Dog Sledding in Roland Park

A little afternoon dog sled excursion in the neighborhood

The Maryland Sled Dog Adventures sled dogs and I just returned from a four mile dog sled run straight outta our dog yard courtesy of the Baltimore blizzard of 2009. The dogs worked hard, on byed just about everything we saw including an off leash dog, nailed their gees and haws, and even picked up our mail from our mail carrier at the top of our hill. Now, I know dogs teams were used to deliver mail in Alaska but I'm not sure a dog team has ever been used to carry the mail in Baltimore, Maryland!

Our dog team picking up the mail

Mushing through your own neighborhood certainly gives one a completely different perspective of the neighborhood.

Coming down Poplar Hill Road

The dogs made a perfect "gee" turn onto Bellemore after coming off Winding Way

Dog sledding down Bellemore

Down the steep hill and through the S-curves

Baltimore Blizzard of 2009

Okemo's snow nose.

Well, it's official. Baltimore is under a blizzard warning. I've lived in Maryland for over ten years and have seen only one other blizzard warning during the storm of 2003. That storm stranded me and my visiting sister, Jennifer Simmons O'Connor for four days. Her flight back to Seattle was canceled, my rear wheel drive BMW wasn't going anywhere, and I only had two sled dogs, Zoe and T-Bone.

Now retired sled dog, T-Bone.

Veteran lead dog, Zoe.

Acadia, Okemo and Sobo romp in the dog yard

Acadia heads out to check out the "back 40"

Here at Maryland Sled Dog Adventures LLC, we're up to five sled dogs, one dog sled, two wheeled dog sleds (rigs), one dog scooter, two sets of snow shoes, two sets of cross country skis (also used for skijoring), one set of down hill skis, a snow board, a four wheel drive dog truck complete with dog boxes, and more outdoor clothing, boots and gear than REI. The only thing missing is a "partridge in a pear tree" but I suspect Okemo would have eaten that dang partridge long ago. In any event, my point being, we love snow. Indeed, we live for snow. We purchased a cabin in Maine for the purpose of spending more time dog sledding on snow. In February 2011, in addition to our Maryland dog sledding tours, rides and programs, we'll be offering a very special four day women's only dog sledding adventure: Our Maine Winter Cabin Adventure.

Wheel dog, Okemo, romps around the hydrangea bushes

We don't always know where lead dog, Acadia is going but we know she is going there fast

T-Bone smells snow.

Acadia and Okemo play

Our youngest dog, Acadia, plays with her ballsicle.

Sobo is faster than Okemo

Since 9 am, Baltimore has been under a blizzard warning:

Issued by The National Weather Service

Baltimore/Washington, MD
9:08 am EST, Sat., Dec. 19, 2009

... BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM EST THIS EVENING... ... WINTER STORM WARNING NOW IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 AM EST SUNDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A BLIZZARD WARNING... WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM EST THIS EVENING. THE WINTER STORM WARNING IS NOW IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 AM EST SUNDAY.

* PRECIPITATION TYPE... SNOW.

* ACCUMULATIONS... HEAVY SNOW WITH ACCUMULATIONS OF 12 TO 22 INCHES THROUGH TONIGHT.

* TIMING... SNOW WILL CONTINUE THROUGH EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. SNOW WILL BE HEAVIEST BETWEEN 8 AM AND 6 PM TODAY.

* TEMPERATURES... UPPER 20S TO LOWER 30S THROUGH THE EVENT... LOW TO MID 30S IN COASTAL SOUTHERN MARYLAND.

* WINDS... 15 TO 25 MPH... WITH GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH DURING THE DAY TODAY.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A BLIZZARD WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. FALLING AND BLOWING SNOW WITH STRONG WINDS AND POOR VISIBILITIES ARE LIKELY. THIS WILL LEAD TO WHITEOUT CONDITIONS... MAKING TRAVEL EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. DO NOT TRAVEL. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL... HAVE A WINTER SURVIVAL KIT WITH YOU. IF YOU GET STRANDED... STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE.

A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW... SLEET... AND ICE ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. STRONG WINDS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. THIS WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS OR IMPOSSIBLE.

