Nanuq and I headed out to Dogsled Stacie's place this afternoon for some skijoring fun! Jon from Icy Waters was also there, each of us using two dogs to skijor.
The last time I skijored with two dogs when when I used Stacie's dog, Jack, to help teach Nanuq what he was supposed to do. This time, it was Nanuq, me and Stacie's dog, Ripper.
After some minor struggles attaching the dogs to my harness, we were ready to go. Well, almost. I watched in amazement as Nanuq started howling along with the other dogs. I used to think that the dogs were just being noisy. Now I'm pretty sure that it means, "C'mon! What are we waiting for?!" Nanuq was excited that we were going skijoring!
Stacie's team was out of the gate first and Nanuq and Ripper and I were hot on their heels. So hot, that we began to overtake them. Nanuq and Ripper were so eager to run! There was no hesitation on Nanuq's part this time, he knew exactly what he was supposed to do: run faster than the guys in front! I tried to stop them, and the most effective way of doing that was to fall flat on my butt. Which I did.
Up again and careening down the driveway, I saw Stacie hang a right on a trail that ran parallel to the road. Ripper got it right, but Nanuq and I missed the turn and ended up on the road, where we were joined by Ripper. Another right-hand turn was ahead and I wanted to slow the two excited powerhouses down a little. So I landed on my butt.
Over the shoulder along the roadside and not feeling very stable, I landed on my butt.
Down the trail along the highway and over a couple of access roads and I was down on my butt, this time scraping along the gravel. You see, the dogs didn't agree with my stopping (sometimes intentional and sometimes unintentional), and they just kept pulling.
Finally, we turned on the trail that led out into Shallow Bay. My hands were numb cold in my knitted mitts (not Granny-knitted mitts, which I wouldn't want to subject to getting dragged across gravel), which is not a good thing when you're just getting started. I had some warmer mitts in my backpack, but with the two beasts so focussed on high-speed pulling, I didn't dare attempt to put them on. Mostly my hands were cold because, other than falling on my butt, I hadn't done a lick of work. I started pushing with my poles, if only to get my circulation going again.
Out onto Shallow Bay and around Policeman's Point we flew. Occasionally, Stacie or Jon might stop to let everyone else by (by landing on their butts, I might add). Jon was practising passing with his team and they were doing quite a good job of it. Nanuq and Ripper didn't like getting passed and it was hard to hold them back - they were right on the tails of Jon's skis!
A pass here and a pass there, we took few breaks and Nanuq and Ripper didn't seem to want them. They would each take a mouthful of snow and start trying to pull again. In the wind, I could feel ice balls forming on my beard and I could see a light frost forming down one side of Ripper's neck. And still we flew, the dogs' tongues hanging out as they happily pulled.
After one brief stop, I got tangled up when Nanuq walked around me and started pulling when Stacie flew by. Wrapped in the rope, I fell flat on my butt and the dogs dragged me over a wooden trail marker, which I broke. After a minor struggle to get untangled, I dragged the dogs back to the marker and to where the marker belonged and re-planted it. That was the last time I fell on my butt.
The scenery around us was amazing and I tried to take it all in. It was a 360-panoramic view of the mountains and it was beautiful. I didn't have my camera, but that didn't matter. I really didn't get a chance to savour it, either. I was too busy trying to stay upright as we flew over hard-packed drifts. I smiled a great, big smile. I kept thinking over and over, This is awesome.
We approached a cutbank and I tried to adjust one of my skis. The ski popped off and I walked with one foot and skied with the other up the bank. This required no effort on my part; the dogs pulled me all the way up. What did require effort was holding them back while I tried to put my ski back on. We were about 5/8th of the way through the trip and they were still eager to pull.
When I finally did get my ski back on, were were a fair distance behind Stacie and Jon. I said, "Good boys!" and they started pulling harder. I said, "Let's go get 'em!" and they started pulling harder still.
Down the road and along another trail, the dogs slowed a little, which I was grateful for, since there was some sand and gravel on the road and it was starting to get dark. At one point, as I tried to cross to a less-rocky side of the road, I saw sparks fly from the metal strips that run along the sides of my skis. A few more turns and we were through the gate and into the yard.
