Sled Dogs and Snowmobiles...

Last weekend, Jessica and I headed north out of Whitefish to some trail heads near Olney. A snowy system of trails, mostly used for snowmobiles and access to some track skiing, weaves between Olney and north Whitefish Lake. On this day, the usual hum of snowmobile motors gave way to the icy swoosh of dogsleds and the quite panting of eager sled dogs.

The third annual Flathead Sled Dog Days was mostly fun with some difficulties thrown in. While Jessica remained at the star/finish line, I decided to jump on a snowmobile and take a nine-mile (hell raising) ride to the six-eight-dog turnaround. In hindsight, this was not the best idea. While it was great to see a different aspect of the race, the pictures were few and far between. At one point, the freezing rain and fog mixture complete froze my gear. Once the dogs were finished at our check point, the volunteers – who had other duties to attend to – left... leaving me to wait for about an hour and a half in the cold, snowy woods alone. This is a peaceful and terrifying experience.

I kept my toes warm by jogging, my fingers warm by jumping jacks and my camera warm by... well, it was pretty much an icicle. My ride did come and I was off on yet another nine-mile, jarring, sub-zero snowmobile adventure.

A very sincere thank you to the organizers and volunteers at the Flathead Sled Dog Days... I can't wait till next year.