Acadia has something in her sights...

Trees coated with snow

At present (10:40 am), we have about fifteen (15) inches of snow on the ground and the sled dogs could not be more ecstatic (as you can see in the photos). The snow is supposed to continue well into tonight. The truck is packed, the drive way has been cleared (too bad we took our big snow blower up to Maine), and our road has even been plowed once or twice by the good ol' City of Baltimore. As soon as the snow lightens, we'll head out for some Maryland dog sledding (on snow). Stay tuned for photos.

Sobo, both a leader and a wheel dog

I love my fur wheel drive!

Last Days at Baisley Lodges

The sled dog team: Zoe and Acadia (lead), T-Bone (team), Sobo and Okemo (wheel)

Post Can Am Crown dog sled races, our last days of our northern dog sledding adventures at Baisley Lodges were spent skijoring (see earlier blog entries) and exploring various dog sledding trails alone and with our host, Gino Roussel and his team of (Can Am finishing) sled dogs. Over our second week, we ran the Ten Mile Excavator Loop, the Five Mile Excavator Loop, the Tadpole (in the reverse direction), and we skiied and skijored several days. Photographs (our team photographer is sled dog dad, Eric Benson) from some of these runs are below.

Brr...it's cold out here

Another gorgeous day on the trail

Interesting lighting

All told, for our trip north, we spent three days in Harmony, Maine at the Lumberjack Lodges and two wonderful weeks at Baisley Lodges exploring the trails in the surrounding areas. We logged approximately 150 miles with the dogs either on the sled or skijoring. We also snowshoed, cross country skiied, attended the Can Am Crown Sled Dog races, had a wonderful dinner at Chez Charlotte in Edmunston, dined by the fire at Baisley Lodges with several Canadian and US mushers after the Can Am, and visited the Edmundston library to check email and post blog entries.

Excavator Ten: Here we come!

Leaving the Excavator's lot

As many of you know, this was our second season visiting Baisley Lodges in St. Jacques, NB and we highly recommend it to both mushers and non mushers. The trails that Gino grooms in (with his prized Skandic) are excellent and total well over 100 miles in length. The variety of trails and scenery is simply stunning (as you can see in the photos throughout our recent blog entries). Distances range from the five mile Lynch Mountain Trail to thirty plus mile trails. Trail mileage is never a problem. There is very little snow mobile traffic. Last year, during a full seven days of visiting Baisley Lodges, we saw one snow mobile the entire time. This year, we saw two snowmobiles during our two full weeks at Baisley Lodges, both on a weekend run. Running early in the morning on the weekends is advised to minimize contact with snowmobiles. The two snowmobiles that we encounter while running the team were very polite and slowed way down and gave the team a wide berth as they passed.

Love these big mushers' mitts

Five little sled dogs (and shockingly I can see them all)

Gliding over a silent trail, behind a team of hard working sled dogs, listening as the birds call, animals rustle in the woods, and watching for animal tracks along the trail. This is the life we love.

Riding the runners

Down the big hill

Returning to the Excavator Trail Head

Heading North

The trail ahead

After a long President's Day weekend of dog sledding programs, the sled dogs of Maryland Sled Dog Adventures are preparing to head north for a couple of days in Harmony, Maine (let's hope they are harmonious) at Lumberjack Lodges.

After our brief stop over in Maine, Eric and I along with the whole Maryland Sled Dog Adventures canine crew will spend two full weeks mushing, skijoring, snowshoeing, and relaxing at Baisley Lodges in St. Jacques, New Brunswick. I can hear T-Bone warming up his rendition of "O'Canada."

Our dog sledding head quarters and cabin for the next two weeks

The Canadian flag at Baisley Lodges

While dog sledding up in Canada, we will venture back into the United States for the weekend of February 28th to meet up and visit with friends and fellow mushers, including our Canadian host, Gino Roussel, who will be racing in the Can Am Crown International Sled Dog Races in Fort Kent, Maine.

Eric skijoring with Okemo

As we embark on this wonderful dog sledding adventure, I thought I would share with you some photos from last year's dog sledding trip to Canada. Stay tuned as we hope to post updated blog entries of our adventures as we travel.

