We were supposed to be at Earthsong Lodge by 10AM to start our dog sledding adventure into Denali National Park and the surrounding areas. While it was only about a 10 minute drive from our hotel, we got up at 8 to give ourselves plenty of time to finish packing for the next two days and miss a couple of turns along the way (not that there were a lot of turns to miss). It took us a bit longer to get on the road than anticipated and we needed to get gas, so we didn't exactly get off to the best start. While at the gas station, we also looked for an air pump because the low tire pressure light had come on around Talkeetna the previous day (if I am remembering correctly, there weren't any services between Talkeetna and Healy, at least none that were open this time of year). Since the tires looked fine, we figured the pressure change was just due to the decrease in temperature. We figured we could top off a bit and be good to go. The gas station didn't have an air pump, or at least not one that we could see. We convinced ourselves that it wasn't a big deal and things would get back to normal when we got back to Anchorage and the temperatures were higher. I don't think we were more than a couple miles from the gas station when we hit a pot hole and our ears were filled with the sounds of a flat tire.
Christina called the rental car place to find out what we should do while I started putting on the spare. Turns out the rental car place was not helpful. Because we were in a remote area (5 hours from Anchorage and 3 hours from Fairbanks), there wasn't anything they were willing to do for us. So much for Dollar roadside assistance. Our options were apparently to buy the exact same tire (had to be the exact same) and have it put on or stay under 60 mph with the spare the rest of the trip. Seeing as how there wasn't really a place to buy a new tire, we opted for the latter option.
Yes, that is all of our stuff on the side of the road behind Christina.
It didn't take long for a couple of guys to pull over and help us change our flat.
I guess the decrease in temperature wasn't the problem after all.
After getting back on the road, we did end up missing the one turn we needed to make to get to the lodge. We drove several miles out of the way before we decided that we must have missed it and headed back. After all of that, we didn't arrive too horribly late at Earthsong Lodge. We were met at the gate to the kennel by a guy named J.J. We said hi to the dogs while he finished tending to some of the dogs, and then we made our way back to the shed where they store all the gear.
There were puppies!
It must have been nap time.
This one reminds me a bit of Yoda.
J.J. set us up with snow suits and boots and then led us down the road to where our guide, Mike, lived. After meeting Mike and his girlfriend Corrine, we spent time saying hi to his dogs while they finished getting the harnesses and sleds ready.
After the harnesses were all ready, Corrine took Christina into the dog yard to get the first dog for her sled. The dogs went nuts! They knew they were coming in to get some of them to pull the sleds, and they were so excited. Imagine your pet dog when you mention going "bye bye" and multiply that by 30. If dogs could talk, we would have been amidst a chorus of "Pick me! Pick me!"
A brief glimpse of the excitement.
Corrine teaching Christina how to harness the dogs. I think that is Jade.
Meagan's lesson from Mike. (As public health folk, we were super happy to see Mike wearing hearing protection). Greyling is the dog. They were all so good.
My turn.
Jade ready to go. She is such a sweetheart. We all want to adopt her after she retires.
After the dogs were all harnessed and ready to go, we got a quick dog sledding how to. Usually, people have a training day before going out on an overnight trip. On those days, a guide goes with the person in the sled and is there to help them out if they get into trouble. Because of our work schedule, we didn't have time for a training day. Our "training" consisted of how to set and remove the anchor for when we got off the sled and how to work the two different kinds of brakes. One is like a mat that you step on to add a little bit of resistance, and the other is a two pronged claw like thing for when you really want to slow down or stop. Corrine reassured me that there really wasn't much to it and that we'd be fine. If she says so.
Mike was in the lead and once we were all ready, he set off around the bend. Christina soon followed and then Meagan. I was ready, but my heart was racing. The dogs were so excited to get going that they were jumping up and down trying to pull the sled forward with all of their might. I planted myself on the main brake and removed my anchor from the tree and set it in the basket of the sled. As I watched Meagan pull away from me, the anticipation of what it was going to feel like once the dogs were released was building. I slowly stepped off the brake and we shot forward. Even with the brake still half on, we were moving pretty fast. I forgot to mention we started out on a slight decline. I kept my foot on the brake until we got to the corner and started turning away from Mike's property. What an adrenaline rush! We made our way away from the few houses in the area and across some tundra that didn't have much snow on it. It was a pretty bumpy way to start, especially since I didn't really have my bearings on the sled yet. It didn't take too long before we got onto a nice wide snow covered trail. We stayed on this for a while and that helped me relax and get comfortable. We were dog sledding! It was so incredible!
