Last Chance Retreat and Trails

Update - Friday, Jan. 27th - noon

2012-01-27T10:14:00.000-08:00

From 9 and 10 News – noon

Friday night:” …while the Northern L.P. and Central L.P. could see 1"- 3". Overnight lows will be in the 20s with a few isolated 30s.

Saturday will start with a few snow showers that could be heavy at times at daybreak. Light snow and mostly cloudy skies will hang around throughout the day with highs in the upper 20s and mid 30s. “

We got just enough precipitation overnight and now the sun, to ice up our driveway and the kennel. Rick is sanding the driveway from 32nd St. into the staging area right now. 32nd St. has been sanded this week already.

Yak Trax will be in order for getting between the camping/parking area and the lodge - that area is out in the open between the two. Just got in from marking the trails - it still looks good. The two stretches of seasonal roads (2 miles?) are icy in the tire tracks in a few places - we put in a fresh snomo trail on the far right side this morning so that should work out well. A couple of inches of snow will make it just right, otherwise I'm guessing the trails will be hard and fast. Rick is planning on running the trails with the groomer tomorrow morning well before the start at 11 a .m.

Sweetwater Challenge #1 is a GO!

2012-01-26T12:57:00.000-08:00

Here's a photo of Stearns at Wingleton (Stearns is a seasonal road.)
Shows the amount of snow we had yesterday (01-25-12) at noon.

Conditions are looking good for Saturday. Expecting more snow Friday night into Saturday a.m. Rick has been grooming trails today - says conditions are good!

I hear that there's no snow east of Clare and ice in Grand Rapids - we have SNOWY trails here in Baldwin!

Late entries taken up to the drivers meeting at 9 a .m. on Saturday.

Update: Conditions are marginal for the weekend, got warm and sunny today...

2012-01-05T14:10:00.000-08:00

SNOW...FINALLY!

2012-01-02T14:03:00.000-08:00

"If We Build It, Will You Come?" Survey

2011-10-07T05:45:00.000-07:00

Please take our Trail Designation Survey - It's only 4 questions!

http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22D9W24G5D2

Video of today's run (using helmet cam.)

2011-09-24T19:43:00.000-07:00

Pull Training Clinic is a GO - 9-28-11

2011-08-05T06:47:00.000-07:00

It's a GO! Jamie Nelson and Ann Stead are offering a 1-day Pull Training Clinic in Baldwin, Michigan at the Last Chance Retreat and Trails on Wednesday, September 28^th, 2011. registration closes September 8, 2011. For more information on the Pull Training Clinic and to register, click on this link: http://www.mushingbootcamp.com/pages/pull.html. For more information about Jamie Nelson and Ann Stead as instructors, click on this link: http://www.mushingbootcamp.com/pages/instructors.html. For more information on the site in Baldwin, MI, click on this link: http://www.michigandogdrivers.org/lastchanceretreatsite.html

Ramblings of One Weary Soldier: Proposed VA Service Dog Regulation -- Comment Period ends August 15, 2011

2011-06-25T06:23:00.000-07:00

Ramblings of One Weary Soldier: Proposed VA Service Dog Regulation -- Comment Period ends August 15, 2011

I found this on the way from somewhere else on the internet (Thanks, Rene.)

Services dogs for Vets, sounds like a good idea, eh? Right now regulations only allow for Guide Dogs for the blind via VA funding. This new regulation will include all Service dogs (not yet PTSD/Mental Health dogs - they are still "studying" that.) This is a good start.

Check it out.

Mariel's "Pointer Brothers"

2011-05-17T09:05:00.000-07:00

What's YOUR best caption for this photo?

Spring has arrived in Baldwin

2011-04-13T11:20:00.001-07:00

A couple of "dryland" photos from a previous year. Running three of the quarter-borders, one in harness, two tagging along on their necklines (all 3 in harness is WAY too much power for this trike set up!)

Zoom, zoom, zoom...

Skijoring with Blitzen and Wiley

2011-03-29T13:39:00.000-07:00

Spring is NOT here.

2011-03-28T06:00:00.001-07:00

A view on the east loop, Sunday, 03-27-11 - heading up the short hill to the railroad bed.

Intro to Dog Powered Sports - April 9 & 10, 2011

2011-03-20T10:01:00.000-07:00

You can find a link to the flyer for the Intro clinic on the home page of MiDD:
www.michigandogdrivers.org

Trails great this past weekend.

2011-03-14T10:17:00.000-07:00

No photos today - the trails were great over the weekend. I ran the 8 dog A team on Friday, Sunday and the four B team dogs this a.m. This morning was hard and fast after a very cold night. We are supposed to warm up in the 40s and 50s the rest of the week. Looks like one more very cold night so tomorrow morning should be good for another fast run. Will we keep our trails for this coming weekend? Only time will tell....

Discovering 3-7 - TV coverage of CD150

2011-03-09T04:27:00.000-08:00

Discovering 3-7

Love this TV coverage ("Discovering" weekly program) of the Copper Dog 150 - especially the interview with the winner, Ross Fraboni, of Duluth, MN. He gives Jamie Nelson her props early in the interview. She was slugging and slogging it out in Maine for a 3rd place finish in the CanAm 250 while he was finishing in first in the Copper Dog.

Snow far, snow good - 03-08-11

2011-03-08T09:56:00.000-08:00

Here's a photo from Monday's run - the 2-3 inches of fresh snow from Saturday is a nice cushion on the hard packed trail.

An article on the Sweetwater Challenge #2, 2011.

2011-02-28T12:15:00.000-08:00

From the Big Rapids, Michigan Online Newspaper (subscription required to view online, but they are having a 30 day free trial right now - there is a photo montage to view online.)

Dog sleds race through Bladwin for Sweetwater Challenge

Contestants took off at 11 a.m. from the Last Chance Retreat and Trails in Baldwin, most using teams of six dogs. Each musher could choose different trail loops to travel, with the option to run as little as 10 miles or as many as 30 miles.

(Pioneer photos/ Whitney Gronski-Buffa)
By Whitney Gronski-Buffa
Pioneer Staff Writer
Published: Monday, February 28, 2011 9:05 AM EST

BALDWIN — Ask a musher about the sensation of being pulled through frozen forests by a pack of wolf-like dogs who are leading you down a path you’ve never before traveled and they’ll likely use one word to describe it: Peaceful.

“It’s just really peaceful,” said Grand Rapids resident Mariel Versluis. “All you hear is the dogs breathing and the skis whooshing through the woods. Usually the first couple miles are not peaceful, but that is the payoff.”

