Beginning a New Era and Lessons Learned

As we enter Loon Lake

Helen's team on Loon Lake

Our destination at the beginning of Bridle Falls

Our return

Charred remains of the forest after the Ham Lake wildfire

Our return on the lake

Rocky outcroppings after leaving the lake

The swamp portion of our route

Two tired leaders

One really tired point dog with smiley Sweet Pea who is not even winded

1/6/08

Temps were in the low 30s. It was foggy and there were periods of light, wet snow.

Today’s run was of great significance for me and my team. It was the very first run with the dogs on new trails that did not include Zulu. I had specifically chosen to leave Zulu behind for fear of him tripping and being involved in a tangle coming down the steep hills leading back to the dog yard as he did previously. At 11 years old, this magnificent leader of mine is not as spry as he used to be and the arthritis in his ankles is of great concern to me when taking him out on challenging trails. I really gave no thought to the significance of my decision to leave Zulu behind on this run until out on the trail, dealing with the challenges my new leaders were creating for us.

The Bridle Falls run was an 18 mile run that lasted roughly 4 hours (this included the mishaps described below and breaks) so it gave me much time for reflection. This run has an extreme diversity of terrain and a wide range of trail conditions, making it exciting for the dogs and musher alike. The beauty found along this route is really only described best in pictures and then pictures still lack greatly from actually being there to combine all senses. Smell the fresh air. Feel the falling snow on your face. Hear the babbling of the creek water under the ice as it makes its way to the falls and then on down to Gunflint Lake. Listen to the swishing of the runners as they glide over the thin layer of snow on the lake. Feel the movement of the sled. It becomes an extension of the body as you move with it down the trail.

Klaus and Tuloon were my leaders. Phoenix and Sweet Pea were in point position. Ilu and Icoa were in wheel. As it turns out, this was way too much power for a nearly empty sled. Just to paint the picture; I took these 6 dogs on a run with two clients in the sled. The combined weight of clients, me and sled was around 470lb. Not a lot of weight for a young freight dog team, you say? Add to this, three steep hills, one of which has an approximate 40 degree angle to it. Well, the result was that I didn’t need to get off the sled going up the hills. That is an awesome amount of dog power and I was very proud of those dogs. So on this Bridle Falls run; I took my 12 foot long freight sled with only one bale of straw for added weight. Too much power not enough weight. What this meant was that I would have my foot on my heavy duty steel brake the majority of the time and at the end of the run, would have fatigued muscles from the excessive “manhandling” of the sled to keep it under control. Lesson learned for next time.

The run begins from the dog yard and climbs up to one of the highest peaks in the area. From there, it winds through the woods on a narrow trail that is fairly level with some minor hills. Dropping abruptly down into a swampy area for a short time, we then pop right back up onto an area of similar elevation to our previous trail prior to the swamp descent and the trail begins to get even narrower. This trail leads us to a ski trail intersection and the desire was to take a “Haw” or left onto this trail. This is where the first “mishap” took place when my leaders decided they would rather go to the right and completely ignore my “haw” command. This reminded me that Zulu was not in the team and that I really must need to do an awful lot more work on these new leaders. Zulu would take commands from anywhere in the team to support the new leaders and they were apparently using him as a crutch as was I. Lesson learned but not until after we took the time to turn the teams around. Helen, a Points Unknown musher, was behind me with her team and they wanted to follow us so we both ended up heading in the wrong direction. It took nearly a half an hour to untangle, detach and then attach dogs before we were on our way again. At this time, I am making a mental note to remember to take deep breaths and act calmly around the dogs in these types of situations so as not to make it worse for myself and the dogs.

The ski trail portion of the run lasts only about a quarter of a mile then we glide over a short berm and on to a plowed boat landing road for a short period before entering the lake. On this road are high rocky cliffs that dwarfed us.

Lake conditions are not ideal. The ice is plenty safe, however there is spotty packed snow meaning there may not be an ability to hook down should the need arise. The dogs also were exposed to slush and rough bare ice where the slush had frozen solid. These are all good things to which young sled dogs should become accustomed. It was at this point of the run I reflected upon my decision to leave Zulu behind. Even though we had just gotten through the challenge of new lead dogs not understanding a command and creating an unexpected “situation” and I was sad to have left Zulu behind, I was glad for that training moment and the opportunity to have that challenge with the dogs.

