Advertisement
Published: December 5th 2010
8 inch thick ice and Dog Sledding!!
Last night, Linda and I walked across the lake out to the bridge to check the thickness of the ice. In this area is doesn't freeze well normally...so we got out the big eskimo ice drill and began drilling! When drilling ice it is important to keep your feet about shoulder width apart to spread you weight out, we also took a phone with us in case of an emergency! People die every year from slipping under ice! So we drilled, one of us holding the house dogs (who were on the evening walk!) and the other person attacked the ice. After breaking through you then have to guestimate the depth. Lets just say my inch is about 3 actual inches! So I was like ahh its about 3 inches when in actual fact it was EIGHT! Brilliant, that means a sled dog team can safely go across it! Also yesterday it snowed about 8-10 inches so we had plently of material to stop with! There is no definitive answer to the amount of snow needed to stop, however in rough terms you need about 4 inches of compacted snow and
about 6-8 of powder fluff (this is not EXACT, its my theory!). We had powder fluff and decided to run a team of 4.
Four simply wasnt going to happen! When we moved the sled out of the garage and into the snow it was a battle to get it to move! SO the tean creeped up to 6, then 8! After extreme effort to move the damn thing near the tree (so the quick release line can be used) we came to the conclusion that we'll start with 8 dogs and if they're struggling we will go up to 10!
Team 1 consisted of Tuloon and Phoneix as our leader dogs, Klaus and Oken behind them, White Feather and Topa behind those guys and our Wheel doggys were Journey and Ari. A good strong team that SHOULD (a big should) follow commands! We hooked the dogs up to the fence by the kennels, attatched the sled to the tree (another safety feature to ensure the team doesnt bolt when put on the line is a huge hook! It looks like a gigantic claw and literally digs into the snow giving some friction when the dogs pull) and
Oken
he got this bit of snow between his eyes and it was so funny :)began putting harnesses on. We then clipped the dogs up to the sled and I quickly shoved on my coat and 2nd pair of gloves and hopped in. 1st Mistake- I didnt think that the smooth floor of the sled would be slippery...it was! So BOOF I fell over intto the sled. Paha I laugh at myself 😊 Linda then gave the command 'Ready! Lets Go!!' and WHOOSH we were off.
Now sledding and carting (which is what I have been doing in the past) are actually very different. For a start the dogs go WAY faster on snow! Also the sled is hard to balance on but more on that later. I began the run sitting in the sled. 2nd Mistake- I didnt think to bring ski goggles/some form of eye protection! 8 huskies kicking fluffy snow up, sled moving thus forming wind equalled a face and body full of snow! I could barely see! Along with the sunlight I stuggled to keep my eyes open! I quickly learnt my lesson and when we took the second team out a couple of hours later I brought my ski goggles along and they were a godsend! SO future reference
Bald eagle!
They acted like vultures, it was kinda scary! guys! If you ever go on a casual dog sledding trip at a ski resort or even with a company like Points Unknown WEAR eye protection!! The experiance was AMAZING though! We were glidding on a sea of white sparkling snow, the dogs running there little hearts out in front of us, and nothing but the sound of them panting as the sled glided silently across the lake. Adding the beautiful views of the trees around us it was SO FREAKING COOL! That is the only way to describe it properly 😊 As we came around a turn there were two HUGE bald eagles flying above us! Of course being the national bird of America they are pretty spectacular! The adults wingspan is SIX foot long! Thats me in the form of a bird! Wow! But they eat house dogs and puppys so when I came in April and there was a load of them nesting right near the house we had to keep a close eye when the flew over the house!
After about 20 minutes Linda told me to get out of the sleigh and put my feet on the breaks, so I did. Next thing I
know shes climbing into the sled and told me to step onto the runners! Whaaat?! 'Ready!' she shouted and WHOOSH we were off! Me holding on for dear life! I was running a team (kind of...) on my own! Awesome! Now back to the balancing thing, the runners are about 3(normal..!) inches thick and the sled is surprisingly wobbly! The number one rule in dog mushing is DO NOT lose your team! Hold on for dear life, dislocate a shoulder, it doesnt matter do NOT let go! Also the musher has to actually be pretty active when running! Every 10 seconds or so I had to kick with one foot, or actually run in between the runners while holding on to help the dogs out. Its hard work! On the second run when I ran them again, Linda told me a technique to keep the dogs on the trail (now that the first team had broken through the snow forming a trail, the second team simply had to follow the orginal trail! Much easier 😊...) if your too far right, then you step sideways onto the left runner, hold on with your right hand only and push your stomach forward
so that your feet are kind of tilted. This then pushes the sled right gently, and with the motion of the dogs the front goes left, thus you move more left onto the trail! Real clever, and real scary when I have been running a team for about 5 minutes of my life! It was life sled surfing 😊
On the second run, this time with Oken and Zala up front, Wimzi and Sweet Pea behind (she had to wear a bootie because of her poorly toe!), White feather and Zodiac behind them anf the Wheel dogs were Iloo and Journey, we actually got in a spot of trouble! Being a lake there are docks along the land in random areas, of course covered in snow! On the first run we just managed to swerve away from the dock at the last minute (its only plastic and about 5 inches 6 inches high but its a pain in the bum to be there!) of course making the trail very close to the dock...on the second run oken actually raun over the dock, so the other dogs followed and the sled hit it and turned onto its left side! I
was in the sled at the time (thankgod because if I was running I would have freaked out!) and tried to kick out at snow to stop it (which actually kind of worked!) I then had to lean right and Linda manovered the sled back upright. My first accident experiance 😊 I guess it was important to see how easily the sled can tip for future reference!
All in all this is why I came to America. To learn about the dogs and mushing and I have finally been given to chance to do it and boy... it was amazing! So I can't wait to do it again!!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.214s; Tpl: 0.015s; cc: 10; qc: 56; dbt: 0.0837s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
