Cabin Life # 4: Mush Mush

For the past two winters I have had the pleasure of playing with a couple of pretty rad dog teams and had the opportunity to learn a few of the ins-and-outs of handling and mushing dogs.

Dog mushing is something that I never really imagined myself doing, being someone who was always a self-proclaimed cat person, dogs were never quite my thing. I always liked dogs —having grown up having them — but I never wanted to own one myself, until I took care of and fell in love with sled dogs. They won me over with their unique energy and sweet expectant faces. They are absolutely the hardest working and most dedicated dogs I have ever met. I definitely hope that mushing is something that I will be doing for many winters to come.

When you approach a dog yard with your sled in tow the dogs immediately know what they are about to do, and they are excited! Most sled dogs in the Yukon are Alaskan Husky's. These dogs are incredibly athletic — small, strong and agile they are literally made to pull — pulling is their job and they love to do it. This makes them the most common dog to use when sledding, but often they are bred with other athletic dogs who may have a strong pulling gene.

Walking into the dog yard is a sensory overload. Your senses are filled with the barking, jumping and howling of dogs who want you to choose them first to hook up to the gang line. They all come out of their individual houses to see who or what is going on. They are tethered to a post with a chain that allows them enough room to run eat and go into their houses without any of the dogs getting into each other’s spaces and causing any trouble. Dog fights can be common among these types of animals. Even playful fighting could cause an injury and take them out of the team, so it is avoided at all costs by the handlers.

Each dog has a unique personality, and knowing those is the job of the musher or handler. Some dogs love to be near and run next to each other, others do not and could make your run very difficult and dangerous. Some are motivated by each other and will follow them to the ends of the earth, others like to be out front, and those are the leads.

Lead dogs are a special kind of animal. In my experience, the lead dog often is the oldest and wisest dog. It often lives in the house with the musher away from the dog yard. Because their direction instinct is so attuned they are often left off leash to their own devices, but usually hang around the dog yard, or beside their owner. They are the ones that guide the pack. They must listen for commands from the musher and bring the other dogs in the right direction, without them the other dogs will go astray. They often have a very strong bond with the musher, and mushers can often be found having long in-depth conversations with them, planning out their next moves, offering encouragement and comfort to one another and holding each other together on long races. A good lead is the most integral part of the team. Without a good lead your run can become very frustrating very fast, they must listen intently to the mushers spoken commands as this is the only way the sled is directed. The lead must be confident, independent and fast as they do not have anyone to follow, and can literally make or break a dog team.

When you walk through the yard the dogs look at you expectantly and jump towards you pulling their chains taught. They rest their paws on your arm and calm when you stop at each dog to give them a pat before choosing the first to go on the line.

Each dog that is going to be in your team is harnessed. The dogs are old hats at this process, lifting each leg as you guide the harness over their head and pull their front paws through. Once you have your sled secured all your dogs harnessed and your line ready it’s a race to get the dogs hooked up. Then you take them and attach the harness at the back and front to the gang line one by one. This is a strategic process and must be completed quickly as the energy of the dogs mounts. They are excited and ready to go, when you attach them they begin to jump up and forward launching themselves into the air as they do. Once you have all the dogs on the line you can jump on the sled, release the brakes and you are off.

Standing on the back of the sled you watch each dog as they steady into a pace that will bring you through small passes and trails that are often only accessed by dogs. Keeping your feet steady on the runners you use the brake in between to keep the dogs from over-exerting themselves but keeping the line taut.

When you are out with the dogs there is a calmness that takes over, like nothing else. Once you get into a rhythm with them a silence comes over the world and whoosh, you are transported. All you hear is the sound of the dog’s feet as they pat across the snow, your own breath in rhythm with theirs as each breath crisps with the exhalation. The snow slides beneath the sled as it slips over the fresh snow beneath you and you suddenly find yourself miles away from nowhere.

As you anticipate the turns and twists of the trail you call out “gee” or “haw” to your leader to indicate the direction you choose while leading the sled with your weight. Each movement connected to your lead as if through ESP as they guide your path.

Sledding is unlike anything I have ever done before, the ease with which you move juxtaposed with the hard work it takes to maneuver the sled, and the feeling of being out, just you and the world with your dogs. When we stop for a coffee break, the dogs lay down for a well-deserved break themselves. We have situated ourselves within a valley between two mountain peaks that we have been travelling between for about an hour. Here the snow is deep and our feet crack through the icy surface sink into the soft snow as we stop the sled and step off the rails. We can only stop for a moment before the dogs are ready to go again and begin pulling at their snow hooks.

And with a quick "Ok" they are off again, pulling you forward with a swift movement before steadying into a pace again with tongues hanging out, and a smile on your face; the world is in front of you, and it feels like you could go anywhere with them leading you.

