Trail Weekend

If you are a faithful reader of my blog, you know that every time I go up to Wintermoon Summersun I come back raving about how life-changing the time there was. So if you are sick of that, I suggest you skip the post (but you might want to think about signing up for time there, because if I so confidently rave about it, I must be on to something, right?)

This weekend, we had signed up for a trails weekend to help with prepare for the winter. We worked, Kathleen provided the lodging and the meals. And I have to say it was amazing the entire time.

We arrived Friday evening, got settled in, fed the dogs, and had a lovely meal ourselves. When Beatrix and I were last there, in the summer, it was so hot that you could only interact with the dogs during times when it was cooler, or they would get overheated. Now that it's cooler, I was delighted that I could snuggle with and talk to the dogs as much as I wanted, and started out the weekend by spending time with my favorite, Osa.

It was us, Kathleen, her friend M who has been coming up for years, and some of the people staying at the nearby cabins, and a lot of work to do!

The dogs were very active that night, reacting to things like a visit from FIVE bobcats, so not a lot of sleep...

The next morning was up and at 'em with dog walking and then watering. My 2 favorite parts — Patrick jogging behind Nikolai saying "I'm a dogsled!" and Willa shying when she heard a shot in the woods, and then stopping at that same place for reassurance on the way back. Kathleen's 440 acres are posted "No Trespassing" but that does not seem to matter...

After a hot cereal breakfast, Kathleen went off with some of the other people there working on the 2 cabins on the property, while we scooped the dog areas and replaced all their straw — honestly more work than expected, I don't know how she does that all on her own! But incredibly rewarding.

After lunch, we filled sleds with wood chips from some of the mountains of chips that Kathleen had, and covered bumps in the trail with them. It was slow, back-breaking work, but Beatrix was especially good at finding the bumps and I felt good about it. Then, as I was about to drop (I am really a wuss), we came back and brushed all the dogs, then fed them just as it was getting dark. Finished up the night with a sauna, wine, and delicious food and conversation.

Sunday we started with Kathleen delicious egg breakfast (which I renamed "Akiak"), after walking/watering dogs of course. I got to walk O-Too, who is blind and added a whole new challenge. Then, ask Kathleen said, a "potpourri" of tasks— digging out old deck bases and filing he holes with gravel and then wood chips, making kindling, hauling brush down to the trail and building it up, then nipping them so it lay flat. Beatrix was especially good at the latter — she worked hard the whole weekend and I was really proud of her. Meanwhile, Patrick and M created raspberry bushed along the trail — last year, they did not get to it until after the snow and so hd to nip each one by hand, so weed whacking this year was much easier!

"Ok," you say "But that was a lot of work! Don't you have enough to do at your own houses?" (after all, Rethos was leading a class at the Hague house this weekend). "Why would you do all that?"

It was greta to work that hard and see the results of what we did. It was incredible to spend the time with the dogs. I learned and connected so much more with Kathleen than I have on previous visits. And it was fantastic to see Patrick loving the trail work and Beatrix working hard. (Plus stars at night. And saunas. And dogs. And being just a little chilly. And watching an ermine try to steal beef chunks from the porch.  And meeting new people. And good food.)

Which is to say it was all incredible and I would go back right now if I could.

PS - Kathleen is hosting some "Heal the Healers" dogsledding days this winter which will be free for medical professionals who have been working on the frontlines with covid. If that's you, you should apply! Ask me for more info!