Wolf Christmas reading; Trail Update, kids and sleds

I heard this on NPR today, it's about 6 minutes long...enjoy.

December 25, 2010

Weekend Edition's ambassador to the world of children's literature, Daniel Pinkwater, reads his Christmas tale, "Wolf Christmas."

http://www.npr.org/2010/12/25/132324290/Daniel-Pinkwater-Reads-Wolf-Christmas

I've been running 6- 8 dog teams on our trails with the sled for about 2 weeks now. We have a 3-4 inch well-packed base on most of the trails. Looking forward to going out tomorrow, with the Skandic, and getting a total mileage on the old and the new trails to the west. Plan on running dogs after that.

A few people are going to be on the trails here this next week. You are welcomed to join us!

The Totten kids are available, as needed, to be snowmobile escorts if anyone wants one - they have been getting some experience following or leading sled dog teams for me. They LOVE to drive the snowmobiles and they have passed a Snowmobile Safety Class this month. Donations for (of) gas accepted. :-)

Here's a photo of Ashley Totten's first sled "drive" with 3 dogs. Below that is Ashley and Jesse following me through Coyote Pass.

New Trail Section Opened Up!

We went out with 3 snowmobiles and 5 people on Sunday afternoon and got the new section of west trail opened up. Yahoo! The Totten kids and I scoped it out on Saturday to make sure the pink ribbons were still in place. Here are some photos.











View looking south - too much snow-fog to see how far the view extends (miles.)

Trails are groomed!

Most of the trails are groomed, with about a 3" packed tight base.






Let the sledding begin!

"Dryland" event this weekend cancelled

We will not be holding our "Dryland" event this weekend.

We have too much snow for rigs and not enough snow for sleds. We have about 8 inches of fluffy snow that packs down to about an inch.

Rick and I and the Totten kids will be working on checking out the trails for deadfall from the summer and recent winds if you want to come out and help - let me know so we can work out a time to meet.

Looks like lots of snow in the forecast for Sunday/Monday and next week.

Happy Trails!

MiDD goes to MUSH at Camp Rotary Saturday

MiDD members will be hosting a training exercise and equipment show and tell this coming Saturday at Camp Rotary - sign up at 11 a.m., drivers' meeting at 12:30, start at 1 p.m. We will have several skill stations set up along a route at the Scout property for trying out new skills, honing old ones. Come and join the fun!

Tired of the warm weather....

Here's a photo from 7:30 a.m. this a.m. Missed the best shot, at the best time, of course...very red hue to everything as the day broke over the tree line.

Boot Camp Survivors' Weekend

Some Mushing Boot Camp Photos

Mushing Boot Camp comes to Baldwin, again!

Mushing Boot Camp starts tomorrow.

The weather forecast looks great - we may even see some spits of snow on Saturday!

Photos to follow...

Campground near Midwest Mushers Symposium

Found a campground near Curtis, MI., the site of the 2nd Annual Midwest Mushers Symposium - I'm planning on camping this year - rates are $21.00 for a site with electric only - looks like a nice place - check it out http://www.uplogcabin.com/

Sebastian Schnuelle is the headliner this year with a line up of experienced racers on board for some interesting topics/discussions.

I'm taking a tent - heading up Thursday night so I can also attend the Teachers Symposium on Friday.

17 Dogs and One Cat went through the Express on Saturday.

Here are a few photos from Saturday afternoon. I wish I had taken one of Dr. Langlois and his assistant - it was a busy day and I just didn't think of it in time. We had 6 males done - they are doing really well - no problems at all.

Spay/Neuter Express IS A GO!!!!

Dr. Langlois is willing to come to our location with less than the 40 animals they usually need to travel this distance. Hooray!

See the photos and more information in the posts below. You can sign up if you want to join us - call me at 231-745-3614 or email: mushmutts@triton.net

Spay/Neuter Express coming on Sat., June 26th!

We have a date for the Spay/Neuter Express! I went to Stanton on Tues. a.m. to tour the rig and see how they set up for the day. The Express is in Stanton, at the Montcalm Co. Animal Shelter, every other Tues. I helped with the sign-in paperwork for an hour or so then left in order to get to work by noon. If you are interested in having a dog or cat spayed or neuter for a great price, please email me at mushmutts@triton.net to get on the list for our Baldwin date of June 26th. If we don't get enough mushers interested, we will open it up to the local community. Look for a flyer in the June MUSH SledHauler newsletter. See my May email below for more details or go to the website: www.spayneuterexpress.com
Here's some photos of the "Train":

Spay and Neuter Clinic Date for Baldwin: 06-26-10

The Spay/Neuter Express from the Grand Rapids area is scheduled:
Saturday, June 26th to Baldwin (probably the Wooden
Nickel, on W. U.S. Hwy. 10, 3 miles north of Baldwin.)

We need 40 dogs and cats signed up in advance to bring the clinic here.
We have 10 signed up so far (5-25-10.)

You can look over the fees, etc. at this link:

http://www.spayneuterexpress.com/servicesandfees.html

Basically, $52.50 for a male dog (60# or under.)
$67.50 for a female dog (60# or under.)

The additional $2.50 per dog covers the $100 cost of getting the mobile
unit to Baldwin.

They like a variety of animals; males, females, dogs, and cats too.

This is a great opportunity for mushers to get multiple dogs
(and cats) fixed at a reasonable cost. We may offer this to the local
community too - if we don't get enough mushers interested.

