Preparation for the sled season
During the winter there are a lot of kilometers walked and that requires a thorough preparation. Training of endurance and muscle strength is a very important part in the preparations for the winter season, after all the are part-time top athletes.
We did our training with our specially built training cart. But mostly we train with the quad. There we let between 8 to 10 dogs walk for it. The advantage is that you can stop the quad well, so they can not just walk away with us, as the cart can do. The training starts as soon as the temperature permits, from about 12 degrees. Usually this is in month of October. The pictures beneath shows how it was during our good old days.
The Beaver Trap Trail
Linda participated twice in a three day fjäll trip in Southern Lapland. A competition is held annually in the small village of Norråker. You can choose from short distances sledging, long-distance sledding or a three-day trip sledding, the Beaver Trap Trail. The first day there is about 45 km traveled, you wear to a base camp that is situated on the higher fjällen (plateau). A beautiful trip through forests and lakes. You spend the night together with all other participants.
In the evening you are together, around a big fire. You sleep in your tent and your dogs outside the stakeout. Day two is a trip of 50 km. Linda did not do that because she and the dogs were too tired for it. Instead, they stayed in the camp to chat with other stragglers and enjoy the beautiful nature and silence. In day three you sledge back, now downhill so much faster than the first day!
View a small video of this tour here.
Erik participated in a 6-day tour on the Fjällen in March 2013. Here he was 6 days and 5 nights in the winter wilderness together with 4 of our dogs. Every day about 17 km sledging on unprepared tracks and setting up a tent in the evening, cooking food for the dogs. It was a harsh trip where the dogs and Erik had to work hard, partly because the temperature was sometimes – 25 degrees at night. But an unforgettable experience. The course was organized by the SPHK or the Svenska Polar Hund Klubben (the Swedish pool dog club).