Nine teams — some from as far away as southern Illinois and Wisconsin — met at the Last Chance Retreat and Trails in Baldwin for the Michigan Dog Drivers Association’s Sweetwater Challenge, a two-day noncompetitive dog sled event that gives mushers a chance to whip through the woods with their dogs and relax with friends.

The retreat, owned by Baldwin residents Rich and Linda Lange, hosts two challenges each year and several musher boot camps during the off-season. Drivers from across the Great Lakes region are drawn to Baldwin because of the quality of trails found in the Huron-Manistee National Forest.

“We definitely have the best trails in the state, in my opinion,” Rich Lange said. “The condition of these trails for running dogs is in good shape. That’s one way to judge a trail. You also judge it by how challenging or scenic it is, and we have all that. We have good trails that are not for the novice and extremely scenic.”

Each musher could choose different trail loops to travel, with the option to run as little as 10 miles or as many as 30 miles.The trails cut through an area of forest that has trees that are several hundred years old and have never been logged, Lange said.

The Sweetwater Challenge attracts two different types of mushers: The traditional dog sled team, which uses at least six dogs to pull a musher standing on or riding a sled, and skijor teams, which use two or three dogs to pull one person standing on cross-country style skis.

Versluis uses her two German shorthaired pointers for skijoring and travels around the country to compete. On Saturday morning, she completed a 10-mile loop with her dogs. Versluis said she enjoys the sport because it is so fast-paced — her dogs can run a mile in three minutes.

“I like the speed,” she said, laughing. “The sled people always try to talk me into sledding, but that pace, I just can’t deal with it.”

Donna Jankowski, a musher from Lake Villa, Ill., has been participating in MiDD races for four years and has attended several musher bootcamps at Last Chance. She uses a sled to run the trails and has a team of six dogs, five of which are rescue dogs. She competes in races throughout the Great Lakes region during the winter but said she always looks forward to the races in Baldwin.

“The trails, the scenery, the other mushers — it’s just a wonderful atmosphere and a wonderful camaraderie,” Jankowski said. “The trails here can be very technical, so you have to keep your speed down to be safe. ... There’s narrow trails, steep inclines and downhills, it’s not just a flat trail. I’m just getting to the point where I can finally start to enjoy the scenery.”

Jankowski prefers distance to speed, in part because it takes so much time and effort to travel to each event. She has participated in four-mile races with large cash prizes that are all about speed, but tends to seek out noncompetitive events like the Sweetwater Challenge that give her an opportunity to spend a lot of time on the trail with her team and connect with others who love the sport of dog sledding as much as she does.

“There’s no animosity toward anyone because you passed them on the trail or anything like that,” she said. “There’s no money involved. It’s just about being out on the trail with your dogs and watching all your training efforts come to fruition.”

There’s nothing that compare to the satisfaction of a good afternoon spent on a dog sled trail, Lange said, and that’s what draws people to a sport that leaves them out in the cold.

“Dogs make life bearable, especially under these times,” Lange said. “They’re the best mental relief you can get from what goes on in the day-to-day. You take eight of your dogs and go out on a 20-mile run, spend four hours in the woods taking in Mother Nature and the peace and quiet — it doesn’t get any better than that.”

For more information on MiDD events and the organization, visit their website.

A couple more photos from the trail...today, Thurs.

2011-02-24T09:34:00.000-08:00

I ran the new 2 mile section of trail this a.m. for the first time (these photos are not from that area.) It was just dandy. All the trails were really great this a.m., not hard and fast like last weekend.

Photos from Weds.

2011-02-24T04:36:00.001-08:00

The drive in to the staging area
Portion of trail that crosses driveway

Conditions for Sweetwater Challenge #2

2011-02-23T11:28:00.000-08:00

Photos to follow (I forgot the cord to my camera, on my way to work at noon.)

We had 9 teams on the trails last weekend for our winter campout. We had a hard, fast base then got 6 inches of snow Sunday/Monday. Trail conditions are good. We have groomed the trail twice this week so far. There's a little snow in the forecast for this weekend.

Our mile-long driveway is in good condition - some areas down to dirt as we have been scraping it down to dirt when ever we can.

There are a couple of patches of ice in the open area between the lodge and camping area - the icy spots are covered with snow so are deceptive for foot traffic - this is not an area where the dogs will be running. Never hurts to pack your YakTrax or other ice-walking human foot gear.

We always recommend that you have a good drag mat on your sled for running our trails - we do have several hills on the course and it's safer for the dogs if you can slow them on the downhills or if the trail is hard-packed. The more dogs you run, the beefier of a dragmat you need.

Drag mat with snomo studs photos

2011-02-18T16:32:00.001-08:00

Bottom
Top
Sideview

Friday, 10 a.m.

2011-02-18T07:59:00.001-08:00

The trails have held up through the thaw and rain...it got down in the 30s overnight and it's supposed to get cooler as the day goes on getting into the teens tonight. 6 inches of pack left where we've been packing trail all winter - I've been measuring where Rick plowed once - a nice mistake to find out about this a.m.

We will try to find time to shovel some snow on the driveway where the trail crosses the drive. 32nd St. is in good shape. Our driveway is mostly bare with a few icy patches.

Looking forward to running dogs this weekend!

Thursday photos

2011-02-17T08:20:00.001-08:00

Photos from noon today, 02-16-11

2011-02-16T10:15:00.000-08:00

Here's Sting on the trail next to the driveway.

Here's a shot of the metal ruler, tapped into the snow pack - shows 6.5 inches of snow pack left on the trail.

A kennel shot to compare to the one on Saturday.

A look at the Coyote Pass trail where it crosses the driveway. The leaves are on top of the packed trail, not showing through the snow to the ground.

A view of the kennel from Saturday, the 12th

2011-02-16T06:52:00.000-08:00

Like I said, we have LOTS of snow...we got a little sleet overnight, now the sun is out. We'll see how much rain we get tomorrow night....

Waiting out the melt....

2011-02-14T15:26:00.001-08:00

Been reading about folks north of us getting rain overnight, last night...not here thankfully, we got about a 1/2 inch of snow. In the 30's today with lots of sunshine. We do have a LOT of snow pack on the trails...waiting to see how things hold out for the weekend. We have a really nice location for our impromptu campout. If I can figure out the new camera, I will post a photo from Saturday, the 12th showing all the snow in the kennel.

