Fun with skis and dogs

So I’ve decided to hold off on buying the fat tired bike for the time being. Maybe next year, if there is a next year. Who knows. Since I have a dog that loves to pull me around whenever we go on walks, I figured I would invest in a toy that both of us could enjoy.

So, I recently purchased equipment for skijoring. The set up is pretty simple. Dog harness with crisscrossed weave across the back and loops at the back for hooking in the tow line. The tow line has elastic in parts in it to help absorb some of the shock of your dog taking off suddenly. It stretches out about 15 feet ahead of the skier. The belt the skier wears is padded in the back, has two loops for your legs (almost like a climbing harness), and has an elastic “V” set up in the front much like water skiing. The belt also has a quick release halyard in case the skier falls and has to release the dog quickly. The halyard attaches to one end of the tow line and the other end of the tow line attaches to the back of the dog harness. The only thing left is get some chump with x-country skis, minimal coordination, and the willingness to try anything once, hook him up to the dog, sit back and enjoy some comic relief. It works with biking, roller blading, and running as well, but I haven’t tried any of that yet.

The comic relief only happened the first couple of times, although, I’m sure there will be more comedy acts farther down the road. As any dog owner knows, you never know what your dog might do or when he/she will do it. Like the time Katja pushed the door shut behind me when I stepped outside for a second. The door was locked and where would you guess the keys were? Inside, of course. That was a minor inconvenience.

Anyway, back to skijoring. Today, Katja and I went out for about an hour and a half. There is barely enough snow to really ski the roads without running into bare patches wind swept of snow. Eventually we got a snow machine track and Katja needed minimal directions from there. She is an incredible puller and can follow a trail very naturally with little distractions. We followed the snow machine trail east towards Tununak (about 7 miles away). You can probably look it up on Google Earth. The trail wasn’t very established, yet but it was sufficient for us. Later in the year, it should be very established and allow a skier or possibly biker to travel all the way fairly easily. We got about 3 miles away from Tununak before we turned around and followed our tracks back to Toksook.

When we got back, Katja was ready to go again. I was ready for a serious nap and many carbs to replenish my energy supply. It was the most successful outing we have had so far with the skis. Katja is really getting a grip on the commands. “Wait,” means just stand or sit there. “Line out” means put some tension on the tow line. “Let’s Go!!!” means take off. “Gee” means turn right, “Haw” means turn left. “Easy” means slow it down and “Whoa” means stop. That’s pretty much it. The problem is half the time, I forget the stupid commands and Katja is left standing there looking at me, probably thinking to herself, “What is his problem?” Oh well, I’ll get better with practice. Katja is very patient with me.

I hope that many of you are enjoying the wintertime as much as Katja and I are here in Toksook Bay, Alaska.

Thanks for reading,

Dirk

Winter is here

Well, we have had snow for over a week now and it doesn’t feel like it is going to melt anytime soon. I just came in from walking the dog and it’s a crisp 20 degrees F. at the most. Last weekend I took my bike out for my first winter ride of the season. This is probably my favorite time of the year, not just because of October and Halloween, but the ground is now frozen most of the time and the snow is starting to appear. It’s a perfect time to ride the bike.
The one downer here is the wind in the winter time. It is unrelenting and brings the temps down another 10 – 20 degrees F. It also drifts snow so that once in a while, the bike gets a little bogged down.
This weekend in Bethel though, I got a chance to ride one of the infamous Surley Pugsly bikes. What a winter biking dream machine. Four inch wide tires, no derailleurs, cables, shifters, or other moving parts. Just one gear, two wheels, a light, stiff steel frame and a monster truck mentality. It didn’t take me long to start trying to justify me owning one right away. The man that owned the bikes is one, Martin Leonard. He teaches at the university and is an outdoor enthusiast, like myself. Martin takes it to the extreme by doing Mtn. Bike and sea kayak expeditions here in Southwest Alaska…..in the winter. Anyway, his bikes were a real hoot to ride and it made me want really bad.
I don’t think that I’ll be purchasing a new Pugsly this year, but it may have to happen if I’m here another year or more. We shall see. In the mean time, I will have to equip my 1991 Specialized Stumpjumper Epic with studded snow tires and some special grease that won’t freeze up in the extreme temps here in Toksook Bay. Somehow I will manage to get by.






The important thing is that Katja and I are having a blast in the snow. I feel for all those that are still feeling the hot humidity on the east coast. Come visit for a little taste of winter. I'll let you walk my dog at 6:30 in the morning when it's 15 degrees out.

See ya soon,
Dirk

Umkumiut - part duex

A couple of weeks ago, I ran back to the smalling village of Umkumiut with Katja. This time, I brought a camera and took some photos along the way and of the village itself. The weather was beautiful on this day and the wind was a little calmer. The tide, however, was not as low, so I had to keep the pace up so that I didn't get stuck on one of the points.

As you can see the coast in parts isn't so nice and sandy. Some parts are actually rougher than this, so it's good to slow down a little in order to not sprain an ankle or just break your leg in two. Katja is good about taking her time and sometimes she is actually being more cautious than I. This particular point is one that is impassable at higher tides.

