"Visiting The Dogs....."

I was up still watching the small fire stove glow and pulse with warmth in the old canvas tent...

The others had long gone to sleep while I remained up to listen to the night sounds and the occasional crackle of burning wood. It had been a challenging distance covered that day, up along a frozen river valley by dog team, through snow drifts so deep. Each two of us had our own team to run and it took a lot of continuous but fun attention to do so. I was remembering our first time out years before, when initially learning to bond and work with sled dogs. Such a unique, lively adventure experience. We were very aware of the style of approach these Guides used in training the dogs, as some tend to be unnecessarily quite harsh. That was not ok with us at all. With this trainer were learned only about bonding as best you can when working alongside them, while still clearly acting as the leader of your small energetic pack. Only when you are moving do you turn over some of the leader role to your first front dog, and even then they still need to respond quickly to your voice.

Our lead dog was a female whose one ear always was turned at such a cute angle. Her strength and enthusiasm were amazing as was the position she has earned on her team. Since I was not sleeping anyway it seemed like a good idea to go out for a moment to visit and check upon all the dogs. As I crunched through the snow I could see most were tucked down deeply into the drifts. All were tethered to the base of their own tree in snow beds their thick fur would make so comfortable. Some had actually chewed upon the small trees around them until fed their rich mixed diet.

I slowly moved among them so as not to give any impression we may be readying to go. They sense your intentions and mood so well, but this was a time for calm and rest, not preparation nor travel. I'm not sure how long I sat quietly with our lead dog, sharing our warmth and the comfort of a few treats. The northern lights were dancing some and the winters cold made few sounds at that hour. While pondering the next day of snowshoeing from camp to a hidden area of this valley, I glanced beside me to see if another treat may of been in order. There she was... gazing up at the northern lights, just as I had been... Maybe our lead dog and I shared as much wonder in that moment too of the wild place we camped at, and over what adventures were yet to come...

I know my excitement and appreciation mirrored theirs for all of what was being gifted to us...

It was a quiet yet very memorable visit we had, our lead dog, all the others and I, within those tall trees in a deep wintered valley... among snow capped mountains, and below the spirits dancing in the the sky...

DSD

My thanks to K.Thompson for the top image above and to G.Wiltsie for the lower image.