Game On!

Looking up a the mountains, I spied a low snow line. Figuring I might have to hike my skis for a some distance I was surprised, I could ski pretty close from the trailhead. A bit of powder on a hard base made for a fun kick and glide for the first day out. Sunny, warm, and no wind would keep the spirits high regardless of the snow conditions.

This time of year we share the trails with moose. Exercise some caution and its quite a nature show to watch.

After returning home, I put my comments down on the local trails report, finding out they appeared in the morning paper.ADN article on start of ski season Yep , "Took me a dozen years to ready my rock skis for today."

The start of ski season, Game On!

One-On-Bob

I like to take our each of our malamutes out individually. you'd probably call that a day of One-On-One, we call it a day of One-On-Bob. One-On-Bob days are a special experience because we have 3 of our own dogs, plus a foster or two. I find it boosts the bond between each dog and myself, its more enjoyable sometimes just to have one dog because its easier to care for just one dog and much simpler when afield, and boosts the confidence of our shy dogs to run free. To go out individually is a rare treat for the foster dog and a real good one at that. We should do this more often, it really helps in managing the foster dog, but we seldom do, I guess we'd rather take our own malamutes out individually.

Today I took Healy out by herself. About 4 miles into the hike, in the tundra, I let her off her leash to run loose.

She played bumper pool with my legs for a bit then realized she really was free. She took off running like the Greek fleet footed god Mercury.

They show their thanks for a One-On-Bob day in many ways. For Healy you just need to look into her face and watch her tail.

Thanks Healy, what a great day to connect.