Along the way there are also little streams that trickle out of the hills. Some of them braid out into minuature deltas as they enter the sea and this one had a small school of sea stars scattered around on the beach. Watch your step.















Along the way, there were many skeletons that Katja loved to sniff and puruse.










Skeletons of all kinds. I think this was a Ski - Doo 550x.











The actual village of Umkumiut is not inhabited all year round and recently is barely used at all. The highschool does a 3 - day overnight there at the beginning of the year for all high school students. There are some families that have homes there and stay there for part of the summer. I took a peek in some of the windows and saw food scraps spread out on tables and some food wrappers still on the floor. The homes are very basic: kitchen, table, a few chairs, wood stove, and beds. I don't think there is running water, but some homes have electricity and heat.



This path acts as main street through Umkumiut. There are also many paths that connect to the beach where fishing boats are stored.

It is so mind boggling to think that people actually stayed out here for months at a time long ago. As I walked around, I took way more photos than I could ever put into a blog posting. And as luck would have it, when I made the return run back to Toksook, I had to wade through the water around those points because the tide had already covered the rocks that I ran across on the way out. It was worth getting a little wet and the wade only added to the whole experience.







This is the view you get as you approach the village from Toksook. The cliffs behind are very rugged and the coastline on past Umkumiut is very steep and unforgiving.


Well, it's not exactly a place that you would make reservations to see, but if you ever get to the west coast of Nelson Island, I strongly suggest that you check it out.


Thanks for reading.

Dirk

Trip to Umqumiut

I got home from work absolutely exhausted today. I let Katja out and them we laid on the couch where I tried to get a quick power nap. Katja had other plans however. It only took about 90 seconds before she was at my face licking and nudging me awake. I rose and put on my light rain gear and running shoes and we headed to the beach. I didn't think of bringing my camera, because I wasn't aware of the adventure that I was about to embark on. I'll try to get some pictures some other time. Upon arriving at the beach, I noticed that the tide was really out. Normally, I can only run up the coast around a couple of points (about 1 1/2 miles) because the high water, but today I decided to see how far I could go. I was filled with excitement as I rounded the farthest point I had been to since. I skipped over the rock strewn sections of beach and around the rockweed until I found smoother beach and headed to the next point. Eventually, I rounded a point and saw small buildings in the distance. Again, I was filled with new energy despite the almost constant head wind that I was bucking the whole way.
The beach leading to Umkumiut, the small fish camp just south of Toksook, was almost stone free. We continued to pushed the wind, but it didn’t bother me. I almost decided to turn around once I was in sight of the village, but my sense of adventure urged for onward. As I ran along the village, I passed fish drying racks, small smoke houses, and slightly larger houses. Only a couple houses, out of the 15 total, had heaters or electricity. We made it to the other end of the village and stood up on some boulders to celebrate our arrival.
Before we turned back, I decided to find a nice skipping rock to bounce of the breaking waves that hit the coast. Katja had wandered out in the smaller waves and got a little taste of salt water. As I skipped my rock, Katja followed it out into deeper water. Pretty soon after that, she took a five foot breaker right on top of the head, which I’m sure surprised the shit out of her. I just about fell over laughing as she bounded out of the water seemingly on her hind legs trying to get her head as high as possible. After we recovered, we let the strong wind push us back to Toksook. With the tide coming in, I had to pick it up and the tail wind helped a lot. I still had to play spider man a couple of times and race some small breakers into the high spots on the cliffs. Katja just splashed through the shin deep water with out regard.
We eventually made it back to the house, worn out but wearing smiles. Once again, I am thankful to have a companion to get me off my ass and outside exercising. As we ran the smooth section of beach from Umqumiut, Katja found a burst of energy and started running circles, literally circles around me. It was fun watching her race in circles and then turn and scream down the beach at full tilt. By the end of the run, we were side by side and sometimes Katja was trailing me, which means she had a good workout. It was the perfect way to end the day.

Visions of Berry Fest

Although it's been over a week ago, I thought I would give you a few highlights of the Blackberry festival that occured here in Toksook this year. I actually can't give you highlights that occured in the village, just highlights of my weekend in particular.

Thanks to having a dog now, I have been forcing myself outside more often to explore and exercise my furry ball of energy. I've been hiking up the hill more times than I can count and recently been exploring more areas off the beaten path. I've been amazed at the number of berry patches that I have discovered by walking off the trail system. I have over a gallon of blueberries frozen in my freezer this year and last year I had less than a quart.

It's also been a great year for cranberries and red berries. The cranberries are darker red and the red berries are, of course, bright red. I haven't tried the red berries yet, but supposedly you can eat them.







And of course, you can't mistake these for berries. I haven't seen a live Musk Ox in the wild yet, but they leave signs all around the island. My 4th grade friend Coby said that he saw some just over the hill a couple of weeks ago. He's such a lier. Can you tell I'm jealous?











This picture is actually taken just a couple of days ago and long after blackberry fest. This is my friend Erin from Oscarville with her little dog, Macey and Coby, the 4th grader, giving Katja a little hug. Judging from the picture, I think that Coby will make an excellent dog sitter some day.

