Adventure!

Please go to my new blog for further updates.

www.SarahStokey.com

please bear with me as I update / renovate my blog... I am trying to switch to a full website so that's why there has been a lack of posts... don't worry, I haven't forgotten about my blog, I'm simply trying to make it a little more professional!

As Seward likes to constantly prove when it rains, it pours. Yesterday was quite the day. I have to say I've never experienced anything quite like it and I don't think anyone else has either. What an interesting fiasco it was! Still, work was enjoyable.

Yesterday started off nice and easy. The weather was cooperating, my tourists were all really nice people (one even grew up in Cotuit), and the dogs were all in impecable moods. It seemed like nothing could go wrong. . . until it did. About half-way through the tour my brakes decided to lock up which resulted in us not being able to go anywhere. We were, quite literally, stuck in the mud. It turns out that the air had released from our air-hydrolic brakes and caused everything to jam. What that meant was no moving wheels. Now, the dogs are strong. They make pulling a 2,000 pound sled look like a piece of cake but there was no way they could budge that sled without the wheels turning. So I sat there talking to my guests while I calmly called Danny (my boss) to come help me out. Boy, was I glad I had my phone!

Fifteen minutes later, he and my friend Michael came out  on the four-wheeler with a brand-new sled. We then had to transfer the entire dog team from one sled to the other via the four wheeler. Basically, we used the winch on the four wheeler as our anchor so the team couldn't go anywhere. After transferring the team to the new sled, we were then good to go.

Problem solved, right? Well we got back to the dog lot and all was well. The incident didn't even phase me. Stuff like that can happen and you just have to great it calmly and smile about it after. My guests thought it was very exciting.

After that, I was looking forward to a nice calm ride the next time I took my team out. Right? Wrong! Just before the half-way mark I said "Alright" to my team to get them going and off they went . . . without us! The way we had hooked the gangline back up to the sled had somehow come undone and poof! Like magic my team was gone in a whirlwind of tanglined lines and barking. I jumped off my sled, told my guests I would be right back, and then chased down my team, not once, but twice!

This was a little nerve racking but I didn't let it phase me.  Rule number one: Don't panic! Panicking doesn't help solve a situation and, with tourists, it often freaks them out so you just have to remain calm and collected. The main worry here was the dogs -- when they get loose like that if they get tangled sometimes they will fight or they can choke or be dragged to death (Definitely B A D). Fortunately for me, everyone was ok.

Once again, I called Danny who rushed out on the ATV to help me. By the time he'd gotten out there, we'd tied off my team to another sled and were in the processes of untangling dogs. We hooked the dogs up to the ATV then drove them back to my sled, reattached them, and got underway.

Thankfully, my guests thought this entire episode was hilarious. "You should have seen your face!" One woman said. "They took off, we didn't, and your jaw just totally fell." "I don't think I've ever seen a person act so quickly and calmly," said another.

The rest of the tour was completed with all our dogs and with no problems! Yay!

Needless to say, by the time the end of the day rolled around I was grateful. I got home, cracked open a beer, snuggled up to the Chena-dog, and started reading. I'm pretty happy with how I handled the situations that arose and I'm definitely learning a lot about crowd control / solving dog problems. My boss was also happy with the way I handled things which is always a good thing too.

If anyone is looking for good books to read I just read "The Shallows" by Nicholas Carr and found it really fascinating. It's about the brain and how our technology shapes it. I also recently started "Born to Run" and cannot seem to put it down. It's about the Tarahumara Indians who are a tribe of insane runners who live in the Mexican Copper Canyons. Check it out for sure.

TTFN. Ta Ta for Now!

I totally forgot that on my day off this week I went "rafting." Trust me, the quotation marks are mandatory. The reason? Well, it was more of a scenic boat float trip then anything else but it was awesome. It was Nina, Ashlee, and myself who went up to Cooper Landing for the trip. Well worth it too.

The drive was, as always, spectacular. We travelled down part of the Sterling Highway which was very scenic and very lovely. When we got to the rafting place,got situated in life jackets and then pretty much just got in the boat and left.

We were joking with our guide, Rocky, the entire time because we were also guides and we knew how this thing went. One thing inevitably led to another and somehow we ended up stopping for beers mid-rafts. Really, it made the trip. We floated down the river, took pictures, and had a great time. Somehow, even though we weren't doing anything, we were exhausted by the time it was over.

The only bad thing? I left my rain pants! Now I have to figure out how to get back to Cooper Landing to get my pants back. Oops. Oh and what had I been saying about it not raining a whole lot earlier? Well, I seemed to cast my fate right then. Now it's a total downpour... whoops!

It's seems strange to say but I've been in Seward for one month now and I'm loving it. The rainy days have subsided somewhat to a more steady stream of cloud and fog but the occasional patch of blue makes it all worth while. Thankfully, when the skies open up it's been a drip here and a drip there. Last week the weather was a disaster -- total downpour all the time.  I mean “chicken little, chicken little the sky is falling!” sort of down pour. The dogs were soaked. We were soaked. The tourists were soaked in their little yellow rain slickers. But it's been fun and everyone who comes to visit still has smiles on their face so it makes it all worth while!

Work has been busy but exciting. I've really enjoyed living in Seward and sharing my passion with dog enthusiasts from across the globe. Yesterday I had people from Israel, Portugal, and France on my tours to give you an idea of where people are coming from. I also had a Japanese family from just outside Tokyo the other day so I did my best to speak to them in Japanese... Utter failure! All I could remember was "I can speak a little Japanese" and "The dog is cute, don't you think?" But they seemed to enjoy my efforts nonetheless. Actually, I could understand what they were saying for the most part which was neat I just didn't have the vocabulary to respond. I guess that's how it goes when you don't practice.
At work, our big walk-in freezer broke recently. Luckily, we were able to use everything up before it got all mushy and gross. The downside was the freezer than stunk like fish. We took out all the gross wooden pallets and pieces of plywood that had lined the freezer, chopped them up, put them in a truck to take to the dump and then what happened...the truck died!  So inevitably with the fish smell lurking around we had a small black bear come to investigate what that "delicious" smell was. He couldn't have been very old. I'm guessing a year, maybe a year and a half at most. We are talking tiny. But he wandered around for quite some time yesterday until we got the truck fixed and moving on it's way.