And I just kept thinking, over and over, This is awesome!
Showing posts with label skijoring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label skijoring. Show all posts
February 03, 2007
January 30, 2007
By Jove, I think he's got it!
The days are definitely getting longer! Late yesterday afternoon, I decided to get out and enjoy some of the warm and sunny weather and take Nanuq for a skijor. Since I was on the road, it would be our first time in about three weeks.
What a difference from the plodding, constrained dog of the past! He bounced and wagged his tail as he pulled me faster than he's ever pulled me on his own. His smile was so big, I could see it from behind!
If I could read his little doggie thoughts, they might be, "Hey! This isn't work; it's FUN!"
I hope it keeps up! Thank-you, Stacie!
What a difference from the plodding, constrained dog of the past! He bounced and wagged his tail as he pulled me faster than he's ever pulled me on his own. His smile was so big, I could see it from behind!
If I could read his little doggie thoughts, they might be, "Hey! This isn't work; it's FUN!"
I hope it keeps up! Thank-you, Stacie!
January 28, 2007
A great day for a skijor!
The snow today was fast! By fast, I mean that my skis were very, very slippery. When I tried to ski normally, my skis would just slip backwards, making forward progress almost impossible. It was the kind of snow where a dog wouldn't even know s/he was pulling someone.
It's too bad I was skiing and not skijoring.
It's too bad I was skiing and not skijoring.
January 06, 2007
Mush Power!
Dogsled Stacie invited Nanuq and me to go skijoring. My hope was that, with a bit of guidance from an experienced skijoring/sled dog, Nanuq would discover that he is allowed to run while wearing his harness.
After some minor adjustments to the system, I hooked up Nanuq and his mentor, Jack, to my harness.
Getting ready to go skijoring.
Nanuq: I'm going this way.
Jack: You do that puppy-boy. I'm going this way.
Me: Hey, aren't I supposed to be in charge here?
When we finally got organized, we headed to the start of the trail where Jack took off like a shot! The sudden acceleration caused the bungee cord portion of my line to detach and chase after the dogs. I called to them to stop, which Nanuq did a little faster than Jack. Nanuq's harness pulled over his head. Fawn, who was carrying Jade in her amauti, dashed down to the dogs and held them while I untangled Nanuq from his harness and made some adjustments to my pulling system.
Ready to go again, I gave the OK and we rocketed away. It was AWESOME! Nanuq didn't pull at first and I was afraid that his harness was going to get pulled over his head again, but he caught on quickly and caught up to Jack. Jack was a powerhouse who knew how it was supposed to be done and it wasn't too long before Nanuq's line was taut. The mentoring had begun.
I "whooped" and "yahooed" as the wind bit through my clothes. I had dressed as if I were going skijoring with Nanuq - an activity that requires a lot more effort on my part - and now realised that, if my heart wasn't racing a mile-a-minute from the excitement, I would be horribly under-dressed and very cold.
They were going so fast, I couldn't ski skate-style and I couldn't ski in the classic-style; all I would do was push with my poles and that wasn't helping much. Anything else I did just slowed them down. In a way, I was grateful that the snow was "sticky", because if my skis had slid over the snow any faster, the skin on my face would have begun to peel back from the G-forces.
At least, that's how it was when we were moving. At one point, a smog1 of snowmobilers passed us. Nanuq, with his bush dog training, moved to the side of the trail and sat down to let the snowmachines pass, just like I taught him to do. Jack, on the other hand, with his sled dog training, kept running, once again pulling Nanuq's harness over his head. I could see that there would be some more un-training to do with Nanuq.
Once we got Nanuq untangled again, we were off. There were other skijorers on the trail who were stopped for a quick break. We slowed down, there was a bit of a tangle and the...
I can't really remember what happened, but at some point, the bungee cord snapped and Nanuq and Jack kept running down the trail. They dashed off and entered the "P" loop on the trail, dragging the tow line behind them and leaving me alone without my mush power.
