Step 15. Go to the dogs.

I am having to accept, as a general rule, that my camera sucks. I keep it on “Intelligent Auto Mode.” Unfortunately, most of my pictures are now fuzzy. It makes me sad, really. But to be honest, no picture could really capture the excitement and colour of what I have been up to lately. Namely dog sledding.

A friend had his team down from Grand Prairie. I was lucky enough to get to go out with him and his team twice! The first day we took all the dogs and the family house dog out with the quad. The team is still learning; taking the quad lets the musher push them or help them as is fit. We were out for hours! And now, a mostly pictorial essay on how my life is awesome.

Then today we took them out with the sleds. They pulled two sleds, one behind the other. This way I was able to stand on mine and learn how to balance and steer. I have no action shots, of course, because I was busy balancing and steering.

It feels really great to be on the sled; very intuitively. You lean into curves, brace for bumps, and watch out for the guy in front of you hitting branches so snow lands on your face.

Hooking them up is a bit of an ordeal. They all know they are about to get to run and pull, which is playing to them. They get so excited and start making weird howling noises. You know that noise that kids make then they just can't wait? That is what all the dogs do. And you HAVE to have the sled tied in to something and anchored down with big metal grappling hooks. The dogs start jumping to get the sled started and will take off as soon as they feel any slack.

The four strong dogs pulled the bulk of the weight while the two smaller leads set the course and a younger dog Blizzard did her best to not work at all. In total we were 340 lbs- a heavy haul. Bandit, Jericho, Buddy and Benjay are the muscle.

God is so good.

I forgive myself for having a serious case of wild eye. It was, after all, -15 degrees. And I had, after all, been out with the dogs for the last hour. At this point the only thing keeping me moving were the hand warmers Mom gave me for Christmas. Did you know you can get them for inside your shoes?!? Between warm feet and 7 sled dogs, I am in heaven.