The Muktuk Dog Blog

It’s getting warm here so all of our trips have moved to the early morning. It’s still beautiful, though, and our dogs are super happy.

It’s been an eventful week.

…Sadly, we lost Tok. He had cancer throughout his body and had a very quick and (hopefully painless) cross over Rainbow Bridge.

…Frank is off with Bruce and Jo (and 16 pups) to travel from McPherson to Old Crow. Should be quite the adventure!

…We say goodbye to more of our crew this week, but welcome some new spring faces.

…It’s getting muddy out there! Tarragon had a bit of a lake in the yard, so he’s been temporarily relocated.

Spring has sprung. We are now offering AM two hour trips and Full Day six hour trips. The weather is amazing! Usually our mornings are ranging between -10 and -20, while the afternoons are occasionally moving into the pluses. Wow!

What’s best? No headlamps! The yard has some light by 7 in the morning and it lasts through 9 at night.

It’s a gorgeous time for sledding and Muktuk living. We are sad to say goodbye to much of our winter staff, but it’s been a great season and springtime is helping us power through!

We’ve started having some spring weather. That means afternoon walks and a lot of play! Can’t wait for daylight savings!!

Damaris, Thomas and Frank recently returned from a four day camping trip with a television crew from Japan. They had a great time with the cool crew and with some (mostly) younger pups.

What’s new?

a. Here are some pictures from a recent day trip.

b. We’ve had lots of campers out over the last two weeks. Some newbies and a few old friends.

c. It’s been chilly! Minus forty temperatures at the kennel have kept injured dogs inside and crazy mushers out doing jumping jacks. This— just a week after overflow on the river— we love the Yukon!

d. Today, though, it’s just about perfect outside… time to go out for a run!

e. Congrats to all the Yukon Quest finishers. What a race.

… AND THEY’RE OFF! Today began the 28th Annual Yukon Quest 1,000 Mile Sled Dog Race. It was great fun seeing the start, and it was super cool to see teams passing by on our touring trails.

… a birds eye view of a half day trip this week.

(Sorry for only having a few recent updates. We’ve been conserving our Internet usage. Look for some good posts in the next several days!)

Feeding our dogs has immediate and certain consequences— a lot of poop. And especially in winter when our dogs need more food in order to run and to stay warm.

We scuba dive (as guide Hugo has dubbed this task) two times a day. Generally we poop scoop after human breakfast and after dog dinner. We generally fill up 2-3 dog food bags with poop in the morning and 1 bag at night.

Sometimes it can be hard to find poop— in rain and snow especially— but it is our duty. Poop scoop is a time to check that all of our dogs are feeling well. We really look at our stools and make sure that there is nothing out of the ordinary for each individual dog.

Above all, poop scoop is a time for human reflection. Relax— and at this time of year— bring your headlamp.