Megan's Nature Nook
Nature Notes, Phenology, Photography, Fun Facts, Trips, Maybe Even a Bad Joke or Two... and More!
Each year when I see the John Beargrease Dogsled Marathon on the news, it reminds me of this unique winter sport that we’re lucky enough to have in Minnesota. Last winter I wanted to learn more about dogsledding, so I read Yukon Alone: The World’s Toughest Adventure Race by John Balzar – a book about the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race. While reading I was so amazed at what these mushers and dogs go through and their dedication to the sport. So naturally, after reading about dogsledding, it made me want to go dogsledding even more! So, I started looking into different dogsledding outfitters in Ely, Minnesota – the self-proclaimed capitol of dogsledding. There are all sorts of different styles, lengths, and price points of trips to choose from. Ones that are a few hours to others that are multiple day trips including camping. Since this was our first time dogsledding, we decided to go with Chilly Dogs Sled Dog Trips. (One of the reasons I picked them was because I liked the name!) Chilly Dogs is operated by the Hway Family. Jeff and Donna, along with their son, Jake and his wife Jess run the day-to-day operations. They also have other staff members that come in to help, and Jake and Jess’ kids help with the dogs, too! Their place is home to over 90 retired Alaskan Husky sled dogs, many of them having participated in well-known races like the John Beargrease and Iditarod Dogsled Marathons. Most of the dogs are around 12-15 years old, a few were 17 and even a 19-year-old dog was there! The dogs had so much energy and definitely didn’t act or look their age, you can tell they love running! Because of their breed, diet, and lifestyle it’s not uncommon for these dogs to be able to live and perform for so long. Although many of the dogs are older, they run an average of 25 miles a day doing dogsledding trips and about half the dogs are used on the weekends by the Boy Scouts of America to do trips into the Boundary Waters. This is the Hway Family’s 18th season running dogsledding trips. They usually run trips from December – March, depending on snow conditions. If you’re wanting to book a trip, don’t delay! They can fill up fast, especially on the weekends. We secured a weekday afternoon trip in early February. The booking process was really easy, and they sent along some great information on what to expect and how to dress for the trip. On the day of our trip, we headed just south of Ely to Chilly Dogs. Jake was waiting for us and welcomed everyone as we arrived. To start off the trip, we met in the lodge that was decorated with dogsledding memorabilia and had a wood stove. Jake and Donna talked about Alaskan Huskies, dogsledding, how to dress properly and gave a rundown of the trip. We chose the Snowy Owl Run which is a three-hour trip, about one hour on the trail. Before heading outside, they checked over everyone’s gear. If you don’t have the proper winter gear, they have anything you would need for a reasonable rental fee including coats, boots, gloves, ski goggles, and even hand and foot warmers! Once we were bundled up, it was time to head outside into a winter wonderland! It was snowing when we arrived and now had huge, fluffy flakes coming down. We headed to the dog yard to meet our new four-legged friends! Just before heading into the yard, we were met by two guides, John and Haley, who had two sled dogs out and told us a little bit about the dogs, their diet, personalities, and how to properly approach them. Then we were able to go in and meet the dogs! Most were very eager to meet us and loved being pet and getting butt scratches. A few weren’t as interested and stayed in their houses relaxing. As we were meeting the dogs, the guides were around to tell us their names and a little bit of their backstories. After we met the dogs and they met us, it was time for some dogsledding orientation. Luckily the dogs do most of the hard work, but there are still some things you need to know before heading out on the trail. They had another building where we went for our orientation. Jake had a sled and gangline laid out so we could learn how to break and steer the sled and what to do if we tipped the sled. The biggest thing we learned was: never let go! And secondly the dogs are the gas pedal so it’s important to know how to slow down and stop! Now is when the fun really began! We headed back out to the dog yard and got our sled assignments. The guides put together the assignments each day based on the people riding/mushing, number of sleds, and dogs that will be going on the trip. For our trip we had a total of five sleds, and Tony and I were the last sled to go. We had a guide at the front leading the group, two guest sleds, a second guide, and then us. I hopped in the sled bag and Tony stood on the brake of the sled while the guides and various Hway family members (including the kids) hooked up our dogs to the sled. The second we came out of the orientation building the dogs knew what was up! They were barking, howling, jumping, and dancing around in anticipation and excitement. Once all the dogs were hooked up it was go time! The anchor was lifted, Tony stepped off the brake bar, yelled “hike,” and away we went! It was crazy how fast it went from noisy pandemonium to silence as the dogs fell into rhythm and ran with their team. The snow was really coming down and with the wind we were dogsledding in a blizzard. The scenery was