Northern Minnesota – Dogsledding – December 2008

Me with lead dog Balto

Over the New Year’s holiday, Roman and I, along with two of our best friends, Teagan and Kenket, decided to take a trip up to northern Minnesota to go dogsledding. We were hosted by Kathleen of WintermoonSummerSun Kennels in Brimson, MN and it was a truly wonderful, unforgettable trip for all of us! The weather cooperated (only 20 below at night and getting into the teens during the days) – the snow was perfect, and the rustic wood-fire cabin lodging and traditional Finnish sauna was a treat.

Roman driving a sled on home.	Kenket and sled dog puppies.	A retired sled dog enjoying the good life.

The hand built cabin lodging had wonderful wood heat stoves.	Here I am pumping water for the dogs.	Roman takes a turn at the water pump.	The sled dogs were all so friendly!
How can you resist that little face??	Roman and I with two of the puppies.	Dog food buckets – in the winter they get fed a meat slurry.	Harnessing and hitching up a dog – he’s really eager to go!
The dogs are incredibly excited to run, when you hitch them they can’t wait to go!	Roman and I driving teams – such an exhilarating experience!	More dog driving.	Teagan and her team.
Teagan, Roman, Myself, Kenket, and puppies.	A beautiful dog named Hund.	A very gorgeous dog named Lichen. You can really see the wolf influence!	My personal favorite, Uno-Tuk.
Another beautiful Alaskan husky – Trondheim	Look at Trondheim prance!	One of the resident malamutes, Sparky. Woo woo!	A frozen waterfall at Gooseberry Falls state park.
A hike out to a beautiful view – the frozen shore of Lake Superior.

Brimson, Minnesota is located a bit over an hour from the city of Duluth. Kathleen owns over 300 acres and has a wonderful, hundred-year old Finnish cabin. With the help of the 47 working dogs she had there we learned the basics of mushing, as well as what it takes to care for the whole operation. We were able to help feed, water, harness, hitch, ride with and drive the dogs and sleds. Miles of beautiful trails through the dense forests were absolutely enchanting.

We also had the chance to spend New Year’s Eve at the local town hall (town of just over 30 people!) – they had a live band and contra dancing, it was a blast. Definite old midwestern charm. :)  I can’t wait to go back and dogsled some more – I can see why so many people find it addicting and end up with a kennel full of dogs themselves!

It is incredibly inspiring how motivated the dogs are and how much they love their work. These northern breeds are built to run and pull and they can’t wait to go out on the trails! Their power and speed is incredible. It is obvious the wonderful care each dog gets – they are all friendly, happy, healthy and get to retire in total comfort inside the home. Some of Kathleen’s dogs are 15-16 years old!

If you ever get the chance, like dogs, the winter, and outdoors, I would highly recommend dogsledding (as well as WintermoonSummersun)!