seven Siberian Huskies that are what he calls “foster failures”. These are dogs he intended to foster until they were adopted but he fell in love with each and they ended up staying. He has made quite a cohesive and powerful sled dog team out of this part time couch potato/house dog bunch.

2/13/08

Don did an excellent job with clients over the past week. He was involved with a Gunflint Highlands run and two Gunflint Lake Experiences, one of which ended prematurely when a ground blizzard swept the lake, making even seeing the dogs difficult. Both teams, mushers and clients made it back safely and had a truly unique adventure.

2/3/08

Karen DeBoise also arrived at the lodge today with her five dog Siberian Husky “foster failure” team. Karen will play a big role in the Points Unknown Women’s Winter Adventure off the Arrowhead Trail north of Grand Marais, MN. We depart to prepare for this adventure Tuesday morning.

Temperature Extremes, Wolves and Scenery

Medium size wolf tracks on our dog sled trail.

The wolf went in and out on his same track.

One of the many snowscapes created over night on Gunflint Lake

Temps have been erratic lately. Monday, January 28^th it was in the high 30s. The Points Unknown Mushers arrived at Trail Center on the Gunflint Trail, which was the halfway point for the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon on that day, to watch the teams come through. For hours, it poured down rain. Highways were closed due to ice rink conditions and as a result, some of the mushers’ handler’s were unable to make it to this check point, leaving them unassisted.

We offered to help where we could while we waited for the sand and salt trucks to make their way up the Gunflint Trail which would allow us to return safely to the lodge. After waiting several hours we found out that the trucks planned to turn around at Trail Center and return to Grand Marais, leaving our northern route completely unattended. After hours of standing in the rain, we decided to head back to the lodge. Since the rain had continued for so long, the once icy roads heading north were now more slushy with a lot of ponding water. We kept our speed down and did return safely 15 miles way, to the lodge, however it did take us almost an hour.

Within the next couple of days, temps plummeted to 30 below zero F with wind chills dangerously low at 50 degrees below zero. These temps, just after the rain, did a number on our dog sledding trails. Thankfully, we didn’t get as much rain as they did further down the Gunflint Trail so most of our snow was intact, however we did get a nice layer of ice over the snow.

Helen and I spent the next day, with temps up from the 30 below mark but still below zero, grooming the trails with the snowmobile and groomer to break up some of the ice and move some of the light and fluffy snow around that had fallen during the night.

Fresh wolf tracks were found on our Highlands Trail. While exciting to see, the tracks are also concerning considering how close to the dog yard this wolf had ventured.

Heading out onto Gunflint Lake to check conditions and to break up a new snowmobile track for the dogs, we found the artwork completed by the wind over night. Numerous snowscapes blotched the wind-blown and hard-packed lake surface. In the distance, we were lucky enough to see a black wolf running onto the lake, then quickly off again once the snow machine was spotted.