We also had our crew party recently after work because people are starting to pack up and head home for the season. (so sad). It was a lot of fun, but I'd worked 11 hours or thereabouts so I was pretty beat by the time I got there. Our activities included throwing meat into a dog house (I got it in 4 tries!), running a four dog team on gravel on a wintersled, some sort of cash register check-out thing, a driving relay race, and just hanging out and eating pizza. Although I enjoyed being on a winter sled again, we took the dogs out on a very windy trail and these guys are fast. Stupidly, I choose the strongest dogs in the kennel who were much faster than I was. I was terrified of wiping out and getting gravel glued to my face. Scars are cool, don't get me wrong, but not on my face, please! Fortunately, there were no wipe outs but I was the slowest. (Darn!) Our team, after winning several events started losing and in the end came in last. That was ok though because we had the most laughs.

I got offered a winter touring / year round management position here in Seward for the next year and I decided to take it -- so if anyone wants to come visit me, I'm definitely encouraging it (though I will have to work!). I'm excited by the opportunities it will give me and think it will be a ton of fun. I've really enjoyed working with the Seavey's so far. They're fun people and very laid back -- plus I know I can learn a lot from them. Pretty neat being offered that sort of position after only being here for a couple of weeks! Guess I'm a good employee :) yay!

I'm also excited because my parents are coming to visit. They will fly into Alaska on Thursday and spend the following couple of days up in Denali National Park. I'm jealous because I haven't gotten to go there yet! Then they will come down here to Seward and we will go sight seeing and fishing. I'm very excited. I can't wait to see them!

All right well that's it for now.
I will try to post again later this week.
p.s. sorry this post is so scrambled/ bounces around a lot.

Well I went on a solo hike today during my day off. I ventured up the Harding Ice Field trail at the base of Exit Glacier. It’s an 8.2 mile round trip and the views are simply stunning. It’s the only trail in the United States that allows you to see onto an ice field.

I was blessed with scattered cloud coverage so I could see the nunatuks rise up out of the ice field. Because the sky was overcast, it was often difficult to distinguish where the snow ended and the sky began. Contrast that with the lush green all around me as well as the huge flowing glacier and it made for some truly spectacular photos.



Looking out at the Harding Ice Field I couldn’t help but think of a big, white, fluffy dog. Like a Samoyed or maybe just one of the Alaskans we have in the yard all spread out with it’s gangly limbs reaching down. Glaciers are extremely visually satisfying. They constantly take your breath away -- their breadth, depth, color and size are simply overwhelming. It’s also incredible to look out across the valley and see where the glacier used to be. This is surprisingly easy to tell as Glaciers leave their own footprints. Rounded mountain tops, deciduous trees, piles of dirt -- all telltale signs of glacier activity.



Wildlife was abundant. Not only were the wildflowers in full bloom, but I also got to see marmots and mountain goats. While I was up close and personal with the marmots (they were only about two feet away), the mountain goats were several hundred yards away from me and I could only make out their stubby legs. If they hadn’t been moving, I probably would have mistaken them for rocks or dirty snow (they are off-white in coloring.)



Anyways, that’s it for now!

Well, it's been a full two weeks on the dot since I arrived back in Alaska. The funny thing is, it seems like ages ago. Seward is incredibly beautiful. We are surrounded by mountains which, on a good day, grace us with their overwhelming presence and, on a bad day, hide beneath a layer of cloud. Still, you see the remains of snowy avalanches creeping down the mountain sides like long white arms, beckoning your eyes up and up and up.

The ocean here is calm and Resurrection bay itself rarely sees any whales but does play host to smaller mammals. I haven't seen any of those yet, but last Tuesday I did have the chance to stop by the Sea Life Center here in Seward and check out sea lions, otters, king crabs, and all sorts of fish. The center is actually a rehabilitation facility for injured wildlife and was funded by the Exxon-Valsdez oil spill.

Last Wednesday I was fortunate enough to get the chance to go ice climbing. Walking around on Glaciers is always a fun experience because you get to wear crampons. Plus, it never gets old saying you went ice climbing in July. What I really enjoyed about Exit Glacier (besides the hike in and the black bear) was the the forest service put signs up so that as you drove to the base of the glacier, you could look at where the glacier had been and how fast it receded. Sometimes it recede really quickly over a short time (think 5-15 years) and sometimes it stayed in place for a long time (think 30-40 years). Of course, this is a human time scale which isn't really the best way for measuring geological phenomena but it's pretty neat nonetheless.

Work itself is steady, busy, loud. We have 85 Alaskan huskies in our kennel plus several "pet" dogs inluding Chena. She runs a few times a week or whenever I get tired of hearing her howl, bark, and whine which happens whenever I'm in the dog yard and not paying attention to her. Jealous much? Joking! She's been a good girl and seems to be adjusting to outdoor life just fine. I think it helps that she gets to eat salmon, beef, and turkey fat everyday. -- it's kind of pathetic when your dog is getting to eat salmon and you aren't --

I love the dogs we're working with. They truly are world-class and I'm working with Iditarod Champions which is pretty cool. The Seavey's know what they're doing. Because we do so much harnessing and unharnessing of the dogs, they know the drill so it goes fairly quickly. I finally started guiding on my own yesterday which was exciting.

Before that my job was pretty much cleaning the kennel, watering the dogs, harnessing and unharnessing which is a big part of the life of the musher but... it's also pretty dull. It gets old fast especially when it's raining and the dogs are covered in heaping piles of mud. Oh well. I think I will forever smell like wet dog....

Getting to interact with the guests and the dogs is far more exciting and entertaining to me. I love talking to people and I love talking about dogsledding so it comes pretty natural. I tell them all about the Iditarod and answer any questions they may have about the race, the dogs, or my mushing experience thus far. Everyone gets excited when I say I want to run the Iditarod, but that's a pretty long time out -- I still don't even have a job this winter!

Well, I've been in the coffee shop for a long time now so I think I'm going to head elsewhere on my travels. Explore downtown Seward, pick up Chena and go for a walk, and maybe grab a bite to eat somewhere.

I'll try and post again soon but I don't have internet at my house and I work twelve hour days so it makes it difficult! Feel free to shoot me an email, leave me a comment, or a voicemail -- but remember I'm four hours behind all you East Coasters!

Inside me, I feel like I am sitting on the edge of something great. As if my feet are on the lip of some great canyon, the wind is blowing gently through my hair, and I'm looking down down down at something big and terrifying and horribly unknown.

Like the universe is swimming in my blood stream.

Today, I'm in Iowa.

Well it's been awhile since I updated. My apologies. I haven't been feeling very well, and although I have been up to some exciting things, I have been sleeping during almost all of my down time. This week gave me muscle...or it least it should have. On Monday I moved 30 boxes of meat weighing in at 50 pounds each. Then I moved 30 bags of dog food on Tuesday. On top of that, I feel like there is a fishhook in my throat. The words come out scratchy, if they come out at all.

