Trail Grooming

The "enchanted forest" trail

Beautiful section of the trail

Grooming the trail. Gunflint Lake in the background.

A foggy day on the lake

After hearing from the local search and rescue authority that the lake ice was safe, Liz and I shot out on Gunflint Lake on the snowmobile a few days ago to check the conditions. We were warned of the possibility of deep slush so it was necessary to keep the speed up to avoid becoming stuck, creating a very difficult situation as the slush quickly freezes the snowmobile in place.

We did find slush but conditions were not quite as bad as we had anticipated. The slushy spots in the middle of the lake appeared to have frozen over, making a nice crusty top.

Lake ice conditions were again tested the afternoon after our slush check and we were all astonished to find out that in some places the thickness of the ice had actually decreased, leaving us all wondering what mother nature has in play. The lake will not be approved for our client adventures until we can be certain this new condition has reversed and more solid inches of good ice are built up. Having had a few inches of snow the other day, coupled with high winds, we now have mounds of snow on the lake creating insulation. This condition doesn't lend itself to ice build-up without extended periods of temps well below zero. Thankfully, below zero temps have been abundant.

After having had a warm up a few days ago, into the upper 30s, then a dip below zero and a few inches of snow, our established wooded trails are in very good condition. An immediate grooming with the snowmobile with groomer in tow after the snowfall made this trail ready for smooth and fast runs on our fully booked New Year's Eve day schedule.

Training Runs

Training run at the bottom of the "chute".

The "enchanted forest" portion of the trail

Up one of the many hills, with Gunflint Lake and Canada in the back drop

Neil and his very first mushing experience with the trusty Phoenix in lead. McKenzie and Zodiak provided support in wheel position.

Four teams went out on Sunday, December 21st. Our objective was to test the trails before our first client adventure and to get our trainees' feet wet, so to speak. In the morning, both Helen and Neil got their first introduction to the sled behind the snowmobile so they could get an idea of how to handle the sled before dogs were introduced. That afternoon, dogs were added to each sled and off we all went. I was amazed at how both Neil and Helen took so naturally to the sled.

Catching Up!

First clients of the season

As luck would have it, the day after Christmas the wifi system miraculously began working and we are now fully "connected" with the outside world again.

After a week of trail establishment, enhancement and maintenance, we hosted our first guests on Monday, December 22nd. Last year's calendar indicates we were not able to begin our full trail adventures until January so we are a couple weeks ahead due to the snow storm that delayed our arrival. If only it would have been the "right" kind of snow, then all of our trails may be open for use, including the new trail we and lodge guests cut during a November fall clean-up weekend. The snow storm provided a nice layer of light and fluffy snow that doesn't lend itself to sculpting and packing.

Winter trail cutting is an interesting activity with unexpected surprises that only show themselves when the snow falls. As it turns out, there is a portion of this trail that we deemed impassable with clients due to the safety issues that arose after our first test dog sled run last week. When things slow down a bit we will be digging deeper into finding a solution for this section of the trail so it can be added to our adventure offerings. Until then, safety remains one of our goals and it will remain closed until we have the time, man power and snow available to make some upgrades.

Introductions; Sandy Schwartz

Sandy Schwartz and the Good Dog Outfitters team live and train in the La Plata Mountains near Mancos, Colorado. Sandy was introduced to dog sledding in 2003 by Linda Newman, who also helped Sandy acquire her first sled dogs. In 2005, Sandy, husband Mark, and the team moved to Colorado where Good Dog Outfitters was created to introduce friends and families to the joys of dog-powered sports. Sandy most enjoys driving the sled down snowy trails in the Colorado back country.

In her spare time, she skis, teaches Pilates, and maintains websites.

Sandy will be traveling to northern Minnesota a couple times over the winter season to assist Points Unknown with dog mushing adventures at Gunflint Lodge.

Introductions; Hailey Quanbeck

Hailey Quanbeck, 15, has always had a passion for animals and the outdoors. Her household consists of a dog, cat, parrot, guinea pigs, and numerous fish. She loves being out in “the middle of nowhere” with not a building for miles. However, this is very difficult to accomplish when living in the City of Minneapolis and being unable to drive. She had some occasional escapes, such as annual adventure trips into the Boundary Waters, and Isle Royale through YMCA Camp Menogyn (summer 2008, she will be participating in a 21-day backpacking in Yellowstone). But these occasional escapes were not enough, and she wanted something more. Something more came, when August 2005, she met Linda, owner of Points Unknown Kennel, at a Becoming and Outdoors Woman family event. While exploring various other stations at this event, she could not help but return over and over again to the sled dogs. Linda invited her to come out and visit her sometime, the visit occurred, and the visits have continued. Now whenever she has a free weekend, she will visit Linda and the dogs. During the winter, it is more difficult to visit Linda since she is then 6 hours away at Gunflint Lodge, instead of 40 minutes. However she will be helping with the dogs for December 26- January 2, and hopefully will find other times to come and help as the winter continues.

Hailey is a natural when it comes to working with the sled dogs and spending time safely in the remote northwoods. She is calm and assertive with the dogs and always uses common sense and good judgment.

Introductions; Helen Thorgalsen

Helen joins us, she says, during her "mid life crisis/adventure!" She spent the fall at North Wapiti Kennel in Canada where she got her first dog handling and kennel experience. To further enhance her sled dog experience, she has come to work for Points Unknown as a dog handler/musher.

Helen hails from Kennebunk, Maine and has also been living in Northern Vermont most recently. She has two daughters in college and a little Bichon/Poodle house doge who is waiting patiently for her to come home from her adventure in northern Minnesota.

Taking to dog mushing quickly, Helen began running her own small teams within a week of her arrival. She has helped organize various aspects of the kennel routine, making the daily routine run more smoothly. The excellent care she gives the dogs and the hard work she is putting into learning to be a musher for client adventures is appreciated beyond words.

Introductions; Melanie Rodriguez

Melanie is an 18-year-old high school senior from Chanhassen, MN.
She has been an animal lover her whole life and is especially fond of dogs,
cats and horses. She enjoys working with animals and is a kennel
attendant ata veterinary clinic. She aspires to be a companion animal
veterinarian and plans to major in animal science in college. There
is a special place in her heart for shelter dogs and cats and she loves
volunteering at a local animal shelter. She also enjoys canicross
hiking with her Siberian Husky,Annie, cross country running,
and spending time outdoors.

Melanie has been assisting with kennel duties at Points Unknown
kennel for over three years and ran her first team of sled dogs
last season. She loves photography and many of her photos have
appeared on the Points Unknown website, blog and recently, one was
printed as a postcard.