Fly and I went on a hike we've never done before and it was such a fun morning/afternoon!
Our friends, ThePurposefulWanderer and SalPal, joined us for hiking and blueberry picking.
Since we went early, we were the only ones on the trail and Fly was able to run free and try to catch as many ground squirrels as she wanted.
We found two lakes, which Fly tested for swimming suitability.
The water in this area is so clear and I absolutely love walking along the sandy bottomed streams that tranquilly flow out from the lakes. I could spend all day here and be quite content.
As the morning progressed, we could see people in the valley below us and Fly looked down at them with the air of one satisfied with accomplishing something ahead of others.
When we returned home, Fly spent her afternoon hunting goldfish and swimming in her pond. The pond has been her most favorite thing this year!
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!
He worked on his impulse control in all settings to become Farm Dog Certified titled and earned his Canine Good Citizen title.
Rex learned new tricks during our time in quarantine and collected a Trick Dog Novice title.
I got a bit of road rash and a black eye and Rex learned to not suddenly run full speed when on a leash.
He became a brand ambassador and model.
Rex made friends who tolerate his pervasive puppy craziness, including SAR teammate, K9 Sally (his Sal Pal), and our new Icelandic fillies, Frelsi and Soley, who romp and stomp with our joyful boy.
He was plagued with panosteitis, poor guy, and was super sad to not be able to do a lot of fun activities in early summer.
But we made up for it with adventures when he was feeling better.
Despite a lot of time off because of the pano, Rex made nice SAR progress and developed a solid final response for when he finds the scent source he is searching for; he officially became part of the team last month.
Rex showed us that he loves to run and chase and is going to excel in lure coursing sports. We discovered this in late summer, so he only got to compete once before the season ended, but he's off to a good start! He is an amazing athlete and we had such fun touring around Alaska with the kickbike.
He also loves that sled dog life!
I can tell his body is maturing, though his brain and personality sure aren't: he is widening and broadening in the chest and head and that thick fur hides some serious muscle. He is keeping his tail curled more often than not now too!
Lastly, Rex has thoroughly loved all things snow - snow is his greatest delight!
We had a great year together.
For his birthday this year, Rex got a new Lamby: he LOVES his Lamby and will squeak it endlessly until the squeakers die and then he rips a hole in it and enjoys pulling out all the stuffing. He brings me his Lamby to toss into the air for him to catch and we play tug with it and when he is done playing, he puts it in my lap for safe keeping.
Happy 2nd birthday, Armando Salazar Da Villa Saloia, the Pirate King, my sweet baby boy, Rexy. We love you!
Allow me to make a prediction: Fly will make an excellent
avalanche search dog.No, it isn’t
simply hubris prattle from an over-confident, over-proud dog mom – she really
does have a talent for pinpointing beings hidden underneath the snow.
Future Avy Dog
Our K9 SAR team met in Hatcher Pass for an all-day avalanche
training with our dogs.An eternity of
time was spent digging caves in the deep snow that blankets the gentle slopes
just below Independence Mine.We dug
pits.We dug caves.We dug up snow berms.By the time we were finished, the area was a
tumultuous debris field of snow blocks and hidden pockets of air.
Every year, people are caught in avalanches in this area.
Then, one by one, the handlers and their dogs came to search
the area, not knowing which caves or sections had “avalanche victims” and which
did not.The eager dog would be set
loose to run and search a wide area as the owner hustled behind as best as
could be managed in the sun-softened snow.
Fly and other teammates watch as a puppy gets her turn.
Fly’s long awaited turn finally arrived.First, being the social butterfly that she
is, she had to greet the other dogs and then was ready to get serious and get
to work.I knew there were two “victims”
we had to find.
Fly getting ready to work
With confidence, I gave the word “Search!” and Fly dashed
from my feet with rocket propulsion and straight to a pile of snow blocks.She barked and began digging and I slid and
clawed my way to her shouting “Good Search!”When I arrived, she stopped digging and looked at me as if to say, “I
found someone and I let you know where – it’s your job to do the heavy
digging.”So, I dug into the snow while
Fly impatiently danced from paw to paw until I had an opening just barely large
enough for her to worm through and get at the person hidden in the cave.Fish treats were rapidly doled out by the
laughing “victim” and Fly emerged out of the cave with freeze dried fish flakes
on her muzzle and a twinkle in her eye.
