{"id":19451,"date":"2019-12-05T15:04:55","date_gmt":"2019-12-05T23:04:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/?post_type=blog&p=19451"},"modified":"2023-09-29T11:42:52","modified_gmt":"2023-09-29T18:42:52","slug":"mush-a-day-in-the-life-training-sled-dogs","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/blog\/mush-a-day-in-the-life-training-sled-dogs\/","title":{"rendered":"Mush! One Day in the Life of a Dogsledder"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Blair Braverman<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Writer and dogsled racer <\/span><\/i>Blair Braverman<\/i><\/b>, who spent two summers working as a dogsled guide on a glacier in Alaska, also wrote the acclaimed book <\/span><\/i>Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube<\/span>, which was a memoir of her childhood and northern adventures that the <\/span><\/i>NY Times<\/span> called a “stunning and sharp first book”; it looked at not just coping with blizzards, isolation and wild animals, but also sexism and violence faced by women adventurers entering a male-dominated field like dogsled racing. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Blair wrote to us that <\/span>“<\/span>George Attla<\/span><\/a>\u00a0was a legend who helped revitalize mushing in Alaska. He led the way–literally–and brought so much care to the sport and to his community.” She contributes for us here a vivid “day in the life” diary of a musher in Wisconsin, to capture the experience of training sled dogs.\u00a0 -ed.<\/em>
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Last spring I ran my rookie Iditarod, which was astounding\u2014and after an intense few years of racing throughout Canada and Alaska, I\u2019m spending this winter close to home in northern Wisconsin, working with my dog team to build endurance, have fun, and explore the Northwoods together. Many of my dogs are yearlings\u2014last year\u2019s puppies\u2014and this is their first winter training with the team, so I\u2019m keeping things exciting and trying to give them as many new experiences as possible. Our days together look something like this.<\/span><\/p>\n

8 a.m.<\/b><\/p>\n

My dogs live outside year-round, so they build up a thick fur coat, just like wolves, that keeps them comfortable in the winter. But one challenge of cold weather is that they can\u2019t have constant access to liquid water like they do in the summer. For that reason, I like to start their mornings with a drink that a friend nicknamed \u201cmeatorade<\/strong>\u201d\u2014it\u2019s tasty, so they drink it before it freezes, and it keeps them hydrated for the day\u2019s activities. I soak scraps of venison and ground beef in a bucket of hot water until it forms a rich broth, then divvy it up with a ladle, making sure all the dogs get their share. I also like to give them a little snack, often a piece of bear fat, to start their day.<\/span><\/p>\n

9:30 a.m.<\/b><\/p>\n

While the dogs are stretching and playing, or napping on their houses, I patrol with a shovel for my first poop scoop of the day. I know that Grinch won\u2019t be running, since he\u2019s a bit older and has arthritis in his wrists, so I bring him into a fenced-in playpen with his friend Refried so they can have some gentle fun.<\/span><\/p>\n

10 a.m.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

I\u2019ll be tired after running dogs, so I usually take a few hours in the morning to do other work: writing, editing, answering emails, and so on. I keep an eye on the dogs out the window and wish that I was outside.<\/span><\/p>\n

12:30 p.m.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Puppy walk! We only have one puppy this year, so she gets lots of one-on-one attention. Right now we\u2019re practicing recall, so I put some treats in my pocket and we take a walk in the woods.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1 p.m.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

My husband Quince Mountain and I manage the team together, and we decide that today\u2019s run will be a short 16-miler with the dogs pulling an ATV. There\u2019s not quite enough snow for sleds, and the ATV is nice because it has good stopping power, which makes it a safe option for a big team. He brings the dogs some more fresh water and puts on their harnesses while I get the gangline ready.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1:40 p.m.<\/b><\/p>\n

When all the dogs are harnessed, we take a deep breath and start walking them to the gangline. This is when the chaos starts! The dogs are frantic with excitement when they know that they\u2019re about to run. <\/span><\/p>\n

We walk our leader, Pepe, to the line first\u2014she knows exactly how this goes\u2014and bring out the yearlings last, since they\u2019re the most likely to annoy their running partner or bite through their harness in excitement. When they\u2019re all ready, I give the command: \u201cReady? All right!\u201d In a split second, the noise turns to silence as the dogs surge forward together.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Dogs breaking trail through a foot of fresh snow, Pep\u00e9 and Willow leading the way. pic.twitter.com\/N6ci4b5Fgs<\/a><\/p>\n

— Blair Braverman (@BlairBraverman) December 4, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n