Got Snow?

Acadia LOVES the snow

Got Snow?

Here in Maryland, we certainly do and more is on the way according to the National Weather Service.

30 inches of snow blanket the house from the Superbowl Sunday/Monday storm

Today's forecast includes a Winter Storm Watch predicting anywhere from six inches to a foot of new snow. And it's not like it's been a dry year. To date, this year (i.e., since January), we've accumulated 52 plus inches of snow here in Maryland. And that doesn't even include our early December 2009 blizzard which dumped another foot of the white stuff.

It's a good thing that here at Maryland Sled Dog Adventures LLC, we LOVE snow. And even with all of the extra chores associated with big snow falls, I have to admit it's been very fun running all of our dog sledding programs using the dog sleds instead of the wheeled dog sleds (called a "rig" or "gig"). For photographs from some of our recent dog sledding programs, check out this blog entry and our Gallery.

Acadia plays in the snow from the December '09 Baltimore blizzard

Happy dog sledding, folks.

Issued by The National Weather Service
Baltimore/Washington, MD
3:18 am EST, Wed., Feb. 24, 2010

... WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH LATE THURSDAY NIGHT...

A WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH LATE THURSDAY NIGHT.

* PRECIPITATION TYPE... SNOW.

* ACCUMULATIONS... POTENTIAL FOR SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 5 OR MORE INCHES.

* TIMING... A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW THIS EVENING WILL BECOME ALL SNOW BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND 3 AM TONIGHT. SNOW WILL LIKELY CONTINUE THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT... ESPECIALLY ACROSS NORTHEAST MARYLAND.

* TEMPERATURES... LOWS NEAR 30 TONIGHT. HIGHS IN THE LOWER TO MID 30S THURSDAY. LOWS IN THE MID TO UPPER 20S THURSDAY NIGHT.

* WINDS... NORTHWEST WINDS 10 TO 15 MPH TONIGHT... INCREASING TO 15 TO 25 MPH THURSDAY WITH GUSTS AROUND 45 MPH LATE THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND THURSDAY NIGHT.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOW THAT MAY IMPACT TRAVEL. CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS.

Now if we could just send some of the snow we have accumulated here in Maryland over the past month north to our cabin in Maine and to our New England mushing friends, everything would be perfect.

Here's hoping some new snow falls up at camp

Things (snow that is) are looking up even up at camp as a Winter Weather Advisory has been posted for Maine as well as Maryland. Up at camp, they are forecasting approximately six inches of snow out of the storm that produced rain yesterday here in Maryland with another several feet of snow in the forecast for later in the week.

Snowy cabin

Issued by The National Weather Service
Portland, ME
3:04 am EST, Wed., Feb. 24, 2010

... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM EST THIS EVENING...

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM EST THIS EVENING.

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW WILL CAUSE PRIMARILY TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SNOW COVERED ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES... AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING.

More Information

... SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL IS EXPECTED ACROSS PORTIONS OF WESTERN MAINE AND NORTHERN AND WESTERN NEW HAMPSHIRE TODAY...

.LOW PRESSURE LOCATED OFF THE MID ATLANTIC COAST THIS MORNING WILL TRACK NORTH AND WEAKEN AS IT APPROACHES SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND LATER TODAY. AHEAD OF THE LOW... PRECIPITATION WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THIS EVENING.

SNOW WILL CONTINUE... HEAVY AT TIMES... IN THE CONNECTICUT RIVER VALLEY AND THE MOUNTAINS OF NORTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE. DURING THE AFTERNOON... THE HEAVY SNOW WILL BEGIN TO AFFECT THE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS OF WESTERN MAINE. AS THE LOW WEAKENS... THE SNOW WILL TAPER OFF FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST. THE LAST OF THE HEAVIEST SNOW WILL EXIT THE MOUNTAINS OF WESTERN MAINE DURING THE LATE EVENING HOURS.