Well, that is all for now. I hope this doesn't seem like a desperate and random post. Stay healthy and live it up!

Dirk

My humble abode

Well, many of you are probably wondering what my home life is like up here in the most rural setting I've ever lived in. So I've finally gotten around to taking some pictures of my most humble abode. This building actually houses my boss/principal and family on the left side and me and Katja live on the right side. Yes, the walls are thin. As you can see, I also have a lawn, if you want to call it that. The landlord doesn't make me mow, which is fine by me. The big black drum outside is my oil tank for my heater. I have a board walk that goes right up to my front door which is kind of nice. Step off the board walk and you will most likely be in mud. Supposedly there is a small river that flows under my house when it rains alot, which it does because I live on the west coast of Alaska.

The house is quite a bit smaller than my old home. It is also quite a bit more rustic and closer to the center of the village. I did have a little fly problem, but that is slowly being taken care of with the coming of colder weather and my dog is a master fly catcher, although she leaves dead fly carcasses scattered around the floor. Good dog! Living closer to the center of "town" poses another problem that I didn't have last year. I get a lot of visitors. I think this is mostly due to my proximity to other families and their kids and also that Katja is such a friendly and sociable dog, kids just love her. I guess that isn't a bad thing. Almost everyone knows her name by now, so I just have to ask kids to hold her leash while I duck into the school quickly for something or they can tell me which way she ran off towards if she sneaks out of my sight. I like kids and I like my job, but usually, whatever you do for work is the last thing you feel like doing when you're not at work. (a.k.a. entertain kids) I rarely invite kids in for visits, but they are always asking to come in. Sometimes you just gotta be stern.

Anyway, back to the house. It's cozy for Katja and me. It does have lots of storage space, which is nice because I'm such a gear head. I don't have a real good place for a TV/VCR and such besides my bedroom, but I can drag the computer out to the living room to watch movies with Katja.

I have three windows in the house, but the screens are all torn out. Luckily there aren't bad mosquitos in town. Actually, I haven't seen any in or around my house despite the grass/swamp outside.

I am using every square inch of my house. One nice thing about the size is that it will heat up quickly, which I will be doing in another few weeks. I haven't turned on my heat at all yet, but it is noticably colder in the morning when I wake up and Katja is almost always cuddled in her crate instead of sprawled out on the floor next to my bed.

I have recently purchased some hardware to make Katja a little tether outside so that she can spend time outside when I am at work. Hopefully she will grow used to it quickly. Here you can see her little dog house, which my friend Brett left for me. She is a little co-dependent yet, so we will see if she tries to break her neck to get off the tether or not. She already climbs right into the dog house without hesitation. We will have to work up to spending long periods of time left alone outside.

That is pretty much it though. So when you are kicked back on your couch with an ice cold beverage of your choice, watching the football game on your wide screen, listening to the fire in the wood stove crackle in the background, just think of me in my humble abode and remember, I live in Alaska.

Thanks for reading.
Dirk

Back in the village

Well once again, I had written out an elaborate summary of my summer travels, my return to Alaska, and finally my return to Toksook Bay, but the internet went down just as I was posting it and it never made it. So now, I will try to pick my brain from two days ago, when I wrote it, and come up with something similar and likewise, worth reading.

Indeed, I am back in Toksook Bay, work has started, and my neck already hurts. I arrived in Bethel on Aug. 1st after a lovely stay with some friends in Anchorage. Bethel involved 10 days of training and a couple of down days that I got to sit around and watch movies in the Bed and Breakfast/hostel that I was staying in.

Some rather big news involves a new female companion that met while staying in Bethel. She is pretty young, very energetic and outdoorsy, a great cuddle bug, and absolutely beautiful. She listens to almost everything I say, she is gets along great with everyone in the village. Yes, Katja, my new friend, moved to Toksook with me. The best part is that she is also house broken, has had all her shots, and responds well to a shock collar. Some of you might be thinking that I went ahead with the mail order bride from Russia. Sorry to disappoint you. Indeed, she is a very athletic Husky/Yellow Lab mix. She weighs about 35 - 40 pounds and is roughly between one and a half to two years old. She is the perfect dog for me right now.














I also had to move to another house. We received two new teachers from Michigan, Jimmy and Kerri Dunn. They are enjoying the comforts of my old house and I get to move in next to the Principal and his family. His wife is the high school science teacher. Katja seems to enjoy the house. Even more, Katja enjoys long jaunts out on the tundra, eating berries, tripping over tussocks, and stretching her legs. She is incredibly fast and loves to chase birds. Sometimes I will look down for 5 seconds and look up to find that she is completely over the next hill hauling tail after some bird. She comes back eventually, but the shock collar helps bring her back a little faster. Just so you know, the collar has a tone that reminds her. If she doesn't respond to the tone after I call her, then I give her a gentle buzz.


Well, speaking of Katja. I better see how she is doing in the house alone. Thanks for not giving up on me and my blog. More to come soon. Stay tuned.

Dirk