I skied quickly over to the bottom of the "P" loop and caught them coming out. Thank goodness they knew the trail. Once again, Nanuq's harness was over his head. While I tried to fix it, Jack kept insisting that we should still be running and he pulled and tugged and jumped on the line. Stacie was ahead of us now and he wanted to be with her and his kennel companions.
I eventually managed to get Nanuq's harness fixed without letting Jack drag me head-first along the trail. I removed the damaged bungee connection and attached the dogs to my harness again.
Jack was still rearing to go and, as I began to let him pick up speed, I could see Nanuq hesitate for a second, think better of it (because he didn't want his harness pulled over his head again), start to run side-by-side with Jack. Once again, we were off!
Except for a brief stop near resting skijorers and their dogs, we ran clean back to where we started, with Jack and Nanuq pulling all the way at high speed. If we hadn't had several harness untangling delays, we might have completed the 5km course in record time. It was certainly the fastest Nanuq and I have ever done it!
Hopefully, Stacie will let me and Nanuq skijor with Jack again. I think Nanuq enjoyed it and I know I sure did!
1If you can have a murder of ravens or a pride of lions, why not a smog of snowmobilers?
After some minor adjustments to the system, I hooked up Nanuq and his mentor, Jack, to my harness.
Getting ready to go skijoring.Nanuq: I'm going this way.
Jack: You do that puppy-boy. I'm going this way.
Me: Hey, aren't I supposed to be in charge here?
When we finally got organized, we headed to the start of the trail where Jack took off like a shot! The sudden acceleration caused the bungee cord portion of my line to detach and chase after the dogs. I called to them to stop, which Nanuq did a little faster than Jack. Nanuq's harness pulled over his head. Fawn, who was carrying Jade in her amauti, dashed down to the dogs and held them while I untangled Nanuq from his harness and made some adjustments to my pulling system.
Ready to go again, I gave the OK and we rocketed away. It was AWESOME! Nanuq didn't pull at first and I was afraid that his harness was going to get pulled over his head again, but he caught on quickly and caught up to Jack. Jack was a powerhouse who knew how it was supposed to be done and it wasn't too long before Nanuq's line was taut. The mentoring had begun.
I "whooped" and "yahooed" as the wind bit through my clothes. I had dressed as if I were going skijoring with Nanuq - an activity that requires a lot more effort on my part - and now realised that, if my heart wasn't racing a mile-a-minute from the excitement, I would be horribly under-dressed and very cold.
They were going so fast, I couldn't ski skate-style and I couldn't ski in the classic-style; all I would do was push with my poles and that wasn't helping much. Anything else I did just slowed them down. In a way, I was grateful that the snow was "sticky", because if my skis had slid over the snow any faster, the skin on my face would have begun to peel back from the G-forces.
At least, that's how it was when we were moving. At one point, a smog1 of snowmobilers passed us. Nanuq, with his bush dog training, moved to the side of the trail and sat down to let the snowmachines pass, just like I taught him to do. Jack, on the other hand, with his sled dog training, kept running, once again pulling Nanuq's harness over his head. I could see that there would be some more un-training to do with Nanuq.
Once we got Nanuq untangled again, we were off. There were other skijorers on the trail who were stopped for a quick break. We slowed down, there was a bit of a tangle and the...
I can't really remember what happened, but at some point, the bungee cord snapped and Nanuq and Jack kept running down the trail. They dashed off and entered the "P" loop on the trail, dragging the tow line behind them and leaving me alone without my mush power.
I skied quickly over to the bottom of the "P" loop and caught them coming out. Thank goodness they knew the trail. Once again, Nanuq's harness was over his head. While I tried to fix it, Jack kept insisting that we should still be running and he pulled and tugged and jumped on the line. Stacie was ahead of us now and he wanted to be with her and his kennel companions.
I eventually managed to get Nanuq's harness fixed without letting Jack drag me head-first along the trail. I removed the damaged bungee connection and attached the dogs to my harness again.