First Sweetwater Challenge of 2011 A Chilling Success

2011-01-24T07:47:00.000-08:00

We had a fun weekend with really cold temps - Saturday night was below zero. Saturday featured wind and blowing snow coming out of the trees. It was like being in your own private snow globe. Sunday was crisp and cold all day with lots of sunshine. The trails were awesome, hookable even. Everyone had good weather for driving home - those with Sirius radio in their trucks were entertained by football on their drives home. Go Packers!

No photos this time. I lost my camera on the trail on Sunday, DRAT! I know I got some nice photos of the teams starting on Sunday. It's snowing heavily right now so the chances of seeing it again before spring are nil. Rick and the Totten boys looked for it yesterday, everywhere, on two different snowmobile runs.

I am happy with how my dogs ran this weekend - they were so flat the weekend before. The cold really makes a difference in their ability to "go the distance." I also changed my pre-run watering program (lesser amount) and stopped snacking them at the 1/2 way point. We might make the Copper Dog 35 yet!

An update for the weekend, Sweetwater Challenge #1

2011-01-17T15:06:00.001-08:00

I thought a couple of photos will speak more to the trail conditions, than my words.

The two photos below are from Sunday, the 16th, Patty and I taking a break at the turnaround point to the far west.

It was not reliably hookable but it's getting there - it's snowing right now with a couple more inches due overnight. More snow coming on Thursday and Friday too. It should be a great weekend!

Weather Forecast for Weekend/Early Next Week

2011-01-12T05:59:00.000-08:00

From 9 and 10 News:

"Saturday a system moves in from the West that will bring snow showers to Northern Michigan. Some of these snow showers could be heavy at times reducing visibilities and creating slick roads. Winds will also be gusty out of the West/Northwest at 10-20mph. Highs Saturday will be in the low 20s to low 30s. Sunday will bring lake effect snow showers with a few bands that could be heavy at times. For the most part Sunday will be a brief break from systems as another low pressure system will be moving in Monday afternoon and Tuesday bringing another shot of snow to Northern Michigan. Highs will remain in the 20s for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday."

Good news as we need more snow on the trails. We need "system" snow - all we have gotten is lake effect fluff that looks great but doesn't pack down to much. At least it is staying cold this week and next so we aren't losing anything.

Pretty sad when the Tahquamenon Race can't hold their event in January this year - unheard of. In 12 years of the event, they have postponed once, never cancelled. They are looking at Feb. 12th as an alternate date - let them know via their website email if you might be interested. http://www.tcsdr.org/

Baldwin Snow Conditions

2011-01-08T12:15:00.001-08:00

The single digit temps and today's sunshine are setting up the trails nicely. We got about a foot of snow in the past 6 days - powder but we've been packing it and it is finally setting up.

The photos below are from the east loop - glorious sunny day to take a run with the dogs. Tomorrow is "A" team day - more mileage, more dogs.

Happy trails, wherever you are!

8" of snow so far...more in the forecast.

2011-01-04T11:29:00.000-08:00

What a difference two days make!

We have 8" of snow since yesterday - heading out after work to begin packing it into a trail.

You can find the Northwoods Cam Network on www.johndee.com - once you open the NCN - click on either Irons or Baldwin (Wolf Lake) to see the "proof."

Yucky New Year

2011-01-02T12:18:00.002-08:00

A quick note to confirm that yes, the trails are trashed from the rain and warm temperatures on Thursday and Friday. Patty and I got in some good mileage on Thursday in the mist and fog.

We are forecast to get a little snow every day for the next week but no big accumulations. We'll have to wait and see what the second week of January has in store for us.

Wolf Christmas reading; Trail Update, kids and sleds

2010-12-25T10:46:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-12-22T05:45:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-12-16T11:47:00.000-08:00

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

Let the sledding begin!

"Dryland" event this weekend cancelled

2010-12-08T13:11:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-16T12:31:00.000-08:00

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....

2010-11-13T14:20:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-04T11:34:00.000-07:00

Some Mushing Boot Camp Photos

2010-11-04T11:26:00.001-07:00

Mushing Boot Camp comes to Baldwin, again!

2010-09-29T09:47:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-30T13:58:00.000-07:00

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.

2010-06-27T20:09:00.000-07:00

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!!!!

2010-06-22T13:18:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-06-02T09:49:00.001-07:00

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

2010-05-23T09:24:00.000-07:00

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:

2010-04-15T05:52:00.000-07:00

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?

2010-04-15T05:44:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-06T07:23:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-03T15:13:00.000-07:00

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....

2010-03-17T14:47:00.000-07:00

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.

2010-03-05T10:20:00.001-08:00

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.

2010-03-04T16:19:00.000-08:00

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.

2010-03-01T09:47:00.000-08:00

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!

The Sweetwater Challenge #2 is looking good!

2010-02-25T10:30:00.000-08:00

The trails are all groomed - Rick ran them all yesterday with the groomer. We have a good base and a little more snow on the way. My camera died so no photos :-(

We missed out on the 12" of snow that Ludington got Tuesday night into early Weds. a.m. We only got a couple of inches in our area.

Rick is going to sand the hills on our private drive. As of today, 32nd St. is snow-covered and not icy. We're ready for a good time on good trails!

Heading to the UP 200 this week.

2010-02-16T11:17:00.000-08:00

We had a grand weekend on the trails this past Valentine's weekend. The conditions were about perfect and so was the company. Several of us drove dogs out to the far west loop and had a campfire and lunch on the trail. I stayed the night at that location with 6 of our dogs and a sled full of gear. It was awesome to be sitting alone in the woods, listening to the coyotes' yip and howl and the sled dogs answer them. My camera died so I didn't get any photos. I would like to have a photo of the 6 pairs of green eyeballs watching me as I sat at the campfire contemplating the universe.

I will be home from the UP 200 sometime late Monday evening. I won't be on the computer again until then. GO, JOE GUTOWSKI!!!!

Four more inches of snow on our base.

2010-02-11T09:18:00.000-08:00

We got four inches of snow on top of what we had - a nice base for this weekend. Rick has groomed the trails already so they should be nicely set up.
A few of us may be camping overnight Saturday with the dogs at the far west end of the trail system - come and join us for the night or for a long break by a campfire with some food to share. Send me an email if you plan on coming.

Trails holding up well.

2010-02-07T07:57:00.000-08:00

Here's a few photos from this weekend - trails are in great shape, not hard and fast but well packed with a few inches of lake effect snow on top from last week. Several folks are coming here for Valentine's weekend to run dogs - a couple of us may camp out overnight on Saturday. I'll post a trail update on Thursday.

A couple more SWC#1 Photos...

2010-01-30T06:38:00.001-08:00

Here's our "#1" skijorer with her matched pair of GSP brothers.

and Kay running our "B" team...

