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Wayne and Deb at the mouth of the Tatonduk River.
Summer is quickly passing and thought are turning to winter fun. The dogs always react to the first snows after a summer of heat. We are also looking forward to time on the runners with these amazing athletes.
Our 2024 season is over with the final tour being a bit warm and mushy but still a beautiful world to get out and enjoy, warm sunshine, blue skies, white clouds and friendly, energetic dogs. Thank You Hakan Wanke for the wonderful video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xERp_5Ru0I0
Video by Hakan Wanke of the
final tour of 2024
Waylon, Willlie, Merle and Reba are the newest additions to our kennel. Cloud is a wonderful mom and having puppies under the kitchen table is always fun.
June and the first of July were hot and dry with fires all over Alaska. We had another close scare and spent days putting out pumps and hoses, clearing more trees and fire lines…preparing before the rains finally came and came they did. We are very grateful to friends who helped supply us with extra equipment and offers of help.
As usual, I have been remiss in keeping up to date with my blogs. Life gets busy and as we are experimenting with Instagram, it keeps me busy.
Winter went well and meltdown has started. Break up will be soon and we hope it is an easy one but with all the snow, locals are holding their breaths.
The pups are all turning out to be great team members with a lot of leader potential. Aragorn has settled in with us and is enjoying life in a new kennel.
We are in our shut off period and enjoying some slower days as we await the break up of the Yukon River.
Deb Cawthorn, Greg Ott and Jake Cragan wonderful guides for Bush Alaska Expeditions
Winter’s beauty on the Yukon River just below Eagle, AK
Happy Dogs!
For those of you that follow “Bush Alaska Expeditions Dog Sled Tours” meet Aragorn, a 4 year old 55 lb. male joining our K-9 team. Aragorn has run in 2 Iditarods and the CB-300. Some of our best pups are out of this blood line. Thank You Riley Dyche, Dark Horse Racing Kennel. We love him already.
Come experience a different world, a world far removed from the stresses of this world. Our gang of friendly, loving huskies and guides are waiting to give you a wonderful experience.
Check out our video page to see our dogs at work and play. Do not hesitate to get with us with any questions.
It is important to give as many experiences to puppies as you can so that when they run into obstacals and other situations that if new could stress or frighten a dog. When they experience things as pups and in a fun way it is very rare for an adult to panic at something different. Having puppies as well rounded as you can with different experiences is a plus in all regards. These pups are having a blast and enjoying the playtime.
In the world of dog mushing…training the word “Whoa” is very necessary.
Here is Scarlett with Neptune and Hey-Bopp (Hale-Bopp) of the astronomy litter. Early training is almost complete with the training of “Whoa” after this the next important steps are ice training and learning to run with the big guys.
Having puppies to train is always fun, hilarious and frustration. Hey-Bobb (Hale-Bobb, the astrology litter), is 3 months old but is a rising star. The 3 month age is the terrible twos and the pups start getting into trouble so it is then a push to get the training going. Hey-Bobb and his 3 litter mates took off at super-sonic speed out of the yard. It took an hour and a half with 3 of us covering our trail systems to find them. With wolves in the area this is worrisome so we train our dogs to stay in the yard when they are loose. Pups know no boundaries.
Summer has arrived and the ground is finally drying out. The garden is growing and we have 11 puppies in the yard. What a hoot. Four of them are 1 month older than the others and we introduced them today. It went well. Pictures will follow….
Break up had the potential to be very bad but we had long hot days and hard cold nights. That was like a faucet effect of turning on and off the water flow. It allowed for the snow to melt and the river to flow by at a pace that did not bust the ice loose until it was very rotten. It was wonderfully boring. I loved it.
Winter is truly here. Wayne, I and a group of dogs are out checking out the Yukon River just as it was freezing up. Here it is looking pretty good, but Alaska likes to throw curve balls and the river shifted twice after the ice ground to a halt.
