My Winter Adventure

This past weekend I went on an overnight dog sledding adventure.  I drove up to Maine on Friday night to get outfitted with all the necessary gear and to receive instructions.  I arrived at the MahoosukGuide Service and was issued a pair of Winter Army Boots, a pair of Mukluks and a down parka.  After a quick informational session and brief introduction to my fellow adventurers,  I went back to our house to get packed for the morning.


I had trouble sleeping. One minute I was scared and the next I was excited.  I felt like a kid on Christmas eve.  You know the feeling.  The feeling of "ooh I hope I see Santa tonight" but also the fear of what would actually happen if you did see Santa "what if he sees me and I'm supposed to be sleeping? I'll get no toys!  Crap! Better close my eyes and go to bed.  These are the thoughts that ran through my mind "What am I doing?  Am I crazy?  I'm going to sleep outside in the winter...in a tent!  I hardly like summer camping let along winter camping.  Will I be cold?  Ooh I remember that story John told me about winter camping.  Uh oh  Will this be fun?  Will this be an adventure or a death sentence.  What will I eat?" 


I woke up on Saturday, packed my gear and got dressed.  I put on a pair of wool long johns, followed by polar fleece leggings and a light pair of wind pants.  On top, over the woolly long john shirt, I layered an Under Armor turtle neck and fleece shirt.  That paired with 2 pairs of wool socks, an LL Bean 3-in-1 Parka topped off with a down parka and pair of winter army boots and I was golden.  Off to meet up with the group.  I was a mixed bag of emotions.  Excited, nervous and unsure about how this trip would pan out.


The group consisted of 9 people.  Our Master Maine Guide Polly who lived in Alaska & the Yukon Territory for 15 years, famous author/survival expert Guide Gil Patrick (who was on the trip to write a chapter about Winter Travel for the latest edition of his book-Outdoor Leadership Handbook), John Wayne & his 2 daughters, Lisa (another Maine guide learning about the Art of Winter Camping), Brian who was the chief cook and carer of the puppies and Colin an intern from Colby.  I knew I was in good hands.  I was the only true rookie, as John Wayne had taken his son on two of these trips before. 


First we were briefed on safety.  Then we had to round up all 17 dogs and 4 puppies in an orderly fashion.  The dogs were big,beautiful and strong.  They love to pull so the men could take a dog on their own, but the girls had to team up while bringing the dogs to be loaded into Polly's truck. I was teamed up with John Wayne's daughter, Lilah.  Instead of regular leashes they have nylon rope with eye hooks on the end that clip on the dogs collar.  One by one the dogs were loaded into the truck.  This process took about 45 minutes to an hour.  There was definitely a process going on.  Polly loaded the dogs in a particular order.


Once the dogs were loaded, Brian loaded the puppies into his truck and I hopped into the front seat of John Wayne's Hummer!  Score!  Lisa sat in the back with the girls and we headed into the mountains, through Grafton Notch to Lake Umbagog.  The drive took about 1/2 hour.  Once we arrived, Polly drove her truck onto the ice and unpacked the sleds.  We were taught how to lay out the lines of the sled, how to tie the sled up, how to use the emergency break (which was a dangerously big, iron claw that could rip your face off in a heartbeat), we were taught basic commands to get the team going, how to break and how to watch the line for tangled dogs.  Then we packed the gear on to the komatick and in the sleds, brought the dogs out of Polly's truck and tied them up to the sleds and away we went.


The sled silently glided over the snow packed ice, the only sound was that of the whooshing snowing between the sled rails and my feet.  A feeling of calm serenity overcame my consciousness.  My eyes darted from the dogs to the glorious mountains that I was nestled between.  I was amazed at how silent the dogs were.  Their feet moved silently together in perfect harmony.  When dog sledding you have to pay attention to what's going on, you have to be in the moment.  You have to forget all your worries of the day.  Forget work, forget family, forget trouble and just be in the moment because if you're not paying attention to the "here and now" bad things can happen.  Our destination was a bush camp 8 miles away.


