Sunday

We skied out to Grey Lake on Sunday, a bit stormy with wind and pelting snow as you can see by looking at Neil.




Valley doesn't seem to mind. Nice day despite the wind and pelting snow to ski with friends.

Pinocchio

Ok I lied, but I thought winter was over. I mean it was hot and the snow was punchy for the dogs. How could I know Mother Nature was going to deliver another 18 inches yesterday. Hey I rode my bike in for the first time yesterday, that's how convinced I was.

Here's Valley, she broke trail from the parking lot to the gasline in the stuff. Pretty damn good for a dog to push and pull in that deep snow.



Nicki skjored Babe again.


Looks like others had a good idea too.

That's all Folks!

With temperatures rising to the 50s (+9 deg C) during the day and
barely falling below freezing at night. It looks like our skijoring
season is coming to a close. We decided to take one last skijor trip
with Babe and our newest foster Mickey out to Williwaw Lakes before we
said "Good Night Irene" for the season.

Hard crusty snow made for some fast joring:

Mickey seems happy with his arrival at the lake:


after which he decided a snooze was in order while we ate lunch:


as folks skied by he checked them out

he wasn't too happy with the skiers not stopping by to pay him visit
so he gave them a talking to :)


What a beautiful day to say "The End" to a wonderful season.


Over 90 days skijoring this winter, and not a bad one in the bunch.

Crossword Puzzles

What's a 4 letter word for fun. Well snow fits, let's try it.

We have another winter storm warning, so far its 4 inches and snowing
hard. So we headed to the state park and went skiing.

When its snowing you get snow on your face, Valley doesn't mind:



he's happy to be here



its good to take a break now and again:


All the pictures were taken between 9pm and 9:30pm.

Well it really could stop snowing anytime it wants but gotta love the good life when we have it.

New Found Opportunities

When 20 inches of snow falls in a couple of days, once the driveway is clear, its time to play.
Looks like the start of a fine evening:


We always like to take a break to take in the sights:


Its always fun to skijor:


however things don't always go so well:

Let Freedom Ring

Valley got her first taste of off-leash freedom while we were out skiing on Friday. She's been ok off leash while out hiking, but she is terrified of skis. So she's stayed on leash all winter. After towing me up to the ridge:

I decided that I would let her go, just let her off her leash. She danced the happy jig for about five minutes:




Then the chase began, now I had to catch her again. How do you catch a dog mortified of skis. Well after 3 hours I finally caught her laying down and then just walked up to her using all the calming signals I could. It took 20 minutes after I got out of my skis. When I look at these pictures, it was all worth it.

Out to Lunch

Its not often we get on wide open groomed trails but this
weekend the warm sun seemed like an excellent opportunity to skijor
the dogs out to a lodge for lunch.

Here I am driving the bus, that's Valley towing my beer gut:


The trip from our start in Willow to the Hatcher Pass Lodge is 15
miles one way. So we took breaks.


It takes a while but leave the trees and enter the alpine where we are
greeted by some views:



You can see the wind blows up high and leaves the snow hard or the
tundra bare. This is looking back to where we started.



Hatcher Pass. The lodge, about a mile and a half away, is at the base
of the peak to the right of Valley's head. If you look closely you
can see folks coming up the trail (seen to the right of her head as
well).



And finally our last break before lunch.



what a great spot to go for lunch.

Our Newest Foster Dog

She showed up needing some bunk space. So we gave it to her. She's about the nicest disposition in a malamute we've had in the house. Its unusual when her tail isn't wagging. Weighing in at 115 pounds I keep thinking she's a guy because of her size. She has the biggest paws I've ever seen on a malamute. she also likes to ski :)

Kickstep

Nice that clouds abated so we could get a scenic shot :)


After kicking the flu it was great to get out on some fresh snow and kick and glide. Valley in the foreground, Kickstep in the background.

Frosty Day

Its been clear and cold quite often this season. Today was no exception. Here we are take a photo break on the Gold Mint trail in the Talkeetna Mountains. In these temps we can barely keep the camera working.

Happy Girls

Here are a couple of happy girls who live in the house. They really seem to like each other, don't they :). Considering how shy Babe was early in her life this is a real big boost for us funhogs.

the guy in the back

The guy in the back is Chema, in front of him is Zephyr, who ran the Iditarod twice, and 'Toba. He's gonna have to run pretty hard to catch those 2, LOL.


Looks to me like he doesn't mind being in the back


While we toil away checking snow conditions, Chema is keeping tabs on who is working and who is taking pictures.


and what better way to end they day than see this?


Merry Christmas!

friends

who could beat friends like this to ski with :) Michael, 'toba and Zephyr

Swimming lessons needed

Could somebody teach Chema to swim :)

Chema

I took Chema backcountry skiing today, it was his first time and I didn't know what to expect. I was hoping for the best and I got it. I was worried when I dug the snow pit for the Chugach National Forest Snow Observers Program, he might try to run off, bother me in the pit or chew his rope, but he just sat next to my pack while I worked away. You can see he's kind of got the Goretex Suit thing going with all the snow falling.







Then I skied back down the hill and he followed. I was worried he might run off, but he's into following me. Even when he ran ahead, I called him back, he was happy to follow me .






















what could a better day with a face like this?

Foster Dog

We've had Chema now about 2 months. He's been skijoring about a half dozen times. When we first got him, he'd hit the end of his leash and go in a circle. Big pain in the neck to walk him, but now-a-days he stays out in front, and pulls. Both walking and skijoring. On the skiing side, he's gone from running along side to staying in front and pulling, sometimes pretty hard. Pretty good dog to go skiing with. He definitely deserves an award for most improved.

Winter

Winter is full on at the house. We've been out skijoring and enjoying the snow. Valley seems to like it too. I've been really impressed with her this season, she's been leading and staying out front, she's even been breaking trail in chest deep powder. Shy dog does good!

MooseSki

What could be better than cross country skiing out and seeing moose. Soon they'll be dropping their horns but for now, seeing this is cool.

Caught in the Act

While out skiing with the dogs today I caught these Moose "in the act".


Our foster dog Chema pulls pretty good when somebody is in front of him. He pulls at times when he is out in front, but when he's tired, he just runs along side.

Game on!

Gotta love it when the weather man makes a mistake in the right direction. Enough snow to skijor on.

Yesterday we were hiking around looking at moose, today we are skijoring! WooHoo!