My Dog Sledding Adventure (An Overview)

For the past month and a half, I have been quite busy. I moved from Wisconsin to Illinois, went on an 8-day dog sledding/cross country skiing expedition in northern Minnesota, and am currently in the process of planning a trip to see my aunt and uncle in FL. Today’s post is going to focus on an overview of my trip to Minnesota.

On January 18^th, at 8:05am, I boarded a plan in St. Louis, MO and was on my way to my final destination…Ely, MN. A few months back, I learned about a veteran program by Outward Bound offering vets, free of charge, adventure trips all over the United States. On these trips Vets have the opportunity to  "take part in wilderness expeditions that are physically, mentally and emotionally challenging in order to build the self-confidence, pride, trust and communication skills necessary to successfully return to their families, employers and communities following wartime service. These expeditions purposefully scaffold wartime experiences (carrying heavy packs, sore shoulders, rubbery legs, sleeping out, strange noises, sweat, dirt, frustration and anger) with authentic achievements to create positive emotional and mental outcomes."  

I was stoked about the trip, but, I didn't quite know what to expect. The course description stated hard work was to be expected but I thought to myself...Why would being pulled on a sled by dogs be hard work? I arrived at the Voyager Outward Bound base camp late into the evening on the 18th, was issued a bunch of gear and warm clothes to keep me warm during the 6 days we would be eating, sleeping, and traveling over frozen lakes within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, and then went to bed in an unheated bunk house. I followed the guide to the bunk house, along with five other vets who were on the expedition with me. "Time to get use to sleeping in the cold,"  the guide said before shutting off the lights.

We woke up the next morning, ate breakfast, and got a crash on packing dogsleds and proper handling of the dogs. We were on the ice ready to start our cold, winter adventure by lunch. 

On our team we had a total of 12 dogs, 6 vets, and 2 guides. Each dog sled team was made up of 6 dogs and 2 mushers. 4 people at any given time were without a ride so they were responsible for cross country skiing in front of the sleds, breaking a trail through the soft, deep snow. 

Once we got to camp, the fun ended and the hard work began. We had to break a hole through the thick ice so we could have water for cooking, drinking, and hydrating the dogs. We had to collect and process enough wood for making dinner, breakfast, and keeping us warm while we dried out our wet or frozen gear. And finally, we had to set up our tent.

When morning came, we had to break down camp, feed the dogs, load the sleds, and do our best to hide our presence by covering the ash from the fire with snow, sprinkle fresh snow over the imprint of our tent, and relocate a night's worth of dog poop deep into the woods. According to Leave No Trace principles, one should leave as little impact as possible so others can enjoy natures beauty. If you would like to learn more about the Leave No Trace principles click here.

Winter + Lack of Knowledge = A Deadly Combination

If you've been watching the news lately you already know that winter is upon us in a very serious way. In the northern states, it's not one of those 50 degree, t-shirt wearing winters...it's an ice covered tree, snow past your past your ankle, wind chills below 0 degrees type winters.

Recently a few hikers attempting a 10 day hike through  Great Smokey Mountain National Park had to be rescued after day one of their 10 day trip. (Click here to watch a video of the hikers recount their rescue on the Appalachian Trail)  These three hikers did not make it to their first shelter and were forced to spend the night in the snow. I have never been in a situation like this and I hope I never will. If you watched the video, you know by now that these men had no backup shelter, were only a few miles away to their intended shelter, and burned their spare clothes for warmth. I know I would have done things differently if I were them and I bet you are saying the same thing too...

Through research and personal experience I've learned a few tricks to staying warm on a cold night.

1. Heat up 1 liter of water and pour it into a Nalgene. Bundle up in sleeping bag and place Nalgene in sleeping bag (typically by feet). On a really cold night, I went to bed with 2 warm Nalgenes bottles, one by my feet and one by my stomach as I curled up in the fetal position around it.

2. Do jumping jacks before getting into sleeping bag. Or do sit-ups while in sleeping bag. It doesn't really matter what you do, just as long as it gets the heart pumping and the blood flowing.

3. Eat something! The human body needs to burn calories in order to produce heat.

4. Get comfortable with wearing layers. The days of wearing heavy, bulky jackets and pants are nothing more than a distant memory. If the term base layer, insulation layer, or shell confuses you, watch this quick video on the basics of layering.

5. While I am on the subject of clothes...Put on more clothes. Extra clothes does no good if it is balled up in your stuff sack. While hiking in the Smokies this spring, the temp dropped and to stay warm one night I resorted to wearing everything in my backpack to bed.