Trails are in good shape for this weekend.

2010-01-29T15:30:00.000-08:00

See the Sweetwater Challenge #1 photos below - hope to get some more to post later on.

The trails are in good shape - we got a few inches of snow this week - Rick was out grooming today. I ran a 5 dog team on the "green" west trails. Larry and Diane have been here all week running dogs. They are off to a wedding this weekend.

There's room at the lodge and in camp for anyone wishing to get on the runners and out into the wilderness this weekend!

Give a call (231-745-3614 or send an email: mushmutts@triton.net

Photos from SWC#1

2010-01-29T06:27:00.000-08:00

Here's a few photos from Nowaks:

Happy Trails at Sweetwater Challenge #1

2010-01-24T10:36:00.000-08:00

Well we got in one day of the Sweetwater Challenge #1 - the hard, fast trails of this past week softened up just enough for everyone to have a great run yesterday. Cudos to Janine from WI. for her 22.5 mile run yesterday with 3 dogs! We also had a wedding in our gazebo yesterday afternoon - a spectator from last year whose wish it was to get married at a sled dog event. Photos to follow soon - we had 3 different photographers at different points on the trail (and in the gazebo) - I'm expecting some great photos to post.

Photos from my run this a.m.

2010-01-21T09:41:00.000-08:00

Rick went ahead of me this a.m. with the camera - he got two photos before the batteries went dead. Had a great run - the snow pack is in good shape, the brake is able to dig in and slow down the sled - not so hard packed that the brake just scrapes along the top. The leaves you see are on top of the snow, not spots where things are down to the ground - typical oak leaves - they drop all year long. The "frontal" shot shows the gangline in a pile on the ground - Rick stopped a little too sudden for the team and they got a little bunched up.

Sweetwater Challenge is a GO!

2010-01-21T05:58:00.000-08:00

Greetings from the Manistee National Forest!

We have a well-packed trail and plenty of snow.

I spoke with the local road commission today and they are going to sand 32nd St. for us as it is a little icy (packed snow that has glazed over.) We will have sand on the hills on our private drive, as we did last year.

As of today, the trails are not icy, hard packed and fast, but not icy. The forecast looks like mid-30’s for the high on Saturday so that should soften up the packed snow to some degree. The packed trails are about 4-5 inches thick - there's about a foot of snow in the woods, along the trails - no bare spots.

Regarding trails, we have simplified the routing of the trails to reduce some of the technical areas – we are running some of the route in the opposite direction from last year. The mileages will be 9.5 to 22.5 with the option of adding the 4.5 mile east loop at the end of the run, before coming back into camp.

We recommend, in addition to the required and recommended equipment in the entry rules (available on the website) that you have a drag mat and carry a snub line. Depending on the temps, a hook may not hold everywhere on the trail but we do have LOTS of trees to tie off to. As one long time musher says, “he who relies solely on a snowhook will soon become a pedestrian.”

We have quite a nice selection of prizes for our events this year – Patty has been working hard on soliciting items from sponsors.

www.michigandogdrivers.org

Tuesday before the SWC #1

2010-01-19T14:14:00.001-08:00

What can I say - lots of snow - well packed trail. Running the 7 dog A team tomorrow.....

Good trails under foot....

2010-01-17T12:18:00.000-08:00

Best wishes to all of our friends who are racing/pulling dogs this weekend at Lost Lake and Kalkaska. We stayed home to get some miles on our dogs and on our trails before the Sweetwater Challenge next weekend.

Here are some photos from this weekend. The trails are holding up really well - got off the trail on Sunday by 2 p.m., just as the sun came out. We should be fine for the weekend - we didn't get the sun and warm temps predicted earlier in the week. Looks like 30's for highs and 20's for lows for the next week with some possibility of snow showers.

No Photos - Just a long range weather update.

2010-01-14T09:35:00.000-08:00

Here's today's long range forecast from www.johndee.com :

5-10 DAY FORECAST:
The outlook for next week has changed a bit. I can also add that the models are in worse agreement on the details for next week than they were yesterday, but the general consensus is that things do not look as warm and the chances for rains do not look as great, especially the further north you go.
I am not yet ready to say that temps in the Northwoods next week will be remaining below freezing as one of the models is saying, but it looks like there could certainly be days next week when the Northwoods sees temps run below freezing. There are still come rain chances seen as we head through the middle to end of next week, but the best chances for the rains will occur the further south you go. It is looking like the Northwoods may end up being cold enough for the precip to fall as snow or as one of the models is indicating, the precip would stay south of I-80.
So I guess the bottom line for next week is it looks less threatening for snow loss in the northern Midwest. I am not yet ready to give the "all clear" yet, but things look more encouraging than they did the past several days.
-John

This weather site is the most accurate I've found over the years. John Dee is a retired weatherman who lives up in the Copper Country of the U.P. He looks at many different radars around the country to come up with his forecasts. He's an avid snowmobiler.

Another gorgeous weekend of mushing...

2010-01-10T04:51:00.001-08:00

Kay came up this Saturday for two days of mushing here at Last Chance - she hasn't been on sled in a few years so we went out with small teams.

The trails are in perfect shape, firm, hookable, but not too fast.

I missed being at Tahquemanon with all of our mushing friends, especially our MiDD friends who were running it for the first time. I didn't miss the drive though :-) It's nice to have 25 miles of trail in your back yard!

We have a great base for the Sweetwater Challenge event in two weeks. We'll see what Mother Nature throws our way between now and then.

A special thanks to Mike Monarch for the extra fully equipped Hall sled. It's worked out great as a loaner sled for our friends who want to run dogs but don't have all of the equipment themselves.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

2010-01-01T11:11:00.001-08:00

It's a gorgeous day in the woods today. These are photos from the "east trail." It's an approximately 5 mile loop, depending on where you pick up the trail from our system of trails on private land. This is all Federal land with no access from other trails. You can sometimes hear the snowmobile trail farther east but you can't see them or vice versa.

This loop goes by several wetland areas, one is in the second photo, to the left of the trail. The trail follows alongside the wetlands for great views of the surrounding hills and forest.

Off to run a second a team....

Getting in a quick run before work....

2009-12-30T11:09:00.000-08:00

This is a view along one of the ridges on our property. Striker keeps an eye on my every move. He's got a heavy dose of border collie flowing in his veins, even though he's only quarter border.

The trails are awesome - Rick is out right now putting in a few colored lathe pieces so our holiday guests can find their way around the trail system.

This should be an excellent New Year weekend on the runners! More snow in the forecast for the next few days, with cold temps.

