Earlier this week Fly and I had the honor of being deployed for a search mission involving a missing hiker with bears on location. Fly was the ideal K9.
The location was in the mountains - a very steep and rugged beast of a mountain - so we were inserted via Blackhawk helicopter.
She wore her muffs to protect her precious ears and I believe she traveled quite comfortably in relative quietness. Since we would be off-loading hot (with the helicopter blades still chopping) Fly also wore her goggles to protect those keen eyes from flying debris. Does she look mission ready or what?
Fly enjoyed her Blackhawk transport and wanted to stick her head out the window as we traveled - dogs and their windows! Here is a video of me holding her back from sticking her head out the window with her helicopter doorman buddy:
Here is another video of the Blackhawk lifting off from the landing zone with us huddled under the rotor wash and Fly waiting cool as a cucumber as if this is an everyday occurrence:
We had some lovely glacier and alpine views and we also saw at least 4 black bears, 2 brown bears, and 1 moose, but I didn't get any wildlife photos, sorry, I had other things on my mind at the time.
Riding in Blackhawks seems to come as easy to Fly as pushing bears, though the former is a result of training and the latter from genetics. Either way, there isn't another K9 partner I would rather have in the field and I am so thankful for and proud of this Karelian Bear Dog.
Special thanks to our terrific support teammate, TheDogTrainer, for taking most of these photos for us!
Ever spearfished for pike through the ice? Until this past weekend, I never had and I'm not sure I can say I have yet.
In the wee hours of the morning, our friends and TheFather and I all met in a dark, snow-filled parking lot and sleepily unloaded snowmachines from trailers and loaded sleds with gear and passengers. Our destination: a remote frozen lake 17 miles away, accessible only by snowmachine or airplane. Our mission: spearfish for pike.
But first, we have to fix a broken pull-start.
It took our group roughly an hour to complete the journey.
Perhaps it could have taken less time, but the bumps along the trail caused us to occasionally stop to re-adjust loads.
There's a small human somewhere in that load of gear.
We also re-adjusted passengers.
The kids mutinied and made their dad ride in the sled.
The sunrise wasn't too bad though.
Our primary objective of spearfishing was hindered by our inexperience, though one pike was indeed speared, and our group ended up catching 9 of our 10 pike via tiny jigging poles brought along as an afterthought. We pondered methods for improving our spearfishing capabilities while roasting hot dogs over a slightly too smoky bonfire that burned down into the snow, but didn't make much of an impact on the 3 foot thick ice.
TheFavoriteGirl showing off her catch.
In the late afternoon, our return journey was going well and uneventful, until TheFather's snowmachine suddenly lost power and died right in the middle of the trail. We sat, momentarily locked in motionless silence as our friends left us in their snowdust and became small dots on the horizon. Then, we checked on the mechanical things that are checked in such cases, but could not persuade the old Tundra to cough back to life. Happily, luckily, by some miracle, I had cell reception and was able to summon our group back for a rescue mission.
Broken Tundra gets a ride home on top of a sled as part of our "sled train" full of gear and people.
It was a slow journey home. To make things more interesting, daylight faded quickly and chunky snowflakes began to fall and obscure our vision. Machines were overloaded with gear and people and several shuttle trips were required to get everyone and everything back to the once again dark parking lot. But we made it. Plans for next year's trip are already in the works, because these people are determined to spear themselves some pike.
Allow me to introduce you to a certified Avalanche SAR dog: Fly.
Superhero pose
Yep, this weekend our brave girl confidently loaded into the snowmachine sled and was hauled up the mountain to begin her search for simulated avalanche victims.
Ready to begin!
After being given her search command, Fly flew across the snow and pinpointed the location of a human hiding deep under the snow's surface in a small cave; after I marked the location, Fly was off running up the slope and out of sight before I could even attempt to keep up with her. When I did manage to glimpse her again, she was eagerly searching and moving her way across the jumbled snow before she stopped in the middle of seemingly nowhere and told me she'd located another human under the snow.
Eyes on the prize - goggles cut snow glare, block blowing snow crystals, and just look cool.