This experience has been one that I definitely hope to enjoy for years to come and has given me a renewed appreciation for a dogs spirit and the connection that is created through them to their human owners…

Man is truly a dogs best friend.

Running on a Frozen Fish Lake, YT

Running on a frozen Upper Labarge

A quick stop to rest and take in the scenery

Quick rest along the Yukon River

Climbing Sheep Mountain

This summer I had the opportunity to go on some pretty amazing adventures. The Yukon is in no short supply of things to do and places to go. If you can dream it, you can pretty much do it!
One of the main reasons I had such an amazing summer is the amazing family which I have adopted myself into. The chaos and characters that this family employs is nothing short of wonderful and I couldn't ask for better friends with more amazing kids. They have made me feel welcome in their home and brought me on family vacations without so much as a hesitation on their part.
One of the more memorable ones was just after my birthday when we all took a 4 day sojourn from work life and took off to Kluane National Park to climb a mountain.

At Kluane Lake in Kluane National Park

Kluane National Park covers an area of about 22,000 square kilometers. It is a land of superlatives, within its borders are precipitous high mountains, the most immense non-polar  ice fields in the world, and lush valleys that yield a very diverse array of plant, bird and wildlife species and a place where an outdoorsman is in wonderland.
Kluane is also home to Mount Logan - a 19,525 ft peak, which is Canada's highest. (Parks Canada)

Although we would have loved to tackle Mount Logan (hah), it was simply not in the cards for us just yet.  Instead we decided to take a nice 5km (4200 ft) hike up Sheep Mountain in hopes of spying some Dall Sheep and glancing some breathtaking views.

We stopped at Kluane Lake as soon as we entered the park and dipped our toes into the chilly water before heading off to find a place to camp that was safe from the over 400 grizzlys that live in the park.

After heading to the Congdon Creek Campground where there was a ban on tents (what! simply perposterous) we went in search of another place that had less recent bear activity and ended up at Pine Lake Campground, which is located just outside of Kluane near Haines Junction.

checking out the mountains on the map

We set off in the morning with an idea of where we wanted to go and hit the trail head with high spirits and bellies full of a delicious breakfast.

The hike was something of a challenge with its steep inclines and the hot Yukon sun beating down on us, but the the kids were tough and made it all the way to the top! I am so proud of all of us, especially the kids, for making it to the top and not giving up, even when it seemed that the steep patches would never end (they actually didn't). 

So much can not be said for some adults that we saw some turning around and telling us that it was too difficult for them to climb. 

The views were definitely worth it and drew is upward and onward into the mountain pass. 

Taking a small break at the halfway point

Taking refuge next to a tree laden with woodpecker holes

As we ascended through this vast wilderness I was struck again and again by the beauty that surrounded us. We are so lucky to live in such a place, and to be in these places with such wonderful people allows you to come to a place of such peace. 

There is something about standing on a ridge with nothing but air all around you looking out onto the toe of a glacier while the sun warms your skin and a rainbow emerges out of nowhere that just allows everything to slip away and feel... free.

We made it... nothing but air all around me

Taking it all in

Amazing...

These guys! 

x

A Brand New Adventure: Cross Canada

Ok, so its been a while since my last post. not to say that things have been un-eventful... they have been anything but... however I didn't have the capacity to write about them, and have now started a new adventure in my life, and am anxious to share all of the details about it.

A little spruce of the blog and we should be off and running.

So heres the dish:
I have taken a leave from my life in Ontario and decided to embrave (thats embrace and brave) the wilds of the Yukon Territory. I will be living in a small cabin about 30 minutes outside of the city of whitehorse on the yukon river.

I want to document the daily life of cabin living in the yukon. Back to a life more simple than the one that I have become so accustomed to. One with no running water or pumped in heat. A life less ordinary than we now live, but one that gives me all of the necessities in a way that I can be thankful for. I will try to share all of the specifics of this life, as well as the physical and emotional things that come along with it.

I decided to come to the yukon about as spontaneously as one can. A very dear friend offered me the opportunity to go, and 5 days later I was on the road to the most northern west corner of our beautiful country. it has always been my dream to see all of canada from the seat of my car, to explore the beautiful prairies, and marvel at the peaks of the rockies, stay under the stars in a tent, searching the depths of this old land for the spirit that lies within it.

Morning sunrise

The experince of driving across canada was a different one. Leaving behind so many wonderful things, people and experiences was a lot harder than it has ever been for me, due in large part to its spontaneity and my inability to make quick decisions. But as i set off in my little suzuki (suzie-q) early that Sunday morning, I knew that this adventure was going to probably be the most challenging one of my life so far, but also the most rewarding, frustrating, amazing, beautiful and honest journey ever.