6. If you own a down sleeping bag, do not cover your head with the sleeping bag. As you exhale you will create moisture, leading to a wet spot on your sleeping bag.

7. Check weather forecasts for the area where you will be hiking/spending the night...not the closest town 20 miles away and 3000 feet below. To check the weather forecast at shelters on the AT click here.  The link will provide you a week long forecast from NOAA.

8. This one should be obvious...cover your head. A lot of body heat is lost through your head.

9. Get to know your neighbor. On cold nights, I like sleeping in the shelter so I can curl up between two people and absorb their body heat.

10. Do not put one of those emergency bivy bags over a down sleeping bag and go to bed. I did this once...It was great for about six hours but without thinking about all the condensation that will be trapped inside of the bivy, I woke up at 4AM in a soaking wet sleeping bag, freezing my bum off.

There are many more ways to stay warm on a cold night. Use any of these 10 tips as a starting point.

Dehydrating attempt

Thursday afternoon event:

I had two cantaloupe slowly rotting in my kitchen and it got to the point where they started getting soft and mushy. Due to the holidays I completely forgot about them...I can't quite remember when I bought them! I figured I better get them in the dehydrator before it was too late. To fill up the rest of the trays, I added three sliced sweet potatoes.

For the sweet potatoes, I tried to cut them up as even as possible. The recipe I was using said to peel the potatoes, slice them up at an 1/8 inch, soak them in warm water for ten minutes, drizzle oil on them and add salt. Have you ever tried slicing a rock hard, raw potato before; it's difficult! I hard such a hard time cutting the potatoes; I even slipped but luckily the knife blade cut into my fingernail (thankfully not my flesh!). After dehydrating them at 350 for 12 hours, they turned out okay. I could taste to rawness of the potato...maybe next time I will cook them to reduce the starchy taste. My ma loved them so these will not be added to my bird food :)


Beside having issues with cutting my potatoes, I had melon issues as well. After quartering my cantaloupes, I decided that one was way too soft and juicy to slice up, so, I turned it into a puree. My intent was to make a fruit leather...instead I made a dry bitter orange mess. It was gross! The sliced cantaloupe turned out crispy and sweet, making the dehydrating attempt not a total loss.

Overall, I would call this dehydrating attempt a rank just below a success...not quite a failure but not quite a success...is there a word for that?

2013 Review

Here's a few memories that stand out from 2013...

January- Started a job as a ski lift attendant in order to pay for the gear I still needed for my Appalachian Trail thru-hike.

March- Rode the Amtrak for the first time. I decided to take the Amtrak from Wisconsin to Georgia because it was 1/2 the cost of an airplane ticket.

March 22- Made it to the top of Springer Mountain and hiked to Hawk Mountain shelter.

Late April- Left the trail and took a shuttle to Asheville TN so I could catch a Greyhound back to Wisconsin. I returned back to Wisconsin and moved into my ma's house, hoping to have a new job and be gone by August.

Summer- Spent the summer with my nieces and nephews. Didn't do too much out of the ordinary. I saw a lot of movies at the local theater ($3 tickets!). Found out soo many entry level jobs require a bachelor's degree...started thinking about finishing my 4 year degree in ecology.

September- Still at my ma's house, unfortunately. Started a new seasonal job in a dusty warehouse. My nasal cavities became polluted :(

November- Still couldn't find a permanent full time job so I planned to save as much money as I could and go hiking on the AT. Maybe I would turn my failed thru-hike into a successful section hike.

December- Applied for a bunch of National Park Service jobs in all corners of the US and even for a position in Guam. Agreed to take a position in IL...no more hike for me...maybe in 2015!

Except for the one month I was on the trail, this was a very uneventful year.

 I am grateful for the time I got to spend with my family. I got to see them twice in one year (family reunion and Christmas)! For not being around since 2010, spending time with family meant a lot, because, I don't know how much longer I will be in the Midwest.

 If I had to do one thing over, I would not have stayed at my ma's house. I've learned that no matter how old I get, she will treat me like an child. Maybe this is how all parents act...I'm not quite sure. I do know, after living on your own for so long, it's difficult to have someone come into your life and micromanage your actions.

A fresh start is needed, and, that is exactly my plan for 2014. This weekend, I am moving to my new apartment in Illinois.  Here' s to making 2014 a great year!!!

Sledding For Christmas

On Saturday, I had my family's Christmas party and we decided to go to my uncle's farm for some sledding, snowmen making, snowball fights, and snow angels. Overall it was a great day and I want to share a few pics with you...