Once we arrived at the bush camp, I was expecting to have a chance to relax and reflect a bit on the day.  FAT CHANCE.  Once we arrived, we had to take all 17 dogs in an organized manner from the sleds to their respective tree lines, where they were tied up for the night.  Each dog has their own designated area.  Once that was done we had to tie up ropes and turn the sled on its side.  Then we needed to give all  the dogs hay for their beds and food. After they were fed we had to walk 1/2 mile out on the ice and chop a hole through it in order to get water.  The process of chopping through the ice took 4 of us about 30 minutes.  The ice was 8 inches thick.  It was hard work.  Then we dipped the buckets in the hole, filled them up with water and lugged them back to camp so we could boil it for drinking and cooking.  Hooray for  Swamp Water!  Just kidding. 


After chiseling the ice, we then had to collect logs, dead trees, branches, twigs and birch bark for the nights camp fire that we were going to set on the ice.  I learned how to spot dead trees  and then take them down from Lisa.  We then collected them in a spot on the ice where Gil snapped them into smaller, more usable pieces.  Once that task was complete the women took off to gather fur boughs.  First I had to learn how to identify a fur tree from a spruce, cedar, etc.  Fur=flat.  Then I had to look for boughs whose diameter was the size of a pencil and snap  them off and bring them back to camp where they were wrapped in a tarp.  The boughs would be used the next day, to freshen up the floors of the tent (really to cover bare spots of snow) in the traditional Cree way.  Finally we had to collect sticks, moss, birch bark to make the perfect "twiggy bundle" which was for the wood stoves.  The bundles was then tied with twine.  It seemed as though the days work was finally done.


So we had water to live, wood for fire to keep us warm, boughs for comfort and now we were off to the cook tent for some din-din which consisted of a sausage patty, homemade mac & cheese, along with a mix of peas and corn.  I had a cup of tea to wash it all down then it was onto the ice to light the fire.  It was minus 15 when we started the fire and Lisa went around to the different tents to start up the wood stoves.  After making a few s'mores it was time to hit the sack and that's when the real fun began. 

I climbed into the tent and had to zip myself inside 2 mummy bags.  I had on a hat, wool long underwear, polar tech leggings, a fleece top, down slippers, a hat and a turtle.  I was looking at these 2 bags trying to figure out how on Earth I could get into 2 bags and zipper them both up.  Good grief!  The guide told me to get into both bags, zip up the outer one and then, zip up the inner bag.  You would think that getting inside a sleeping bag and zipping it up is nothing more than child's play but holy crap let me tell you, it wasn't.  It was dark, the only light I had was the lamp attached to my forehead.  I was able to zip the outer bag pretty easily, then I blindly had to feel around for the zipper on the inner, which was difficult seeing as though my arms could barely move in the mummy bag and I could hardly see a thing.  I finally zipped up the inner bag and realized that I didn't have the hood up.  So I had to unzip myself, put the hood of both sleeping bags over me head, zip up both bags again and then try to find the 4 pull strings inside the bag.  "Seriously, why the Hell am I doing this?  I can't believe this is my idea of fun."  I thought to myself.  I couldn't find the pull strings, Lisa came over, stuck her hands in my bags and felt for them.  "Here you go" she said.  So I pulled the top left trying which tightened the outer hood of bag #1 then the bottom left which tightened the chest area of bag #1.  Then on the right side I pulled the top right which tightened the inner hood of bag #2 and the bottom right which tightened up the chest area.  Okay, I was good to go. I pulled my hat down and my turtle up so that the only thing peeking out of the bag were the slits of my eyes and I thought "I hope I don't have to pee during the night." 

The night was long.  At one point I started sweating and there was a heavy weight on my chest, I took off my hat and slippers.  I think my body was just adjusting to the cold, bluster winter air.  It was a really long night. I prayed I wouldn't get frostbite.  I woke up at 5:45am and Lisa lit the wood stove.  We changed our clothes, washed up, brushed our teeth and headed over to the cook tent where we ate bacon and blueberry pancakes.  SOOOOO delish.

After breakfast we packed up our tents, dried the sleeping bags, restocked the firewood, fed the dogs and learned how to lay the bough flooring for the tents in the tradition of the Cree.  Then we had to get the sleds ready, bring out the dogs one by one and head out on the trail.  Once on the trail we had about 8 miles to mush until we reached our starting point where we had a bit of lunch.  Lunch both days consisted of granola bars, tea and fruit leather.  We loaded up the dogs and sleds and headed back to to Newry.  Once there we unloaded the dogs and said our goodbyes.

