La Pine Mushing Weekend 2014

It's official! Our friend Karen Yeargain has just posted the official dates of this year's La Pine Mushing weekend. We've attended this event since 2008 and ended up moving to La Pine from southern CA after falling in love with Central Oregon's beautiful scenery. A perfect place to be out and about with your dogs. 

For this year's details, please click here.

This is a fun event for everyone interested in running dogs, from a "newbie" with one dog to a seasoned veteran with a full team of 16 dogs.

 We'll see you at La Pine State Park in November!

Urban Mushing

Even though we're in the middle of summer in southern California, we still find ways to get out with our dogs, and take them on runs in the area. Coastal CA temperatures stay in the moderate range for most of the summer, since we have the marine layer off the Pacific Ocean keeping things cool.

So we meet up early in the morning or late in the evening at various places around Orange County and hook up a few sled dog teams.
Remember to keep your dogs hydrated, do not run in the heat and watch closely for signs of heat exhaustion.

We frequently run two or three cart teams and several scooter teams as well.
Cart teams run 6 or 8 dogs on an Arctis Cart and scooter teams anywhere from 1 to 3 dogs on a Diggler scooter.



Most of our trails are dirt trails through local parks, along creeks and around lakes. Occasionally, we have to make use of bike paths and sidewalks, too.











If you are in the southern California area and would like to join or just check out what we do, feel free to take a look at our Urban Mushing website for more information.







Equipment sources:
Arctis Carts
Diggler Scooters
Alpine Outfitters for harnesses, lines etc

La Pine Mushing Weekend 2011

Here is the second announcement for this Fall's "La Pine Mushing Weekend". The cabins are full but there are plenty of campsites to be had; this time of year they don't take reservations on the campsites, it's just first come, first served. There are plenty of sites in "South Loop", so no worries about not having a spot!



Summer is here and 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 11th (Friday), 12th & 13th. Some folks (not sure about me yet) will arrive the afternoon of Thursday the 10th, 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 may have changed due to construction in the park. I'll confirm the start point when I know for sure.



The event has the use of the meeting hall on Thursday, 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 1 pm; other meals will be informal potluck at the participants' discretion.. We never lack for
enough good food! Since the cost per day went up to $75, I will be asking for donations to help defray the $300 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. 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). There are no dogs allowed in the cabins. 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.

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.

For Questions, please post to the list or e-mail me directly at tumnatki@earthlink.net

Please cross-post and pass along to anyone who would be interested.

Karen Yeargain
541-410-8475
Tumnatki Siberians
Diggler Dog Scooters
TAIGA harnesses/collars
K-Collars
National Dog Food
Prineville, OR
www.tumnatkisiberians.com

New Product! Arctis "Grand Teton" Hitch

We just tested another new product on our recent trip to the American Dog Derby in Idaho: a truck hitch for your picket lines, which was named the "Grand Teton" over lunch at "511 Main" in Ashton, ID. and yes, there is a (long) story behind the name.

So, what's different about our hitch, compared to others?
The outer tubes are powder coated and the telescoping tubes are made from aluminum, to prevent rust. Also, the hitch shown in the pictures below has shortened outer tubes, so they're nicely tucked away under the truck when not in use.
Those can be made longer, depending on your specific needs.

Front hitch can be custom made to fit your truck, rear hitch attaches to any standard hitch receiver or over bike rack etc.

Price is $295 plus shipping and does not include the picket lines.
If you need picket lines, contact our friends at Alpine Outfitters and they'll "hook you up"!

The North Wapiti experience

We just returned from a spectacular trip that took us from southern California all the way up to northern Alberta, Canada, to visit Karen Ramstead and her North Wapiti kennel of Siberian Huskies, aka the "Pretty Sled Dogs".
We spent several days with Karen's team, be it at the kennel or out on the trails and were also able to run the cart with her dogs, have Karen run it, and even put our little clown Silver on a team with 5 North Wapiti dogs. He initially seemed a bit intimidated, but after the run pranced around his girls like a hot shot, showing off.






The cart ride with 6 Siberians through the wooded, rutted and rooted trails was a pure blast, not only for us, but even Karen had a great time as she posted on facebook:




The red cart shown here is available and ready to go without waiting period:




If you're interested, please contact us with your location, and we'll provide a shipping quote.
Local pick-up and delivery as also available, of course, and if you are located in Oregon or Washington, please contact us for details about our upcoming road trips, so we can possibly deliver the cart in person.

On our way back, we took the scenic route through Jasper, Banff, Kootenay, Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. What beautiful places to see and experience. We can't wait to get back on the road again, soon, but in the meantime, we need to get some carts done.

Big Sky Roadtrip

Finally!
We're all done, almost packed and one good night's sleep away from our "Big Sky Roadtrip" to Karen Ramstead's North Wapiti Kennel in Alberta, Canada.
It's been a long, long week, with several carts finding their way to new homes here in southern CA and two more on their way to the wide open spaces of central Alberta.
Our trip north will take us along I-15 from southern CA to the Montana/Alberta border and then past Edmonton to Perryvale, AB.
One of the carts will be delivered along the way and the other will be tried and tested at Karen's ranch and may possibly find a new home in the area.
If things go as planned, the trip back will take a little longer to explore some of spectacular scenery along the way.
We'll post updates on our facebook page.
If you are interested in one of our carts, feel free to contact us. We'll do our best to keep in touch along the way.