I gave Chena a bath this morning. Now, she smells less bad but is terrified of the bathroom. Actually, I was really impressed with how well she behaved. She didn't enjoy it, that was for sure but she tolerated it. Nothing like a wet dog covered in soap suds, sitting in a bathtub. I also trimmed her toe nails.

The reason for the bath and the toenails is that Chena is meeting my madre this evening. She's also meeting my dad, but I'm more confident he will like her. My mother is a tough sell. Not that there isn't anything to like about Chena. She's absolutely wonderful. She's even learned to stay and to come which means she can wander around off leash here and there. Mostly she just follows me. I feel like a mama duck.

I would like to post some picture from my time in New York, but I actually havent downloaded my photos to my computer yet. I will try to do that tonight and post a couple. I had a splendid time there. On Saturday night we ate Lebanese food galore and on Sunday we went for a driving tour around Manhattan... I will still tired from my walk. It makes sense now, knowing I was getting sick. We went to Katz's diner and had these honking sandwiches. I sat right where they filmed When Harry Met Sally. So cool! I am drooling just thinking about the Reuben we got, though.  And the fries.

yummmmmm.

Oh I can't wait to see my family!

Well. New York is B I G. I arrived here yesterday around 3:00 after driving through a lot of the city on the bus. I actually got in the city around 2:15 and was amazed at simply how far we had to drive through it to get to the Port Authority bus station. I had no idea. The tall buildings simply went on and on, like a thick concrete forest.

After I arrived I wandered around and stumbled upon Time Square. It must call out to tourists because I found it without even trying. The big lights simply called out to me, so I followed. The snow falling down was beautiful and I enjoyed seeing the landmark made famous in too many movies. Because of the weather, it was practically empty.

I didn't know that this was so unusual. After, I wandered into the M&M candy shop to indulge my sweet tooth and try out some different colored M&M's. Delicious. By this time I was pretty famished so I walkd into a random cafe and got a Tabasco Panini and a canoli. Both were far too big and far too tasty. The only downside was my back was starting to hurt from lugging my suitcase around so I hopped on the subway and headed to my Cousin Vicki's. It really couldn't have been easier.

We hung out until Zlatka got home. She brought her boss, Irene because of the weather. The four of us ordered sushi and hung out, talking about this that and the other. I was extremely tired because I hadn't slept well... Chena's stomach rumbled like a freight train. She slept right through it, occasionaly making dog noises, but I couldn't. Eventually I woke her up and gave her some kibble.


Today I went in with Zlatka and Irene to their work, which is right on Time Square. It was really cool seeing a production agency. Zlatka and I talked about her job and it sounded really interesting. I told her about my love affair with movie trailers (they are the best part of any film) and she said I should consider a career in television writing or producing. I've been reading up on it. Sounds like fun.

Her work place is A M A Z I N G. It's so spacious an airy -- a theme I found throughout the day on my tour of the city which really surprised me. There was a ton of open space and then offices were people could do video editing. The rooms get rented out, people don't work in them full time, to companies like ABC, NBC and CBS ect. ect. I then got to partake in fresh bagel Friday and took a soda from the fully stocked fridge before departing on my merry way.

I headed down Broadway into Time Square again which was noticeably even less crowded (if even possible). The snow was falling steady and everything seemed so peaceful. The snowplows were out in full force and I was very grateful that I had worn my rainboots even though they are hideously unstylish as well as my full rainsuit. Not exactly Ms. Fashion Queen.

I really enjoyed the wide spacious side walks as well as the intricacies of the buildings that flowed by me, one after another after another. There were all different types of architecture going on. New interspersed with old -- but not in a tacky, unsightly way. I splashed about in puddles in my boots and eventually found myself in Central Park. It was delightful walking through with all the fresh snow covering the ground and seeing mothers pulling their babies around on sleds.

Eventually I made it to 5th Avenue and walked back up towards where I came from, making detours in the Apple Store (so I could make a move in my online scrabble game) and FAO Shwartz because when I was in grade school all the kids used to talk about it. I figured I better see what all the hype was about from way back in the day. The giant stuffed animals were really cool. I felt like I was on a stuffed animal safari with all the lions, giraffes and camels.

After, I made my way along window shopping. Some of the dresses I saw were simply stunning. The manequins looked like they were wearing waterfalls of flowy white silk. Simply gorgeous. Like snow queens. It couldn't have been more fitting. Some of the other designs I thought were a little too ostentatios -- but then I've always preferred the simple.

Somehow I then made my way to grand central station where I was simply awed by the grandeur of the building. I went inside and felt so incredibly small beneath it's blue shaped roof. It's funny, but that roof reminded me a lot of what the Great Hall is supposed to look like in Harry Potter. It was covered with pictures of the twelve zodiac constellations. It was very humbling to be standing in the middle of something that was so incredibly large and filled with so many people. Everyone's voices and footsteps blended together so that we sounded much like a river flowing steadily downstream.

Then I walked to the Tudor buildings and the United Nations which was really cool. I enjoyed the subtle details of the buildings. I was rather surprised, however, that the UN wasn't flying any flags. I thought they always flew, but maybe they were taken down for the weather or maybe they are only flown when it is open... most places were shut today.

I also found this really cool building... I forget it's name , with ah uge botanical garden. I wanteed to go in (the public was allowed) but the building was closed. I took a pretty cool picture however of the plants in the garden and the reflection of the snow outside.

My final stop was the New York Public Library which was big, beautiful, and currently the film location for the show Gossip Girls. I stumbled accidentily onto the set (not literally onto the set,  just outside it) and watched as they filmed a beautiful ballroom scene. It was strange seeing so many people dressed up and dancing, but really entertaining to see the band play too. I'm curious to see the show now just so I can say "I saw that scene being shot!" I don't watch the show, nor have I ever seen it but Leigh and Kerri do.

Then I headed back to Zlatka's work... I was pretty tired and turned on the hockey game. They have a huge TV and watched as the USA scored 6 quick goals against Finland within the first 12 minutes of the first period. Talk about a slaughtering...

Anyways, I'm back at Vicki's now but I had a really exciting day in the city. I could definitely see myself living here, which is strange because I thought I'd find the city big and overhwleming. It is big, but the city planning is simply brilliant -- especially having to deal wiith Boston's smooshed side walks and odd layout. I dig the organization here.

Ok, nap time.

Waking up to a foot plus of snow is always so delighful. I took Chena out this morning and she was real excited. I was great watching her romp around in the snow like a big puppy. I had an easy job in the morning. There was little poop to pick up. It had either been buried or the dogs simply had stayed in their houses all night long. I'm not sure which. I guess we'll learn in the spring...

