Questions & Answers Wk 01
Every week Team GoNorth! answers ten questions related to the module topic from student explorers -- so stay tuned and submit YOUR questions!
We sleep in our tent! Our tents are actually made in Sweden by a gentleman named Bo Hilleberg who has helped out Paul with logistics for this years expedition. Every night we start looking for a good place to pitch the tent at around 4 - 4:30 PM. A good place is somewhere where there is room for both the sleds, tent and to stake out the two team of dogs. We sleep two people to a tent, so when we are more than two people on trail like we will be during part of this expedition that means we need to have space to set up two tents, or three tents if we were six people... get the picture! Inside of the tent we have a small stove that we use to cook, melt snow for water and heat the tent so we can dry out our clothing (we hang that in the top of the tent). However, we have to turn the stove off when we go 'to bed.' The stove burns gas and has an open flame so we always have to be very alert and watching it closely when it is on. If it is minus 40 degrees outside - once we turn off the stove it does not take many minutes before it is minus 40 degrees inside the tent, so we have a really good sleeping bag system to keep us warm at night. This is called a 'bivy-bag.' It is the full length of our body and it is what we sit on top of inside of the tent. Inside of it are a foam pad, an air mat and two sleeping bags. One is inside of the other. We call these the inner and the outer sleeping bag. What makes this system so warm, is the fact that this means that there is air in between the two bags - and air is the best possible insulator that exists. You can get to know more about our gear and see a picture of the bivy bag on komatek in Polar Husky A to Z!
Oh, of course when we are in communities we are often lucky that kind people invite us to stay with them in their homes. As long as we have a good safe spot for the dogs (and they are tired so they will actually sleep) we love to visit with people and learn about how they live and get to know more about where we are traveling...
Where you do sleep when it's night on your expedition?
Lola
Minnewashta
First Grade Grade
Minnetonka, Minnesota
This year we will be using a Polar Husky sled. We are really not all that sure what to call it, so we just came up with this name right now :)
The large sleds (14 feet long) we use when traveling in regions where there are no trees, are called 'komatek.' They are built from a Greenlandic design and are exactly as the traditional sled used by the Inuit in Greenland and Canada - perfect for wide open spaces, to carry really large heavy loads and even to travel in pack-ice. But because they have very tall runners (the 'ski' that the sled rides on) they sink way down into heavy deep snow, and they are way to large to steer in areas with lots of trees. This is why Arctic Natives that live inland or further south where the snow falls deeper and they may even have lots of trees use what is called a toboggan sled or sometimes a 'basket sled' because it has a basket to put stuff into so it doesn't fall out when tipping over in the deep snow. This is a sled with a flat bottom and often no 'runners' so that the sled simply glides on top of the snow. The traditional Sámi sled is like that. It is about 5-6 ft long and is called an 'Ükackja,' geres or r†idogers. You can learn more about that on the Ăkackja page in the Goahti section. If you take a look at the picture on that page you will see how it almost looks like a boat!
The sleds we will be using this year a something in between, but mostly like a toboggan sled. The difference is that they are a bit longer (about 12 feet) than what is tradition and we still have runners on the bottom of these sleds, though only about half as high as on the komatek sled. This does make for sleds that sink in a bit more than a true toboggan, but it also means they are a bit faster when we run on smooth surface like ice and hard trails!
What type of sled are you using this year on the expedition?
MKaila
C.R.E.S
5 Grade
46 N 94 W
Having healthy teeth is one of the most important things to us as far as our health when we are on the expedition trail.
We have to eat a lot of calories every day to have enough energy for the days work, and for our bodies to produce body heat during the day and at night. If we have problems with our teeth, well one tends to become more hesitant about eating.. especially things such as frozen butter sticks, frozen chunks of cheese and frozen, well frozen almost everything!
So, we brush our teeth morning and night, while inside of the tent. We flush and then we spit out in the vestibule opposite of our main entrance (there is a vestibule on both ends of the tent).
When it is really cold the toothpaste will freeze, but we have learned over the years that some brands stay soft longer than others!
Where do you brush your teeth?
Kayleen
Hancock Park
4th grade Grade
Los Angeles
Well, we really can not get the dogs to pull if they do not want to. Really!
With that in mind it is our job to make sure that they want to pull. The easy part is that Polar Huskies by nature love to - live to - pull. They are absolutely crazed about what they do, no matter if they come across as calm, laid back, nuts or flat out wild, they all want to pull.
