4-Wheeler + Snow Drifts + Mary = Disaster

Whelp, I'm back to training dogs with a 4-wheeler. 

I am now running them on the road out side of town where drifts of snow are not as big a problem ... annnnnd the snow machine I was using kind of, sort of, maybe temporarily "lost" its brakes.

It's getting to the road from the dog lot that has posed a problem for me.

Yesterday, I got the 4-wheeler good and stuck in a snow drift that formed right along the road when I was taking a team out to train. Took three guys to help me get that 4-wheeler out.

Today, I tried a different path from the dog lot to the road, but alas! I still found myself stuck in a drift. It only took one guy to help me out this time though.

So hopefully by tomorrow I'll get it down and won't find myself stuck in another snow drift ... I can't play 'damsel in distress' forever ; )

My team and I training on the road outside of town - snow drift free!

Two puppies joined us (those are the loose dogs you see in the photo)

Training, Races, and more Storms

I know. It's been a long time since my last update. Sorry about that! So here's my attempt to update you on the last month:

Currently, I'm contently sitting in my little house with Christmas lights aglow, listening to the smooth jazz melodies of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" soundtrack with the wind howls of yet another storm as background while the snow flies around in the blizzard. I can't complain one bit :)

It wasn't until the week before Thanksgiving that we finally harnessed up dogs and started training them. In the early season, training is done with 4-wheelers or ATV's or quad runners, etc. (whatever you may call them wherever you may live). It's more about control. We keep at a slow pace and let them pull, pull, pull (of course we put the machine into gear and help them up hills when need be - don't want to injure them).

Thanksgiving day brought a lot of delectable foods, great friends, and my first dog sled race out here in Unalakleet. It was an adventure, that's for sure! Snow was lacking and temps were at -15 F.
6 teams were in the running.

The best way to describe my race was that I started well, and I ended well ... with my dogs. The middle? Well, that part is a different story. About a mile into the race, before the first hill I lost my team in an icy creek with a rather steep bank. Middy started the race behind me, so I jumped into his sled and the two of us "raced" after my team hoping to find them shortly thereafter.

4 miles later, with me getting out of the basket to help Middy kick the sled up the hills, we finally found my team. Another musher in the race had tied them off to a tree until I could get to them.

I jumped back onto my sled, took off with my 8 dogs and finished the race :)
I got 4th place.

Despite losing my team for a decent portion of the race, it was still a good experience. It was a great way to learn while I watched how Middy controlled the sled and listen to his tips about this and advice about that. So all in all, great learning race.

The next weekend we had another race. Same trail as the last, opposite direction.
This race went much smoother for me even though the wind was blowing and snow was flying by the end (wasn't sure where the finish line was until about 100 feet from it - that blowing snow made it hard to see!).

Sitting in Middy's sled in the last race learning, and the training I had done in the week between the two paid off. My 8 dog team and I cruised right along and got 1st place out of 5, earning myself $500 to pay next month's rent and electric bill. Woohoo!

Photo taken by: Willa Eckenweiler
On top of V.O.R. hill during the second race.




Recently it's been storms, storms, and more storms. Meaning wind, wind, and more ... that's right, wind. Because of this, training has been a little on the sporadic side, but when we get a break in the weather, I'm out there training dogs!

I have now switched to training dogs with a snow machine or snow-go or snow mobile, etc. (again, whatever you may call it wherever you may live). With the wind has come major drifts of snow out on the loop that I am currently running the dogs on and a 4-wheeler would more than likely get stuck. We're still in the slow and complete control phase of training but will be switching to sleds soon.

Hope you enjoyed the update, and I will try to be better about updating more often (at least so they won't be so long and novel-like!)

"Super Storm" & Parvo

Whelp, as many of you probably heard (it even made national news I understand, if you didn't read it all over facebook), the western Alaska coast was hit with one of its biggest storms it has had in many, many years. They were calling it the big "Super Storm". It was pretty super, although Unalakleet didn't get pounded quite as badly as other villages along the coast. 