Jack was still rearing to go and, as I began to let him pick up speed, I could see Nanuq hesitate for a second, think better of it (because he didn't want his harness pulled over his head again), start to run side-by-side with Jack. Once again, we were off!
Except for a brief stop near resting skijorers and their dogs, we ran clean back to where we started, with Jack and Nanuq pulling all the way at high speed. If we hadn't had several harness untangling delays, we might have completed the 5km course in record time. It was certainly the fastest Nanuq and I have ever done it!
Hopefully, Stacie will let me and Nanuq skijor with Jack again. I think Nanuq enjoyed it and I know I sure did!
1If you can have a murder of ravens or a pride of lions, why not a smog of snowmobilers?
January 01, 2007
Male-specific frostbite.
Nanuq and I decided to finish 2006 with a good, long skijor. We have been practising a little bit for the next Copper Haul Twister race, but I have had to face facts that, while we can keep going and going and going, we are not sprinters.
You see, I have been blessed - and cursed - with a smart dog. He'll pull, but if he's pulling, he'll do it at the speed that he wants. And that speed is walking. If we go any faster than that, he'll stay just far enough ahead of me to keep the line up, but he won't pull. I'm sure that he's not doing this out of laziness, but rather, is thinking, "You're doing just fine on your own. You don't need my help right now."
Except that when I do need his help - like when we're going up hills - he doesn't pull. I'm sure that he's not doing this out of laziness, but rather, is thinking, "If I pull now, I'll just throw you off balance, and you don't want that, do you?"
The only time he runs is when we're going down a hill. And he isn't pulling then. He's just making sure he doesn't get run over.
I am glad that he runs down hills, though, and am grateful that he hasn't tried to repeat his attempt to de-harness himself by stopping suddenly on a downward slope. I could see the knowing look in his eyes and the little doggy smirk on his face as I flew down the hill past him. The rope that connected us, which was slack while I passed him, suddenly went taught. Nanuq braced himself with his back legs and put his head down as the harness began to slide over his head and front legs like a t-shirt. The rope, connected to my harness with a length of bungee cord, disconnected, sending the rope flying limply back towards Nanuq, where it fell harmlessly onto the ground, and the bungee cord recoiling into my stomach. Fortunately, the bungee cord didn't snap back a little lower.
So it was a lot of fun yesterday when we went skijoring a steady pace, and just kept going and going and going. We had no set course; we just went where we felt like we wanted to go. Sometimes I picked our route and sometimes I let Nanuq pick our route. We kept going for about 25km, up hills and down hills, alongside roads and over trails. It was great! Nanuq, happy to just keep going, even pulled me on semi-appropriate occasions. And while he never really broke into an all-out run, he had a good trotting pace that nicely supplemented my skiing efforts. It was magical. We "clicked".
We were both glad to be outside. It was cloudy enough that the low winter sun didn't glare into our eyes, but it was also a warm day and I was cooking in the few layers I had on. When I took my small backpack off to stuff more clothes into it, I noticed that it was soaked with sweat. Which makes it that much more shocking that I was very nearly a victim of "Male-specific frostbite".
WARNING: The following public service announcement is intended for mature audiences only.
Male-Specific Frostbite - A Public Service Announcement
Attention male cyclists and skijorers: While you might already take precautions to cover your extremities during the winter time, there are certain gender-specific appendages that may remain vulnerable.
Boxer shorts, boxer briefs or commando-style undergarments1 may not hold your genitalia close to the protective warmth of your body. This exposure may be exacerbated by an increased wind chill while cycling. It may also be caused by having your man-parts isolated by a skijoring harness2.
If you begin to notice that you have a "chilly willy", stop and attend to the matter immediately. You may need to warm the affected parts with your hands, or better yet, with your friends' hands3. Failure to do so may result in a loss of sensitivity on the affected part. In extreme cases, blackening or blistering may occur. Amputation may be required.
You may prevent male-specific frostbite by wearing briefs or, better yet, a Peter Heater4.