Mt. McKinley came into view shortly after that.
My sled and four of my six dogs.
Christina with her sled and dogs.
Meagan's dogs and sled.
We stopped for a snack and to give the dogs a rest after a few hours. Mike gave them all a piece of meat and we partially unclipped them from the main tow line. That let's them know they are on a break and can chill out for a while.
Cooling off after a hard run.
Christina's dogs were very good at chillin'. Mine, not so much. They managed to get themselves tangled around a pine tree and one of them chewed through another's rope to get them all free from the tree. He was running around on his own for a bit. He said hi to all of the other dogs and then came to hang out with us. Mike took him back to the sled and got him reattached.
Christina's dogs
Biscot
My buddy. Biscot started out next to me, and I was petting her. She kept inching closer and closer and eventually decided she was going to be in my lap. Such a sweetie!
Me with Thing, one of the dogs pulling my sled.
All ready to go again!
Awesome pictures Christina and Meagan took with their little point and shoots while we were sledding. I only had my big camera, and it was not so one-handed photo taking friendly.
I think this is my favorite photo. Way to go Christina!
Meagan got some awesome video of our frozen pond crossing.
Meagan, where's your sled? Only a slight misstep, no injuries.
Come along for the ride! Way to go Meagan!
Thanks Meagan for taking pictures of me!
All in all there was only one real mishap that involved flying off the sled during our first day. There was a rather sharp turn that Christina wasn't quite ready for. Her dogs were, so they and the sled made the turn, and well, Christina didn't. Inertia was not her friend. Mike was right in front of her, so he was able to quickly stop the dogs and the sled. The one nice thing about dog sledding is that when you do fall off, you land on something relatively soft. Christina was up and back on her sled in no time (only slightly bruised) and we were off again.
After somewhere around 25 miles and 5 or so hours of sledding, we arrived at the cabin we were staying at for the night. We chained up the dogs, unloaded the sleds, and headed into the cabin. It was really cute. It had a little dining/kitchen/sitting area down stairs and a sleeping loft upstairs. The lakeside of the cabin had huge windows overlooking the lake. There was no running water in the cabin (not surprising), but there was a gas stove hooked up to a propane tank. There was also a wood burning stove to heat the place.
Our cabin
Mike went out to the lake to cut some ice for drinking water while we got settled. We quickly noticed that the Census had been by. We were quite impressed given how remote of an area we were in. Mike said that they delivered his form on cross-country skis - awesome!
I love the address - Dave's ATV Trail.
The cabin had a bit of a fly infestation hanging out around the front windows, so part of our settling in went towards trying to deal with it. They were incredibly slow moving, so Meagan went after them with the broom while I used a little non-electric vacuum to sweep them up. As we were finishing up this task, Mike got back with the ice and set to making coffee. (He also told we were on vacation and should be letting him do everything - I don't think that is in our nature). By the time we finished drinking our coffee, new flies had replaced all of the ones we had just done away with. We resigned ourselves to the flies. It turns out they didn't really leave the windows, so they weren't that big of a deal.
After our coffee, we decided to go out and play in the snow. Our first order of business though was to get some photos with our gnomes.
Christina's gnome Geronimo. He didn't really come dressed appropriately for Alaska.
The cabin had a sled inside the front door, so we had brought that with us. There didn't really seem to be any sledding hills around, so we did some experimenting with the best way to go fast.
We tried running and pulling the rope with the hopes of sling shotting the sled forward, but that didn't work out so well. (You'll have to tilt your head to the left for this one.)
Then we decided we would clear the snow off of the ice to get to a slicker surface. We figured we didn't even need the sled at that point and could go with the slip and slide method.
That didn't work out so well either, but at least it didn't hurt.
The third time seemed to be the charm. We realized pushing was the way to go, and once we discovered the snow mobile tracks, it got even better.
After playing for quite some time, we headed back in for dinner. We dined on salmon and spinach ravioli with pesto sauce. Desert was yogurt with pears and pear syrup. It was all delicious. We made our way upstairs for bed between 10 and 11 and were so exhausted that we were asleep in no time. What an awesome day.
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