I primarily spent the morning looking for dog bowls, which was tougher than it sounds though I recovered all but two. (go me!) After, I came back in with Chena. She hasn't gotten used to eating in the house yet though, so she's been going hungry. Though she was eyeing the tuna sandwhiches we made for lunch today with interest.

She's been doing really well and follows me around the house a lot, if she thinks I won't be coming back to the room. Earlier, when I went to move my laundry in the basement she sat up at the top of the stairs whining.

This weekend I'm going to New York City. I'm leaving tomorrow and am really excited! That means on friday during the day I will just walk around the city and hopefully not get too lost. I'd like to go to Central Park and Time Square because I've heard so much about them. I'm curious to see how different the city is from Boston. I'm sure it's going to be quite a shock. Well, bring it on!

It will be sad not seeing Chena for a couple of days too. That's all for now!

Well I'm at the 10,000 word mark. It probably doesn't sound like a lot, but that's approximately 40 pages in a novel, if you figure the average page in a novel has about 250 words which is the standard most publishers go by.

Depending on the genre novels usually range between 80,000 words (short side for general non-fiction) to 115,000 words (science fiction/fantasy).

The good news is I've made it so far. The bad news is,  it's still a longggggg way to go. The novel I'm currently writing (ahem, trying to write) is a dystopian science fiction piece with the working title "The Story of Caroline Burke." I found that I've been reading a lot in this genre and figured I had a decent understanding it.

I think it's a genre that allows tremendous flexibility in terms of what you do with it. I particularly like that it typically tackles what it means to be human by (usually) showing the loss of that humanity or the loss of things we think make us human.

Anyways, I just wanted to share the news.

Well, we are back to the ATV.

This is my dog Chena or B.C. (big Chena, Lev's nickname) or for some reason Chena Beana. I'm not sure where I got that. In my head sometimes its the Great Mexican Chena Beana. I'm not sure why. It's not like she wears a sombrero or has a goofy mustache and she's not very bean-like, although she does take after the 'musical fruit' aspect quite well.

Anyways, she's a furry bundle of love. During the day, we hang out. I try and write, she sits and watches me.  She's a very mellow old lady (~9) but still enjoys goofing around and pulling from time to time.

Currently, we're working on the "sit" command. Whoever said you can't teach an old dog new tricks must not have been using the right type of kibble. Right now she'll sit if she knows she's going to get something to eat out of it. Otherwise, she'll hold out and wait -- though we are slowly making progress.



I got her a toy duck but she didn't know what to do with it, so I gave it to Ollie. I also got her some chew bones. She chews it for a few minutes at a time here and there, but never for any extended period of time.

In other news...

Dogsledding this week has been interesting to say the least. We didn't get enough snow for the trails to be particularly good, but we've still been using them. This can be quite terrifying as in some places it becomes extraordinarily difficult to stop. So far we've gone out twice on the trail, each time worse than the one before.

My first trip out I had an eight dog string of pretty powerful boys who simply wouldn't slow down. I was standing on the drag mat and digging my heels in but we were still going incredibly fast over snow, dirt, rocks, gravel... you name it.  The worst is the hills. It's always the hills. Like some rollercoaster out of hell. No seatbelt, no nothing. Just got a hold on tight, drag your feet in and pray for friction to do it's miraculous thing. It's 'by the seat of your pants' mushing.

The good thing is (supposedly) I will never face a trail like that on a race, ect. The bad thing is the trip seemed incredibly long and I got really nervous that if I needed to stop or slow the team down (for whatever reason) that I wouldn't be able to. My stomach clenched up, which was a first for me. The bad thing also was the trip was deemed usable so we went out the following night.

I probably didn't get out onto the trail until 10:30 and by then my eyes were already dragging. Apparently long distance mushing is all about sleep deprivation. Well, no thank you. I was driving Lev's racing team. They'd already been out the night before so they were easier to manage. Still, I wouldn't call the trip 'fun,' but I'll certainly remember it.

anyways, nap time.

Other stuff

Listening to: Sarah Jarosz
Reading: The Book Thief
Following: The Vogel Family 
Planning: A trip to Nova Scotia
Dreaming: Riding a bike across the USA
Writing: The Story of Caroline Burke

over and out.

The tap tap tap of typing is always soothing. Like piano keys being struck, each letter has it's own sound, so when I sit down to write, I compose. Like Beethoven with a keyboard. I may be blind and deaf, but I'll make music that will leave you awe-struck.

I remember going to the Boston Symphony Orchestra once this fall all by myself, dressed to the nines. Seated on either side was a stranger who never turned their wooden cheekbones to say hello but it didn't matter. Think of the music.

Sometimes I think of New Orleans and imagine all the instruments that were stolen by the sea. The music comes bubbling up from the ocean floor and beats against the sand. Crash. Crash. Crash. Like a heartbeat you can wade in.

Sometimes, when I am outside I think of metaphors that unravel themselves like poems, a single train of thought taking me from Falmouth to Boston to Alaska to Home. Or maybe I don't think them, maybe I catch them like butterflies floating through the air and simply hold onto them long enough so that I can see the dust settled on their wings. I wonder if I scraped it off if I could fly. Like Peter Pan. Maybe I'd become a super hero and develop some sort of complex. (As if I didn't have one already.)

I've been dreaming mountains again, their ridged tops poking into the sky, like an Aunt poking your baby fat. Up. Up. Up.My dreams seem to be saying, as if I were a helium balloon trying to fight the kid who's holding my string. I spend my time online perusing websites about different mountain ranges thinking which one of you would I like to try? As if I were picking out entrees or appetizers.

I like to do things that empty my head so I can fill them with my butterfly thoughts and put them in jars of paper. Climb mountains. Bike. Walk in the woods under the trees. Stare up at the stars and wish I were a space pilot hovering above the earth like some sort of demi-god, laughing at the humans below: what did they know of living?

But then, what do I?

Well, I guess I spoke too soon. I ended up driving the ATV tonight. It was my second time on the machine with the dogs in front of me. Mostly, you just go straight and try to drive in the best track possible. Not too difficult.

The only hard part is that there is one sharp turn and you have to gas the ATV and swing it really hard. I didn't do so hot this time. I gave too much gas and nearly hit a dog...well not really but it was too close for comfort. Imagine if I had hit little Tessla! She's the smallest dog we have in the kennel but man does she pull hard! She's got a good head on her shoulders and she just keeps pulling and pulling.

It's also fun driving the ATV to and from the trailer to set up. I never would have imagined that I liked that sort of thing but it's sort of wild. The pathetic thing is I'm not even going far (maybe 50 yards...maybe) or even fast. I always did worry too much...