First fall dates scheduled!

While we're still dealing with quite a summer heat wave, we're looking forward to fall, cooler temperatures and being able to run the dogs again.
This is the time of year when we're making the first plans for our fall events, local and far away (road trips!).

So, here we go. The first scheduled events are:

Sunday, September 6th - Barbecue Potluck Picnic - Laguna Niguel CA

I know this is short notice but we just decided to host a barbecue potluck
picnic on September 6th (Sunday) at Laguna Niguel Regional Park.

We reserved Shelter #12 for the day, which comes equipped with 4 grills, picnic
tables, and even electrical outlets. It's also a little bit more secluded,
which is a good thing when you have a bunch of high energy dogs show up:

http://tinyurl.com/npn25t

This would be a great time to get together, specially with the long Labor Day
Weekend. It would be a chance for us to chat about plans for the coming season
and have a picnic with the dogs. Depending on how the weather shapes up, some
of us may even get there early in the morning and go for a quick scooter run.

So please join us if you can and celebrate the end of summer! The potluck
barbecue is set for noon (but we will be there starting early in the morning) so
all you need to bring is your potluck item and $5 per person to cover the
shelter reservation and use fees. (FYI, there is also a $5 parking fee per
vehicle.) Send an email to info@urbanmushing.com if you are coming and what
potluck item you will be bringing.

The address to Laguna Niguel Regional Park is

28241 La Paz Road
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

Map

Here is a link to the park layout. (.pdf file)

Hope to see you there!


October 24th & 25th - Training Workshop with Karen Yeargain - Big Bear CA

We'll be holding a weekend training workshop with Karen on October 24-25 in the
Big Bear area.

Karen has been training and racing Siberian Huskies for many years. Check out
her website www.tumnatkisiberians.com for more info on her and her wonderful
dogs.

We'll be working with individual dogs and teams and will cover command and pull
training, training your dog to work in a team, passing, good behavior in harness
and other areas. Discussion will cover equipment, harnesses and lines, and
other topics as requested by participants.

The workshop format is flexible enough to accommodate all levels, so beginners
as well as more experienced mushers are welcome.

The cost is $175 per person with $25 for extra family members. Bring as many
dogs as you are comfortable handling.

You can get more info and a registration form here (.pdf file)

Let me know if you have any questions. Those who attended last year's
workshop got a lot out of it and I'm definitely looking forward to this year's
training.


November 7th & 8th - Mushing Weekend - La Pine OR

Once again, Karen Yeargain is organizing a “fun-for-all” mushing weekend at La Pine State Park, in La Pine, Oregon.

This year’s event will be the first weekend of November, which falls on the 7th & 8^th. Some of us will arrive the afternoon of Friday the 6th, 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 7:15. The meadow (staging area) is about 1/8 mile before you get to the South Loop of the Park, on your right. 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 1 pm; other meals will be informal potluck at the participants’ discretion…. We never lack for enough good food!

I will be planning a couple of presentations on Saturday and possibly on Sunday. Topics still to be determined. These will be right after the potluck, so bring a dish, join the meal and talk dogs!

Campsites at La Pine State Park are suitable for tents or R.V.’s; all have electrical hookups and water. Bathrooms with shower facilities (included in camping fee) are in our immediate area; bring your own towels and toiletries.

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). Rustic cabin #1 and Deluxe cabin #44 have been designated “pet friendly” this year as a pilot, meaning that up to 2 dogs are allowed in these two cabins; whether that continues and/or expands depends on how well guests manage their inside dogs. There are no dogs allowed in the other cabins, same as in the past.

Each person needs to make their own site arrangements. To make reservations for a campsite or cabin, go online to www.reserveamerica.com or call Reservations Northwest at (800) 452-5687, specify La Pine State Park, South Loop. Also, state that you are with the SLED DOG GROUP/MUSHING WEEKEND so that they can note that on your reservations. That way the reservations folks can advise non-mushing campers as they make reservations and give them the option to be close to the activities or further away, as they prefer.

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

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

Please cross-post and pass along to anyone who would be interested.

That's a lotta dogs!

...and that's an often repeated comment we get, when taking the dogs for a hike or run in suburban southern California. Weekday mornings, we take anywhere from 3 to 6 dogs out for an 8-10 mile hike on the local trails, including some of our friends at Three Dog Bakery.
Weekends, we usually run the trails at Fairview Park in Costa Mesa with 8 and 6-dog cart teams, as well as several scooter teams. For most park goers, it's just not a common occurrence to see a pack of 20+ Huskies coming around the corner.




For videos of our recent adventures, please click here.

Dashing through the park...

We took the three wheeler out for another fun run on Sunday at Fairview Park in Costa Mesa CA.
Just cool enough to let the Siberian Six Pack of Gaia, Niko, Gidget, Lyka, Obi & Silver have a blast on the trails.