Have you ever said the subject line, or hear someone say it?
Never said it, but heard it somewhere
Now I know it’s true- dogs reincarnate as sled dogs, they are fed well, have lots of fur and live long in a beautiful kennel (than they go to another heaven where they are free to roam and chase snow cats)
Just look how happy this dog is!
When we arrived to the kennel – the dogs began to bark, most because they were about to be fed, some for the attention
So we walked around and patted lots of dogs- they all jumped on us, very friendly (they could have been icy to us)
They have amazing eyes, they are all medium sized dogs, kind of skinny, but they can run for hours
This is Mercedes- I tried to catch her eyes, but she kept moving
This is how the kennel looks like-
Mike was our musher (dog sled driver), bob is the owner a former marine marksman, wilderness guide, bear hunter, dog feeder and today suffered from food poisoning
The sled is the red device and on the right is a guy who doesn’t know what’s about to happen
Below is Jack, he was one of our lead dog team
I told you this was fun
Unless you are the lead dog, the view never changes
There are 6 dogs per sled
2 lead dogs- jack and junior, those are the smartest
2 team dogs- smart also
And 2 muscles dogs- slightly bigger and able to push harder- Taz is on the right
In alskan dogish- ji means right and wa means left- but it doesn’t matter- the dogs know the way
Wooooow is for stop and ‘Areyoureadyguys’ in an ancient ward meaning lets go guys
Junior was trained by inuites (you can’t say eskimo’s – its no longer politically correct) - , a strong dog , but runs sideways
its kind of funny- when he was on the right side- our sled was tilted- and harder to control, when he was on the left- all was straight – but he was mostly on the right
just beautiful, and the view is also nice
As you see- I am wearing a couple of layers more than usual- since I was cold in the snow mobiles- I decided to beef it up
So, wool socks, ski socks, heavy snow boots (courtesy of bob Johnson), thermal underpants (gathkes), sweatpants, another pair of sweat pants, ski pants, no under wear (have gathkes). High performance hiking shirt, warm vest, another warm vest, ski coat, neck warmer, scarf, warm hat, (+ the hat of the jacket), ski goggles, ski gloves. And yes, I can barley move
These dogs run around to keep in shape
You can say anything you want to the dogs as long as you do it in a calm voice, if you shout, they think something is wrong and don’t run fast- so be kind, and the dogs want bite your behind, talk nicer and the dogs will continue to run faster
This is a dam- I don’t know why, the water is frozen!, and the bright lamp in the back may be the sun- we were unsure for not having seen it in recent days
On top, our muscle dogs are aligned
Maybe they were cold- since they chose to be on the same side, these are not Siamese dogs
This is no joke- the dogs like it when you sing to them- they recognize you are in a good mood and so they respond
So we sang lots of hanoucha songs, kids songs (Marko, pinokio, ner li ner li, gan sagur, bimba, dardasim, katkatim, parpar nechmad) and lots more- I don’t know from where I remembered all these songs
But it was fun- I am sure no Alaskan dog has ever heard so much Hebrew
Some parts of the trail have low trees, so it hits you straight in the face- so you have to duck on the sled, but keep running if it is up hill- so lots of fun and not easy to do
So we stop for lunch, junior is the black dog looking back
During the run when ever they look back- it’s because you are lazy
Junior does it a lot during the up hill parts- he expects you to get your feet of the sled- and run
And we did, and it’s so hard with all those layers- we either hold the sled and run, or keep one foot on the sled and push with the other
We named them six pack
They are a pack of six after all
Bud light and Guinness in front, Amstel and Heineken in the back, bira nesher and haggis in the middle
The middle dog , who looked back got his nick name for being the 1st of them to poop on the trail
Most of did at some point, and it is not a big deal, unless it is during the uphill and you happen to step on it (I did)
And this dog was in general a hazard to the environment(could this be a response to my singing), but isn’t he cute?
There are 2 huts here
This is a ski site
And here is mike preparing our lunch by the fire place
mmmm…..hot cocoa
One of the dogs were limping, and we were hungry, so we had no choice – hot dogs are served, cooked on sticks
And here is alla running…
The photos may imply that I was just sitting there…. And it would be true
I was the 1st musher- and there are simple instructions, stand on the skis’ break often and hold on
The hardest turn is the 1st one after the kennel- - so I hold on somehow- and the turn is hard- I loose my grip and knocked to the side
Alla is dragged in the sled for a two hundred feet, as I chase and not managing to catch the dogs. Lucklily it was just the start, and bob caught up on the snow mobile
I told you every yoopi has a snow mobile
I didn’t know this while chasing- but Alla didn’t know I was knocked off and was laughing the whole time
The dogs just run, they don’t care if you are on or off the sled,
If you want them to stop you have to put a hook on the floor, the hook is in the sled.
So when we tipped over for the 2nd time- with alla mushing. This time the sled stopped, since it was in a strange angle and the ski’s were jammed in- so the dogs couldn’t pull (though they were trying)
An I was in the sled trying to get the hook out to tie it down so I can help alla who was thrown back and holding her arm- the hook was wrapped around my legs and I couldn’t get it, or leave the sled , since the dogs will carry it off and never be seen again.
A scary minute, till alla got up and we were on our way again- the arm was fine- a momentary pain
This is a tipi
,
As you see the whole way is amazing-
The dogs bark while you are at the kennel, but as soon as you hit the road, they are dead quiet- so all you see and feel is the road, and this experience is unmatched
Move over sky dive
Most of the way, mike in the sledge in front , was well in front, so we were alone, just us and nature
Can’t wait to do it again
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