So why did I torture myself?  I don't really know.  What I do know is that I spent 2 days dog sledding in the Bush and in that short amount of time learned a great deal about myself and about nature.  I would go again and recommend it to everyone.  I also discovered that I want to learn more about living in the natural world.   I learned that nature gives us what we need in order to live.  I look at the natural world with new eyes and wonder what it means to be modern.  I realize that it takes a group of people to survive in nature, one cannot do it alone.  I look at all the green-jobs, renewable energy and concerns about global warming and say "Do we need to redefine modernity?"  We all need to get back to nature a bit more both collectively and individually.  We take nature for granted and have strayed so far from our natural human roots that we now find ourselves and our planet in dire circumstances.  We all need to contemplate more and spend more time in the woods, with nature, with ourselves.  We need to learn how to respect nature for she is a wonderful teacher and perhaps we can learn to find a bit of harmony within ourselves as we attune spiritually to the rhythms of mother nature.  

Here's a link for amazing adventures & amazing people!  http://www.mahoosuc.com/

Why do I TRI?

For years I had dreamed about competiting in a triathlon but it was only that....a dream.  Then one day, last October, my life changed.  I offered to move a couch from my place to Sharon's apartment and in the process I threw my back out.  The initial impact was not immediate.  I was able to hoist the couch into the truck and off to Sharon's I went.  When I arrived I grabbed a couple of couch cushions and when I took the 1st step into Sharon's my entire back locked.  It froze, I could hardly walk and when it came time to leave I couldn't lift my leg to get back into the truck.  My husband had to get a stepping stool for me to use in order to get into the truck and the trip back home seemed endless.  Once we arrived home, it took me about 45 minutes to walk to the front door, which was only about 16 feet away. 


Once inside I shuffled my way to the bedroom and Maddie brought me some gingerale.  I just laid there barely able to move.  "I'll be better by tomorow" I said to myself.  I wasn't.  The next day I could barely move, I had to crawl on all fours to get to the bathroom.  My husband found a chiropractor, Dr. Dan who made housecalls.  I couldn't stand, I couldn't walk, I could only crawl.  I crawled on all fours to the bathroom.  Dr. Dan came into the room and fixed me to the point where I could stand bent over at a 90 degree angle. 

My husband bought me a walker and installed handicapped bars in the bathroom.  My bathroom was now transformed into a geriatrics dream.  I could finally make it to the bathroom and back with little help. I laid in bed for 3 days with the chiropractor coming by twice a day.  My husband went to work and my Dad came over to take care of me, feed me and keep me company.  By the 4th day I couldn't take the pain any longer.  I was able to make it to the kitchen and I sat down in a chair but then, I the unimaginable happened.  I couldn't move.  I couldn't get up.  I was stuck and in agony I began to cry.  He  had to call the ambulance and the paramedics came, put me on a gurney and took me to the hospital.  I had never experienced so much pain in all my life.  Once I arrived at the hospital I went through a battery of tests.  Then I was told I had a mayo facial lumbar strain and sprain and would need intensive physical therapy and medication.  I was told that this would never fully heal or go away. 

From that moment forward,  I decided that I was going to take charge of my own health.  I started physical therapy which consisted of putting heating pads and electrodes on the afflcited area.  I was in so much pain they could not massage the area.  By my third visit, they were able to gently massage my angry muscles and I felt them release.  I left physical therapy and within hours the pain returned so I went to Dr. Dan.  He explained that the physical therapist had released the very muscles that were being used to keep my upright.  This scenario of having to see Dr. Dan the chiropractor after going to the physical therapist became a regular occurance.  I smartened up and decided to nix PT all together.  It was only a waste of time and money.  I had a new found respect for my body and continued seeing Dr.Dan, the miracle man, two to three times a week.

Dr. Dan made it clear that I was going to have to strengthen the muscles in my lower back and pelvis.  After seeing him for month or so, I asked him if I would benefit from swimming.  He said that "swimming would be perfect."  So I joined a local gym and hopped in the pool.  A few months went by and I started to feel strong enough to participate in a spin class and that was really fun and worked wonders in building up muscles.  I started off slowly and by March I had decided to participate in the Spin for Hope event which is a 3 hour indoor cycling event that raises money for the American Cancer Society.  I rode for the entire 3 hours, went over 65 miles and help raise $750.00 in my mother-in-laws name.

