The dogs were ready to run and Tina and Acorn took off down the lake as soon as I had my skis on. Amy and Tank were right on my tail. We clipped along at 7 or 8 miles an hour, gliding across the smooth, snow covered lakes. An hour later we reluctantly returned to our campsite, the sun was setting and it was time to feed the dogs and then feed ourselves. Amy and I went to bed happy, knowing that in the morning we would pack up our campsite and strike out with the dogs to explore the winter Wilderness.
This morning we packed up camp and headed for Wind Bay on Basswood Lake. We chained our two toboggans together and hooked all 3 dogs up to the first toboggan. On the lakes they could easily pull the heavily loaded toboggans, but on the portages the dogs needed our help.
There is still only about 6 to 8 inches of snow in the woods and the portage trails still have exposed rocks. That made pulling the toboggans over the portages extra challenging. On the steepest hills we had to unhook the second toboggan and work with the dogs to get the first toboggan up the hill. Then we would tie off the dogs while Amy and I hauled the second toboggan up the hill. It was slow, hard work and we will not be surprised if we are a little sore in the morning.
We are so happy to be working with Tina, Tank, and Acorn. They are wonderful dogs, and we are so thankful that Frank and Sherri Moe wanted them to be a part of A Year in the Wilderness. Acorn, Tina, and Tank will make excellent Boundary Waters Ambassadors. We look forward to sharing more about them in the coming weeks. #wildernessyear @savethebwca #dogsledding #Wilderness #onlyinMN #adventure #BoundaryWaters #BWCA #getoutstayout #savetheBWCA