Tomorrow my good friend Dave is coming to visit. We met mushing sometime back at Kevin and Polly's. I really admire there set up. Ciao Ciao.

I'm currently listening to the Lord of the Rings on my ipod. I don't particularly like the reader. He doesn't do very good voices and tries to sing the poems embedded in the text. The result is hideous melodies that get stuck in my head for hours.

Ho! Tom Bombadil, Tom Bombadillo!
By water, wood and hill, by the read and willow,
By fire, sun and moon, harken now and hear us!
Come, Tom Bombadil, for our need is hear us!

This refrain has been stuck in my head for approximately three days. A broken soundbite that fills every inch of my brain when I'm trying to sit quietly and mind my own business. I suppose there could be worse things stuck in my head.

Anyways, while I scoop poop I listen to the adventures of Frodo Baggins. It's quite interesting because I also have the text. What I found is that while I don't mind listening to the book on tape, reading it is much more enjoyable. I wish the guy who did Harry Potter would do Lord of the Rings.

The snow storm that we were so desperately counting on was a complete bust which means we are still using the ATV. It's a little frusterating because I don't really do anything. I harness dogs and then tag along for the ride, a little bit of extra weight to pull. Usually, I try and think about the book that I'm trying to write. I say "trying" because I haven't gotten very far.

It seems as if I have all these great skeletons for stories in my head but giving them flesh and organs has turned virtually impossible. I have an army of half-alive stories parading around my skull bragging about the fact they are seemingly incomplete.

I'm not sure how to get around this problem. I write, but then what I write I do not like or I don't know where it's taking me. Or I try to plan, but I don't much like that either.

I keep feeling like writing a story should be like reading one. It should unravel itself to me as I go along, but I'm not naive enough to actually think that's how great books, or any book for that matter, is written. I don't like the endless struggle that seems to unfold every time I sit down to type or the endless questions about style or my characters.

My characters lately have been the worst part. I'm finding that I have a very hard time writing characters who are unique and, more importantly, have flaws. I specifically need to create unsavory characters but find myself incapable of doing so, despite surrounding myself in literature filled with them. The result is pages full of characters who are mind numbingly similar and who are predictable.

No one is perfect, but why am I so set on creating characters, who in seemingly every way, are perfect? And if not that, at least not mean. Jeesh. I have learned about myself from this process; I think people are inherently good or at least start off that way. Stupid, perhaps. But I can't exactly rewire my brain. Maybe I can override it though.

Alright, time to load up the dogs.

Sorry, it's been awhile. I haven't been feeling 100% so everything has been going a little slower than usual. Things here have been going quite well despite the lack of snow. Last week I took the old dogs out for a run all by myself which meant driving the truck and trailer. It wasn't as terrifying as I imagined it would be. In fact, it wasn't even difficult. Unfortunately, I couldn't report good news. The trail was in lousy shape and even with a 4 dog team slowing down on the ice was difficult.

So we are no longer using sleds. We've switched back to the ATV which is primarily used during fall training. The ATV has some advantages, I suppose. The main one being that you can stop on a dime. We do a different trail than if we use the sleds. Because the ATV can stop so easily, we go on a trail that cuts across a road that isn't used very often. We've passed cars 3 times. The look on the driver's face is always priceless. On Sunday, we ran into a woman who was out with her two dogs. One was a big puff ball of a dog who wasn't leashed and ran right at the team, but our dogs just kept truckin' along.

Last week we saw 3 dogs go . Turtle, Planck, and Ninilchik all moved on to new homes last week. Turtle had been running on my 6 dog team and I will definitely miss her even though she was a quiet dog who mostly kept to herself. I will miss Planck too despite the fact that he was a bit on the stupid side. I had a soft spot a mile long for him because he was such a playful, happy dog.

Over the weekend we made a long trek up to Greenville, ME where Lev was entered in a race. To get there took about 7 hours plus a stop or two for the dogs. The funny thing about stopping anywhere with a dog team is that people always come up and tell you there dog stories. It's nice.

There were 18 teams signed up for a 30 mile course. It was really exciting to go to a race that size. Although I'd been to two previous races, this race was different because there were more teams and more on the line (money). It was interesting seeing the different types of dogs and teams. There weren't many Siberian teams. I met some other mushers too which was nice.

Anyways, I'm tired again and I feel like I'm rambling.I just chopped up 100 pounds of meat for the dogs and I think I'm going to take a nap. Ciao.

Not a whole lot has been going on this week. The rain came, so we haven't really been able to take the dogs out much because the trail is icy and rather bare. Perhaps that will change though because we got an inch or two this morning.

I'm looking forward to Saturday -- I'm going to go dress shopping with my sister which means I get to go back to Boston. Funny how you don't realize how much a place means to you until you leave it. It's strange being away from the city although it may just be strange being away from people, particularly friends. In all my traveling that I've done before, I don't think I've ever forsaken social contact to this extent.

I always knew that I was a people person, but I don't think I every realized how much of a socialite I was until now. It's strange. Not being in the hustle and bustle has left me rather agitated. Things that normally don't bother me, irk me to no end.

I can't imagine I'm particularly fun to be with. Still, only so much can be said across a telephone wire, because only so much changes. Days come, days go. I still scoop poop, I try and write, I read -- but loneliness creeps in like some pungent odor wafting in through an open window and turns everything sour. Occasionally the cat saunters in to my room and offers me a reprieve, but, well, that's not the same.

Over the weekend I participated in my first dogsled race. It was a fifteen mile race in Wonalancet, NH. We had to get up at 3:30 am to get there. Talk about an early start!
I had a six dog team and was "competing" against twelve other teams. My goal for the race was to let the dogs have fun and to enjoy the experience, not to see how fast I could go. Because of that, I did not push them but made several stops. Two of the dogs on my team had never been in a race setting before.

Getting ready for the race required harnessing and bootying up the dogs as well as driving the team to the start and stopping them at the starting line. This is at least a two person job, usually a three or four person job because the dogs are really rearing to go. The excitement of seeing all the other teams out there really gets them going.

The course was a lot of fun and was my first experience going up really large hills. Most of the course went up and down then up and down some more. The race was incredibly well organized too so that at the few road crossing the racers didn't have to worry. The trail was also incredibly well marked. Green stakes meant you were on trail and red stakes indicated that at the next junction you would turn according to the side the stake was on.

I couldn't have been more pleased with my experience. My team (Lev, Loki, Turtle, Nik, Fineman & Walker) were incredible and did really well. I also had a lot of fun seeing a new trail. Some of the trail was quite tricky. The hills were long and in some places very steep, so I had to help push. There is a technique you use to help the dog which involves standing on one runner and pushing with your other leg. It's sort of a weird motion to do when going up hill. There were also several sharp turns. I also learned how to pass and how to get passed.