Then one day at the end of March, Ruth from my spin class, mentioned to me that the gym was trying to start up a Triathlon Team.  I figured that I could swim, I was biking and all I needed to be able to do was run.  Then I too, could achieve my dream of competing in a triathlon.  I decided to join the tri group, which was comprised of 12 women whose end goal was to compete in the Webster Lake Triathlon that would be held in June.  We trained together for months.  Going through a series of group runs, swim clinics, nutrition and strength training sessions.  Some incured injuries, others decided that training required too much dedication and others just plain sissed out.  What started out as our group of 12 was reduced to a group of 4 by the day of the Triathlon.  It was finally here, the day we all had been waiting for.  The day to see what it was we were truely made of, our day of the 1/2 mile swim, 14 mile bike a 3.2 mile run . 

I went down to the waters edge and suited up.  I put on my goggles and swim cap.  Wow!  1/2 mile in the water looks longer than you think. The air horn blarred and off I went into the dark abyss. Dodging fists and legs I swam, despearatly trying to find my rythem.  People around me were flailing and getting disoriended, they turned around and headed back to shore.  I swam on, out around bouy number one and turned.  Swimming at least 60 feet out parallel to the shore headed for bouy number 2, pass the lifeguards poised on their surfboards I rounded bouy #2 and headed for the shore.  Horray!  I can touch the bottom, now it's time to sprint.  I sprinted out of the water, peeled the top half of my wetsuit off and ran from the sand to rocks and onto concrete pavement on the way to the T1 area to find my bike.   

Wetsuit, swim cap and goggles off.  Helmet, sunglasses and bike shoes on.  Gotta Go!  I hop on my bike take a swig of water and look for my packet of GU.  No Gu?  What?  Where is my GU?  No fuel?  How am I going to make it up the 3 Sisters, a grueling series of 3 back to back climbing hills, without my GU?  Alright, don't psych yourself out. You'll be fine, even without the GU!  So without any fuel I headed for the hills and I made it up all of them, pass a few people on the climb and flew down the hills, round the bend, past the nature preserve and back to the lake for T2, the RUN. 

Running is the worst part of the race for me, but there's no time to think about that, auto pilot takes over and you go, go, go!  Helmet off, bike shoes off, baseball hat on and running shoes on.  Oh there's my GU it was in my running shoe!  Squirt some of that down and Go!Go!Go!  I take to the pavement and I'm feeling fine for the first mile and a half then all of a sudden my left quadracept starts cramping.  Like the worst charlie horse you ever had in your life cramping.  Like, oh my god, I'm going to keel over and die cramping.  Like god, please make it stop cramping.

I never experienced this in training.  I called out "AHH, What do I do?"  Those who I passed on the bike leg of the race where now passing me on the run.  "Shit!" I thought to myself, "What do I do?"  Just then a guy passed me and said "Just run throught it." mmmm Run through it?  Run through this pain?  Is he insane?  Is he crazy?  Oh well, I didn't know what else to do.  I made it this far and thought "What the hell?!!?  I will run through it!"  Afterall, I really had no other choice but to run through the pain.  A few minutes after I started jogging I felt the pain start to subside and then my calf started to cramp.  That too went away, I was amazed.  Nutter runner guy was right!  I ran all the way to the finish line!  Glory was mine!

Why do I TRI?  I had experience trials and tribulations of the triathlon and emerged truimphant.  I am a triathete.

The human body can endure much pain, the mind plays tricks and the soul bears great suffering there is no greater testament to being human.  To participate in a Triathlon, is is to celebrate the humanity in all of us.  It reminds me that there in nothing in life that I cannot endure!  Dreams really do come true!

Dedicated to:  Dr. Dan the Miracle Man

Kindred Spirits

What is a kindred spirit?  Kindred spirits are two people who make a special connection by sharing a bond that has joined them by means of experiences that draws them together on a higher level of consciousness. This connection can be from the same experience at the same time or two separate experiences similar in nature.  When 2 people experience dramatic situations, as in our case, the dramatic experience of growing up country, they come to depend on one another as having to rescue each other from the insecurity of not knowing.  They become bonded as kindred spirits and reach and understanding that no one else can truly understand.  I'm blessed to be able to give a little snippet about mine.