Here is a low image quality video of Fly making her second find. Love her happy face as she peeks in to see the person!
After the safety and support volunteers had dug the "victims" out from their snowy depths, Fly and I were congratulated on passing the evaluation in just 6 minutes! We then loaded back into the awaiting snowmachine sled and zoomed back down the mountain so the next K9 team could take their turn.
I ended up relieving one of the volunteers and was hidden in a snow cave for the last K9 team. It is a strange feeling to be buried under the snow and I'd have to say I'm not a fan of the experience, but we do it for the team and we do it so that our efforts may one day help bring a loved one home.
My view: before being buried
My view: while being buried
My view: after Team Bandit made the find
This is Fly's third discipline of certification: she is already certified to be deployed for Scent Specific Wilderness Area live find searches, as well as Human Remains detection. However, just because we passed our evaluations and are certified, that doesn't mean our training and practice are complete - no, we will continue to hone our skills and practice, practice, practice, because learning and improving should never cease.
Fly poses with the gear we use for avalanche work - beacon, shovel, and probe not visible.
There is a misconception that to become an Avalanche dog, one just signs up for a class and then takes a test at the class' completion and, voilà, you have an Avy Dog, so I just want to clarify that this is not how it works, at least not here in Alaska. To be a deployable SAR dog unit, Fly and I are members of a SAR team with other dog handlers and members. We train together weekly (often twice a week). We take classes (paid for out of pocket) about first aid, human behavior, wilderness survival, weather, navigation, crime scene preservation, disaster preparation and building structures, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. We buy our own gear (which is expensive). When there is need for our services, we are deployed solely through our Alaska State Troopers - we can't just go rogue and jump on missions whenever we feel like it - laws and liability come into play here. Search and Rescue work is a lifestyle, not just a title to be earned for a piece of paper to frame for your wall, a brag post for your social media, or a feather for your cap (though with all the work we put into it, those things are nice, I admit). So, before you start searching the internet for the closest "sar training class," understand that is not really how it works, and be honest with your desires, ability, time, and truthfully your pocketbook.
My teammates packing up gear after 7 hours of SAR work today.
Okay, I didn't intend to throw a wet blanket on this celebration post, but now you can better appreciate how much time and energy went into this certification and why I am so proud of our Fly girl!
That first day of Spring feeling is wonderful, isn't it?!
Except this is Alaska and it is most definitely still winter here.
Fly and I were deployed for a SAR mission this past weekend and we absorbed copious amounts of vitamin D while braving negative temperatures.
The snow here is still about 3-3.5 feet deep and Fly had her work cut out for her while swimming through the powder.
Swimming is an accurate description, because she somehow managed to remain relatively afloat on the surface of the snow, while our K9 teammate floundered and sunk in the deep snow like he had an anchor tied to his tail.
Why is this? Our Lab, Shepherd, and Aussie friends all seem to drown in the snowy depths; weight doesn't appear to be a factor, since Fly weighs more than an Aussie. I wonder if it has to do with body shape and fur structure? Fly is shaped a bit like a tugboat or icebreaker ship that is designed to pop up out of the water and ice and her double layered fur, which easily repels snow and ice, maybe provides loft in more ways than one. I am extremely curious about why/how Fly seems to cruise snow better than other breeds; being a breed of nordic origin, she is literally born for snow.
Mentally and physically tired though after her hard work.
We were able to stop off and do some sightseeing on our drive home. Alaskan volcanoes sure are majestic as they sleep, aren't they?
Closer towards home we were stopped for road construction, but the view and that Spring sunshine made it tolerable.
Clear skies in the winter means cold weather here in Alaska and with that comes hoar frost - or "horror" frost as I thought it was called when I was a child, named for how horribly cold it is when this type of large frost forms. Sunshine is a precious commodity coming out of winter's deep darkness and these cold, clear days cause Alaskans to bundle up and bask in the light - even if it isn't warm. Hoar frost is a magical consolation prize for venturing outside into negative temps and the KBDs and I were richly rewarded this past week.