On our way back home, I ran into (not literally, of course) some friends from Fort Liard who are in town for a quick trip to celebrate New Years. It's amazing who you run into when you're skijoring along the Alaska Highway!
1I'll leave it to your imagination which option I choose.
2Guys, if you have ever worn a rock-climbing harness, then you know what I'm talking about. Girls, if you've never seen a guy wearing a rock-climbing harness, just picture a male ballet dancer wearing a codpiece.
3I caught it early enough that I didn't need either.
4I don't own one, but I know someone who does. It has bells on it.
You see, I have been blessed - and cursed - with a smart dog. He'll pull, but if he's pulling, he'll do it at the speed that he wants. And that speed is walking. If we go any faster than that, he'll stay just far enough ahead of me to keep the line up, but he won't pull. I'm sure that he's not doing this out of laziness, but rather, is thinking, "You're doing just fine on your own. You don't need my help right now."
Except that when I do need his help - like when we're going up hills - he doesn't pull. I'm sure that he's not doing this out of laziness, but rather, is thinking, "If I pull now, I'll just throw you off balance, and you don't want that, do you?"
The only time he runs is when we're going down a hill. And he isn't pulling then. He's just making sure he doesn't get run over.
I am glad that he runs down hills, though, and am grateful that he hasn't tried to repeat his attempt to de-harness himself by stopping suddenly on a downward slope. I could see the knowing look in his eyes and the little doggy smirk on his face as I flew down the hill past him. The rope that connected us, which was slack while I passed him, suddenly went taught. Nanuq braced himself with his back legs and put his head down as the harness began to slide over his head and front legs like a t-shirt. The rope, connected to my harness with a length of bungee cord, disconnected, sending the rope flying limply back towards Nanuq, where it fell harmlessly onto the ground, and the bungee cord recoiling into my stomach. Fortunately, the bungee cord didn't snap back a little lower.
So it was a lot of fun yesterday when we went skijoring a steady pace, and just kept going and going and going. We had no set course; we just went where we felt like we wanted to go. Sometimes I picked our route and sometimes I let Nanuq pick our route. We kept going for about 25km, up hills and down hills, alongside roads and over trails. It was great! Nanuq, happy to just keep going, even pulled me on semi-appropriate occasions. And while he never really broke into an all-out run, he had a good trotting pace that nicely supplemented my skiing efforts. It was magical. We "clicked".
We were both glad to be outside. It was cloudy enough that the low winter sun didn't glare into our eyes, but it was also a warm day and I was cooking in the few layers I had on. When I took my small backpack off to stuff more clothes into it, I noticed that it was soaked with sweat. Which makes it that much more shocking that I was very nearly a victim of "Male-specific frostbite".
WARNING: The following public service announcement is intended for mature audiences only.
Male-Specific Frostbite - A Public Service Announcement
Attention male cyclists and skijorers: While you might already take precautions to cover your extremities during the winter time, there are certain gender-specific appendages that may remain vulnerable.
Boxer shorts, boxer briefs or commando-style undergarments1 may not hold your genitalia close to the protective warmth of your body. This exposure may be exacerbated by an increased wind chill while cycling. It may also be caused by having your man-parts isolated by a skijoring harness2.
If you begin to notice that you have a "chilly willy", stop and attend to the matter immediately. You may need to warm the affected parts with your hands, or better yet, with your friends' hands3. Failure to do so may result in a loss of sensitivity on the affected part. In extreme cases, blackening or blistering may occur. Amputation may be required.
You may prevent male-specific frostbite by wearing briefs or, better yet, a Peter Heater4.
On our way back home, I ran into (not literally, of course) some friends from Fort Liard who are in town for a quick trip to celebrate New Years. It's amazing who you run into when you're skijoring along the Alaska Highway!
1I'll leave it to your imagination which option I choose.
2Guys, if you have ever worn a rock-climbing harness, then you know what I'm talking about. Girls, if you've never seen a guy wearing a rock-climbing harness, just picture a male ballet dancer wearing a codpiece.
3I caught it early enough that I didn't need either.
4I don't own one, but I know someone who does. It has bells on it.
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