Life is "trying things to see if they work." - Ray Bradbury

Junior year of highschool I did the unexpected and joined what we called "Mountain Classroom." It was a trimester long trip where we traveled out west by bus and did outdoorsy stuff things like rockclimbing, camping, hiking, etc. This was unexpected because I was one of the least outdoorsy, athletic person you would ever meet. I was forced to play field hockey and that was a challenge for me. But somewhere in the middle of sophmore year something clicked in me and I knew that I wanted to go and learn how to do all these crazy, completely out of the box activities, that I would never get another chance to in my life! So off we go...

One of our first stops was dogsledding in Minesota on the Boundary waters. Dogsledding was one of those crazy experiences that I would never in my life imagine myself participating in but as soon as I showed up and saw those cute dogs I was hooked. 

Our group was about 12 people and only 2 could ride on a sled, we had two. So the rest of us had cross country ski equipment and would head out first to make the trail and then about a half hour later the dogs and sleds would follow. We only went out for three days, which meant that I got one day actually riding the sleds, but the entire experience was unforgettable. 

I remember the day I was the sled master, it was me and my friend Josh, and the dogs were so excited and gung ho to go that you had to have the sled on its side and be sitting on it if they were attached. So we set off on our day and within an hour we are caught up with the group of skiers ahead so we yell "wooooaah woooaaaahh dogs" and they slow down just slightly enough that between the two of you, you use your entire body strength to flip the sled and then jump o it! I mean you would flip the sled and they still pulled it for another 100 yards until it stopped. Hilarious! and then they would sit there and howl until you let them run again. absolutely thrilling!

Every night we would have to make out entire camp which would include gathering fire wood, setting up our tents, digging a water hole (that's a picture of me doing that above), etc. It would take a good half hour to chop through the ice, just to get a little hole! And then you would need to expand it to be big enough to fit a bucket in. This was not my most favorite job, though it did beat carrying the big ass logs out of the woods and then chopping them up by hand! yes, this was one of the more physically demanding experiences of my life. 

 I remember the air being so cold that we would all huddle by the fire, close enough that the rubber on our boots would start pop and burn (shown below). These mornings were the only relaxing part of the day as the rest would include skiing to our new site, setting that up, preparing dinner, and going to bed, so it was one of our favorite times. Plus breakfast, usually hot cocoa and other warm substances were very welcome! 

When we went to sleep at night, not only did we have one mummy sleeping bag, but TWO! you would fit on into the other and then cinch then both closed so tight that only your mouth would be able to poke out and get fresh air. Sometimes you would wake up in the middle of the night and get so claustaphobic because you couldn't find the hole! Creepy while ur experiencing it, but so cozy once you realized you were still warm and the air was freezing! The pic below is us seeing how it would feel at the Outward Bound base camp before we left. 

Lastly, shown below, is a group shot of the fabulous people I shared this time with. And yes you really did have to wear like 8 layers anytime you stepped outside. :)

"The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become." - Charles Dubois