I stayed with my friend Sue Bruckner in her 3rd story apartment. The first night we got hit with high winds. With consistent winds in the 60 mph range battering the building and being on the 3rd floor, I felt like I was in a constant Californian earthquake - brought me back to my childhood :)

The next day was when the real danger came: coastal flooding. Unalakleet sits at near eye level with the ocean. High west winds and high seas caused by the storm meant an extremely high flooding risk for most villages along the coast. The water started rising in the morning and rose quickly. By high tide in the early afternoon, the water was high enough to start flooding a few of the lowest lying areas in town. 

Standing on the high road by the ocean with water coming right up to the edge of the road. That's Daniel Soxie's fish rack.

The point by the mouth of the river is one of the most susceptible areas to flooding, therefore it was evacuated and closed off.

By the Cannery and AC (the local grocery store) near the mouth of the river they started building a wall of snow to protect against rapidly rising waters.

Across from the point there is one home and many fish camps, a few more feet rise in the water level and it would have been submerged.

Before the storm hit, we moved the dogs up to their winter lot because where they stay in the summer was too susceptible to flooding.

Photo taken by: Kristen Erickson Mashiana

The summer dog lot. 

The dog houses were put on the poles to keep them from floating away if the water were to get high enough. Sadly, a few houses were already floating away before we could get to all of them.

The second high tide of the day was to bring even higher sea levels and stronger west winds that would send big waves crashing into our village. An evacuation was issued and all we could do was wait it out. Through numerous prayers and God's grace, the expected flooding never happened. God was faithful to our pleas, praise Him!!

In the end, the village of Unalakleet weathered the storm well, as did the dogs.

Sadly, the puppies did not do as well. 

The Parvovirus is a very life threatening virus for young pups, especially without vaccination. According to the vet in Nome, Dr. Leedy, he suspects Parvo is going to be a major problem in the villages this year. Our pups were apparently exposed to it and it spread quickly. Since there are no vets in town our vaccinations must come from Nome (by plane of course). Because of the storm, we were unable to get the vaccine in time. We went into the storm with 22 pups, by last night the virus had taken its toll and now we are down to 9. 

I'm devastated to say the least, but such is the nature of mushing and kennels in the bush of Alaska. It's a hard truth to accept, but one I have to accept nonetheless. 

We still have 3 sick puppies out of the 9, but we have dewormed and vaccinated them (we got the Parvo vaccine today, Yippee!), gave them new straw and housing, and now just have to wait and hope it's enough.

Needless to say, my prayer life has been alive and well! :)

Poop. You heard me ... poop.

Yes, the title of this post is poop. It's bound to come up on occasion when one is surrounded by and must deal with it every day. So without further ado, here is my blog update regarding poop:

A couple days ago I finally received my new pooper-scooper in the mail!

Now for most this would not be an exciting or noteworthy event, but for someone who scoops 38 dogs and 22 puppies worth of the brown stuff every day, it's a celebration.

It's the simple pleasures in life.

                 

                          Before, I was using this. Ugh.                      Now I use this, yippee!

                                                                                         (The shovel is still necessary for

                                                                                        chipping away frozen turds from

                                                                                                    the icy ground)

Pretty sure I will NOT be using that little red sled to cruise down any snowy hills this winter.

Last week this giant box showed up in the middle of my work area ...

... filled with 900 lbs. of frozen pink salmon.

Mmmmmm, that's some goooood eatin'!

On another note: Temperatures are dropping!

This & That

NOTE: I wrote this post yesterday, but due to internet complications I'm posting it today

The snow is blowing, the wind is howling and the dogs are fed. Good day to stay inside, pop in a movie and work on fixing torn, chewed, and broken harnesses from last year's season of mushing.

A few photo updates:

Middy finished the puppy pen the other day.
The pups think they are being tortured.

Another difference in sled dog care in the village opposed to the road system is the availability of straw for the dogs to lay on and keep warm in the winter. Middy will be shipping some bales of straw out, but it's very expensive to purchase straw and ship here in Alaska.

So instead of using straw the entire winter, we supplement by going out and collecting grasses that are just like straw:

These guys keep me company and entertained (when they're not messing up my freshly cut piles of grasses) while I work.

I took Kiana for a sunset run on the beach a couple nights ago. Although she will not get within a 5 foot radius of my 4-wheeler, she loves running along with me. 

I clocked her at 30 mph while she was chasing a raven; I was impressed.

As you can see from the photos, the snow has fallen and most importantly: is sticking around!

