It was one of those perfect late October days, fall dressed in her finest colors, cold and crisp.
Sitting behind me on the ATV for the most part she was pretty quiet, once she got over the initial shock of the strength and the joy of these running dogs. At one point she whispered in a tiny voice into my ear "I wish I could paint".
I asked Erin to share her first run with you in her own words. Because of computer problems she has been carrying around a page from her notebook for a month now......
October 26,2008
Waking up at 5:30 this morning I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had gotten to know the dogs over the summer but all I had seen was their lazy, lounging summer ways. When we got out to Silver Lake the sun was just coming up and shining along the mountaintops. The lake was crystal clear and a couple of people with canoes were just setting out for a morning ride. I walked along the side of the truck and said hello to the dogs, each of them pressed their chilly noses into my hand as a greeting.
Waking up at 5:30 this morning I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had gotten to know the dogs over the summer but all I had seen was their lazy, lounging summer ways. When we got out to Silver Lake the sun was just coming up and shining along the mountaintops. The lake was crystal clear and a couple of people with canoes were just setting out for a morning ride. I walked along the side of the truck and said hello to the dogs, each of them pressed their chilly noses into my hand as a greeting. At first when Gwen let them out they were quiet,
as if just waking up after a snooze. As she unloaded the quad and started setting up they knew what was ahead and the howling began (all except for Jovo that is, he was just happy to get out and go to the bathroom after the two hour truck ride)!
Once the dogs were all hooked up we climbed onto the quad and off we went.
At first I thought Gwen was helping the dogs and pressing the gas, but to my surprise she wasn’t. These seemingly small dogs were carrying 700 pounds between the 8 of them. You could see the muscles in their bodies working but the way they ran was graceful and VERY humbling. The way they worked as a team was so cool, if one dog needed a break the other dogs would take on his/her weight to carry. Kit Kat was amazing and kept up the entire time despite the little load she was carrying in her belly.
water break
Impi pulls the team over to the far right while head on passing a couple of horse trailers
I wish that everyone could see the outdoors the way I saw it this morning. It was surreal running along a river with mountains all around and being pulled by sled dogs. In total we went about 14 kilometers.
When we got back to the truck the dogs weren’t even panting, they were in such amazing shape. After a cup of hot chocolate we set off and were on our way home again. All in all this was one of the coolest things I have ever got to experience and I can’t wait to do it again sometime!
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