TOTAL SNOWFALL AMOUNTS FROM THIS STORM WILL BE AS MUCH AS 6 TO 12 INCHES ACROSS WESTERN AND NORTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE.

ANOTHER STORM IS POSSIBLE THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY... AND THIS STORM COULD PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY SNOWFALL. IT IS STILL TOO EARLY TO TELL JUST HOW MUCH SNOW WILL FALL WITH THE SECOND STORM.

Maryland Dog Sledding: Girl Scouts Go Dog Sledding

Group Photo: It's been a wonderful day of dog sledding

Here at Maryland Sled Dog Adventures LLC, our motto is "no snow, we can still go!" No snow hasn't been much of a problem given the 50 plus inches of snow that we received out of last week's storms here in Maryland.

Hanging out on the picket line

As a result, several lucky Girl Scout troops have been out to participate in our Girl Scout Patch Program in dog sledding, visit us and the sled dogs, learn all about dogsledding, and go dogsledding on snow.

Meeting Acadia

During our scout program, we teach the girls how to harness the dogs, all about the various parts of the dog sled, how to put booties on the dogs, and, in some instances, how to drive a small 1-2 dog team of sled dogs. At the end of the program, the girl scouts take a pop dog sledding "quiz" and earn their dog sledding patch.

Meeting Sobo

Dog Sledding is so much fun!

Learning all about the dog sled

Driving a 2 dog team (left to right Acadia and Sobo in lead)

The scouts' fearless leader, Carol, driving a three dog team (Acadia and Zoe in lead and Sobo in wheel)

Learning what the sled dogs eat and feeding them

Snow Report!

Even Sobo is not sure what to do with all of the snow?

As many of you already know, over the course of 72 hours last week, Baltimore received over 50 inches of snow. While the Maryland Sled Dog Adventures sled dogs love snow as do I, I have to admit that I am a little tired of shoveling the white stuff.

The snow began in earnest, I am told, on Saturday, February 6, 2010 and continued depositing, officially, 28 inches of snow in Baltimore. Eric and I did not experience this first "snow event" firsthand since we were still blissfully ensconced in our cabin up in Maine.

Snow on the patio before the Tuesday storm

On Monday morning bright and early, Eric and I departed Maine for Baltimore. Driving south we encountered few problems and arrived in Baltimore, on time, by about 6:30 pm and then the fun really started.

Climbing up our hill was challenging and required four wheel drive since the City of Baltimore had not yet plowed our street. Thankfully, several of our neighbors had private plow services plow them out so the lower portion of our street was at least passable with 4WD. Past our house, the only access was via snow shoes. Our wonderful neighbor, Ethel, allowed us to park on her plowed driveway until we could shovel out a pad on our driveway for the truck to pull into. So at 6:30 pm, Eric and I began carrying gear from a week's worth of dog sledding adventures from the dog truck (aka the Expedition) into the house through nearly 30 inches of un-tracked snow. Thankfully, we had loaded our snow shoes on top of all of the gear in the truck. After bringing in the sled dogs, the cat, Chloe, and any gear that would freeze overnight, Eric and I shoveled the driveway until nearly 1:00 am just to clear a pad long enough (barely) for the truck to park on. After shoveling for what seemed like an eternity, we moved the truck up to our driveway and fell into bed too exhausted to even speak.

At about 4 am the next morning, the City of Baltimore plow arrived to plow a portion of our street. Having left the steepest section of the street un-plowed during the storm, the City plow (a plow tinier than the private plow of the guy who plows our driveway in Maine) could only clear the lower half of the street. Result: You still needed snow shoes to go up Poplar Hill Road past our house. In the process of plowing Poplar Hill and Terrace Glen, the City plow somehow managed to wipe out our mail box.

Awakening bright and early on Tuesday morning, more shoveling was in store for us as I ran to the grocery store to stock up on necessities before the next big storm while Eric began attempting to shovel a path to the Jetta. At about noon on Tuesday, Eric managed to flag down one of our neighbor's plow services and six guys made short work of shoveling out the Jetta, plowing the driveway, and shoveling out from behind the garage (and area that can't be plowed). After clearing the driveway, we spent some time shoveling snow off the gutters which by this time were hanging onto the house by a precipitous thread. All of this occurred just in time for the next big storm.