beautiful as we wove our way through wooded and brushy areas. It was fun to see the dogs in their element and see them grab mouthfuls of snow from the edge of the trail – some seeming to dunk their whole head in the snow as their ran. Some of the dogs had their tongues lolling out and you could just tell that they were really enjoying themselves! We were on the trail for about an hour and covered around eight miles. About halfway through we did a quick stop and switched positions. Now it was my turn to mush! Riding in the sled was fun, but wow, mushing was a whole new experience! It was so cool to feel the power from the dogs and how effortlessly they pulled the sled. During the ride, one of the guides, John, on the sled in front of us told us the names of our dogs and what positions they were in (lead, swing/point, and wheel). For the most part the dogs do all the hard work, but when you come to hills you have to help them out. I’d say the hardest part as a musher was when you went up a hill, you have to hop off the sled and run alongside it until you reach the top, then you can hop on again. You have to run pretty quick to keep up with the sled, and if you hopped on too early (before you got to the top) the dogs would look back at you like, “Really? Come on, help us out!” As we approached the dog yard near the end of our trail ride, the other dogs were barking and howling to welcome us back. We had time to stop and take some pictures with the dogs and our sled to document our awesome experience. From the snow and cold Tony’s beard was a pretty impressive sight. Once pictures were taken, the guides and Hway family brought the dogs back to their spots in the dog yard and we headed back to the lodge. Inside we shed our snowy outer layers and warmed up with a nice cup of hot cocoa and some treats of individually wrapped cookies, fruit snacks, and candy bars. While we were enjoying our treats, Jake and Donna told us more about dogsledding and answered more questions. Before heading out we perused the gift shop and got some fun souvenirs to remember this awesome experience! If you’re think about doing a dogsledding trip – do it! It was totally worth it and will always be a fun experience to look back on! I know Tony and I both greatly enjoyed it and I wouldn’t be surprised if another dogsledding trip is in our future. The Hway Family did a great job welcoming us into their world of dogsledding. You can tell they care a great deal about the dogs, and ultimately do it for the dogs – so they can keep on running even after they’re retired from long races. They did a good job explaining how the lives of sled dogs are different than your typical pet’s, but not any worse than a pet’s life. Alaskan Huskies love to be outside, are built for the cold and are acclimated to it. They are fed high calorie diets that fuel them during their running activities. They’re working dogs that enjoy running, they don’t do it because they have to, but because they want to. And because of this active working dog lifestyle, they are healthy and can live long lives. But just because they’re working dogs doesn’t mean they aren’t loved, these dogs get plenty of attention with lots of pets, hugs, kisses, and butt scratches from the Chilly Dogs family and staff, and visitors alike. If you’re looking to try dogsledding for yourself, check out Chilly Dogs Dog Sled Trips and have the ride of a lifetime! It was a really neat and unique experience and I’m so happy Tony and I could experience it together. I’m writing this as I drink hot cocoa from my new Chilly Dogs mug and snow falls outside my window, leaving me wishing that I was out on the trail with the dogs today. Check out the video below that Tony made of our dogsledding trip!
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August 18-20, 2017 This is a throwback to a year ago when Tony and I went on one of our mountains trips. Read about our Mountains Trip #1-Beartooth Mountains, MT near Red Lodge. We had less than a week to plan, but Tony had already figured out where he wanted to fish and what trail to hike, so all that was left was to find a spot to camp. As we were nearing the parking lot after our longer-distance-than-expected hiking and fishing trip, Tony jokingly (but really meaning it) says, “Well, this trip went well, let’s do it again next weekend just in a different place.” Although I was a bit reluctant, I guess I agreed because the following weekend we were heading to the Bighorn Mountains near Buffalo, Wyoming in search of Grayling. One of Tony’s dreams was to catch one, and we just happened to be fairly close (4.5 hour drive and 9ish mile hike) to an alpine lake when we were working out in Montana for the summer. We had less than a week to plan, but Tony had already figured out where he wanted to fish and what trail to hike, so all that was left was to find a spot to camp. Day 1 Once again, we headed out early in the morning, so we could get to Buffalo, Wyoming and make a stop at the fly shop to stock up before heading into the mountains. Earlier in the summer, on a road trip to Devil’s Tower, we had made a side trip to Buffalo just to stop at The Sports Lure which Tony had heard about and needed to go to. So, of course The Sports Lure was our first stop when we got into town! Tony asked all the important fishing questions and we left the shop armed with the best flies to catch our fish. After the fly shop we headed to the Powder River Ranger District to fill out a registration form that anyone entering the Cloud Peak Wilderness