The lake portion of the Bridle Falls run is approximately 4-5 miles in length, from which we hop on to a rarely used snowmobile trail that is wider than any portion of our route thus far. Up a small hill and we take a right. Or is it a left at the intersection? The trail to the right says “Border Route Trail”. I don’t quite remember from our snowmobile scouting adventure. I know that the Border Route Trail is a hiking trail and I know that it is mostly unrunnable by dog team so even though the dogs want to take the right I utter a quick “Haw” which means left. Well, just having a “haw” training moment a ways back, my dogs immediately obeyed and took the left turn. About 10 feet up the trail and….oops. Private property. Musher error. Wrong turn. Oh crap(or some other comparable word). Now what? Thankfully Helen’s team took the correct turn after she heard my response. Klaus and Tuloon were not responding to my “Gee Come” command, which means they would just gracefully turn to the right and the whole team and sled would follow and we would make our way back the way we came to catch the correct trail. They had executed this command many times in fall training. Oh well, I guess they didn’t understand and I need to do more leader training…..another moment of reflection.

So there we sit. On an incline with the trail we want to take, down the hill and around a quick corner to the left, at this point. I have no place to hook my quick release, no trees within reach and no trees within a reasonable walking distance away from the sled on which to tie out dogs to make the turn around less dicey. I sat for quite a while just thinking. Alright, we just have to do this. I sunk my snow hook in the snow, walked up and unclipped the tug lines of everyone but my leaders. I walked the leaders in the deep snow in a wide arch so as not to tangle them with the wheel dogs. My wheel dogs are Inuit Dogs and although very well behaved, they still lack impulse control and in a stressful situation are more likely to take their frustrations out on another dog so keeping them away from the rest of the dogs was my goal. As I launched the leaders from the deep snow onto the now descending trail, they took off and I was able to catch the sled as it did a “crack the whip” and whizzed by. Down the hill we went, passing the left turn that would have been way to treacherous to take from this angle, and making a quick right that would head us back onto the lake. Even though my leaders were the only dogs with their tug lines attached, my other four seemed to be pulling from their necklines and we were going fairly fast. Once on the trail to the lake, I was able to stop and go through the same motion; walk lead dogs in a wide arch to the right and back the way we came as Icoa attempted to tell Tuloon a few choice words for which she got a stiff scolding, then another crack the whip motion of the sled as the dogs launched themselves forward and I caught the sled. At least we were on level ground and I could easily hold the dogs with the snow hook while I reattached the tug lines. Yet another good challenge to have gone through with the dogs. Lesson learned. The musher needs to think a bit longer before proceeding down a new trail.

This portion of the trail is relatively hilly and takes us through an area with rocky outcroppings and an area with charred remains of trees that remain after the Ham Lake wildfire of last summer. This trail joins Loon and Crab Lake. Once across the very small Crab Lake, the trail takes on a “bush” feel due to its very narrow, windy and ungroomed appearance. I was thankful the dogs were a bit more settled in to the run at this point because I wouldn’t want to take a fresh team down this particular trail.

The roar of the rushing water under the ice along side the trail took the dogs by surprise as we rounded a bend and all heads turned to the sound. We ran along this creek and it formed a small open pond. The trail abutted the shore of the pond and I was later thankful my leaders stayed focused and didn’t become mesmerized by the open water as I did. The pond emptied into a narrows and became a creek again, before it pummeled down the rocks to its outlet on Gunflint Lake. The top of these falls was the end of our trail. We took the turn-around loop that Erik and I had made a couple days previous, took a short break and then back on the trail we went.

The trip back was not as challenging as the trip out which makes sense. The dogs knew where they were going at this point and the mushers knew all of the challenges of running the trail by dog team. Exhausted from the adventure, I found myself daydreaming of napping in my sled as the dogs just took me home then reality in the form of a low hanging branch we mushers call a “sweeper”, slapped me in the face and I returned to my senses and enjoyed the relaxing run back…......standing on the runners.