Several inches of fresh snow caused the kicksled to bog down a bit on the trail we used to access the Knik arm, but we worked up a sweat and journeyed through the snow-laden woods out to open flatland to look at the ice floes.
Have you ever gasped aloud when seeing an unexpectedly beautiful sight? I did when I gazed across the expanse at the majestic Chugach mountains with a cloudy scarf swaddling their treeline and saw the fog rolling up from the open water channels.
It was stunning.
The KBDs had a good frolic while I stood there gaping at the scenery trying to keep my fingers and my cell phone warm as I took dozens of photos.
At the beep of their collars, the dogs ran back to me and posed for some glamor shots before dashing into the frost laden grass and reeds to hunt for mice. Little mouse prints covered one particular section and I agree that it seems a nice place to have a home if I were a mouse.
The Karelian hunters were unsuccessful, as far as I know, so I gave both dogs treats for again coming to me when I called them and we clipped back into the kicksled for our return journey.
One day soon we will return to this place of frosty beauty to spend the entire day luxuriating in the sunshine and savoring the frost before wind and warm temperatures whisk it into Spring.
Little Buddy, our GoPro, finally got to show some night photography skills the other night. We drove up to Hatchers around 9pm to try to see the Northern Lights that were supposedly going to be good for viewing, but it was too cloudy and too much snow was falling from the sky and I think my timing calculations were off. No matter. We salvaged the evening by taking a few test photos in the dark.
Fly made her own northern lights.
Not too bad, eh? I didn't do anything fancy, just selected the "night mode," pressed the button, and held my breath while Little Buddy took the picture. Not breathing was the only way I could try to hold still and also prevent my exhalation from clouding up the area. Hopefully I can clean up a lot of the blur by having Little Buddy be more stable when taking night pics with the tripod that has finally arrived from Nu Bear. I may still hold my breath though!
Now, if only Fly can remain still long enough to not be blurry - she likes to look around at everything and it messes up the exposure! My ever observant KBD.
Alaska Goldens Co water-resistant scarf that matches the glacial fed lake: code AKFLY15
Remi & Me Co ice-dyed bandana and matching tag are absolutely stunning: code FlyRex10
Rex's Jax & Moonie collar bark marks document all our epic adventures together: code Rex10
We now have 2,183 friends on Instagram. Thanks for liking and conversing with me on that platform - it's so nice to have Insta friends from all over the world!
We learned new tricks and earned Trick Dog Novice titles on both dogs. We're nearly ready to submit for the Intermediate and Advanced titles, Fly just needs to stop being silly and take it seriously while doing the videos! Also, we earned Canine Good Citizen, Canine Good Citizen Advanced, Canine Good Citizen Urban, and Farm Dog Certified titles - all of which demonstrate the KBDs ability to be well mannered and obedient in a variety of settings and situations.
So it began.
We made history with Fly finishing her Barn Hunt title of RATChX, or Rat Master Champion, the highest title possible: she is the first and only Karelian Bear Dog to earn the title. Also, we began the crazy fun sports of Rally, Lure Coursing, and Fast Coursing (think drag racing for dogs!). Rex is particularly excelling in these - stay tuned for more posts on these three sports this summer!
Here is the video of Rex's first ever Coursing Ability Test. I think he's got it!
We progressed in Search and Rescue and Fly is now certified in Wilderness Area Scent Specific Live Find and in Land Human Remains Detection. Rex continues working on urban trailing and human remains detection and is doing well. I hope both KBDs can certify in Avalanche this winter season.
Rex works an hour aged trail at -5F
We met up with the Dive Rescue team on several occasions and I learned how to drive a zodiac boat in 30mph winds (and waves) and support divers as they enter/exit the water.
So, what do we have planned for this 2021 year? More of the same!
More kickbiking, kicksledding, kayaking, dog sports, new hiking adventures and greater community service (remind me to tell you about our Therapy Dog certification!). I am also really, really hoping to enter into a dog show - Fly is ready to prance about and look beautiful in a doggy beauty pageant. Please, Canada, hurry up and lift your border restrictions.
Thank you for following and joining our crazy Karelian and Alaskan adventures. Let's enjoy 2021!