Here we come, Canada!

Downed tree in the Madawaska River

Ice crystals along the trail

Linda Powers and team coming heading out

"The future is so bright, I have to wear shades"

Our First Dog Sledding Run at Tug Hill

Arriving at the historic CCC camp, after the drive up to New York, we were excited to get out on the trails in Winona Forest for our first run on snow of the season. We dropped (musher jargon for letting the dogs out of the truck so they can potty and be harnessed) the Maryland Sled Dog Adventures sled dogs and set up for a late afternoon run. The parking lot had two other dog trucks in it when we arrived but all in all, it was very quiet.

Sled dogs hanging on the picket line at the CCC camp

Heading out, we did an approximately 5.5 mile run. In lead, we hooked up our youngest dog (8 month old), Acadia, and our oldest dog (9 year old) and best leader, Zoe. Behind the leaders, we put T-Bone. When running on snow, T-Bone must be booted (for information on where we purchase our gear, visit our resources page) because his long fluffy foot fur is prone to ice balls. Behind T-Bone, in wheel we put our "power dogs" 4 year old Siberian, Sobo and hardworking 3 year old, "big white dog," Okemo.

T-Bone modeling his dog booties

Wheel dog: Okemo

The team

Setting out, we started out from the trail head on Pussycat Trail, crossed Route 90, turned "haw" on Bargy, made a "gee" on Frank's Fancy and headed down one of my favorite trails. Why is Frank's one of my favorite trails? It's a lovely little jaunt through mixed pine and hardwood forest with some nice twists and turns that really tend to excite the dogs. About half way down Frank's Fancy, Frank Caldwell and his team of eight Alaskans caught up to us. Given the narrow trail and our pup, Acadia, being in heat, Frank's dogs did not want go smoothly "on by." As the dogs balled up, Frank got off his sled to untangle them and then began to demonstrate what I am calling the human snow hook maneuver as his dogs began to drag him down the trail. As most mushers know, many dogs fell the "whoa" command is purely advisory in nature and it's really the brakes (drag, claw and snow hook) that mushers use to stop their teams.

Stop signs mean nothing to sled dogs...this is why we have snow hooks

In his haste to untangle the dogs, Frank had forgotten to deploy the ever important snow hook. After all of this excitement, the dogs were raring to go and off we went. At Hessel, we turned "haw," crossing Bargy and turning "gee" onto Alice's Ally. As we made the "gee" onto Alice's, we were beginning to lose light and I urged the dogs to pick up the speed. Alice's, like Frank's Fancy, is yet another winding, twisty forested trail which the dogs love. We followed Alice's to the connector trail that connects Alice's to Dog Leg and around we went on Dog Leg back to Bargy where we went "gee," and headed back to the trail head and the truck, arriving just as the sun was setting.

Upright on the runners, Frank Caldwell

The intersection of Alice's Ally and Hessel

Feeding and walking the dogs, we headed back to Pulaski with just enough time to meet up with Frank and Regina at Stefano's for some yummy Italian food.

Everything But the Dogs: Mushing Equipment

Anyone who dog sleds or dryland dog sleds with their dogs knows that mushing is a gear intensive sport. There are lines, sleds, harnesses, dog bowls, sled bags, shock absorbers, assorted hardware, rigs, dog sled carriers, rig carriers and trailers, electronic devices, dog trucks, ATVs, snowmobiles, etc. It takes a lot of work to keep all of the equipment used for mushing in good repair and good working order.

Our Fritz Dyck (TOM) Rig

Side shot of our Fritz Dyck TOM

Our custom designed hitch mounted rig carrier

Hitch mounted carrier shown loaded with our Fritz Dyck TOM

Our Fritz Dyck SAM rig

The rack for our dog sled which makes loading the sled a breeze

Four dog picket line

Once on the trail, dog sledding is an adventure shared by the musher and the dogs. In large part, the equipment used once you get out on the trail is the same equipment that has been used by mushers for the past hundred years. Getting to the trail is a different story...