My kindred spirit is Kirsten, my best friend for life.  We met when we were in kindergarten and we absolutely loathed one another.  We were both so very different.  At recess she was always chasing the boys around the playground trying to kick them in their nuts while I on the other hand never went to school without my chap-stick and baby powder.  I remember telling her she was mean and boys would never, ever like her if she kept on doing things like that.  Kirsten had an older sister, Sharoll (pronounced Sha-Roll) who was really cool and I envied her. 

Sometimes after school I would take the bus over to Sharoll's to hang out and inevitably Kirsten, the bully, was there. Go figure!  Just then, the worst thing thing ever happened!  Our mother's became friends and I found myself spending more and more time over Kirsten's house. There was simply no way of escaping her.  More times than not her older, cooler sister went out and I was forced to play with Kirsten instead.  Great, I had to be nice to this mean bully who like to shove, kick, wrestle and most of all YELL at the top of her lungs at me.  What was I ever going to do with her?  Could she learn any manners at all?  Could she ever do anything girlie?  These are the questions that plagued my mind.

Kirsten introduced me to her world of horses and I in turn introduced her to my world of water skiing and jelly bracelets.  We bonded.  She taught me how to make Velveeta mac & cheese, oodles of noodles, ride horses and how to climb up into the rafters of her barn where we would hang out, 20 some odd feet off the ground and eat cheeze-whiz.  No crackers, no chips, just our index finger and plain ol' cheese whiz straight from the jar and man was it good!  We made forts together, went swimming, got lost in the woods, took Aunt Linda's paddle boat for a spin, and played veterinarian on all her animals. I think I liked playing vet at her house the best, she had so many awesome animals to poke and prod.  She had dogs, horses and cats.  I loved it.  My favorite dog was Sammy, a cocker spaniel, who used to just chill with us in her room when I slept over.  Kirky, Sammy and the giant Puffalump made the perfect slumber party.  I was no longer interested in hanging out with Kirsten's older, cooler sister I was interested in her.  As time passed we found ourselves inseparable. 

In 5th grade we were in different classes but the 2 classrooms got together to watch the movie "Anne of Green Gables" and the two of us were able to completely identify with the 2 main characters, Anne Shirley and Diana.  Kirsten was the spitting image of Anne--bold, determined, smart, nose always in a book, and she had curly hair to boot.  I on the other hand was Diana, shy, quiet, demur and domestic.  Not too smart but that was alright, cause I'd marry a good man that would be able to take care of me.  Anne & Diana used to call themselves Kindred Spirits and from that point forward so did we.

Perhaps the most notable trait about Kirsten, growing up was her loud mouth and bold attitude. She always took everyone by surprise and she still does.  Kirsten, she has this uncanny ability to tell everyone exactly what she's thinking.  No filters attached, Kirsten just tells you how it is and if you didn't like it, she really does not care.  If you don't like what she has to say then it's your problem not hers.  She's brazen, brave and sometime even abrasive.  She never really cared about what other people thought.  I on the other hand was shy, introverted and often cared too much about what other people thought to speak up. That is, unless I was overcharged for something.  We were truly the odd couple. 

We were so different yet as time passed by we realized that we were more alike than we were different.  Our lives seemed entwined and we shared similar life experiences at the same time which helped us give one another a source of strength and encouragement.  Whether it was the passing of a sibling, the loss of a grandparent, the birth of a child, sickness, buying a house or just complaining about our husbands and mothers we have been there for one another and have trudged through the trenches of life together in a way that very few souls on Earth have. 

We've depended on each other as a source of strength and wisdom when we had no one else.  We have shared laughter, tears and I'm sure a few fist fights.  We keep each other balanced, in-check and are always brutally honest with one another in a way that only kindred spirits can be.  We don't get defensive at what the other has to say rather we appreciate the honest feedback.  We have share much laughter together and  seem to be able to find humor in even the most dire of circumstances.  We lift one another's spirit up.  We have silly, immature nicknames for one another, that we still use. 

No words can express how much love, respect and admiration I feel for my best friend.  She is a woman of duty, pride, grace, athleticism, intelligence, dignity, respect, kindness and playfulness.  She is outspoken and witty.  She is a soldier and a wife.  True to herself and those around her, she is a mother, living by example and I love her deeply.  She's not just a War Hero she is my Hero!  When I got married, I gave Kirsten a ring and engraved inside of the band were the words "Kindred Spirits" for that's what we have been for the past 28 years.