The trail wound through the woods and while we didn't see anything other than a few squirrels and birds, we could see signs of where the moose had been chewing the bark off the aspen trees, probably at the end of last winter.
About 3 miles later, the trail ended at Rock Creek, the Park Headquarters, and the Sled Dog Kennels. The Park Service uses sled dogs during the winter months to patrol the park and keep trails open. During the summer, the dogs are pretty lazy.
The sled dogs are selected for strength, long legs to get through the deep snow, thick coats, and compact paws so the snow and ice doesn't build up in them.
Nine year old Pingo has three 1 1/2 week old puppies. Her sled dog days are behind her.
We watched the sled dog demonstration where a ranger told us all about the dogs and how they are used. Then they hooked up a few lucky ones to pull the sled a bit. You can see in this video Roxane shot how excited they got and how powerful they are. Notice near the end how the middle left dog gets a nip from it's buddy, maybe punishment for not paying attention?
Then we found out what all the excitement was about. The runners that were picked got a little treat at the end of their run.
We decided to walk the three miles back to camp on the Roadside Trail rather than pile in the buses with the hundred or so other tourists that watched the demo. By then it was dinner time....and time to rest our legs!
Wonder how Layla would do hooked up with the sled dogs?
ReplyDelete