Breakup
/It has arrived. I know I promised to always be positive during my posts this spring, but I have to admit, breakup in Alaska is probably one of my least favorite conditions. As you can see from the photo below, our property transforms into a wetland. Because the terrain is relatively flat, the snow melts into massive ponds that remain until the ground finally thaws and the water is soaked up into the ground. This is the main reason for our platform kennel set up. While it took days to lay out thousands of 2x4s to build three 24ft x 96ft decks, this is the time of year when they’re worth their weight in gold. So while we bust out the muck boots and wade across the property, the dogs frolic on their clean, dry platforms. This is also the time of year when we can no longer drive into the kennel. We haven’t been able to gravel our entire road yet, so the mud makes it impassable to vehicles. We park our vehicles at the end of our road and shuttle all our gear by ATV.
But truth be told, it’s not the water and mud and inability to drive to the kennel that gets me down. It’s just the end of my favorite season. Of mushing. Of adventuring with my friends. Of watching the joy fill the dogs’ eyes as they leap and bark and howl, then shoot down the trail with barely controlled excitement. It’s the freedom you experience by mushing by dog team.
So I pouted for awhile, and then decided, we’re heading north. Even though it seems late to keep mushing, we’ve heard there is snow in the Brooks Range, so north we’ll go. Saeward and Derek will remain at the kennel to play with these cutes (see photo below) and take care of the dogs who stay behind. Kalyn and I will head north in search of caribou, and truthfully, more importantly, adventure with the dogs.
Before heading north, we finalized a couple projects while the temperatures still froze at night. We collected the last loads of firewood and processed a caribou we harvested a few weeks ago. Jezzy is always close at hand to lend a helping paw.
I love mushing in wide open areas where we can work with leaders to dial in directional commands. In Two Rivers, the trails are clearly defined. Leaders learn “gee” and “haw” when they encounter a fork in the trail, but we need wide open spaces to really master our connection. Here’s a clip from last year’s trip. Lefty is a MASTER.