If a Polar Husky starts to show no enthusiasm for pulling they are retired. That said, as you can imagine we can all get a bit burned out at doing even what we love, especially when it is tough going. The Polar Huskies easily pull month after month, 8-9 hour days in bitter cold temperatures and howling winds up and across mountains, over fields of rocks and through jagged pack ice. Our job as mushers is to keep them happy and excited about pulling. To make them feel like a team and remind them that their every little effort counts. We are much like a football coach or a coach of some other team sport. We need to consider on a daily basis how each dog is doing - how their mood is, and if we can change anything in the team to make the day and every mile on the trail optimal.
Besides from working on who runs where with whom in the team we keep the dogs going by showing them lots of loving and affection, appreciating their hard work. We cannot fool the dogs. If we don't believe it is possible to go forward, they don't believe it either.. and if we are tired and really just want to stop for the day, well then they get to feel the same way. They know when we are happy and when we think the effort could be better, they simply read our body language. And they can hear it in our voices. They know different calls of excitement and that gets them excited, and they use our voices to work as a team. Have you ever heard how a captain on a rowing boat yells to get a rhythm going in the team? We do the same. If we are going up a mountain side we go "Yiiip, Yiiip, Yiiip, Yiiip..." in a rhythm that all the dogs can then fall into and take that extra step to make that sled go up the mountain.
Running a team of Polar Huskies moving the best possible all the time is pretty amazing really - incredibly gratifying and very very hard work.
How do you guys get the dogs to pull?
Terjaae
Homecroft
4th grade Grade
St.Paul/Minnesota
We go to the bathroom outside! Nope, no building. We simply dig a hole in the snow or make some blocks out of the snow drifts and take care of business there. Much like the dogs really.
If it is cold out or not doesn't really matter, you just hurry up and get it done. The trick is when it is really windy because the snow will drift in your pants when you pull them down, and that is not a good thing because it means it will thaw when you get back in the tent making your clothing wet, and then you have to dry it out which is cumbersome in the tent. So, we try to be smart about it. Sit with the wind etc. It's a bit of a science :) and probably a bit intimidating at first, but it something that becomes second nature to you as you travel on expeditions.
And yes, we do use and very much appreciate our toilet paper... Check out the Outhouse page in Polar Husky A to Z to get to know more about this exciting topic!
Also where do you go to the bathroom? Do you guys have a building or something to go to the bathroom?
Kayleen
Hancock Park
4th grade Grade
Los Angeles, USA
Polar Huskies want to chase! Especially the lead dogs and the point dogs are big hunters always on the run, looking and listening for what is out there.
When in camp the Polar Huskies are very respectful of approaching animals. We have often had wolves come into camp and the dogs interact very kindly actually even play with them, just like they often howl back and forth with wolves. Polar Bears, well most Polar Huskies are frankly afraid of them - that is why a Polar Husky like Timber, who is now retired, was so valuable in that he would literally stand nose to nose with a bear and bark to warn it off.
When running on the trail the Polar Huskies are very much like a pack of wolves running together getting excited if they see something or we yell to them that "there is a biiiiiird." But, first of all the Polar Huskies are pulling a heavy loaded sled and for example when they run in the midst of a big herd of caribou, at first they run at a very high speed but they realize that they are not going to catch anything so they actually come to a point where they are still excited, but they know they are just running along. Secondly, the Polar Huskies know very well what we find to be acceptable. It may not be that they learned that specifically as it comes to 'chasing animals,' but for example in that they have to sit before they can eat their food when being fed as puppies in the kennel. If they get up, they get told to sit down again and they are finally given their food and a lot of praise when they do as they are told. That way they are taught that there are rules through 'positive reinforcement.' This combined with that they consider us the 'pack-leaders' mean that they very much want to please and make the best out of situations.
That does not mean that the Polar Huskies never forget! Sometimes they do and then we have to reinforce the rules. It is most often younger dogs that 'forget the rules.' This also has to do with being street smart - or being a veteran.
Freja, who is a veteran and very experienced lead dog knows that taking off in the wrong direction chasing a moose, not only means we get upset, but it means a lot more work because we have to back-track often through harder terrain. She knows we are out there for a long time working every day and that it is a good idea to conserve the energy, so she makes wise decisions, both for the sake of the team and for her own sake.
The Polar Huskies are very smart at what they do - it is quite impressive.
Also how do they learn not to attack deer or wolves or any animal they see?
Terjaae
Homecroft
4th grade Grade
St.Paul/Minnesota