There were many sleds, of all shapes and sizes, to choose from but one sled was used most of all...the jet sled.

Last year, my mom bought a jet sled to use as a snow sled. For most of my family, this was the first time they have heard of this use for the jet sled. In my opinion, it turned out to be the greatest sled ever (except for the wooden runner sleds from my childhood). It goes super fast, has plenty of room for two (on Saturday it held four adults), and it is difficult to tip over. The downside of the jet sled: it is difficult for younger children to steer so be sure there are no buildings, fences, or poles around if you intend to try this at home. In the picture below, my aunt, who hasn't been sledding in a few decades, accompanied my brother down the hill in the jet sled and enjoyed every moment of it...even though she is about to fall out and the look of fear overwhelmed her typically jolly face.

If you have short legs, it may be difficult to get out of the jet sled. One way to overcome this obstacle is to tip the sled over and roll out. P.S. Putting a pad in the sled helps protect your tailbone after a hard landing...getting air is no challenge for this sled! 

While walking up the hill, one of my cousins said to me "I can't believe you climb mountains for fun."  I had to laugh because "fun" would probably be that last word I would use to describe hiking up and down mountains. Don't get me wrong, I very much enjoy hiking, but the "funnest" parts of the day are lunch breaks at shelters among fellow hikers, seeing wildlife run across the trail, finding a clean water source, seeing for miles after reaching the summit, the smell of fresh air, and the sense of accomplishment at the end of a long, strenuous day...not the actual hiking :)  

The younger children were not fans of hiking up the big hill so they made snowmen and snow angels instead.

Overall, it was a great day and I can't wait until next Christmas so it can happen all over again. THE END.

Dehydrating Outcome

For my first dehydrating attempt, I added bananas, kiwi, mushrooms, and cantaloupe. I used a egg slicer to cut the kiwi and bananas into 1/8 inch slices (the same thickness as 2 quarters stacked). For the cantaloupe, I used the quarters as my guiding tool to cut them 1/8 inch. I didn't cut the mushrooms since I bought them pre-sliced ones from the store and broke the slices into little chunks. I turned on the dehydrator and set the temp at 130. Looking at the trays before they went into the dehydrator, I had high hopes.

Banana Results:

Chewy like leather. Mine don't taste, look, smell, or feel anything like the banana chips found in the store. How do they do this??? My bananas are icky and I plan to put them in some bird food. 

Kiwi Results:

Chewy and bitter. I've had dried kiwi before from my co-op and it was quite sweet. Boy oh boy was I surprised when I chewed on my first piece of kiwi. Yuck! I think my face puckered up like they do in the cartoons. These kiwis might be going in that bird food mix along with the bananas.

Mushroom Results:

Crisp all the way through. I can't wait to try these in some homemade soup mix!

Cantaloupe Results:

YUMMY! The slices were crisp and sweet. Cantaloupe has been my fruit of choice since my childhood days so I am super excited to dry as many cantaloupe as I can get my hands on.

Can I dehydrate Food?

Earlier this fall, I took a seasonal position at Cabela's and since employees get a discount I decided to buy myself a dehydrator for my birthday...YAY Happy Birthday (Early) To Me! Was it a good idea to give myself a dehydrator when I could have given myself something cooler like a GPS or Nemo spoon shaped sleeping bag?  Only time will tell!!!

I have minimal food dehydrating experience. For my spring AT hike, I borrowed a friend's dehydrator and tried to make some food to put in my mail drops. I placed a few cans of pineapple on the round trays and called it good. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out as good as I hoped (it was still a bit sticky and molded within a month). I also tried dehydrating some chili mac and this actually turned out okay. I still have some leftover chili mac and ended up re-hydrating some on the stove last week for dinner.

Earlier today, I had some brown looking bananas sitting on the counter, so, I decided to give it a go at dehydrating them.

After doing some banana research, I learned that it is good to spray lemon juice on the banana slices to prevent them from turning brown. My house lacked a spray bottle, so, I bundled up and headed to the store with only one item on my shopping list (a spray bottle). When I returned home, I had a few grocery bags hanging off my arm...who knew a tiny spray bottle required two grocery bags! I ended up buying some cantaloupes, kiwis, apples, and mushrooms to keep the bananas company during their 12-18 hour drying process. I am soooo excited to wake up tomorrow morning and see how my food turned out! LOL that's the last thing I expected to say on the eve of Christmas.

If you are an avid dehydrater (is that what you call a person who dehydrates?) you are more than welcome to give me advice, links to your favorite websites, names of you favorite books/guides, or anything else that will help me become a Master Dehydrater.