All-in-all, I had a fantastic time!

Sunday was when trouble struck -- and of course, trouble strikes in threes.

The First Strike.

First, the thing I had been dreading happened. I got lost, though I don't think lost is necessarily the right word, with a team of seven dogs. I knew where I was, more or less, it just wasn't where I was supposed to be. I was given directions and thought I had followed them. I was supposed to go straight at one section of trail and then take the next two lefts. Except I took a hard left instead of bearing left, which didn't bring me to the correct location. Bummer. I was pretty upset about that because I really don't like getting lost and I wasn't sure if I was taking the dogs too far or not far enough. Turned out to be the second of the two, which is bad because now they are behind in training.

The Second Strike

After that debacle we took out the 5 puppies and they ran really well. Trouble didn't strike until we got home. I was putting the puppies away and was about to put the last one in the puppy pen when I saw Ivan jumping up and down against the door and, to my horror, hit the lock loose. Next thing I knew I had four dogs tearing out across the kennel causing a cacophony of barking and howling. The next half hour was awful. I remembered the time when Samantha had gotten lost in New Hampshire and my mom and dad stayed up all night trying to find her. In some ways, this was worse because they weren't my dogs and they didn't know to come when they were called. I looked around for tracks with my headlamp and Lev got in his car to search for them. He did, thankfully, find them all. Apparently they were almost to town by the time he caught up with them and he had a hard time getting his hands on them. They thought the whole thing was a big game.

After they got back in their pen, it seemed nothing else could possibly go wrong. I was feeling pretty bad about everything however. When I went into the other puppy pen the 9 dogs immediately jumped on me and I slipped on ice and cracked my elbow. The dogs swarmed over me and started nipping at me. One stole my hat, which, I suppose I should be grateful for because the other dogs started chasing it trying to capture the new prize.

Eventually I won it back, only to slip again and the little devils pounced all over me again... I escaped eventually.

Today, it's warm and rainy. Not exactly inspiring weather. Hopefully, the rain won't take away too much snow and the trail won't get too icy.

Ok. Ciao.

What an exciting week. I have gone out on my own the last three nights in a row. What a blast! Tuesday night I took a six dog team on about a 12 mile run. It was beautiful and the dogs did a great job. I was a little nervous, however, because I wasn't entirely sure of where I was going even though I had done the loop before and was given directions at least 10 times. But getting lost tends to be a common thread with me so I think I was right to be a little nervous.

Before I headed out I had to put little booties on all of them because of all the new snow we've gotten. If you don't booty the dogs, the ice balls underneath their feet and it can hurt them. I'm still not particularly good at putting them on. You have to slip on the booties while the dog tries to wriggle away from you. Turns out dogs don't like wearing socks. Surprise, surprise.

Once I got out on the trail, I went pretty slow at first. The goal is to keep the dogs trotting rather than loping. Trotting is when each of their feet moves. Loping is, well, loping. The dog kind of bobs up and down, like a dolphin playing in the waves. I had good trotters though so I was able to gradually increase the speed little by little. My leaders, Turtle and Lev, were really something. Turtle is going to a new home at the end of the month, but Lev will stick around. He listens really well and is a super friendly dog, so I like him a lot.

Once I was certain of where we were going I was really able to relax and enjoy myself. At one point I passed Lev (the musher, not the dog) which was cool. The dogs did a great job of that. They are also great with getting passed by snowmobiles. It doesn't even phase them at this point.

I ended up getting back from that run, after putting the dogs back home in the kennel, around 4 am. Not what I'm used to. I've never been that much of a night owl (unless I have a good book). The trouble is, regardless of how tired I am, I still have to read before I can fall asleep. (Annoying!)

On Wednesday I took a 4 dog team (Kass, Kheddar, Ollie, and Ruff) out for a short loop. I love these dogs. They are so happy to go out and go at their own little pace. We got passed by a string of 8 snowmobiles... they just kept coming and coming. Ruff didn't really like that, but she got used to it. I missed the turn off I was supposed to take so I ended up going a little farther than normal, but the dogs didn't seem to mind. Ruff (she's a young dog) didn't like the pace I was setting for the older dogs. Too slow for her. She kept leaping around trying to get everyone to pull faster but the old dogs knew what they were doing and I didn't want to tire them out by going too fast.

Last night I took out the team I will be taking to the wonalancet(?) fun run. It's a 15 mile race. I will be taking: Lev, Loki, Turtle, Nik, Fineman, and Walker. I'm really excited about racing. It should be a good time and I have great dogs! Last night I was frustrated trying to set up to go.

The dogs wouldn't sit still for bootying and then the groomer came and sat waiting for me to leave which really stressed me out. Eventually, however, I got going and once I did I started to relax and have a good time. My team did really well and all the dogs looked great. Loki and Lev were great up front.

The trail is also really beautiful at night. Well, I shouldn't say trail so much as the stars which are so incredibly bright and remind me of Christmas. Last night the little little sliver of moon looked like the Chesire Cat's smile telling me to lighten up There is one spot on my trail that is definitely my favorite. I can never remember where it is (I'm so directionally challenged!) but I guess that must be some of the fun of it. The trail opens up out of the forest on either side and as you emerge from it there is Orion standing there up ahead on my left, as if he's waving hello or congratulating me or something.

I forget most of the other constellations but I can usually see the big dipper pretty well from the kennel and Arcturaus, which is the only star I can point out in the sky. I wish I had a telescope because the sky is very clear here. Sometimes, when I am out with the dogs in the kennel I think I can spot some planets but I'm never sure which one is which except for Mars because it's sort of red, but maybe I'm just making that up. It makes me want to be an astronaut again or at least go out into space. What an adventure that would be.


Anyways, I'm tired - I moved 1200 pounds of dog food today! - so I am going to take a catnap which is funny because the cat (Hemmingway) is curled up beside me as I write this.

On Friday, three packages came for me. It was like Christmas all over again! I got a pair of super-warm boots and a replacement headlamp from REI. You have to love their lifetime warranty. I also got a package from my madre. I also went to the library and picked up a few books, including the Golden Compass which I've never read, but feel like I should. That was the day I also finished Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince on my Ipod...so now it's on to The Deathly Hollows. I'm on the prowl for some new books on tape to listen to so if anyone has suggestions I would really appreciate it.