Please email or call Linda with the sex and type of animals you will bring to the
clinic. Linda will contact you with more information about exact times, etc.
Linda Lange: mushmutts@triton.net or 231-745-3614

Wooden Nickel Camping overnight: $15.00 per truck/camper ($5.00 to MiDD.)
No water onsite, electric-only, rustic privies available.

Feel free to share this email with anyone you know who may be interested.

Canine Good Citizen Workshop, offered by MiDD:

When: Saturday, June 19, 2010, 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Seminar Cost: MiDD members: $15.00; non-MiDD members: $20.00

Where: Langes' Last Chance Retreat and Trails, 4906 S. Forest Hill Dr.,
Baldwin, MI.

The workshop will be about training and testing for the Canine Good
Citizen test. You can learn more about CGC at the following link:

http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/training_testing.cfm

Instructor: Raissa Hinman, of Ann Arbor, MI.
Raissa, in addition to being a MiDD charter member and a mushing
enthusiast, is also an instructor with the Ann Arbor Dog Training Club who
has trained her Malamutes to four MACH titles and numerous UDS and UDX
titles over 20 years of training and competition. Raissa teaches and
competes in both obedience and agility with her Mals. She is a certified
Canine Good Citizen tester.

Raissa plans to demonstrate the Canine Good Citizen test, explain what 10
skills are tested, and give an overview as to how to train those skills.
Participants should bring their dogs.

Break for lunch: Noon to 1:00 p.m. Bring a bag lunch.

Apart from the seminar on Saturday, Raissa will also offer one-on-one
private instruction on Sunday for $20 per 1/2 hour. People can sign up
for privates prior to or the day of the seminar. Get expert help for your
training challenges, on and off the trail.

Camping on site available: $15 per night

(Canine Good Citizen testing will be offered at a later date.)

Contact Linda (mushmutts@triton.net) for camping info and to sign up for
the workshop; contact Raissa (arcticdawn@comcast.net) to set up privates
on Sunday.

Interested in a Spay/Neuter Clinic in Baldwin?

I contacted the Spay/Neuter Express from the Grand Rapids area.

They are willing to do a trip to Baldwin (our place, either the Wooden
Nickel or back at the lodge.)

They need 40 dogs and cats signed up in advance.

You can look over the fees, etc. at this link:

http://www.spayneuterexpress.com/servicesandfees.html

Basically, $52.50 for a male dog (60# or under.)
$67.50 for a female.

The additional $2.50 per dog covers the $100 cost of getting the mobile
unit to Baldwin.

They like a variety of animals; males, females, dogs, cats.

I think this may be a great opportunity for mushers to get multiple dogs
(and cats) fixed at a reasonable cost. We may offer this to the local
community too - if I don't get enough mushers interested.

Please email me with the sex and type of animals you will bring to the
clinic in Baldwin. If I get enough interest, I will schedule a date. I'm
thinking a date in May or June, if we can get one - it will depend on
their scheduling.

I'm interested in all feedback on this...positive and/or negative.

Feel free to share this email with anyone you know who may be interested.

Sweetwater Challenge #2 Video link

Here's link to Jay's video he put together from SWC#2


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cgxkhu3GfTA

It's great!

Mush for a Cure Photos

Mush for a Cure weekend didn't involve any dogsledding...the snow vanished...just a LOT OF PINK and FUN! Oh, yes, and over $28,000 raised for Breast Cancer Research!




Here's a group photo below of a lot of MiDD members who were at this event...first year for Patty and I, the Adopt-A-Husky folks have been here before...look for incriminating photos of Patty and I on Friday night, partying the night away at the Trail Center....




Mark Black (right, below), "Captain Mammogram" and his sidekicks...



Patty groping Mary Black....



This guy was camped at the event site, fishing and cross-country skiing - he was a good sport, taking part in the relay race as the owly prospector, "claim-jumpers, flatlanders, get out of here!")



We got to see a real, live moose cross the road (the Gunflint Trail) in front of our vehicle and then pose alongside the road so I could get a quick shot. Cool!

No Snow....

Went to "Mush for a Cure" last weekend in MN. - left with snow on the ground; came home to NO SNOW. Amazing. Will post MFAC photos in a few days...

Friday photos from a run on the East Trail.

Here's a few photos of the trail from today - 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. run. The stick in the ground shows 3.5 inches of packed trail - it's more or less that much throughout the east loop (4.5 mile loop) except for a few bare patches. It's hard and fast early in the morning; worth waiting for it to warm up before running. An aggressive drag mat is a must for these trails, in this condition.



A bare spot - one of a half dozen in 4.5 miles.


No bare spots here, deep in the woods (which is most of the trail system.)


A photo of the dog yard.


This is the outgoing trail from the camping/parking area and lodge.

It's 45 degrees as I am typing this at 1:45 p.m. It's not supposed to get as cold tonight (20's instead of teens) so it should soften up earlier tomorrow. It's not humid at all but the dogs did get warm and dipped a lot.

Trails are still holding up here.

Took these photos this morning before I went to work at noon:
Parking area, looking east:

Trail that crosses the driveway, looking west:


Trail looking east at the gate:


Trail looking west at the gate:


Heading up the big hill on our drive - all the hills on our driveway are down to dirt in places, easy in, easy out:

SWC#2 Photos - Great company, great trails.

We had 12 teams and 2 ski-jorers on the trail this past weekend. Here are some photos. Deanna Clark, DVM/super ski-jorer from WI. did a great hands-on presentation Saturday night in the lodge on the latest range-of-motion techniques that she is learning in her canine sports medicine classes. THANKS Deanna for taking the time to enlighten us! We had LOTS of great, home-cooked food all weekend. A wonderful time with great people, dogs and trails!