Unexpected happenings

Much has happened since my last post. In fact, Siku Kennel was put on hold for a little bit, and for very good reason.

Paul Johnson (a.k.a. Uncle Putty to most here in Unalakleet), brother to Middy Johnson and fellow Siku Kennel musher, was unexpectedly taken home to be with our Lord in heaven last Friday, October 14th, due to complications from a routine surgery. A very sad time and big loss here in Unalakleet.

I did not know Paul well, but I do know he was a man of God who lived his life according to God's will.  Paul was a great man who touched many lives - generous, unselfish, patient and very kind. I was greatly looking forward to working with and learning from him the ways of dog mushing. Paul ran the Iditarod sled dog race in both 1986 and 2011 with plans to run again this coming year, March 2012.

Last Wednesday the village of Unalakleet and others from all over the state came together to celebrate the life and faith of Paul. It was a blessed time of sharing each other's memories and honoring his life that he lived for our Lord. It is a comforting thought knowing he is no longer in pain and rejoicing in heaven.



On another note, the temperatures have been staying below freezing and the fluffy white flurries of snow are flying. This winter of mushing will be different than expected with the passing of Paul, but that does not change my excitement for what is yet to come.

Lost & Found

This past Spring, Middy expanded his dog lot (and I'm not talking about alllll the puppies). He bought 28 of Iditarod musher, Matt Hayashida's, dogs. Most of these dogs have run and finished the Iditarod multiple times.

About a month ago, one of these dogs went missing: a leader and pregnant female, High Noon, ready to burst with puppies any day. Middy went out one day and discovered she was missing. He searched, but was unable to find her. He sadly concluded that she got loose and died giving birth.

A couple days ago while out on his boat, Middy spotted the elusive High Noon ... with 7 pups in tow. She and her pups were across the river, taken in by a local who found her wandering the town.

Needless to say, Middy rounded her up and 6 of the 7 pups (one he was unable to catch and it is still with the local who took in High Noon on the other side of the river). 

High Noon is now safe and sound back home with most of her litter. They are a little small, but both babes and mom were healthy - probably feeding on fish for the last month.

High Noon

Happy and relaxed pups

These pups have attached themselves to me and LOVE to be held and cuddled - oh darn :)

Now our puppy population has increased to 23 ... with more on the way! 

There are still two pregnant females. 

Transition, Siku Kennel, and Seals

Currently I'm sitting in my tiny, but adorable, abode listening to Inupiaq hymns on KICY. 

My little house that I am renting from Matt & Tera Roesch. The little man on my porch is Kael, a boy I babysat while I lived in Unalakleet previously - a now frequent visitor to my new home :)

I'll post pictures of the inside once I get everything organized and put away

My stomach is full from two dinners. My new neighbors, Sam & Nita Towarak, invited me over for halibut/crab stew. I then headed over to another friend's, Karl & Karen Erickson - parents to Kael, house where they offered me spicy Indian food and cranberry upside down cake for dessert - I couldn't resist.

I was filled spiritually last night when I rejoined the women's Bible study and reconnected with so many friends. It will be a wonderful winter of focusing on the word of our Lord with such beautiful women of God.

Needless to say, I am well taken care of here in Unalakleet. It has been a wonderful transition thus far and I'm enjoying every moment.

Now to get down to business: sled dogs.

On Monday I started my work for Siku Kennels

View of the dog lot from the road just outside of town across the bridge

I will do individual dog profiles as I continue to work with them ... and actually learn their names

Siku Kennels, owned by Middy Johnson, consists of 38 dogs and 17 ...

... puppies!

Puppy pile, the only way to take an afternoon nap

Working for a village musher is definitely different than for a kennel on the road system. For one, basic needs such as fresh water are not readily available on site. It must be hauled in from town in buckets. Luckily, Middy is letting me borrow a 4 wheeler for the winter so these tasks are easier to accomplish.

So what do sled dogs in the bush eat? Well, Middy just received his shipment of kibble for the winter. However, high performing, athletic dogs need much more than just kibble to remain healthy. At DeeDee's kennel, she received shipments of pre-ground beef, pork fat, etc. Since starting work for Siku Kennels, we have fed donated pink salmon, white fish, whale, and seal. The fish we can throw in whole into the cooker.