I did the drive in 5 days, stats are as follows: 5576 km, five provinces, one territory, four nights, three seedy motels, 20 tanks of gas (i never let it get below 1/2), endless cups of coffee, and a lot of sugar from the goodie basket from mum. It was a journey with an intent... Whitehorse or bust!!

Here are the things that occurred to me throughout the country:

Lake Superior

when one is driving alone for so long, things that might not normally occur to someone tend to pop into your head. this was such the case for most of northern ontario. Northern ontario is a beautiful and majestic place. Especially after driving through the urban metropolis that is southern ontario. There are lakes and rivers everywhere, beautiful cliffs, incredibly old trees and a lot of wildlife.

Foggy mornings

Rest stop bliss

The trans-canada highway has many historical stops along the way and i wish i had time to stop at all of them.  It felt so amazing to begin my journey across the country on this part of the road, among the last to be completed, where men trekked through the forest from Wawa to Sault Ste. Marie, and were presumed lost and dead after 5 days to prove the desperate need for the road to be completed.

Wawa

With all of the lakes a rivers comes a lot of bridges. And for whatever reason, it seems that the summer of 2013 was the year they decided to fix the bridges. I wonder who thought it would be a good decision to close every single bridge in northern ontario across the trans-canada highway for several months... it occurred to me that I would like to find this person and make them sit in a sweltering car at 25 minute intervals for 12 hours. Not pleasant.. but hey, there are a lot of very large things to look at along the way; heres one.







My journey across the rest of the country was a quick one. I rarely stopped except to refuel, myself and Suzy-q. I laughed, sang, cried, screamed and talked for endless hours about this amazing journey that I was embarking on. EAch province brought a new landscape. The prairies brought a long slow calm that took hold of me in my car and made me the only one out there on the road. I began to see mountains emerging as i passed through alberta late at night. and i wondered how many other people had taken this very same journey, and what their intents were, and in-fact, what was my intent?

When I first saw a stone (or Rocky) mountain I was absolutely stunned. I had seen the mountains before but this was something else, something new. Perhaps it was the 4 days it had taken me to get there, the endless road in front of me, the lack of sleep, the anxiety of the unknown or the sheer beauty of this amazing place, but they brought me to tears. It was the last day of my journey and I was mere hours away. The rocks emerged when i came around a corner and I pulled over to enjoy this moment. so many things rushed through my head: where was i going, and where had i been. What was i doing?! could I make it in the quiet wilderness of the yukon? I would have to. They brought me calm and the whistle of the wind across the water let me know to let go of all of the inhibition, because this was a moment that I would want to remember. It was time to stop dreaming and start living.

 My new life was about to begin, one stone mountain at a time.

A little taste of home...

It's no secret that I love food. My expanding waistband is proof of that.
Food food food, in all shapes and sizes (as long as it doesn't contain meat). I love eating it, looking at it, tasting it, smelling it. i just really love food.

I have found over the past few months that my body has been craving the strangest types of food. But nothing more than comfort food. Here I plan to explore a few of my favourites...

There is something about a large pot of chili that just makes you feel so cozy and at home... A big boiling bowl of some extra spicy veggie chilli topped with fresh shredded cheese and a side of Salty Nacho chips. nothing says home like that.
along with this goes tacos. delicious tacos that take you back to when you were a kid. In my house, tacos were always somewhat of a treat, and were usually consumed on a special occasion (or it felt like a special occasion) like a birthday or something. It was a great feeling being able to custom make your own meal and fill your taco shell with as many, or as few delicious things as you wanted.

Rollkuchen and Watermelon... my most favourite summer treat. For those of you who weren't fortunate enough to grow up in a Mennonite household with lots of delicious homemade baked goods and fried breads i will enlighten you on this amazing food. Its basically... fried dough.. a fritter if you will. but when made properly (my mum makes the best ones i have EVER tasted.... no joke... its not just me) you end up with a deliciously light flaky fried good that when you bite off the top, the inside is hollow. This doesn't happen with every one, in my family we call these pieces "puffers." and if you happen to find one that is puffed from top to bottom, you had bet you will be fighting for it. its here the watermelon comes in. Sliced into perfectly long, medium sized pieces you can place the watermelon INSIDE the baked dough.. that's right, INSIDE. once the Rollkuchen is stuffed with sweet red watermelon its time to indulge. Once you take your first bite you will be hooked. The sweet, cold watery flavor of the watermelon mixed with the salty, dry taste of the Rollkuchen is pure ecstasy! I seriously reccomend it.

There are other people who make it different and roll it in the middle.But this isnt the way to go for me, you don't have the opportunity to get a 'puffer' and stuff the watermelon inside. The best part is that if you dont finish all your Rollkucken in one meal, they make a great treat for a few days to come with some more watermelon or spread with you choice of fruit jam!! oh my, there is nothing left to be desired with this delicious summer treat!





