Points Unknown; Dog-Based Adventures: 2015

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Partnership with Naniboujou Lodge

We couldn't be happier to have a local partnership on a dog sledding weekend event with our friends and neighbors at Naniboujou Lodge.! Please click here to visit their site and for more details.

Sisters on the Fly Partnership

We are excited to announce our partnership with Sisters on the Fly, the largest outdoor women's adventure group in the United States, on a Points Unknown women's winter dog sledding adventure! Please click here for details.

INTRODUCTIONS: 2015-2016 Handlers

Please Help us Welcome Hannah and Lian!

Hannah Hughes

Hannah grew up in Wyoming MN with 6 siblings and two family dogs. She’s the middle child and an identical twin. Both her parents grew up around Duluth and she’s spent much of her life in Minnesota’s northland, vacationing at her family cabin.

Her interest in sled dogs and wolves started very early in life and she applied that interest by volunteering her time at Carlos Avery Nature Center in Forest Lake, MN.

Working at a dog groomer business gave her some hands-on experience in dog bathing, toe nail clipping, and getting to know all different kinds of dogs. Enjoying time with her own dog, she taught him to bikejor and skijor. All of this will come in handy when working with the Points Unknown sled dogs.

Earlier in the year, Hannah brought her family up to Points Unknown for a dog sledding experience and she was hooked. She just had to learn more and set out to make that happen for herself when, during her adventure with Points Unknown, she handed us her resume! Now that’s going out and getting what you want.

Lian Law

Lian’s love for traveling and the outdoors started at an early age. Her father’s work for the National Park Service and her mother’s work for an international human rights organization gave her both an appreciation for nature and an insatiable need to travel. Since then, she hasn’t stopped moving.

Shortly after graduating from the University of Rochester with a degree in film and media studies, Lian began her seasonal work lifestyle. She spent six months working at Denali National Park with the Student Conservation Association as a media intern. During her free time, she participated in the volunteer dog walking program. The only National Park with working sled dogs, the kennel relies heavily on seasonal workers to help exercise the dogs during the summer. She quickly fell in love with her dog for the season Tephra and hopes to make it back to her someday.

After departing Alaska, she headed for the desert and spent six months working at Joshua Tree National Park. Her love for the outdoors and National Parks has taken her all over the country. She has hiked extensively, getting out into the wilderness and backcountry whenever she could. She has certifications in First Aid, ATV safety, and several scuba diving certificates. Lian is always looking to learn something new, whether it is swing dancing, underwater photography, aerial silks or mushing dogs.

Having grown up with dogs all her life and spent time volunteering with Denali Kennels, she is excited that her next big adventure will be with Points Unknown.

Friday, May 15, 2015

Women's Mushing Adventure Dates

Announcing the 2016 dates for our Points Unknown Women's Winter Adventure and for our Advanced Women's Adventure! Please visit this link for details.

Saturday, January 3, 2015

Terra and Griffin Arrived!

Swanny and Trish flew with the puppies all the way from Alaska. Here, Swanny poses with the proud Papa, Phoenix.

Trish did a wonderful job at raising the pups

Linda with her new babies, Griffin and Terra

Fun harness training begins early on. Here's Griffin looking cute in his over sized harness

Terra is such a precious, sweet girl

Even at such a young age, these puppies know how to pull!

Great aunt Zala keeps a close eye on the puppies

Terra and Griffin arrived just before Thanksgiving and with the arrival of the new puppies ON Thanksgiving, I've not had a chance to announce their arrival!

Terra, Griffin and their four litter mates are a result of the first ever frozen surgical artificial insemination in our Hedlund Husky Preservation Project. In simple terms, we flew frozen Phoenix over to Alaska and voila! Chetan, the dam of the puppies, is from our Topa/Oken 2011 litter and lives with Stardancer Historical Freight Dog Kennels in Two Rivers, Alaska. We thought that Phoenix and she would make a perfect match for the perpetuation of the deep Hedlund line and indeed they did!

Terra is a precious doll that has all of the wonderful Hedlund qualities we seek. She's also a little tomboy that won't be stepped on by her much bigger brother. Griffin is as smart as a whip and kind of a stinker, always testing boundaries. He's also a big sweetheart and we love them both dearly. Phoenix seemed to know from the start that these two were his kids and he keeps a watchful eye over them, always playing and teaching.

If you'd like to see regular updates on the puppies and our adventures at Points Unknown, please visit our Facebook page by clicking here.