We are presently working to get trail crossings in. The downriver crossing is in and a good one. The crossing into Eagle will be in hopefully tomorrow. This year’s final freeze up of the ice has left sections too jumbled to travel so the land trails will be very important this year. Early snow let us get the local trails in. A warm chinook wind took out some of the snow but we are still out and about and looking forward to a good travel season.
Spring, summer and fall are short season’s with Fall often being the shortest of them all. Winter rolled in toward the 1st of October and snow has fallen. The dogs have loved the colder weather and getting out in harness. Here Greg is doing 1 final Season’s End chore…moving his canoe to it’s winter resting spot. It proved to be an exciting trip.
Winter arrived a week ago with light snow and colder temps. Temps are now dipping below zero with days around 20 degrees F. Fall was beautiful but short. The dogs are loving the cold and are starting to train on the ice and snow down along the river and in the slough. Tours are being booked in our remote Covid-19 free section of the world.
With the temperatures of September being 5 to 15 degrees warmer than normal the sudden shift to cold is chilly but welcome. Ice is starting to run in the river. Our main boat had to come out early because of lower unit problems and we had a snow machine in town that needed to be brought down after a late repair. Some friends had fun with that delivery.
The year has been an odd one for us because of the pandemic and then a double whammy of a crashed fish run that meant we were unable to fish chums for some of our dog food. We like to mix their diets between fish and dog food. Fingers are crossed for a good return on chums next season as no one is sure of the reason. Did the young fry not survive their trip out into the Bering Sea? Did they just not have enough weight on them to return this year and might show up as 5 year old next season? That is the hope that I have, so we will have to wait and see. In the meantime the dogs are ready to hits the trails, carrying us and those who want to experience a different world, one removed from the stresses that abound out there. Life here is quiet, beautiful and peaceful.
Offering a new adventure outside of our winter world of dog sled touring during the months of September into January. Come experience a different world, a lifestyle far away from the maddening crowds. A world that is quarantined by distance and nature. Come view the majestic aurora. The northern lights grace our skies with color many nights of the year. Our homestead/kennel is located in one of the last remaining true wilderness areas in this hemisphere. No roads…access only via dog sled, snowmobile in winter and boat in the summer.
Compliments of earthsendphotography. https://www.facebook.com/earthsendphotography or www.earthsendphotography.com
Come just to relax in the surrounding, beautiful solitude of the wilderness or to learn about a life ruled by the seasons and Alaska’s environment. Learn how to live off the land, no matter the conditions. See nature at its fullest…eagles, bears, wolves, caribou, moose, lynx, fox. Learn how to read tracks and animal signs. Come ride the runners of your own sled with a dog team out in front of you. Travel as was done many years ago before the age of snowmobiles.
Summer and into the fall the garden and fishing have priority. Learn how to grow crops in the north. Run a fish wheel, learn how to process fish, making strips, can and put up fish for the dogs. Spend time playing, running and training with our playful, friendly dogs. As temps cool the leaves start to turn and drop. Thoughts turn to hunting for the year’s meat.
At this time of year the mighty Yukon River begins to run ice and the time of total isolation kicks into gear. There are 2 periods of total isolation from the world due to Alaska’s environmental weather conditions…no way in or out in the fall during freeze up and in the spring during break up. When ice starts flowing you cannot travel the river until the ice grinds to a halt forming a solid, frozen pathway. Snow starts falling bringing the time to pull out sleds, start getting the canine athletes into mushing shape and start work on getting trails established for the winter. Learn what is involved in training our wonderful huskies.
Once the ice flowing in the Yukon River grinds to a halt, then you will learn how to read ice, snow, slush and how to travel in winter conditions. Learn how to dress to stay warm even when temps dive to minus 60 F.
As winter comes in full force learn how to travel with your dog team and enjoy being in a silent world.
We supply all camping gear and winter gear such as…boots, parka, bibs, mitts, mitt liners, face mask/neck gaiter.