To that end, we are frequently asked, "how do you transport your dogs?" Most mushers use a dog truck to transport their dogs. Dog trucks can range quite a bit. Some are pick up trucks with dog boxes built into the bed. Others are pick up trucks with the beds removed and boxes built where the bed used to be. Yet other mushers use a flat bed truck, with boxes built on the flat bed. Generally speaking, dog trucks can carry anywhere from 2-3 dogs to 20-30+ dogs depending on the truck's configuration and the musher's needs. To see photos of various types of dog trucks, visit the dog truck pages on Sled Dog Central. Dog boxes can be constructed from a variety of materials including fiberglass, wood, and metal. Dog trucks don't even have to be trucks. Some mushers like to use a van with built in boxes.

A full size van with dog boxes and gear

A mini van being used as a dog "truck" with standard dog crates in lieu of boxes

Dog Truck at Mushing Boot Camp

Another musher's dog truck

A small set of four dog boxes on the back of a diesel dually pick up
Double decker dog boxes for carrying 20 plus dogs

A van being used to transport sled dogs

Fiberglass dog boxes on the back of a pick up truck

Close up of wooden dog box door (with nose)

Yet another style of dog box door

Close up of wooden dog box (with dog)

Our dog truck is a Ford Expedition SUV and when our dog boxes are finished, we will have five separate dog boxes (two large and three small) with the option of adding a third box to the lower level. Even with these boxes in place, we will be able to raise and lower our back seat and thus carry (albeit snugly) up to five people.

Our dog truck parked in Corinth, Maine at Mushing Boot Camp

As some of you know, Eric handles most of our dog sledding gear and is our resident Dog Truck Engineer and Dog Truck Mechanic. In addition to his regular full time job as an Associate Professor of Bioresources Engineering at the University of Delaware, Eric enjoys making, fixing and sometimes breaking our dog sledding gear. His current project is designing and building dog boxes for our dog truck. Past projects have included refinishing our wooden dog sled, building a hitch mounted carrier to carry our three and four wheel rigs, installing a new exhaust manifold on the dog truck, installing two new starters on the dog truck within six months of each other (don't purchase starters from Autozone), making gang lines, and making drop lines.

Building the dog boxes within the snug confines of the back of our Expedition has been a tall order. First, the dog boxes need to be modular so they can be removed easily as we do occasionally use the truck to carry other items besides the dogs. Second, the dog boxes need to be relatively light as we do not want to add any more weight than necessary to the back of the truck as it decreases fuel economy and with the hitch carrier in place there is already extra weight on the rear of the truck. Third, the dogs boxes need to be large enough to hold our four dogs but still fit within the confines of our truck. Fourth, there are virtually no straight lines within the back of our truck and that poses a challenge when trying to construct dog boxes to maximize the size of the boxes. Fifth, we would like to maintain some rear window visibility. Sixth, the dog boxes need to be well ventilated yet they need to have floors that are easily cleaned should a pup get sick or have an accident. Sixth, the boxes must be secure. And last but definitely not least, we need to be able to load the dogs into the dog boxes even when the hitch carrier and rig are in place (i.e., the dog boxes need be fully accessible through both the rear doors and the lift gate).

Framing up the dog boxes

To determine what size our boxes should be, we consulted and followed Mush with Pride guidelines for the sizing of dog boxes. After weighing our options, we elected to construct two large boxes on the bottom level that will exceed the Mush with Pride width and depth dimensions and will meet the height requirements. Our upper level of boxes consist of two larger boxes and one smaller center box where our smallest, 35 lb sled dog, T-Bone, will ride. This box will give T-Bone a bird's eye view of the passing scenery including horses, cows, dogs, children in strollers, bicyclists, joggers, etc. all of which T-Bone seems to vastly enjoy barking at. Our top level of boxes are deeper than the guidelines suggest, and, with the exception of the center box, as wide as suggested by the guidelines. The center box is approximately one inch narrower than suggested by the guidelines. The height of all of the boxes meets or exceeds the height suggested in the guidelines.

After drawing up plans and pricing out materials, Eric came up with a design that satisfied the majority of our design requirements, purchased approximately $200 in materials, and has begun work on the construction of the boxes.

Framing for one of the two larger lower boxes

The center box (aka T-Bone's House)

The other dog "truck"