I remember several New Year weekends in the past 10 years with nothing but dirt or mud - this will be the 3rd year in a row with great snow conditions at this time of the season. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

A Sunday Dog Yard View

2009-12-27T08:08:00.000-08:00

I thought I would share a different view. This is the main "play" pen in our dog yard, one of two play areas that the 20 x 20 pens open into.

As you can see, we kept a LOT of our snow, despite the rain.

Rick plowed the slush off major sections of our drive into camp yesterday while it was still near 30 degrees. He was able to run some of the trails with the snomo, only 3 trees down on the route he took.

Looking forward to taking a couple of teams out today. We are expecting guests to arrive in the next hour or so.

Happy Trails to you and yours!

The Day After

2009-12-26T08:54:00.000-08:00

This is the view from our deck. The rain came with snow right on it's heels - we don't need to get out the ice skates.

I measured the snow in the woods, where it isn't packed, there's at least 5-7 inches left - NO bare spots. The packed trail in the vicinity of the dog barn is about 3 - 4 inches thick.

There's still some slush around where the water could pool in the drive and parking area.

One good thing: the heavy snow that was stuck up in the trees (breaking limbs) is gone. It was interesting watching the clumps of snow fall out of these big pines yesterday afternoon - the trees have got to be relieved, they looked like they had arms hanging down, with big, billowy sleeves. If you look closely, you can see that the bird feeder and bird house still have a glob of frozen snow on top of them yet.

Some snow is on the way for each day from now until New Years. Trails should be good to go by Monday or Tuesday - I'm sure there's a lot of limbs down we will need to remove during the next two days. It's snowing lightly as I type this....

Tues, December 22nd

2009-12-22T05:28:00.000-08:00

Rick worked all day yesterday and got more trails opened up - we are up to 17 miles of trail open and groomed at least once. The earlier groomed trails are hookable; the rest should be good to hook after we run them a few more times. The weather looks very good for keeping all the snow we have and we are expecting more the end of this week.

Ran the rehabbed gorge trail on Sunday - what a fantastic ride! Rick has it groomed at least 6 feet wide - it's like a freeway - a hilly freeway that is. I ran it with a 6 dog team, out and back in - awesome.

Have a Merry Christmas and New Year! We're going to!

Quick note on conditions - Friday, the 18th

2009-12-18T17:42:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note to let folks know that Rick has 10 miles of trail open and GROOMED. We will work on the rest of the trail system as time allows and over the holiday. I'm looking forward to running dogs all weekend!

We played; Rick worked.

2009-12-14T05:28:00.000-08:00

Alicia came over this weekend and helped get the dogs out with sleds on the fresh snow. We split the B team on Saturday and ran them on our property. Sunday we split the A team and tried to run the East Loop on Federal land - but, alas, we had to turn around part way out due to MORE TREES DOWN! Rick had worked for two days to clear the downed trees from that section of trail and still more trees had come down overnight! We have never had this many trees come down from one week of snow.

Alicia and I had a good time with the dogs - Alicia is such a natural with the dogs - no one has ever run any of our A team dogs but us...they took to her right away. She handled the dicey conditions and strange-to-her sled with ease. She had never been behind Alaskans before, only Malamutes, so it was an exhilarating experience for her.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

2009-12-11T12:28:00.001-08:00

Well, be careful what you wish for...we have a foot and half of snow on the ground, since Monday. The snow that fell Tues. night into Weds. was wet, heavy stuff. Add to that another 4 - 5 inches on Weds. night into Thurs.

Many, many trees are hanging over the wooded trails - bogged down by wet snow that has frozen in place. Lots of work to do to open the trails and pack a path for dogsleds.

The east loop may be open this weekend - every time Rick goes out on that section he finds more trees down. He's focusing on plowing the road and camp area this afternoon. I was able to get out on the snomo and make a couple of passes on the trails on our land today.

Looks like a little bit of a warm up for Saturday (it's 14 degrees right now, on Friday afternoon.) Saturday is supposed to be a little sunny and upper 20s to low 30s - that should get some of the snow out of the trees and let this batch of snow settle into something that resembles a sled dog trail.

The snow is here, more on the way!

2009-12-07T10:15:00.000-08:00

We got 3 inches of snow overnight and it's still snowing lightly - some forecasts say another 3 inches by morning.

Big storm headed this way for Weds./Thurs. If we get the foot or more predicted we should be on sleds by next week. It looks like lake effect snow should keep coming after the storm, through the weekend.

We have 75% of the trails to sweep for deadfall from spring/summer/fall so it will take a while to open everything up again. We put most of our efforts into fixing the "gorge" this summer/early fall.

For the most accurate weather forecasts for our region, check out www.johndee.com

Don't forget to get your Sweetwater Challenge entries in - there's a deadline for chosing your t-shirt size. www.michigandogdrivers.org

Dec. 3rd Update

2009-12-03T06:46:00.000-08:00

My how time flies!

We have some folks coming this weekend (the Adopt-A-Husky group from the Chicago area.) The forecast looks likely for some snow. Currently various reports predict 6 - 12 inches for our general area.

The ground is not frozen so there won't be much of a packed trail yet. Plan on running small teams with a sled and bringing along a snub line to tie off to trees. A snowhook won't be very useful except for snagging trees (remember a strap to keep it on the tree.)

If we get enough snow to run the snomo, we will scope out the east trail first, then the trail to the west, for downed trees.

I'll post again tomorrow with an update on how this system is moving through our area.

Gorge Photos - The Grass is Up!

2009-10-13T13:56:00.001-07:00

The first photo shows where the trail changes from old to new, with grass growing through the straw mulch. A huge thanks to all who helped with this rehabilitation of this damaged area of the local forest. It has gone from an ugly, gouged out trench back to a trail that is level with the rest of the surrounding forest floor. 20 different people worked on this project over 13 days with funds from the Forest Service. Mission Accomplished! You should be proud of the work you did! Scroll down for "before" photos of the area.

Eureka Race Mix (Medford) Order Time

2009-09-29T13:18:00.000-07:00

Hi, all,

If you are interested in ordering frozen meat from Medford Fur Foods in Wisconsin, now is the time - in the next couple of days they will be done taking orders for the fall shipment.

You can call Tony at 715-748-2255 to place your order.

It will arrive sometime in the next few weeks at Traverse Cold Storage in Traverse City, MI., Cass Rd. You will need to set up an account with them. They charge $12.50 a month per pallet. They also charge a one time fee per order (not pallet) of $12.50. They have a website too. I'll post their phone number later.

