Hüsky Meets His Müsher Brethren -> Reality Shift ??

It was an icy day in the vast frozen Tundra known as Jerseyland.

Seemed like  the perfect climate for Hüsky's introduction to organized team sledding, But it's not just up to me & H.I.M.  Hüsky is financed by a multinational non-profit organization, with overlapping boards of directors. There were funds to allocate; phone calls to be made.

I figured my best bet for a rapid decision would be the Regional board in Minot, North Dakota.

My phone can call anywhere in the United States !! I opted for the Conference call feature, as it was a modern and luxurious approach toward 21st Century business planning.

The Dakota Regional board were busy with an Eclipse/Comet/Full Moon celebration, having slaughtered a yearling Caribou and prepared it in a traditional Northern Italian Marinara sauce with Scallions, Lütefiske and Arugula. The Dakota Regional board are mainly of Norwegian and Italian descent.

They were skeptical at first, and wanted to contact Regional directors in Gnome, Alaska. Questions were asked about the feasibility of the mission; namely, would the Hüsky Transport Vehicle be capable of the treacherous trek across Frozen Jerseyland ?? There was some concern about the Ice build-up on hydraulic lines...

So the Board requested photographic evidence of Hüsky's well-being and ability to undertake this highly-sensitive diplomatic mission.  I digitally transferred his sincere speech regarding the willingness to proceed, and commitment to the Mission.

The Directors considered all of the factors, spoke with their Peers in Belgium,  and came back on the conference line with a Unanimous 'Thumbs Up' verdict.

Hüsky, naturally, was Stoked !!

C'mon, let's go sledding MoFo !!

Soooo, we eventually arrived at the destination,  Brendan Byrne State Forest (some former Jerseyland Governor).  Used to be called Lebanon State Forest, which is a better name. It's full of Pine trees and a few White Oaks.  Gangsters used to harvest the Pine sap and market it as Red Leb hash, so they changed the name of the place.

Hüsky met his fellow Müshers and got acquainted before getting tethered in.

This one has the heterochromism, two different colored eyes, like mine. You'll note the forest floor is mostly Pine needles, with a few stray Oak leaves over an extremely sandy soil. Typical Pine Barrens.

The Yellow Lab is actually the lead Dawg on the team, which sort of makes sense as Labradors are easily trainable and will listen to what you say.

You can see they did not get a whole lot of Snow there; 30 miles North I got good coverage, but they just got a dusting.  Of course, the 'Sled' was a wheeled contraption like a Sulky for Standardbred Horse racing.

You can sort of get the idea of the construction; it has some bike parts, custom frame, the wheels are more like heavy-duty recumbent wheels. Human rides on the back of the contraption, standing up.

That camper-top on the white pickup is actually a custom-built Sled-Dog rig. The upper part has compartments for the Dogs to lay in for comfortable transport, while the lower half holds gear and supplies.

Another one of the Dogz -- dude has two that are Orange-colored.  It was interesting to see how they all interacted with "The New Guy".

The Family Dogz were a bit menacing at first, letting H.I.M.  know that they were Boss.  Once he went on the run with them, he's now an accepted Guest member of the Pack.  Human Boss says Hüsky proved his ability to Coëxist and is welcome back any time.

Of course, my hound had a friggin' Blast !!  It's all he can talk about now.  One cool thing -- when you get them all tethered up, before you hit the trail, they do the group Howling routine. That was Neat-O.

So, Big thanks to the Sled-Dog club fellow who(m) let us participate in the training session.  Fellow has been involved in the hobby for quite a while, and has a big investment in all the Gear, plus time to collect & train the Dogz.  I think it's a great outdoor hobby, and a wholesome Family activity.

Like I said, Hüsky had a Blast.  All of the time and effort put in toward socializing H.I.M. and training on the Mtn. Bike w/ Cycleash has Led Up to This Day.  But he is a natural-born sled-puller; that is what he enjoys most.  I'm going to get H.I.M. a pro-style harness like the ones in the photos (that one he's wearing was a loaner).  Guess I'll pay the club dues and continue to participate, as that Furry Fiend deserves to achieve his athletic potential.

"YUKON HO !!"

-- Update --

So the borrowed dog harness my hound is wearing is a Czechoslovakian product, popular in Europe. 'Zerodc' or similar is the brand-name. Zoom in on 1:56 PM photo of Reddish Hüsky and you can see the brand sewn in to the fabric.

Been shopping for a suitable sledding harness, and I sent a couple of these photos to a lady in Oxford, Maine who makes and sells sled-dog gear.

Anyway, I spoke with her for some information, measurement of dog for proper fit, various types of harness. She said "I sell those Czech ZeroDC harnesses. The Norwegian Ski-Jor team was just staying over recently. They have German Short-Hair Pointers..."  Those are super-fast Dogs.

So she said that the harness in the photo looks a bit small on my Dog, and I said well, the fellow who loaned it to me for the day has Dogs which are about 15-16 pounds lighter.

"Oh, I sold some of those to a fellow in Jerseyland."

Turns out that it was the same fellow. Small world. 

But the Funny thing is, while I'm conveying the Dog measurements for proper harness size, I say "I was in Oxford for a Big Concert way back when."

"Oh, the Grateful Dead & Little Feat ?? We all went to that. Everyone in town got free tickets. In fact, we made money from it all. People paid to park on the lawn, and we had 20 kids from the University of Virginia camping out here. Considered the third Greatest concert of all Time."

We are Everywhere, indeed.  Of course I ordered the harness from that place.  Made right here in the USA; they will make custom gear if you want.

Nooksack is the name. 

nooksackracing.com

My hound is going back out this weekend to join his Brethren if the Weather works out.

And a Heads-Up for my friend Heather, whose faithful Hound Widget passed away two years ago on this Day.

.((((( WIDGET )))))

Widget was an awesome Dog. We went snow-shoeing on Mt. Hood back when. 

Heather has another Pup now, named Yoda.

Yoda chews stuff. The Kiddoes love Yoda.

Yes Quadruple J -- they are a handsome batch of Hounds. 

I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the Pack accepting my Hüsky into the Team.  Then again, I've been training H.I.M. to be fast, dedicated and Sleddy for a long long time.

There is the Big local Dog race in 6 weeks or so, "Betty Carhart Memorial Race".

My belief is that Hüsky can Win, Place or Show in the Bike-Joring race, and maybe even participate in one of the wheel-sled races.

There is huge Prize $$$ in each category.  First-place Bike-Joring winners take home liek, 20 bucks.

Everyone already knows that the Hound is a Super-Fast mtn. bike puller, but the trick is to train H.I.M.  on proper gear for certified races.

There are rules for that stuff; I need to get H.I.M. comfortable with a 2-3 Meter lead according to code.