is required to do. After visiting the Ranger Districts, it was time to head to the campground and set up our site. We weren’t able to get a site up in the mountains on such short notice, but found the Deer Park Campground in Buffalo which worked out well. We spend the evening eating dinner, exploring the campground, and relaxing while watching a flock of Common Nighthawks catch insects overhead. Day 2 We woke up around 5:00 a.m. so that we could have some breakfast and get to the trailhead early. We hiked the Circle Park Trail which goes through the Cloud Peak Wilderness. It was a very rocky trail, but had some beautiful lakes and views along the way. We ran into some fly fishermen who were traveling by horseback that were surprised we made the trek on foot all the way to our lake. It was a little over 9 miles round trip, but not too bad, especially compared to the previous weekend when we ended up hiking farther than intended. The highest point of our trip was an elevation of 9,581 feet not long before we got to our lake. We wound our way through the trees and got our first glimpse of the lake! It was a beautiful sight looking down from the ridge! We caught our breath and enjoyed the view then started the very steep decent down to the shoreline. Right away Tony was rigging up his fly rod and started casting. In not too long he caught his first Grayling! His dream had been fulfilled! The excitement and look on his face was priceless! We did a little boulder hopping and made our way to an upper pond area where Tony had heard from a buddy that there was good fishing. Tony was a bit ahead of me because he just couldn’t wait to wet a line up there, and called back to me, “Megan, there are moose!” I couldn’t believe it! We got out the binoculars and watched two cows and a calf walk and swim in the water, it was so cool! Tony was starting to get impatient with the moose and really wanted to fish, eventually they moved out and he moved in. Unfortunately, they muddied up the water from walking through it so he didn’t catch anything, it was however a great place for a snack! I found a nice, flat rock a little ways into the water and soaked up the view while he fished. We started to get hungry, so we went back down to the main lake and boulder hopped our way to the other side to find a lunch spot. The rest of the afternoon was spent fishing and soaking up the scenery. Tony and I each caught quite a few more Grayling and he even caught a Splake (a hybrid of a male Brook Trout and female Lake Trout). Reeling in my Grayling, check out the blue on its dorsal fin! On our way back down the mountain Tony spotted another moose resting in a meadow, that brought our moose count up to four for this trip! We saw some more mountain flowers and birds. The trail was rocky, and the altitude high, but it was another great day of hiking and fly fishing for the books! Once off the trail we made our way back to the campsite and had an early night. Day 3 We didn’t have much planned for today besides heading back to Glendive, so we decided to eat out for breakfast. We ate at the Busy Bee Cafe which has been a local favorite since 1927. The Busy Bee is part of the Occidental Hotel in downtown Buffalo. The hotel has hosted famous people like Calamity Jane, Buffalo Bill, and young Teddy Roosevelt. The food was great and right next to Clear Creek. After our breakfast, we fed trout pellets to the trout for their breakfast. Then it was on the road again. As always, the trip went by way too fast! Once again, we had done it! Quickly threw together a trip, hiked up a mountain, fly fished in an alpine lake, and had a trip of a lifetime! I don’t think I would have done it if it wasn’t for Tony, but seeing him catch his first Grayling was the cherry on top! I’m thinking we need to make another trip to the mountains in the near future! Thank you, Tony, for the use of your pictures and knowing when to push me out of my comfort zone, we had a great time and made some awesome memories! Photos by: Megan Betcher & Tony Long
August 11 - 13, 2017 This summer, while we were working in Montana, Tony and I took advantage of being so close to the mountains. Tony had been talking about Grayling and really wanted to do some alpine lake fly fishing! He was really hoping to backpack in and camp a few nights at the lake, but we didn’t have all the right equipment with us out in Montana, so we changed up the plans a little. The weather also threw a wrench into our plans because it was supposed to rain all weekend where he wanted to go for Grayling in Wyoming. Since we were running out of time, we decided to do a mountains trip to the Red Lodge area in Montana so we could at least fit in one trip to the mountains before I headed back to Minnesota. In about two days, we quick threw together a plan. I looked for a place to camp (and some geocaches nearby), and Tony figured out where we should fish. It was quick planning, but everything fell into place and the trip was great! Day 1 Tony was eager to get going so we left at 6 a.m. and headed southwest to Red Lodge, MT. I had found a campground in the Beartooth Mountains that had free camping! The catch was that it was on a first come, first serve basis; so, we figured we would take our chances and if we couldn’t get a spot there, there were a few other campgrounds nearby we could try to get a spot at. We arrived at the campground around 10 a.m. and snagged one of the last open spots! We got lucky! It was on the edge of the “campground,” (13 sites, no water, and a vault toilet – but