The house after the Saturday storm and before the Tuesday storm

Beginning of the Tuesday storm

As blizzard warnings buzzed over the airways and yet another big nor'easter took aim at the mid-atlantic, Eric and I hunkered down to wait out the next big storm. Due to the high (50 MPH) winds that would accompany this storm, we also prepared to be without power.

At about 1 pm on Tuesday it began snowing and did not stop until late Wednesday night. During that time, we picked up another 23 inches of snow. During this time, Eric and I would go outside every 2-3 hours and shovel another four, five or six inches of snow off the driveway. Who thought taking the snow blower up to Maine was a good idea? As the snow tapered off, the winds accelerated. Snow laden trees waved back and forth threateningly. While we lost several branches during the Saturday and Tuesday storms, a couple of small trees, and one 20 foot cedar, thankfully, we did not have any big trees come down in the storm as many of our neighbors did. We also did not lose power during the Tuesday storm and, according to our neighbor, were only without power after the Saturday storm for about three hours.

The giant snow bank at the end of both storms

For those of you who are math challenged: 28 inches + 23 inches = 51 inches of snow....in 72 hours. After the Tuesday blizzard wrapped up, on the year, Baltimore had received more snow than Buffalo, NY, Caribou, ME, Chicago, IL, and a host of other traditionally snowy east coast and midwest cities.

The tunnel of snow we must drive through to go down our driveway

Thursday and Friday, we finally ventured out to check out the trails for our dog sledding programs that were scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. Arriving at the Monkton station on the NCR trail, we discovered that there were no tracks on the trail. Breaking out the snow shoes once again, Eric and I strapped in and headed up trail. Anyone who has snowshoed, knows that snowshoeing, especially in deep snow, is insanely hard. Up and down the trail we went for about 4 hours, packing the trail. On Friday morning, we returned for another 4 hours of trail packing.

Just in case, 51 inches of snow was not enough, we are presently (as of 5 pm on Monday, February 15th) under a winter weather advisory and are getting hit with an Alberta Clipper. Unlike a nor'easter, however, clippers usually only deliver several inches of snow and this one is forecast to deliver anywhere from 1-3 inches of snow in our area.

On a happier note, the abundance of snow has meant that we have been running our dog sledding tours, rides and programs using our dog sleds and on snow instead of dryland, using our wheeled dog sleds (called "rigs" or "gigs"). Stay tuned for more photos and stories from our recent dog sledding adventures.

Adventures in Maine Dog Sledding: Breaking in the New Dog Sled

Looking across and down the power line trail

One of the goals of our recent dog sledding adventure up at the Maryland Sled Dog Adventures cabin in Maine was to break in our new Outlaw dog sled and "put it through its paces." This sled was purchased specifically for its exceptional steering abilities and, hopefully, its ability to survive the trails surrounding our Maine camp.

Pulling hard down the trail: (l-r) Acadia and Zoe in lead with Okemo and Sobo in wheel

While gorgeous, these trails are not for the faint of heart, require an adventurous spirit, and are twisty, turny, and sometimes narrow. But they are oh so worth it once you've mushed along them under crystal clear blue skies and taken in the panoramic views.

Curvy trails ahead

Getting ready to head down the power line trail

We are happy to report that despite somewhat less than optimal trail conditions (icy with light snow cover), the Outlaw dog sled survived (as did the mushers) and in some instances even thrived.

Stopped along the trail: Zoe and Acadia in lead with Sobo and Okemo in wheel

Starting down the tie trail from camp

A little further down the tie trail

Killer turn: This is where the exceptional steering comes in handy

Whew, we made it around that tree and through the "killer turn"

Big wheel dogs Okemo (left) and Sobo (right).

After a killer "gee" turn, up the power line trail we go!