That afternoon, we ran lots of dogs down on the old train track area and I drove the truck/trailer. It definitely wasn't as intimidating as I thought, but I was still cautious. Precious cargo :). When we got there, I took out a small three dog team (Nik, Turtle, and Lev) down an old logging road. It was awesome! It was really hilly and turny, so I really had to lean heavy on the break but it was great practice because the turns really whipped around right at the bottom of the hills. The good thing was, I held on even when the sled sort of tipped over. I quickly righted it and then continued right back on. Lots of fun.

Nik and Turtle (the leaders) didn't really listen to me at first, so there were a few times when I had to stop and sort them out, but eventually they got the idea that I was the one calling the shots. It was a shorter run but super exciting especially as I had no idea what each turn would bring. The hills were also rather large and had a bit of thin cover in some areas. The sled would hit a root or a log poorly buried in the slow and jerk underneath me. It was a great run.

After we got back, we then took out the puppies who had only been harnessed once before. They all did a really good job. Koka Kola got over her habit of flopping down on the trail and did a great job of pulling. She really seemed to enjoy herself once she got the hang of it and realized that her harness wasn't going to bite her.

Then, Last night we took out a 16 dog string on thin cover. It was a bit of a bumpy ride and a little hard to slow down, but once again I managed to stay on -- even when the sled was really whipping around on the ice. It was a really great run especially because we had a new leader up front (Walker) and he was fantastic. When we got back from the run, the dogs were still rearing to go. They kept banging their harnesses.

Tonight we are supposed to get some snow which will be really beneficial to the trail system. It's really thin cover right now and therefore hard to stop. I'm hoping to take out a 6 dog team in the next few days which I'm really looking forward to.

Later!

Today I finally got a little creative writing done. It may not seem like a big deal (and it probably isn't) but I have been trying to write the same story for... well... way to long. (about a year and a half) I have officially written 3 different openings, the longest being about 70 pages and the shortest about 11. Strangely enough is they all start very different albeit similar stories. I really like two of them but have realized that since they start different stories and are aimed at different audiences (young adult vs. adult) that I can probably get away with writing two separate stories.

I also decided I want to get some chickens this summer. Mostly because I think they are funny and I like eggs. Plus, when you are done with them you can (hypothetically) eat them. I'm of the persuasion if you want to eat meat you should be able to "own up" to the deed. Right now, I'm looking at the Plymouth Rock Chicken mostly because it looks cool. It's this salt and pepper sort of deal. They are also pretty easy to take care of and lay a lot of eggs. Or maybe I will do a few different types of chickens. A sort of compare and contrast experiment if you will. It sounds fun, but I doubt it will be a cost-effective adventure or if I will even do it at all. I also think it's pretty funny that you cet them shipped in the mail. That's got to be one of the strangest packages a mailman can deliver...

Anyways, I played a lot with the dogs today because I had some free time. They're a pretty cheery lot so it's fun wandering down to say hello and scoop the occasional poop. There's something very calming about being down there. My own sort of zen.


ok. happy trails.

It's about 1:00 am and we just got back from a 9.5 mile run with most of the yearlings. We did it in about 56 minutes with two stops. Great fun. The best part was it was my first run on the double-sled where I didn't fall! I felt really comfortable on the sled and finally learned when to use which break and how to adjust during different levels of turning. After a certain point, it sort of becomes a fluid motion. I'm not sure why I didn't get the hang of it at first but it may have something to do with the fact that I'd never driven such a large team and that I was tired / adapting to a new living situation. Who knows.

Anyways, tonight was a total success! Tomorrow, I have to drive the big truck (easy) with the dog trailer (hard). Hopefully, I won't have to back it out of the driveway (near-impossible).

I'm currently reading both Little Women and The DaVinci Code...about as polar opposite as they come which is nice because it provides a nice balance. I sort of decided to read Little Woman on a lark because I have a Kindle and its free. I read Dan Brown because Dan Brown writes best-selling novels and I want to write best-selling novels. The book I really want to be reading write now is "The Year of the Flood" by Margaret Atwood but I'll read that next. It's the sequel to Oryx and Crake a tremendously well-wrtten novel that I highly recommend. Basically the novel is about how the world ends. I find I tend to really like those types of novels. The Road. The Giver. Atlas Shrugged -- though I suppose the moral of that story is how we should maintain society.

anyways, it's 1:11 am. This is eleven minutes worth of writing.
With that,
I'm off!

It's currently 8:50 and Lev isn't back yet. That means we probably won't get out to the trail til around 10:30 -- if we are lucky, which means another night that I spend up until 2:30 or 3:30 am. But no complaints, well not really anyway. The trail is beautiful in the dark and there is something to be said about traveling at night with only the lone bright spot of your headlamp lighting up the darkness ahead. It's also kind of like a roller-coaster. We travel so fast down hill it's scary. On average the team goes about 13mph downhill, however, its much faster.

So when you can't see and you go down hill into a sharp turn, things can get pretty interesting. I'm learning however to hang on for dear life. It helps that hauling around poop all day has built my upper body strength back up, though it could still use some work.

I spent another afternoon driving to and from the vets. Poor Hazel.

The dogs are outside making a racket probably because they know it's well past their dinner time. I can't blame them. I don't actually know if I will go out with Lev tonight. He only had me water eleven dogs... then again, they only go about 11 miles so I probably will go.

I spent the afternoon trying to fix my headlamp and failed. Instead, I ordered a new one knowing I can return this broken POS to REI when I have some free time. Sure, I could live without it and use one of Lev's head lamps but I like mine. Plus, his required wearing battery packs on your hip and when you fall off the sled and land on one of those it's probably the most painful thing ever. It's only happened once so far, but once is enough. Anyways, if you need a good head lamp get the black diamond icon from REI that way when it goes all hay-wire you can return it, no questions asked. I also ordered some new carhartts. Guess I went on a little bit of a spending spree. Seeing, however, that I spend all day in the same nasty little pair of snowpant that have turned this nasty shade of reddish-grey from chopping meat and having puppies paw at me all day.

Willow is outside and has been barking for about two hours straight. For the most part, the dogs are really quiet and mind to themselves. Randomly the choir will start up, but it usually only lasts ten or fifteen minutes. I'm tempted to go out and see why she's barking, but I know she is just being Willow. She's probably annoyed because when I gave out broth earlier this evening she didn't get any and she's sharp enough know that that means she won't be running tonight. Tough luck, kid. Plus, I'm warm in my bed and am going to have to get up in about 20 minutes to start feeding when Lev gets back.

Anyways, I've become a bit of scrabble addict on facebook so I"m going to go check my games and see how I'm doing.

Au revoir!

I just spent about a half hour hacking at a 50 pound block of frozen meat. I go at with this huge ax. It's a great way to take out aggression or get a work out. I have to break it into 10 semi-even pieces. It's quite fun though picking up the "shards" is kind of nasty. This meat is basically everything that people don't eat, bones and all - so naturally it smells hideous.