great location!) so we only had a neighbor on one side, and had the creek behind us for Tony to fish in, and lull us to sleep at night. We were at about 7,000 ft. elevation, surrounded by conifers, had a view of some farther off mountain peaks, the creek, and fresh, cool mountain air – a perfect vacation spot! We set up camp to mark our spot, then checked out the creek behind our site. Tony was able to catch a few fish while I enjoyed the scenery. After that we headed to a nearby lake, Greenough, to see what else we could find! There were some nice open spots so I got some good fly fishing practice in and caught my first fish of the trip! We saw two new bird species to add to our Life Lists: Clark's Nutcracker and Mountain Chickadee (in case you were wondering). There were also some very friendly ducks that were entertaining to watch. After we had our fill for the afternoon, we headed back to the campsite, made some supper, and enjoyed the view. It even started snowing a little while we were cooking! First time I had seen snow in August! We went to bed early in preparation for our big hiking day, and fell asleep to the roaring of the creek. It got down to the upper 30’s during the night and even with my multiple layers, wool socks, winter hat, and mummy sleeping bag I was still chilly, but Tony with his broken-zipper sleeping bag was toasty warm… typical! Ha. Day 2 We woke up at 5:30 a.m. to make some oatmeal for breakfast to warm up and get our day packs ready before driving to the trailhead. It was in the low 40’s when we woke up, and around 50° when we started our hike. The sun coming up over the creek through the trees was a beautiful way to start the day! We followed the Lost Lake Trail. It was a nice trail that followed along Rock Creek most of the way, with beautiful sights. We even got to see an American Dipper in the creek; a new bird for my Life List! Coming up on mile 5 we were starting to wonder where the lake was, surely it had to be close! I had my Fitbit on, so we were able to keep track of how far we had gone, and how much more we had to go. We pulled up a map on Tony’s phone and figured out there should be a spur trail soon to cut over to the lake. It took a little searching but we found it and started our final assent to the lake! We were both happy that after 7 miles (which was supposed to only be 5…) we had finally made it! Tony was eager to start fishing and I was ready to have a snack and just take in the beautiful view. We walked along the edge of the lake looking for an open spot to fish and found plenty of moose tracks and scat. We ended up doing some bog walking and boulder climbing to head to the other side where we set up shop for the rest of the day. Tony spotted a Cutthroat that he was trying for with all sorts of different flies while I sat nearby perched on a boulder and just tossed my trusty mosquito fly out, let it sink a little, and then repeated the process. I was looking over at Tony, then glanced back at my line and excitedly exclaimed, “Tony, I see a fish! Tony, I think I have a fish! Tony, I caught a fish!!” Tony just about fell off his boulder because he was so excited and ran over to me to help me with my fish. I caught a beautiful 19.5 inch Cutthroat! Which turned out to be the only fish we caught from the lake. After all that excitement, we cooked some lunch and continued to fish. In the early afternoon, we figured we better start making our way back down the mountain since we were planning on stopping at Broadwater along the creek to try for some Brook trout. It was a success! We fished for a bit, had a snack, then continued on our merry way. I was even able to find a few geocaches on our hike, too! By the end of the day we had hiked over 14 miles; a bit more than we bargained for, but definitely worth it! Early to bed tonight! Day 3 After breakfast, we packed up our campsite and headed to Greenough so Tony could get a few more fish under his belt while I found another geocache. Then we headed up the Beartooth Pass to Rock Creek Vista Point for a beautiful view of the area! There were also some pretty friendly, and fat chipmunks running around! Tony and I like going to zoos and aquariums, so we couldn’t pass up the opportunity of stopping at the Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary in Red Lodge before grabbing some well-deserved, delicious pizza and heading back to Glendive. At first, I wasn’t too sure about this trip since we very quickly threw it together and I am the type of person that likes to plan. We didn’t even have a campsite booked for goodness sakes! But, Tony does a good job of getting me out of my comfort zone once in a while, and I can say that this was one of the best trips we have taken together. The hike was longer than expected, and you could feel the elevation taking its toll, but it made the fish we caught that much more worth it. We had some unforgettable views, caught some beautiful fish, and made some great memories! How many others can say they hiked 14 miles in a day, up a mountain to an alpine lake to fly fish? Towards the end of our long hike, Tony was “joking” that since this trip turned out we may as well do it again the next weekend, just in a different place. We may be crazy, but that is just what we did – back to back mountain trips, and I wouldn’t trade those trips for anything. If you haven't noticed, I'm a bit of a Shutter Bug. Here are a few more pictures from the trip. And thank you, Tony for your pictures, too! |
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