New Found Fall Training Trails

Warm but happy dogs

Ah, yes! Another puddle.

We and some of the dogs wore bright orange as deer hunting season was in full swing. There are few deer in this area this time of year so needless to say, we ran into no hunters along the way.

Where a spring runs over the forest road.

I saved this huge puddle just for Tuloon. Being the princess that she is, she doesn't like getting her feet wet. Well, this is required at times and this was the perfect spot to reinforce this point. She gently tip toed around every other puddle until we got to this one. No way around it! So we sat in it for 15 minutes until she stopped fidgeting and let go of her concerns about getting damp.

Woofer leans into the harness even while at rest.

Sweet Pea takes a moment to enjoy the scenery.

Beautiful!

The Points Unknown sled dogs have worked their way up to 8 mile training runs. With the start-and- stop early on in the fall season due to warm weather, it has taken us longer than hoped to move our way up in distance. Either way, we're in this for the dogs, the scenery, the adventure and for just spending our time in the company of our dogs and the miles don't necessarily matter. As long as they are fit enough to lead us into the wilderness on any of the adventures we hope to do throughout the season, that's all we need to be concerned about. And we are on track.

Our newly found northwoods training trails are a welcome change to the fall training trails our home base location in Watertown provides us. An old railroad bed trail with the adjacent horse trail that weaves in and out of the main trail is excellent for easy early season training and for "gee/haw" training. In years past, we've had to wait for the snow to fly to give the dogs a better work out on our winter northwoods trails. These trails are rolling and windy narrow bush trails with many steep ascends and corresponding descents, not at all suitable for fall training due to the great numbers of boulders and swamps along the way. These winter trails are challenging in another way. The lakes, either in Watertown or up north, once frozen and covered with a deep enough layer of snow to provide safe stops and hook downs, provide yet another bit of variety in training. Now, with our new discovery, we'll be able to experience some early season variety.