Eureka Race Mix (chicken, turkey, beef, egg, oils, vit./min. etc.) is still going for 35 cents a pound in 50# blocks. There's also a Eureka High Protein Race Mix (more beef) for 42.5 cents a pound in 50# blocks. Transportation costs are added to these figures - Tony calls you with the final amount once all of the orders are received and the truck is commissioned. They also sell all other kinds of frozen meat products. The Eureka mixes are fully balanced diets by themselves.

There will not be another shipment until April or May 2010.

Photos from Gorge Rehab or "Trench Filling 101"

2009-09-16T13:12:00.000-07:00

I think these two comparison photos show what we were trying to accomplish better than any others that we took. We filled in the entire area under the pole that laid on the bank of the trench on either side - in the after shot, with just the quad parked there, the trench is completely filled in with logs and sand - level with the forest floor again. I took the after photo from a different angle as the sun was directly at the lens otherwise. The quad is parked on top of where the pole had been the day before.

What's under the sand? Here's a couple of photos showing the dead red pine logs that we hauled out of the woods and placed in the trench, then the skid steer placing sand over the top of them.

Here is a before shot as the trench was being filled with debris and an after shot of the same mid section trench with sand, shredded wood and top soil all in place.

Here is a shot of the piles of sand, mulch and topsoil at the west end of the project:

Here's a photo of one of the neat landmarks along this trail, before we filled in the area next to it:

Couldn't resist this photo of Foxy, our nine year old Border mutt, mother of our 8 Quarter Borders:

Many thank yous to give out - many people worked very hard on this project. Ed Setterington gets extra "attaboys" for staying over Monday, Tuesday and Weds. to work on the west end of the gorge. We had over a dozen workers on Saturday, including Kathy Bietau from the Forest Service, who also got us the DNR grant to do this work. We had 9 people on Sunday, working until 3 p.m. Per usual, anyone who wanted to, brought dogs and got in a couple of runs with their teams too. Our nephew Scott came over for two days of abuse, Monday and Tuesday.

We still need to seed the whole area, lay down straw and put in posts at the road to keep ORVs out but as of the end of today, the majority of the work is DONE. We have permission to open up this stretch of trail for winter use by sled dog teams. Rick has a nifty plan for a swinging gate as part of the post closure. THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO PITCHED IN WITH THIS CRAZY PROJECT!

Annual MiDD Meeting and Work Weekend - 9/12

2009-09-09T11:30:00.000-07:00

Just a brief note to remind everyone that our Annual Meeting is this Saturday at noon. This will be a lunch meeting. MiDD will be providing sloppy joes (turkey or beef, your choice) and a side dish, dessert, coffee/pop for lunch.

We will be working on the trail repair project beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday, break for the lunch meeting, then back on the trail project. We will be placing "woody debris" in the "gorge", filling it with sand, wood chips, top soil - leveling all that out and then seeding the trail repair with perennial rye grass seed. We have a rented skid steer to move materials around where we need them.

Shovels, rakes, gloves will all be useful. We will be working on this project starting Saturday and on into next week too. Free camping for all volunteers. Bring the dogs and get in a run early or late on our private trails.

This project is being funded by a grant MiDD received via the USDA/Forest Service with funding from the DNR.

For last minute info, please call me at 231-745-3614.

Photos from the Aug. 22/23 Work Weekend

2009-08-24T11:17:00.001-07:00

Here are some photos from our work weekend - repairing ORV damage to our main trail from our property to the west trails on Federal land. We put in a grant application last summer and received the go-ahead on the project this spring. Kathy Bietau from the Forest Service helped put the grant together. The funds are out of the DNR ORV repair fund. We are putting brush/small trees in the center of the trail and hauling in and placing sand in the trail to raise the trail to the rest of the forest floor.

Rick loaded and hauled the sand from the piles of sand dropped along our "driveway" for the project, through our property and down the trail to the project site. He had to get the truck through the deep sand on every pass in order to dump and turn around and go back for more. Our old equipment functioned better than expected and we used up all the sand on that end of the trail by the end of day on Saturday.

The dump truck worked pretty well for human transport too. The kids got a kick out of riding in the back of a dump truck.

Here you can see the trees/brush under the sand. Tad Brake was on hand to help out on Saturday. He has lots of farm and equipment experience to share along with a super positive, sunny disposition.

Once the sand was dumped it had to be raked out so Rick could drive over it with the next load.

There was also time to run some dog teams once the work was done on Saturday (and again Sunday morning.) The weather was much cooler than the previous weekend, notice the sweatshirts and jackets. The previous weekend we were in shorts and tank tops and ended the day with a swim in the Pere Marquette River - very cool running water.

Mike Monarch was on hand to help out too. He enjoys watching everyone hook up and run dogs - his sled dogs are all retired now.

Always time for a little relaxation after a hard day's work. This is a nice string of mostly Seppala Siberians in the background. Nicholas, the little blond on top of the truck, turned out to be a hard worker too and always good for a laugh.

Our big week long work session is coming up beginning Saturday, September 12th through the next weekend. We are renting an all terrain skid steer and moving sand on the far west end of the project (where more piles of sand are sitting.) We are also putting a layer of shredded wood and top soil on the sand and then seeding the whole project. This will allow us to use this section of trail for incoming and outgoing teams and also to use the trail in light snow conditions and with wheeled rigs which is was not possible with all the exposed roots across the trail. We should be able to groom a 6ft. wide trail this coming season.

We have a few openings for Mushing Boot Camp the first weekend (Thurs. at 4 p.m. to Sunday at noon) of October. Check it out at www.mushingbootcamp.com

1st "Gorge" Trail Work Sessions Aug. 15/16 & Aug. 22/23

2009-07-24T04:02:00.000-07:00

We met and walked the trail with several Forest Service folks on Thursday, July 23rd in the a.m. and we all decided it makes more sense for them to complete their portion of the trail rehab before we begin work on our section. They are closing the entry point to the illegal ORV trail that we are rehabbing. They are also attending the yearly meeting of the Lake association where most of the ORV traffic comes from on Aug. 1st to let them know that the trail is being closed for good (3rd try over the years) and serious enforcement will be taking place if they try to bypass the trail closure.

We will be working on the weekends of Aug. 15/16 and 22/23. The sand and wood chips are already on site; we have an all terrain skid steer (bobcat) rented for the work week in Sept.

Our big push on this project will still take place Sept. 12 - 19, rain or shine.

Boot Camp News

2009-07-19T07:01:00.000-07:00

Interested in Mushing Boot Camp the first weekend in October? Get your registration in - we need all 9 teams registered ASAP. Go to: http://www.mushingbootcamp.com/ and fill out the forms and follow the instructions there to get signed up.

