Urban Mushing on TV

Our local southern California PBS station recently came out to Fairview Park in Costa Mesa to do a story about Urban Mushing. Conveniently enough, we had one of our carts with passenger seat available for the reporter and the cameraman to hitch a ride with eight of our Siberian furries:

Watch Urban Mushing on PBS. See more from KOCE.

Oregon and the Pacific Northwest

We recently embarked on another road trip north to Oregon and Washington.
First stop was La Pine, OR. for the annual Veterans Day Mushing Weekend at La Pine State park.
While we only stayed for a short while, it was nice to see and catch up with good friends.
This year was the first time that the La Pine area received a good 10" - 12" of fresh snow for the weekend. Since it's billed as a "dryland" event, not necessarily what's expected, but for anyone into running dogs, fresh snow is never a bad thing.

We then stayed a few days in the wonderful city of Bend, OR. A great place to relax, go hiking and enjoy the wide variety of excellent eateries in town.

Then it was time to head farther north to Maple Valley and Seattle, WA.
Washington state, along with Oregon, is one of our favorite places. The people of the Pacific Northwest are just so friendly and hospitable, no matter if you're at the local coffee shop or a shipping terminal at the port of Seattle. We visited the facilities of Northland Services, a company specialized in shipping between Washington, Alaska and Hawaii. It was the 2nd time we've used them for our carts and their service and friendly attitude was a breath of fresh air in the shipping business. We highly recommend their services for your shipping needs to "the northland"!

After Seattle, we headed back south and added one more "service stop" for one of our customers in California's Bay Area. It's always nice to visit with our customers when we travel the country.

Now that we're back home, we'd like to announce that Arctis is moving to a larger facility in central Oregon!
Starting in 2013, our carts will be made in "the Beaver State". Increasing size, should help with being more efficient, reducing wait times and finally getting a few new products on the market that we had to put on the backburner this year. And who know? Maybe there will be an additional "Arctisan" or two in the near future.


Stay tuned to this blog for more news.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Fall is here!

Fall weather has arrived almost everywhere in North America, except in southern California, where temperatures are still in the eighties at the end of October. This weekend, Northwest Sleddog Association hosts the annual Pacific Northwest Dryland Championships, next weekend it'll be the Spokane Dirt Rondy and the week after that, the annual La Pine Mushing Weekend in Oregon.

The Arctis shop is still busy and we're already scheduling orders for the new year. It looks like January is filling up quickly and next thing you know, spring dryland season is here again. If you are in the market for a new training cart, please contact us to check availability and production schedule.

Our recent batch of orders covered the country (again), from the Rocky Mountains to the Midwest to the East Coast. Our next set of carts will be spread out all along the 49th parallel from coast to coast. Thanks again to all our customers all across the continent!

Recently, our 2nd cart ever built came in for an overhaul. We added all the improvements we've made over the years and had our paint shop put an awesome "anti-freeze" green metallic coat on it.
Here it is, all fresh and clean, nicely folded-up and road ready on our "easy load" rack:

A word about our paint jobs: our carts are powder coated, not spray painted. The paint is electrostatically applied and then cured at about 400°F. It makes for a tougher finish than conventional paint, which always comes in handy in the conditions most of the carts are being subjected to.

We hope to see some of you at the La Pine mushing weekend in November!

End of Summer Update

It's been a very long time once again since the blog was updated, and always for the same reason...the shop's been busy, busy, busy.
Temperatures are slowly cooling down in some parts of the country and dryland season shouldn't be too far away now.

We've been flooded with new orders so that we had to make a slight change to our production schedule. Unfortunately,the new Arctis Cart design is not ready for its introduction, yet. The prototype is being built, but the vast majority of our time is being spent on filling orders to make sure that everyone who placed an order in time, will get to enjoy his or her cart this fall.

One new addition to our program was the "Brentified" version of the 3-wheel cart, thanks to suggestions made by Brent Sass of Wild & Free Mushing. We're using thicker walled tubing for this version, which adds about 10-15 lbs of weight to the cart, plus allows even more weight to be carried on the platform.
The cart shown below also has the substantial heavy duty crate to carry gear and supplies as well as a passenger.