I'm also currently trying to thaw a frozen bucket of dog food. So far I have boiled water to put in the bucket 3 different times but to no success. I have now filled up the tub with hot water and letting the bucket soak in there. The downside is, I now have to take a shower with the dog food. This wouldn't be so bad except for the fact that it stinks. Oh well.

After that's done I get to shovel more poop and try and make the doors to the kennel work again... I don't think I will have much success -- there is too much ice frozen to the ground for me to break through. I will do my best though!

Well! I have been up at Team Ollie for one week and am having a great time. I really enjoy the daily routine. I get up around 8:00 and then head straight out to the dog yard and am greeted by 49 wagging tails. I then spend approximately an hour and a half shoveling poop. It's awfully glamorous. Actually, it's quite fun because, you know, you get to stop and play with each dog with some exceptions.

There are a couple of dogs here that really don't like people: Turtle, Willow, Nick, and Loke. The first two, no matter what you do they aren't going to come near you. Turtle is called Turtle because she hates getting out of her dog house and when she does she only stick out her front end. The only time I've seen her outside of her box completely is to eat or when she is in harness. Willow never really goes in her dog-house but always gives herself 180 degrees of separation. Nik and Loke, however, are quite different. They don't really enjoy being pet, but if you come up to them with a leash, a harness, or food then they will be your best friend. Interesting enough, every dog but Willow runs in lead.


My favorite dogs so far are Ghost (or Mr. Ghost), Planck, Texas, Johnny, Walker, Ivan and Slew. Of course, I love the puppies but the only one who I can actually tell apart is Bear and that's mostly because she is just so friendly. She also has the disgusting habit of chewing on a poopsicle and then coming to lick your face, tongue still brown and all. Pretty nasty.

Most of the dogs will try and eat their poop if it freezes. I guess they like the hard crunchy texture or something. Today when I went to pet one of the dogs, I put the poop bucket down too close to another dog, a little white girlie named Ensign, and she started picking turds out of the bucket and hiding them in her house. They all do this. Some of them, like Texas, have also learned to poop after I have already come by once so that I will come by and pet them again. I feel like I am encouraging this by petting them, but they are just so happy and cute!

Texas is a huge (and I mean huge!) dog. When he gets up on two legs he is easily my height He lives next to Mr. Ghost who likes to bite the tails of other dogs if they get to close. He just latches on and then doesn't let go. Strangely enough, the other dogs don't really seem to mind.

This past Saturday, I went to my first race as a spectator / handler. I didn't have to do a whole lot but I really enjoyed the atmosphere. It was quite fun seeing and hearing all the dogs as they got ready to go. There were 8 teams there in the 8-dog class which is what Lev ran. His goal was to come in last because he was taking out all his puppies who had never raced before and wanted to go slow and just let them have fun. Although the dogs had a great time, he didn't meet his goal of coming in last. He came in 3rd and is still baffled though very impressed with his little pups. I am too. They're great dogs.

I also helped harness break five 9-month old dogs who are all named after songs/lyrics from the Clash's London Calling album: Cadalic, Jimmy Jazz, KokaKola, Ivan, Rudi. Everyone got it which was great. Kokakola, however, that it was a game and started flopping over, almost as if she were dead and let the rest of the team drag her about as her tail wagged furiously. It was interesting watching this process as even though sled dogs are born to run, the concept of being in harness frightens them at first and they have to gradually warm up to it. Most of those dogs had never even worn a collar before so that in itself was frightening.

Dogsledding itself has been a blast though I fell off a lot at first and managed to break my brake and my sled, I'm now quite adept at hanging on for dear life. Just kidding. I'm now used to they way the sled handles going around curves and down hills and how to best brace myself to take those. It's definitely not easy, especially when you are behind a 15 or 16 dog team.

Anyways, I guess that's it for now. I jsut wanted to catch up because I said I would write down everything here in this blog but I've just been so tired! We run the dogs at night and usually don't get back til 1 or 2 in the morning and then up at 8. The day of the sled dog race it was up at 4 and in bed around 10:30... Long days, long nights.

But I'm doing it! I am following my dreams!

My my, how times flies. Its strange how my trips from this summer seem so close and so far away. I now find myself in a completely different climate as I begin to pursue my dream of dogsledding and the Iditarod. I am working with Team Ollie based out of Winchendon, Ma. Yesterday I filled the Sass-machine and drove up here, arriving around 4:30. I quickly unpacked my car --which was mostly filled with cold weather (four winter jackets!) while the cat, Hemmingway, meowed and kept me company as I was the only one home.

Now for my adventure:


By the time we had fed and watered the kennel (consisting of approximately 55 dogs) and had our own dinner, it was 10:15 at night. Then, we loaded up the dogs in the dog trailer, drove to the trail, harnessed and hooked up the dogs. Now, normally this is sort of easy but I had't harnessed a dog in over a year and I'd certainly never done it in the dark, so it presented an interesting challenge. I also learned how to change the runners on a sled because mine were broken.

If anyone ever tells you that dogsledding easy than they aren't doing it right. It's terrifying. Especially if you are double sledding (which is what I was doing). Double sledding means hitching up one sled behind the other, so that the second sled takes every turn with an amazing amount of whip lash. Needless to stay, I fell off within the first two miles. I stayed on for the next sharp turn but had a major wipe out on the next one. I ended up landing on the battery pack of my headlamp (attached to my hip) and breaking it, requiring me to mush in the dark. (Lev forgot about his spare head lamp in his sled.) Then, by about mile 7 or 8 and numerous more falls my brake broke. Sleds have 3 different ways to brake: there's the bar, the drag pad, and your feet. My bar broke, so I had to resort to using the other two methods which are fine but less effective when going down hill.

I can't even remember how many times I fell off the sled last night. All I know is, my only thought was "I can't wait for this to end. I can't wait for this to end." and "I am in so much pain. I hope I didn't break anything. I can't wait for this to end." But when all was said and done I had amazing time: despite the fact that our run lasted until 1:30. We went just under 22 miles with the team. It was pretty amazing. By the time we snacked the dogs, drove home, housed the, then fed and watered the dogs, it was 3:30 in the morning.

I woke up at 7:45 today then after lolling about for a bit, headed out to the dogyard to scoop poop and say hello. Sounds simple but it took me about an hour and a half. Then I had to take out the old straw in the dog boxes in the trailer and put in new straw, which took another two hours. Good thing I have an ipod with Harry Potter on tape. I'm done with work for the day until we go run them, so I'm going to eat lunch and take a nap.

I would say more, but my eyes keep closing.