Below are a few more photos of the trike with one dog in harness in lead, the other two running by their necklines.

Here's two views of the same section of driveway - what a difference 8 months makes!

Finally back on the blog!

2009-07-06T11:40:00.000-07:00

Whew! Took me many hours to figure it out but I finally did - back in business.

Here's a few photos of my trike set up with 3 dogs attached. The leader is in a guard harness (1/2 harness) and the other two dogs are running attached to their necklines only. Just when you think there's nothing new to try in dogsledding, someone comes up with a novel idea.

Jason Barron at http://www.kanabearenterprises.com and a few others are using this technique to back off some of the power so the dogs can get out in warmer temps and get some exercise in the late spring, summer and earlier fall. I know it sounds weird but the dogs do figure out to back off a little and they love getting out and running.

I'm hoping this will help reset their thermostats, so to speak, so they can tolerate warmer temps in the winter and beyond into next summer too. I'm also looking forward to using this technique in the winter to reduce power in the team when the conditions are dicey (read: icy!)

We aren't going far, only 1 - 2 miles a run, depending on how they look. Even at that short distance, I stop and offer water most days. It also affords a training experience, stopping, standing, waiting for my "go" command on the trail with little holding power on my end (a ball bungie around the hand brake is all the parking brake I have.) I think they are learning some better "wait" manners with this too.

I am running 5 teams of 3 a couple of times a week each, including right up to this week. In the really hot weather, we laid off for a week or so.

I run them right up to the kiddie pool when we come back to the barn and they jump right in to cool off (well, most of them anyway - some just don't care to be wet.)

Mushing Boot Camp comes to Baldwin!

2009-05-05T14:10:00.000-07:00

Here's a photo from our trails on private land - I thought I would include a spring view of the B team to show what our trails look like to anyone who hasn't been here. We are hosting a Mushing Boot Camp the first weekend of October (Thurs. through Sunday noon.) Go to www.mushingbootcamp.com to sign up!

Here are some photos from our impromptu trail work session last Friday and Saturday.

Many thanks to Ed Setterington and his friend, Jake for the work they did last weekend on the Sweetwater Challenge trails. We opened up another mile of new trail to the west and improved the overly challenging section of trail to the East.

The photo with the 3 amigos includes Rick and is taken on the east side of the far east wetland, looking west.

The photo where you can barely see people is taken on the newly opened trail, there's a couple of serious hills in that section - you can see many miles to the south from the highest hill.

St. Patrick's Day - no green but still some white!

2009-03-17T11:31:00.000-07:00

The photos below show what conditions were like this past weekend. Patty and I ran three and four dog teams Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I was able to get out last night and this morning for a couple of short runs with the "border mutts."

The first two photos I call "the Good."

...the Bad...(right)

...the Ugly (packed ice for trail)...

....behind the lodge...(right)

From one season into another - Patty coming in the "start chute."

Great Coverage of the SWC #2

2009-03-07T09:17:00.003-08:00

Howard Meyerson, Outdoor Editor of the Grand Rapids Press took some great video and photos at the MiDD event last weekend. There are several interviews too.

Here's the link to entire article, video and photos online:

http://www.mlive.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2009/03/mushers_go_the_distance_on_swe.html

This should also be in the print version of the Grand Rapids Press today.

It's nice to have some good news today - it's raining and 40 degrees - pretty depressing to see all of that wonderful snow wither away.

Sweetwater Challenge #2 A Success!

2009-03-04T12:13:00.000-08:00

Mother Nature was kind to us this past weekend - sunny skies, cold temperatures and hard, fast trails. The parking lot was icy but the trails were not. Here are some photos - I've been having fits getting them resized and renamed - I may add more later. We had 13 teams on the trail both days, with teams from IL., WI. and Delaware in addition to Michigan teams. Check out the 3 dog skijorer!

Conditions Look Good for the SWC #2

2009-02-27T06:40:00.000-08:00

I checked out the trail near the house and the driveway and took a drive on 32nd St. this a.m. I think everything is going to be good for the weekend. It's only supposed to get colder as the weekend goes on. It's snowing lightly right now (9:45 a.m.) but we aren't supposed to get much accumulation.

We didn't get the freezing rain overnight, we got a dusting of snow instead. 32nd St. is dusted over with snow and there's ice underneath but not glare ice - very driveable with a little caution. The sanding that Donnie did yesterday on the hills on our driveway is still partially visible and it's rough where he did that too so getting in our drive should be okay.

YakTrax or some other type of traction for your boots will be a good idea in the parking/staging area, as you can imagine, after all the rain we got yesterday. We will be using snowmobiles to get you to the start area, if desired.

The area where I measured the trail still had 6 inches of packed snow on it and it is set up but not rock hard or icy. Rick is going to rough it up with a scraper attachment on the drag just to be sure the surface will have some grip as it sets up overnight.

We are going to be at Government Lake Lodge (M37 - 1.5 miles north of downtown Baldwin) for supper tonight - about 8 p.m. - if you care to join us. Order from the menu, pay your own tab. We will be in the basement.

Drivers' meeting is at 9:00 tomorrow morning - first team out at 11:00 a.m.

You can leave a message at our home phone: 231-745-3614 We won't be by the phone much.

Forecast and Photos, Pre-SWC #2

2009-02-26T10:38:00.000-08:00

From 9 & 10 News Forecast as of 1:30 p.m. Thursday:

"First off, we are looking at the potential for some rain/freezing rain/mix late afternoon along and south of M-55. This threat will increase through much of the evening hours before it changes over to snow from west to east overnight. Total snow accumulations in this area (on top of the freezing rain/mix) will be around 2"-4". If we stay "warm" enough where the freezing rain/mix sticks around longer, snow amounts will be less. If some colder air gets into this system quicker...even by a couple of hours, even parts of our central counties could see heavier snow totals.

It will be colder and windy for Friday afternoon with partly cloudy skies with only a few snowshowers expected.

A quiet weekend is in store with cooler than normal temperatures with partly cloudy skies and only a few light snowshowers possible. "

The photos below show:

1. A ruler (19" in length - 7 inches in the snow pack - could be deeper, I didn't pound it in with a hammer 'cuz I didn't have one at the time.)

2. A shot to the west of gate showing the snow in woods and the trail.

3. A shot looking east where the trail crosses the driveway.

4. A shot of the "big hill" showing that it has been heavily sanded (THANK YOU, DONNIE!)

Trail Conditions for Sweetwater Challenge #2

2009-02-25T17:08:00.000-08:00

I'll try to post a photo or two tomorrow. We have LOTS of snow. We got 12 inches of snow while I was in the UP. We had a great base prior to that and Rick spent the weekend grooming the new snow fall.