So, once our fall orders are filled, there will be another announcement, in addition to the new cart design, for Arctis in 2013. We'll post it here and on our facebook page, as soon as everything is confirmed.

At this point, all our production slots for this year are filled. Any new orders will be delivered starting in January. So if you're in the market for a new cart in the new year, it might be a good time to get in touch with us now to go over availability, options and schedule. Please e-mail or call (949) 280-7019

Also, we're going to be at the annual Veterans Day Mushing Weekend in La Pine, OR.
For more information, please see Karen Yeargain's website.

As always, we'd like to thank our customers for choosing Arctis throughout North America, from Oregon to Ontario, Montana to Massachusetts and beyond.

Here's one of our carts in the vast wilderness of the Yukon:

and a few of them on California trails:

Summertime...and the shop is busy!

Even during the hot southern California summer days, there's plenty of work to be done in the shop. It's rather odd to be working on dog sledding equipment when it's in the upper 90s outside.

We're just finishing up the last summer orders for carts that are on their way to destinations all over North America. So far this year, we've pretty much covered the entire continent, from central Mexico to Alaska, from Oregon to Newfoundland and many places in between. Once again, a big "Thank you!!!" to all our customers.

Once those carts are on their way, work is beginning on our new project which will be announced in a few weeks right here on this blog, so stay tuned for some exciting news.

In the meantime, our friends at NWSDA in Washington have announced their fall schedule:
September 29th - Fall Warm-Up at Camp K in Cle Elum WA
October 13th - Dryland Challenge at Camp K in Cle Elum WA
October 27th - Pacific Northwest Dryland Championships at Camp K in Cle Elum WA
For more information about NWSDA events, please see their website or facebook page.

Also scheduled is Sierra Nevada Dog Drivers' annual mushing clinic on
October 20th & 21st in Truckee CA
Please see their website for more information.

Last, not least: the annual Veterans Day Mushing Weekend on
November 10th - 12th in La Pine OR
For more information click here.


In other news, our friends at Alpine Outfitters have just introduced a new product to their catalog:
the "See Me Safety Vest" . Check it out here.

New Jump Seat for Arctis Dryland Cart

Time flies when you're busy, so our blog posts are unfortunately less frequent than they used to be.
Our "off season" really wasn't and while we're still filling spring orders, we have already booked the first few orders for fall training.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all our customers! We really appreciate your confidence in our carts!

We just completed another cart for a customer in the great white north who requested an update to our jumpseat, something a little more comfortable than the original one. So, we went to work, and here's the result.

Just like the original, the seat comes with attached foot boards for the passenger, reinforced frame as well as the wider front tire (same as the rear ones, Bridgestone 3.00-12 off road).

Price for this jump seat is $245

If you have any questions in regards to our products, please contact us at info@arctis-carts.com


Stay tuned for some big Arctis news coming this fall.

Iditarod Veteran Karen Ramstead Presentation

Iditarod Veteran Karen Ramstead of North Wapiti Kennels in Perryvale, AB,will present her "Tales from the Trail" at the Siberian Husky National Specialty in Provo, Utah on October 2nd 2012.

Help replacing stolen donations for animal rescue

Our friend Gina runs Animal Crackers Pet Rescue in Laguna Beach CA. She pours her heart and soul, not to mention time and money, into giving dogs, cats, birds and many more animals a second or third chance at finding a great home. Our latest addition "Buddy" also came from Gina. This morning, someone stole the donation box for the rescue animals off her store counter! Please help trying to replace those donations and keep Gina's rescue efforts ongoing. Thank you very, very much!!!

Give

Just announced: La Pine Mushing Weekend 2012

Time flies...
Karen Yeargain of Tumnatki Siberians in Prineville, OR has just announced the dates for the annual La Pine Mushing Weekend at La Pine State Park in Oregon:

Once again, it’s time to announce our yearly “fun-for-all” mushing weekend at La Pine State Park, in La Pine, Oregon.

This year’s event is scheduled for the second weekend of November, which falls on the 10th,11th & 12th (Saturday - Monday). Some of us will arrive the afternoon of Friday the 9th, to get settled in.

