Dog Sledding 2010

Jason picked me up at 6:30 in front of my cabin. We made our way down narrow, twisty roads to his employer, Wintergreen Dog Sledding. It took two hours for us to get the gear, load up the dogs and make our way to the Fall Lake landing. Kate, Steve and I helped harness the dogs and load the sleds. Rob and Ted met us at the landing. It was a fascinating experience to harness the dogs and load up. Jason skied ahead and Steve and I followed in the first sled. Ted and Rob followed us in the second sled. We traveled for 2 hours to a secret spot on Basswood. I had been near this area a couple times winter camping with Baly. We drilled holes and set out tip-ups and gathered firewood for Rob to cook lunch on. I stayed with the tip-ups and the others went a quarter mile away to fish for crappies. They had no luck but the tip-ups produced 4 northerns. One was too big, two were too small and one was a keeper. Lunch was Brats, beer and cokes. At 3:15 we headed back. It was a beautiful sunset ride through the wilderness. Jason skied ahead easily keeping ahead of the dogs in the perfect snow conditions. He stopped and took photos of us travelling, many of which are in this entry. The weather was mid-twenties with a very gentle breeze. We arrived at the Fall Lake landing just before dark. Once again it was fun loading all the gear and dogs in the trailer. Back at Wintergreen Steve and I got to help put the dogs away and feed them. It was a complete and genuine northwoods experience.

Buryanek 2010 Deer Hunt

We arrived at the State Park Camper's Cabin at about 3pm. By 3:45 we were headed out on a scouting mission to plan our strategy for tommorrow. Dan brought his gun, the rest of us didn't. We drove the pick-up as far as we could in the snow and set out on foot. In a field at the top of the hill Dan was able to get his sights on a mule deer. He got it. Through the next 2 hours the deer was drug out and gutted. I went back to camp and started supper which consisted of steaks, potatoes and salad. We celebrated New Years Eve next to a camp fire under a full moon. The guys enjoyed several libations of a certified #7 blue Schnapps, not to mention a couple beers. We were all looking forward to 2 more great days in the woods.

In the morning we were out and in place before first light. I sat for a couple hours and then wandered around a little. Nobody had a shot on anything. We returned to camp for omlets made in a zip-lock bag. They took a long time to cook in boiling water but were very good when finally done. We took a rest break and headed out again at 1:30. This time I didn't take my chair and walked a lot. Towards the end of the afternoon we found a group of Mule Deer in a valley below us at the same place Dan got his deer the previous afternoon. Luke and I got a shot off each but missed and then the deer ran. It was a thrill but because of the excitement I couldn't hold the gun steady enough to make a good shot. Back at camp we had chicken noodle casserole and spent the evening playing cards.

Saturday morning it was 20 below and we headed for new spots. We sat in the snow for an hour and a half watching our favorite valley. We saw a couple deer but they were too far away to make a shot. We returned to camp and packed up. We were on the road by 10:30. All in all it was a grand learning experience and I'd like to return next year. Photography by Luke.