Had some rain today and 36 degrees but it's done raining.

We are on a line between 1 - 4 inches and 5 - 10 inches of snow predicted for tomorrow night.

Trail conditions should be good for the weekend. Saturday looks to be sunny and mid-20s.

Photos from the UP 200

2009-02-24T17:58:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos from the UP 200 - if I have time I will put some text with the photos but I doubt I will get the time with the Sweetwater Challenge coming up in just a few days.

News about Joe and the UP 200

2009-02-23T06:59:00.000-08:00

This is an update to let anyone interested know a little of the story why Joe didn't make it to Marquette. I tell ya this guy is made out of some very special stuff. He had to quit about 30 miles from Marquette, at a road crossing. To say that he went through hell is an understatement. He was the last one out of Wetmore, 2 hours behind a "train" of 3 teams who were taking turns breaking trail for each other to get to Marquette to finish. By the time Joe got out on the trail, the work those teams had done to break through was a faint memory - no runner tracks to follow.

He also ran into overflow on the lake from the weight of the snow pushing down on the ice and water coming up through stress cracks. He ran through ice water 3/4s of the way to the top of his Cabela boots that sucked most of the booties off of the dogs. What a night. He broke trail on foot ahead of the team for many miles trying to reach Deerton where volunteers and vets were waiting for him. He estimates that he completed 210 miles of the 240 mile race.

We are so proud of him we are ready to burst. Of course Joe is disappointed that he didn't finish. He will probably need a day or two to fully digest what he went through. Even though he needed to finish to use this race as a qualifier for Irod, it would have been a minor accomplishment, in my opinion, compared to surviving the blizzard he went through on the trail with his dogs. He would have been disqualified at Deerton anyway as he sent one of the dogs ahead with the trail sweeper once they finally found him on the trail. When RJ got to him at the road crossing where he picked him up - Joe's clothing was completed soaked through with sweat. He had a large supply of adhesive body warmers that he applied to his trunk areas to keep his core temperature from crashing. Both he and the team are okay - no dogs needed immediate vet care, they were all just exhausted from pushing through the 20 - 24 inches of snow over the trail.

Sara and I are stuck in Wetmore - they closed M28 most of yesterday. RJ just squeaked through when they opened it last night at 8 p.m. We decided it made sense for us to stay put with the support vehicle in case he couldn't get through as we didn't know exactly where Joe was when RJ headed out. He got cell phone updates from the UP200 headquarters as he drove toward Chatham. Someone did drive out to the road crossing with bales of straw for the dogs to lay on until RJ could get there.

There is a rumor here at the motel that they may be closing it again now. They actually barracaded M28 yesterday, 1.5 miles from where we are staying. The motel clerk said the last time they did that it stayed closed for 2 days. Welcome to the UP! More to come....I can't see to type anymore, the tears keep welling up in my eyes just thinking about what he and the dogs went through last night.

Quick Update before Leaving Town

2009-02-18T15:53:00.000-08:00

RJ and I are heading to the UP200 with Joe Gutowski's wife, Sara tonight. Hoping to get across the bridge before the big winds hit. We have to be at the meeting tomorrow afternoon or Joe can be disqualified (handlers and musher must attend.)

Rick will be home all weekend - if you are thinking of coming up/over to run dogs - call ahead to let him know. We are forecast to get 5 - 10 inches of snow here over the next 36 hours. He hasn't run trails since Sunday a.m. but they should be about the same as they were then.

Valentine's Day Weekend

2009-02-16T12:22:00.000-08:00

I'm going to let the photos tell the story....

A great weekend on the trails!

Friday the 13th - 2nd Update

2009-02-13T14:16:00.000-08:00

I just got back from a trip to the Sec. of State office in Big Rapids - wow - NO snow over that way and not much at all until you get to Baldwin. If you are driving here this weekend, don't get discouraged as you head north/south/east/west - WE DO HAVE A LOT OF SNOW. We have a lot more at our place than what you will see in Baldwin-proper too.

Friday, the 13th - Trail Update

2009-02-13T09:45:00.001-08:00

12:30 p.m. We just got in from running all the trails with the smowmobile and 4 ft. drag. No bare spots, not even in "Eagle View" where it's very open. Several eagles were perched in the trees in that area today, overseeing things. The snow pack is thinnest (2") in the red pine plantations where the snow doesn't always reach the ground, at least not all of it. It's still deep in the second growth oak areas where the trees aren't crowded together.

It's been spitting snow all morning but not amounting to much on the ground - we have about 1.5 inches of wet snow on top of everything - it's a good thing as there are still some icy spots on the driveway and 32nd St. The wet snow is sticking to that really well.

The trail was punchier than I anticipated it would be - it should set up overnight after packing it down with the heavy snowmobile and two riders. It obviously didn't get as cold as they predicted overnight. It should be good to go tomorrow, if it gets below freezing tonight.

Call ahead and let us know if you are coming this way. I'm heading into town to do some errands, leave a message on the answering machine. I'll check email later too.

Trail Update - 02-12-09

2009-02-12T10:18:00.000-08:00

We haven't been out on any of the trails with the snowmobile yet (waiting for it to get colder and set up first) but what we can see and walk from the driveway looks good. I took a couple of photos at 11 a.m. today showing the packed trail depth that is left after the rain and warm weather this week. The photos were taken on the west and east side of the driveway at the gate. One side shows about 6.5 inches, the other side in a sparse area is about 3 inches. I expect that there will be a combination of the two depths throughout the trail and maybe a bare spot or two in the very open areas where the sun can hit it all day long. I'll post another update tonight or tomorrow a.m. Call or email for trail/driveway specifics if you are thinking of heading our way to run dogs this weekend.

Here's the 9&10 News forecast for tonight and the weekend:

"It will be windy and much colder today with afternoon temperatures falling to the upper 20s north to mid 30s south. Tonight scattered snowshowers (with small or no accumulation) and diminishing winds will be the story and lows will be into eh teens with some localized single digits, back to a February overnight/morning feel for sure! Friday will bring mostly cloudy skies and scattered flurries with highs in the upper 20s to low 30s. The weekend looks quiet and seasonably cold with decent sunshine expected and highs from the upper 20s to low 30s again. Lows will be cold, in the teens and single digits through Monday morning. Next week we return scattered snowshowers with similar temperatures, but no major storm systems are on the docket."