The cooker at the dog lot where we prepare all the meat

Donated white fish

The seal and whale meat on the other hand had to be cut up into chunks. That is where yours truly comes in. Daniel Soxie, an elder here in Unalakleet, caught a seal and cut off the blubber for himself to make seal oil. The rest of the seal he donated to Middy to give to his sled dogs. Middy called me up, told me to pick up the seal carcass and then proceeded to show me how to butcher it. My Wednesday afternoon was spent cutting up a seal and then boiling it for the dogs' dinner.

For those of you who don't believe me (especially those in California) this was me after the butchering of a seal. Sorry, no pics of the seal or actual butchering.

Today Middy and another musher in town got a small whale and a seal. So what did I do in the afternoon today? Yep, butcher another seal and this time threw a whale into the mix.

Seal meat, whale meat and seal blubber chunks all cooked up and ready to feed to the dogs for dinner.

By the end of the winter, I will be regular seal and whale cutting pro.

Next week we will begin training the dogs. No snow is on the ground yet and there won't be for a little while still, so we will train the dogs with 4 wheelers until the snow accumulates and we can switch to sleds.

It's going to be a busy winter, but I am loving the experience and am anxiously looking forward to everything yet to come!

Helping Hands

* *DISCLAIMER* * Dog mushing will not be mentioned in this post . . . except for that once.

There are many reasons why I love the state of Alaska. Here are a few:

Things are bigger in Alaska. Now I'm not talking hair or cowboy boots, but mountains, rivers, fields, fish, vegetables, etc. - anything that is testament to God's breathtaking beauty.

Adventure. There's always a thrill here in Alaska and if it has to do with the outdoors, you can do it here and to the extreme if you so desire.

The people. This is the most important reason why I love this state. Alaska is the largest state in terms of area, but has one of the smallest populations, so "cities" and towns are spread out all over and the distance between them is vast. This does not matter in the least. Once you've made a friend, you're friends for life. There are so many places I can go in this state and have a welcoming face ready and willing to take me in or help me out. Hospitality comes so easily to people here in the great white north and it's something I appreciate and try to imitate. 

I bring this up because one person, Karen Erickson, is proving once again how wonderful and accommodating Alaskans can be. Moving out to Unalakleet is no easy task. It's not like I can stuff everything into my car and drive myself, my pup, and all my belongings to that wonderful little village. No. The only way in and out is by plane. This means everything must be shipped, which can get VERY pricey.

This is where Karen comes in. Karen is from Unalakleet. She flew into Anchorage with her son, Donald, the other day. They checked no baggage. Karen called me with an offer I couldn't refuse: to take a few of my boxes as her baggage back out to Unalakleet. Let me rephrase that: Karen and Donald offered to take FOUR of my boxes out to Unalakleet. All my winter gear and some food and apartment items will make it to my little home in Unalakleet FREE. That's close to 190 lbs. of gear and needed essentials!

Needless to say, I am incredibly thankful for God's provision, blessings, and amazing people and friends he has brought into my life up here.

Continuing a dream

As many of my friends and family know - I love dogs.

Since being in Alaska, God has blessed me with a multitude of exciting and life-enriching experiences; one of those being dog mushing. I always knew I would find a way to surround myself with those of the canine persuasion and Alaska has provided that opportunity. Dog mushing it is.

My first time on the runners behind a team of dogs was at the Easter Sunday sled dog races four years ago when I was living in Unalakleet, Alaska. I had three dogs, crashed into another team, and I pushed the sled more than those three dogs pulled it. Still, I was hooked.

A couple winters later I started working part-time for DeeDee Jonrowe, an Iditarod musher. This is where I learned of the basics of mushing, sled dog care, training, the scooping of copious amounts of dog poop, and my love for all that has to do with mushing.

I took a year off from the winter sport to pursue career possibilities, but I soon discovered I had the mushing itch and there's no cure for that kind of itch except to scratch it.

I now will be returning to where I first discovered my love for mushing to deepen my knowledge and experience of the sport. Come October, Unalakleet will once again be called home by yours truly to work for a local musher, Middy Johnson. This time I will be training dogs full-time and participating in local races.

I'm starting this blog to share my experiences of mushing in the great white north with friends and family.

Enjoy!