Dig, dig, dig
“Search more!” I excitedly told her and Fly immediately
sprang away and over the glistening snowfield.She passed by one possible cave with barely a pause and stopped abruptly
at another where she sniffed hurriedly and again began barking and digging at
the snow.“Yes!” I gasped as I climbed
to join her digging efforts and again she waited for me to clear enough snow
for her to get at the human and the fishy treats under the deep, compacted
snow.
Going in for the treats.
This snow dog, who loves to hunt unseen beings under the
snow, has found a game she completely loves!Her entire demeanor broadcast her smug satisfaction with herself as she
watched the remaining teammates take their turns.
Just look at that face
I am excited for next winter, so we can continue to play
this game of hide-and-seek under the snow.I see a lot more avalanche training in our future!
Archangel Valley has long been a favorite of mine.It is absolutely heavenly.The more commonly traversed and most popular
trail branching out from this breathtaking valley is the Reed Lakes trail.However, I want to share another trail with
you, one that has become a bit of a misnomer these days: Lane Hut trail.
Like many trails in the area, there is an abandoned mine
along the way and scraps of metal and other equipment debris is scattered about
the trail; at the end, there once was a hut – Lane Hut.The one-room building served as a shelter
from the oft-ill weather, but also served as a weekend party house.The one time I was there,
in the deep of winter, the door wouldn’t shut, and there was graffiti covering
every surface of the interior.It did
have a drawer full of silverware, oddly enough, which was a combination of
relief (I’d forgotten my spoon back in the truck for my clam chowder lunch) and
horror (I might catch some unknown disease from the spoon’s germs).Alas, the park service, in effort to avoid
some liability no doubt, set the doomed hut to flames a few years ago and Lane
Hut is no more.
However, the 4 mile round trip Lane Hut trail perseveres and
TheNurse, Kona, Fly, and I paid the area a visit Sunday afternoon.The road leading to the unmarked trailhead is
not an easy one: once past the overflowing Reed Lakes trail parking lot, the unpaved
road is filled with potholes, ruts, rocks, and all manner of road hazards.Vehicles are parked randomly along the road,
where weary or cautious drivers decide they’ve driven far enough and simply
stop where they are.After skillful
navigation, we arrived at the trailhead and made our way to the mining
remains.Twisted cart tracks laced the
ground in front of the caved in mineshaft and rusty pipes gushed water from
their uncapped mouths.The area felt as
if the miners simply got up and left one day and never returned.
After exploring the area briefly and waving to the climbers
scaling the massive rock face above the mine, we backtracked to the trail that
would lead us deeper into the valley and to the site of the ghost hut.
The trail was an easy one to follow and gradual in its
climb, like a long ramp.Several small
streams flowed across the trail and their happy trickling sounds added to our
mountain experience.Termination dust
covered the tall jagged rocky peaks that surround the valley, but winter had
yet to take hold and we grew hot with effort before too long.
At the top of the ramp was a wonderful lake.We stopped to remove jackets and gloves and
Fly and Kona ripped around the lake like dogs possessed.Being a water lover, Kona was quick to
exchange running for swimming, and the girls enjoyed a refreshing paddle before
we continued up the trail.
Large boulders were strewn about the upper reaches of the
valley – evidence of the Earth’s turmoil, as well as the forceful power of
winter avalanches that frequent the area.
There were also pools and streams: crystal clear, beautiful,
sandy pools and streams.They always
make me gasp when I see them, because this Alaskan girl is so used to seeing
glacier silt waters that are murky and muddy.Mountain streams are impossibly wonderful, in my opinion.
But I digress.We
followed the stream to the end of the valley where a waterfall flowed in the
middle of the bowl shaped dead end valley.Lane Hut once stood here.Now the
area is flat with only the tall spires of the peaks above for visual interest
and relief from the moss and low lying alpine plants.
After some obligatory waterfall photos, we knew it was time
to make our way out of the valley before evening arrived, since the summer
daylight hours are retreating as the snow creeps further down the mountains.
So, with a backward glance at the hutless
bowl, we descended out of the mountains – our conversation pondering what the
valley would look like in 50 years or so: when the mine and the hut would be
even further distant memories and time and weather had created more boulders
and changed other boulders into rocks.Would there even be a Lane Hut trail?