We will be hoping for damp trails and cool temps, but no snow. This event is a dirt run, so plan on carts, quads, bikes and scooters. Runs will be arranged to provide a variety of training opportunities, including passing (from behind and head on), team weaving, directional command training, hills, etc. There is quite a variety of nice dirt trails to choose from. The event is open to anyone regardless of mushing style and experience (or lack thereof); bikejoring and scootering teams are welcome. Trails are suitable for all functions unless we get a surprise dump of snow that makes them dangerous for bikes or scooters.

Organized runs will be on Saturday and Sunday mornings; meet for breakfast at the conference lodge at 6:30 am or at the meadow about 7:30. (This is subject to change if the weather looks to be on the warm side.) The staging area is in the big meadow about 1/8th mile before South Loop of the campground.

The event has the use of the meeting hall on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (until 1 pm on Monday). It has a refrigerator/freezer, microwave, sink with hot/cold running water, tables and a heater.

We will have a potluck meal on Saturday and Sunday afternoons at about 2 pm; other meals will be informal potluck at the participants’ discretion…. We never lack for enough good food!

I will again be asking for donations to help defray the $235 cost of the meeting hall.

Campsites at La Pine State Park are suitable for tents or R.V.’s; all have electrical hookups and water (if the weather hasn’t gotten too cold and the Park has shut off the water at the sites). Bathrooms with shower facilities (included in camping fee) are in our immediate area; bring your own towels and toiletries. Campsites are first-come-first-served; there are plenty of spots and the State Park will open the adjacent Loop if needed.

There are five “rustic” cabins (two double futons, a table, electricity and heat) and five “deluxe” cabins (two double futons in separate rooms, toilet/shower, heat, running water, microwave, fridge, barbecue). (All of the deluxe cabins and some of the rustic ones have already been booked by returning mushers who are getting savvy to my scheduling…. J  ) There are no dogs allowed in the cabins unless designated as pet friendly. THIS IS IMPORTANT DUE TO FUTURE CAMPERS WHO MIGHT HAVE ALLERGIES.  

Nearby motels are the Timbercrest Inn (541-536-17370) and the Newberry Station/Best Western (541-536-5130). There are a couple of other smaller motels, but the parking lots are tiny and border the Hwy.

Remember that there may be non-dog campers at the Park, so manage your teams to have them reasonably quiet. Be sure to pick up your site and fill in your holes before you leave at the end of the weekend.

Please let me know if you are planning to attend so that I may organize the event well and be able to provide updates as we get closer to November.

Questions, please e-mail me directly at tumnatki@earthlink.net

Please cross-post and pass along to person or list that would be interested.

Karen Yeargain

541-410-8475

Tumnatki Siberians

Arctis Carts featured in Yahoo's Urban Mushing Video

Recently, a crew from Yahoo's Animal Nation webcast stopped by our local southern CA urban mushing group to shoot a video about the sport.
They spent an entire morning filming and interviewing our "leader of the pack" Rancy, and host Bridget even got to run a 6-dog team with one of our carts.

Here is the video:

...and when we're not out making videos, we're in the shop building carts like this one:

This is our first two-tone powder coat paint job. By customer request, it's "reflectra candy red" and "matte black" with red anodized wheels. Our paint shop "Embee Performance" did once again a great job!

With a rather snowless winter in many parts of the country, we've been busy filling orders and are currently booked into June.
There are also a couple of new and exciting projects lined up for the summer, so now might actually be a good time to think about a new cart for fall training.
Please feel free to contact us and inquire about our cart availability and delivery schedule.

OC Pet Expo & Dana Point Wag-A-Thon

'tis that time of year again for dog folks in southern California.

Orange County Pet Expo is coming up Friday April 20th - Sunday April 22nd in Costa Mesa CA.

Our friends at Alpine Outfitters will have a booth at the event and will have harnesses, lines, collars etc available for sale. Here's your chance to meet the folks behind the operation and get your mushing gear straight from the source.

Their booth # is 1480 (building 14) and they will be close to the Alaskan Malamute booth.

Another booth to check out is Canvas Pet, supplier of organic and environmentally conscious pet products. Their booth # is 734 in the "breezeway" between building 14 and 16.

Also at the pet expo, our friends at Husky Camp Siberian Husky Rescue, booth 119 outdoors.

Please say hello while you're there.