Another gorgeous day on the trail. What could be better?

100 Mile Wilderness Sled Dog Race: Greenville, Maine

The Start: Dog trucks galore

On Saturday, February 6th, Eric and I along with the Maryland Sled Dog Adventures sled dogs spent an enjoyable day socializing with other mushers at the 100 Mile Wilderness Sled Dog Race in Greenville, Maine. Unfortunately, due to poor trail conditions, the 100 mile race was canceled but the 30 mile mid distance event went off as planned.

Eric waiting for the teams to come back in.

Alaskan Husky team coming back in

Siberian Husky team (one of twins from Kelim Siberians I believe)

Another Siberian Husky team

Alaskan Husky team

Alaskan Husky team

Corina Alexander, Kiana Siberians

Scott Alexander, Kiana Siberians

Dog Sledding in Farmington, Maine

Crackling Ice

Tuesday, February 2, 2010 Eric and I along with our southern musher friends, Ruth, Nick, Linda and Kevin headed over to Farmington, Maine for an 8 mile run on the multi use trail. We've enjoyed running on this trail, the Whistle Stop Rail Trail, in the past.

The "sled dog widowers" Nick and Kevin

Ruth and team followed by the Maryland Sled Dog Adventures team

Running in lead were Zoe and Acadia followed in wheel by Sobo and Okemo. This nice and easy trail is a great place for a low key run. Along the way, we worked on fundamentals with the dogs such as "gee over."

Zoe and Acadia in lead followed by Okemo and Sobo in wheel

Ruth and team

Dog Sledding in Phillips, Maine

Eric driving a four dog team of Bray Hill Siberians.

Here we come!

On Monday, February 1, 2010 Eric and I along with the whole Maryland Sled Dog Adventures crew hit the RB trail in Phillips, Maine for a 10 mile dog sled excursion. Phillips is approximately a 40 minute drive from our cabin in Starks, ME.

Brr....it was cold

Eric looks toasty warm in his Trans Alaska anorak from Cabelas

For our run on Monday, Acadia and Zoe ran in lead followed by Sobo and Okemo. Also running were Nick Sands and Linda Powers. Linda ran a team of four dogs and Nick ran a team of six dogs.

Zoe and Acadia in lead followed by Sobo and Okemo

Nick and team

Nick and team

Despite a couple of icy patches, we had a wonderful run and enjoyed the gorgeous scenery. The RB trail starts off as a gentle up hill grade passing by seasonal hunting and fishing camps. At approximately three miles, the trail splits and we headed haw (left). Having climbed away from the river, the trail once again curves back toward the river passing over the second of two large bridges. After the bridge, the trail climbs steeply up into the mountains through a series of switchbacks. Both mushers and dog teams worked hard climbing these steep hills. In between the ridges and mountains, the wind was gusting and had blown the trail down to bare ice or ground in places making for a tricky descent. High atop the mountain ridges, the views are outstanding. At one point, however, the sled and I caught the wind and were blown sideways across the trail. At the five mile mark, the mushers caucused and decided that it was time to "come haw" and turn the teams around. While the first initial steep descent was tricky due to ice and heavy winds, as the trail continued to descend and level out, we enjoyed a more sedate run back to the dog trucks.

The ice makes the water appear very green

This was also the fourth run with the new Outlaw dog sled and I enjoyed practicing carving the sled through turns using its extremely responsive steering.

While the teams were out dog sledding, Eric, Ruth and Kevin took T-Bone for a very special off leash walky along the trail.

T-Bone goes for a walk

Gorgeous frozen scenery

The following Friday, we returned to the RB trail and ran with Maggie of Bray Hill Siberians. I ran five dogs including Acadia, Sobo, and Okemo and two of Bray Hill Siberians dogs, Hylo and Flare. We ran just under six miles. After returning, Eric and Maggie set off with a three dog (Maggie) team and a four dog team (Eric). Eric's team included Dapp, Bodie, Remax, and Summer.

Maggie and three dog team

Eric and four dog team