Simple Beauty

Journey in Lead

7 month old Journey after a successful 3 mile run in lead

Journey; keeping the line tight during a break on the trail

Zulu happily accepting another apprentice

Journey is now 7 months old. She is hovering between the stages of puppy and adulthood. She’s still too rough to play with the 14 week old pups and she’s still too young to join the team on any extensive adventures. I often forget she’s still a puppy because of her size and appearance, but she is still very much a puppy.

The team I ran today included the geriatric dogs, the loaner dogs(Frankie and Lily, my handler’s dogs that are fill-ins for my “A” team) and the big puppy. Keeping in mind that Journey has a tendency to bite the lines, I thought I would try her up in lead with Zulu to put a stop to that behavior and to see what the little ball of fire could do up there supported by Zulu. Having heard from a dear friend that her two pups who are also Journey's siblings, Nellie and Daisey from Uktousa kennel, did a fabulous job in lead the other day, made me even more curious. I apologized to Zulu for yet another unruly apprentice as I neck lined her to him. She did a few puppy moves such as winding up then lurching forward but quickly calmed herself before I gave the command “Ready? Lets go!”

Ready to place her back in the team at anytime if she lost her desire to be in front or if I was concerned about her ability or stress level, I watched as this 7 month old pup was focused dead ahead, looking back only for direction and pulling her little heart out. Journey continued to lead successfully for our entire 3 mile run which included three fairly steep hills, up and down. Since this team isn’t as powerful as my core team, I was able to keep them under control going down the hills so none of the older dogs would trip and tangle.

Journey is continuing to amaze me and I am anxious to see just how far her abilities extend. That’s my Journey girl!

Gunflint Lake Ice Check

Gunflint Lake

Camper's Island

The river outlet on the northeast side of the lake

Wildlife super highway

The narrows on the west side of the lake

The day after the Loon Lake ice check we headed on to Gunflint Lake to do the same. This lake is much larger and we were less certain about what we would find.

We found 8 inches of black ice in front of the lodge and almost half way across the lake. A week and a half previous there had been only 5 inches.

Slushy conditions were found as we traveled along the shoreline, however the slush was not quite as bad when about 50 feet away from the shore. Only a few inches of snow were present in most places on this portion of the lake. The slush continued until the peninsula where the last cabin stood. In the bay by the peninsula, conditions were much better for dog sledding, unfortunately, we would have to travel a few miles under less than ideal conditions to get to this point.

Beyond this little bay and about 5 1/2 miles from the lodge is Camper's Island, a heavily wooded island with vast lake views and a campsite with a picnic table for lunch stops with our guests. We had been most concerned about the ice in this area as Bridle Falls empties into Gunflint Lake near this island. We were amazed to find 10 inches of black ice halfway between the island and the shore on which lies the Bridle Falls outlet. Just above this outlet is where we found ourselves the day previously. So close to making our connection to Gunflint Lake from Loon Lake, however due to the terrain and the number of blow down trees, this connection was unattainable.

From Camper's Island we navigated to the northeast on the lake to check the conditions along a narrows where a river runs into the lake. We had seen spotty wolf, fox, deer and otter tracks on the lake to this point. At this river outlet, there was a super highway of tracks made by the local wildlife.

Heading back to the lodge, we continued to the west to check on another area of current on the lake. This area was wide open and again in a "narrows" between two land masses.

The areas of current we discovered are scenic places to take guests to view wildlife, however extreme caution must be taken due to the changing and vulnerable ice conditions around the open water. A basic respect for mother nature must be applied when on any wilderness adventure.

Loon Lake Ice Check and Trail Scouting

Checking the ice on Loon Lake

Loon Lake

Creek outlet along the bush trail

Smoldering ground from the summer wildfires

Old railroad bed heading to Gunflint Lake

Scoping our location by map atop a charred remnant of the summer fires

Gunflint Lake; so close!

View from a top the knoll

The picture taker rarely has a picture taken of herself. I am standing on the old railroad bed

Water at Bridle Falls rushing under the ice

In an effort to expand our currently limited program due to ice and trail conditions, Erik and I set out the other day on the snowmobile to check the ice on nearby Loon Lake and then the trails beyond. We had hopes of this route connecting to Gunflint Lake which would mean a very long adventure loop on which to take guests.