I wasnt always a fan of avocados, but in the past number of years they became a staple in my diet. full of healthy fats, and delicious flavour, this vegetable is so versitile it can be used with, on, accompanied by anything! My two... or three favourites though, have to be a tomato, cheese and avocado sandwich, with just a little bit of hummus .. or mayo if you prefer. Its the most delicious sandwich that you could ever eat! I'm picky about my tomatoes so they have to be sliced thin; add your favourite cheese and some nice thick slices of avocado and you have got yourself one killer sandwich! The next would have to be avocado Sushi. there is something to be said about the mixture of rice, seaweed, and avocado, top that with some wasabi and soya sauce and prepare your mouth for a flavour explosion. and the final avocado treat, that we all know and love guacamole! affectionally called guac, this staple can be used for a spread or a dip. You can make it many different ways to accomodate your preference towards garlic, onions, tomatoes, sweet, spicy, salty. I prefer a basic approach with no frills, garlic, salt, pepper and lemon juice, with some baked naan. yum!  Avocados are so versitile that they simply scream home!

Lastly, the good old fashioned breakfast. Bacon (none for me thanks), Eggs, Toast, hasbrowns and orange juice perhaps a tomato (or avacado slice) if you are so inclined. This brings you back to the days of sunday afternoons when the family would get together to sit around the tube and listen to the sound of the eggs crackling and the smell of delicious butter in the frying pan. It always seemed so still in those moments, like nothing could distrub the peace... as time passed this breakfast became a staple 'greasy' meal, something simply necessary after a night out drinking. But, it always remains the same... something that you can look forward to of being familiar and homey. Making you feel better simply by its existence.

These foods are all so tastey and homey feeling that if you are ever feeling homesick or in want of something familiar, each one will bring you just that much closer :)

Christmas Cheer 09

So, as expected this Christmas was a very different and emotionally challenging one for me. Its hard to experience something in a country where it doesn't exist. In Korea, Christmas really doesn't exist. even though out of the 54.5% of Koreans that declare religious affiliation, 29.3% of them are Christians. (the only thing coming close is Buddhism at 22.8% the other 2.4% are various alternative religions ). The way that Koreans celebrate Christmas seems to be the way that they do everything in this country, including getting married... most of it is for show. They have the trees and a few lights up on the main streets, some signs in the large department stores and the kids yelling "oh santa" when they see an image of good old st. nick. But the meaning of christmas is completely lost. the idea of getting together with family and/or loved ones is not something that they see as a necessity at this time of year. That is the thing im missing most this year. Its very challenging for me to be away from my family, in this place that doesn't feel, look or act like a holiday is coming up. Again, its a Confucius country, so i was aware that these things wouldn't be as prevalent as they were at home, but even the feeling you get. the warmth in your heart, the smile you get as you hear christmas carolers or see children running in the snow laughing... its just not as accessible here. luckily i have great family  and friends and i was bombarded thoughtful, loving notes, cards and gifts to help me get through, even though i ' actually able to be there to squeeze everyone with love... 

I had the privilege of attending a wedding on Christmas day in Busan. I did not know the couple getting married, but the idea of getting married Christmas day seemed a romantic notion to me and i was more than willing to witness a Korean wedding (which i had heard about. a lot of 'for show' production) and i was not disappointed. It seemed as though the man and woman had barely met. they walked stiffly down the isle, and then back up it and down it a third, and fourth time.. each time the photographer following them; hoping to get the perfect photograph. The whole room was packed with people. people standing, sitting, walking around, talking laughing, eating.... no one seemed to be paying any attention at all. Coming from a western world, where at a wedding we sit and watch the bride and groom say their vows and dedicate themselves to each other i found this quite strange. Where we see marriage as a thing of beauty, that is found in love, and commitment, it seems that often times in korea marriage is something out of necessity. Im not saying this is all bad. it is part of their culture, and in some cases love can be found with each other after the necessity is met; or through the necessity. The brides dress was beautiful, even though she looked like she was scared half to death of the stranger standing beside her at the alter. They then proceeded to take pictures with different groups of people. the male teachers students came up and sang him a song, laughing the whole way through, which i thought was really cute. The inclusion of ones students in a teachers wedding is very common in korea, and most would take offense if their class did not attend. 
In any case, it was a wonderful day. we ended off the afternoon with a lovely trip down to the fish yard (sounds romantic doesn't it) haha. but at the fish market on the first floor you can buy fish and on the second floor you can eat it, fresh. they have chefs that buy the fish right there and cut it up for sashimi for you!! so great!  it was the most delicious meal ever and a WONDERFUL christmas dinner!!