In conclusion what can you experience in our remote world…
1. Running your own dog team.
2. Watch the Yukon River freeze up and participate in putting in the 1st trails of the winter across the newly formed ice on the river and through the wilderness.
3. Actually live the real thing…cut and split your own firewood. Heat with a wood burning stove and supply your own 16 X 24 cabin with water from a creek coming straight out of pristine mountains.
4. Prepare, process and cook wild game, make sausage, can fish.
5. Learn about Alaska’s wilderness animals.
6. Or just kick back, relax in a remote, beautiful, quiet wilderness.
Plan for extended time to fully immerse yourself into this world. Consider these options or discuss your own ideas with us…
10 days ($2500.00)
2 weeks ($3500.00)
1 month ($6000.00)
Thousands of the 40 Mile Caribou Herd have been on American Summit. They appear to have calved here so there are a lot of young within the group which is wonderful to see. Being a bit illiterate on computers, I cannot figure out how to embed the video we have posted to our Facebook but you can view it here… https://www.facebook.com/bushalaska.expeditions.5/videos/vb.100001134480518/3079718022075984/?type=2&video_source=user_video_tab
Each summer shows us the miracle of birth and life. The dogs relax, run along the beach and swim in the water and we haul tons of dog food and other supplies on our 1000 mile shopping trips that we try to hold to 3 each summer.
Wildlife abounds here and often we get to see our neighbors along the shore as we travel back and forth from the homestead to Eagle. The above picture is a Lynx and the lower picture is a Caribou.
Our dogs have a wonderful life here, with us, during their working years as sled dogs. They tell us when they want to retire and we either keep them free and loose in our own yard or work to find them forever homes with special people. Here are 2 of our special dogs enjoying the last bit of snow on the beach with Sleeping Lady in the background.
Season 2020 has come to a sudden end while temps and snow conditions are beautiful. No more clients does not mean stopping things as the dogs are still an integral part of our world and it is important to keep their heads good. So they are getting out on fun runs and enjoying the weather. They are unaware of what is happening in the world around them and I sometimes wish I was as oblivious.
The Corona19 virus is new and we are all learning how to deal with it on a day by day basis. Hopefully everyone is taking safety steps as they travel and move around. Especially if they have vulnerable people in their families. So many people are stepping up to help out…companies and individuals switching productions to face masks, ventilator parts and other needed items. A thank you to those who can help in this way and others such as picking up supplies and groceries for vulnerable shut ins. A thank you to the truckers and others who are moving supplies to help keep people supplied and fed. And a thank you, a very big thank you to the people who are out there on the front lines and in the research areas that are desperately trying to help. There are probably many more thank yous needed but at the moment I cannot think that far.
This is a time for people to come together. To think of the greater good. Things are tough and it is going to be tough when it ends. And we are not sure of when it will end. Many of us may not be able to pick up our lives, at least not right away.
Our thoughts and prayers go out daily as we are isolated here in our remote world and unable to lend a hand. Be safe and be well!
Merry Christmas and most Blessed New Year to All!
The Holiday season is fast approaching and it finds Last Chance Creek ready. Snow has fallen abundantly this year and the Yukon River ice has stopped it westward flow for the winter. Trails are taking shape and the dogs are loving the runs as you can see by the picture. Hippo and Hyo are in lead and you can see Gazelle’s and Butch’s smiles in the background. Magnum and Daffy bring up the rear but their heads are down. Photo complements of Earths End Photography.
There is still space available for customized tours. Please get with us with any questions.
If you are interested in a children’s book series for Christmas, please check out our retired sled dog, Black Bear and her wonderful adventures. Black Bear Saves Christmas, Black Bear Goes to San Francisco and/or Black Bear Goes to Washington by Denise Lawson. You can find them at Barnes and Nobles.
www.blackbearsleddog.com, #blackbearsledding, info@brownlowebooks.com, https://blackbearsleddog.com
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