With proper safety gear along and making sure to spread our weight out while checking the ice by not walking to closely together, we augered our first hole in the ice. 14 inches of black ice! Now that is safe ice. The biggest part of the lake that was wide open only three weeks ago proved safe as well with 10 inches of ice. Snow conditions on the lake are another story all together, however. There was about 6 inches of light fluffy snow on top of the ice. Not good for setting a snow hook and stopping a dog sled team. The current warm-up may prove to be a blessing in disguise. Our temps in the high 30s will help pack down that fluffy snow layer and it will adhere to the ice surface forming a nice firm base to sink a snow hook.

Continuing on beyond the lake we found some wonderful trails for dog sledding. Some I would classify as bush trails; very narrow and windy, and they followed along a babbling brook and some open ponds. Very beautiful.

We ended our adventure that day at Bridle Falls. Due to the steep and rocky terrain and blow down trees as far as the eye could see, we were unable to find a safe connection to Gunflint Lake. We were within a 1/4 mile of Gunflint Lake and could almost reach out and touch it so it was a bit disappointing not to be able to make the connection. The disappointment, however, only lasted a moment because this location would be the perfect destination for our guests due to the scenic vistas and the waterfall. A perfect place for a lunch stop.

Something quite amazing was found just beyond the falls. As we began walking I began to smell wood smoke, one of my very favorite smells. I began to look around for the cabin producing this glorious smell. No cabins in sight. Just ahead we spotted an old railroad grade leading to Gunflint Lake and there was smoke rising from the ground! The wildfires in this area last summer were still smoldering in the ground in this area! What a sight. A call to the Forest Service will be made on Monday morning to inform them of our find.

Although I prefer the silence of running by dog team versus the use of a noisy, smelly snowmobile, we had another fulfilling day on the trail.

Completed Tipi

This week the final touches were made to the Tipi. Rocks were hauled from Lake Superior to create the fire ring. Pine boughs were harvested from our dog sledding trail and a nearby power line clearing for the floor of the Tipi. Firewood was gathered and split. Last but not least, five straw bales were hauled to the site and placed in the structure for guest to use as seats.

Erik christened the Tipi last evening by building a fire and spending the night.

Happy New Year and a Couple Days Off

Hailey with Lily and Frankie. Lily is a retired racing dog turned freight dog.

Unhooking her team

Taking Frankie back to his chain.

How wonderful it was to begin the new year in northern Minnesota with friends, new and old, and the sled dogs. Erik, one of the Points Unknown mushers, Hailey, one of the Points Unknown dog helpers and I treated ourselves to dinner at the lodge for New Years. After dinner, Hailey and I went back to pick up the house dogs and then headed down to the bonfire that was staged in front of the lodge for the New Year's celebration. At midnight we walked back to the dog yard to attempt to get the dogs to howl to mark the changing of the year. Ever since Amaruq passed away there has been very little howling in the kennel. Amaruq was the one who started most of the howls with his faint sweet voice and he set the tone for the kennel. After several attempts, we were unable to get the dogs to howl. Maybe one of those three pups will be the next cheerleader for the kennel and can help bring that team spirit back. We did promise the guests a midnight howl. We didn't say that it would be the dogs doing the howling....

Yesterday I treated myself to a massage at the lodge. That is something I hope to make a weekly ritual. Sore muscles no more! (or at least not for the moment)

Today was another much needed day off. A "day off" for a musher isn't really a day off at all. What did we do on this day off? We awoke at 7AM to feed, then we walked the house dogs, ran four teams of dogs, walked a puppy down to the lodge for socialization, cleaned out the straw from a puppy house, walked the house dogs again, brought Journey down to play with her brother Flint in the fenced in enclosure, brought the puppies down to the play area, fed the dogs again, walked the house dogs again and now here I am updating the blog. That's my day off and I'm not complaining. Its a chosen lifestyle. A lifestyle that can be exhausting at times but also very fulfilling.

Hailey leaves tomorrow. She wishes she could spend the entire winter up here with the sled dogs. I don't think we convinced her mother that online High School was the way to go. I wanted to make sure that she got to run some dogs today after spending the week taking care of them. She did a wonderful job with her two teams of two. You don't need any more than two to start when you are working with dogs trained to haul freight. Two will take you places!