One week later, it's the 19th annual Dana Point Wag-A-Thon, presented the Pet Project Foundation benefiting the Dana Point/ San Clemente Animal Shelter.

The good folks at Three Dog Bakery San Clemente will provide treat bags for your furry friend(s). That alone should be enough motivation to make the trip out that way :-)

Upcoming Dryland Mushing Events

'Tis the season to keep us busy in the shop and away from updating the blog.

Thanks to all our customers for their support!

The first dryland events are coming up within days, after this odd winter most of us had. No snow in most areas, late snow for some folks, and tons of snow in Alaska.

On Sat 3/31 & Sun 4/1 Pacific Sled Dog and Skijor Association is holding its 4th annual "Mush without Slush" in Sisters, OR. www.psdsa.org/Races/MushWithoutSlush.aspx

Sat 4/28 & Sun 4/29 Northwest Sleddog Association's "Spring Fling" in Cle Elum, WA

www.nwsda.org

Mon 5/7 - Sun 5/13 Quinault Malamute's "Malapaloosa" in Ovando, MT

http://run4thered.blogspot.com/2012/03/malapaloosa-2012.html

At this point we are pretty much booked until mid-May. For information about our carts please click here , and to place an order please contact us.

2012 Yukon Quest results and Iditarod preview

The 2012 Yukon Quest is in the books.

Veteran musher Hugh Neff won the 1000 mile race by a mere 26 seconds ahead of Allen Moore...how amazing is that!?

Our friend Brent Sass and his Wild & Free team finished in 5th place and the 2nd Wild & Free team with Kyla Durham finished 11th.

Another friend of ours, Mike Ellis and his team of Siberian Huskies unfortunately had to scratch, after Mike got injured on the trail. Here's to a quick recovery, Mike!

Another notable story is Russian musher Michael Telpin and his team of Chuckchi Huskies. While most, if not all, other teams started with 14 dogs, he started and finished the race with 9. Yes, he won the coveted "red lantern" award, but he and his team did an amazing job.

Congratulations to all mushers, dog teams, handlers and organizers! Great job!

Now we're just a few days away from the 2012 Iditarod in Alaska.

Our friend Brent Sass and his Wild & Free dogs are at the start for their first Iditarod ever!

An Iditarod veteran, and also a very good friend of ours, Karen Ramstead and her team of "Pretty Sled Dogs" is back for their 10th "last great race".

We'll be following the race closely on the computer right here in southern California, and wishing our friends and all other competitors good luck!

Ready for dryland season?

Well, for many mushers in the lower 48, the entire season seems to consist of dryland training and racing this year. With the exception of Alaska, there's just not that much snow around and many races have been canceled due to lack of the white stuff.

We've certainly noticed, that there's an increased demand in dryland equipment and it's been busy since the season began last fall.

Delivery estimates for current orders are early to mid March at this point, and we always have a few interested mushers "hovering", waiting to place their order.

In order to maybe give an incentive to one or another musher on the west coast, we're thinking about attending NWSDA's spring fling on April 28th & 29th in Cle Elum WA. As always, we can bring a cart or two along the way and drop it off at your door step (if you live somewhat close to or route) or deliver at the race site for free.

Keep in mind, that time and space will quickly run out, so you may want to take a minute and think about a new cart for the upcoming season.

For cart features and pricing, please click here.

If you have any questions regarding our carts and free delivery or are ready to place your order, contact us at info@arctis-carts.com

1 y.o. Siberian Husky available, Southern California

UPDATE: it looks like "Buddy" did find a home, but if you contact Animal Crackers (see below) or any of the other rescue organizations on the right hand side of this blog, there are always more Huskies in need of forever homes.

This handsome boy is "Buddy", a one-year-old, neutered, black & white Siberian Husky. Buddy is a very, very good natured and gentle boy, but just like all Huskies, needs a lot of exercise to keep him happy. He's a strong and energetic dog and requires long walks, hikes and runs. He ran for the first time in harness last weekend and took right to it.

His new forever home should be with experienced Husky owners where he won't be home alone for long periods of time.

For more information, please contact Gina at Animal Crackers Pet Rescue in Laguna Beach CA at acpetrescue@gmail.com