Wild Eyed Tsuga Weekend!

After our successful "Wild & Free Weekend" last October, we thought we'd add a couple more mushers to the mix, so this year we'll have Brent Sass of Wild & Free Mushing, Mike Ellis of Team Tsuga Siberians and Hugh Neff of Laughing Eyes Kennel visiting Central Oregon for a weekend.

Come join us the weekend of 10/31 - 11/02 2014 in La Pine, OR. for a few days of running dogs, camping, good food and good company. We're located in Oregon's vast pine forest and our property borders public land with literally 100s of miles of forest trails.

Brent, Mike and Hugh will be available for questions and advice about anything sled dogs as well just a relaxed chat by the campfire. In short: good times! Click here for pictures of last year's event and a nice write-up by Carol Pepsick here (scroll past the white Siberian).

A couple of changes for this year:

- Food for everyone will be taken care of by Cow Camp Cookin' & BBQ of La Pine, OR.
Catering is sponsored by Pawsatch Mushing, UT

- Depending on truck/trailer size, there will be room for about 15 teams this year.

- Trail maps and signs will be available.

As mentioned, we have room for ~ 15 trucks along with camping gear. There are restroom/shower facilities on the property along with a heated space which can be used as a common area, hang-out or sleeping area. There is also a small kitchen with stove, microwave and oven plus two refrigerators. There are several water sources on the property, cell phone/wifi connectivity and a hot tub. In case of wet weather, we can use our workshop to keep out of the rain dry equipment. Last year's weather was upper 10s and low 20s overnight, mid 60s during the day and dry throughout the weekend.

This will be a rain or shine event.
If you have any questions, please contact me by e-mail or call 949-280-7019


Facebook links for:
Wild & Free Mushing
Team Tsuga Siberians
Laughing Eyes Kennel
Pawsatch Mushing
Arctis Carts

Dryland Cart orders for spring, or should it be fall?

It's been way, way too long since our last blog post, but hopefully, you're keeping up with all our activities on our facebook page, too.

Very little snow, especially in the western part of the US, brought us quite a few orders which will keep us easily occupied way into May, and there are more customers "hovering". It may sound crazy at this time of year, but if you're looking for new Arctis Cart for fall training, it may be a good time to get in touch with us right about now.



Our latest batch of orders brought carts all over the US, from Oregon to Minnesota, Alaska to Colorado, and the next batch will stretch from Washington to Vermont and California to Alaska.
Over the winter months, signal colors seemed to be the trend, yellow, orange and red. The next ones to come will be a bit different :-)

We are looking to expand production substantially this year, after moving to our new location one year ago and doing some major upgrades in tools and machinery throughout the year.

Several new developments are in the works to make that happen. One new addition to our cart program is currently being built and will most likely be on the market later this month or early April.

...and just a reminder, that the 2014 Iditarod is in full swing at this moment. Click here for current standings.


Our sponsored teams in the race are Karen Ramstead's "Pretty Sled Dogs" and Mike Ellis' "Tsuga Siberians".
Unfortunately, Brent Sass' team "Wild & Free" had to withdraw, due to Brent's injury he suffered during the recent Yukon Quest.
Please click on the links to visit their pages (and support their teams!).



Speaking of the Yukon Quest, here are a couple of wonderful videos from this year's race:

Fall training season is here!

Summer is finally coming to an end, and training season gets underway.
For us, this means crunch time to get orders finished and carts delivered to our customers. Most of our carts are going to Alaska this fall, with a few more staying close in Washington and Colorado. Thanks again to all our customer who trust our products!

For teams getting ready for this season's long distance races, it means getting the dogs out and everyone back into running mode, figuring out who will make the "A-Team" and then getting that team ready for "showtime".

We're proud to support three teams this season that will take on Iditarod and Yukon Quest in 2014:

Wild & Free Mushing, Eureka, Alaska

Brent Sass has been good friends with us for a few years now and a big believer in Arctis training carts. He has put our 3-wheeler to the test like no one else and was the first to run the all new 4-wheeler.
Wild & Free will go for another Yukon Quest and Iditarod this year!

Please visit their website and facebook page for more about Brent and the team as well as sponsorship opportunities.

North Wapiti Kennels, Perryvale, Alberta

Karen Ramstead was one of the first Iditarod mushers we met many years ago. She came to visit our group in southern California on several occasions, came to our new location in Oregon and also invited us for a few days at her kennel back in 2010. Famous for her "Pretty Curly Tails" all Siberian Husky sled dog team, Karen will run Iditarod in 2014 for the last time.

To support Karen and her team, and for more information about the kennel, including the entire cast of characters, please see their blog and facebook page, as well as their fundraising page.

Team Tsuga Siberians, Fairbanks, Alaska

We met Mike Ellis at the New England Trade Fair a couple of years ago, and he was really interested in the concept of training his team with a cart vs an atv. One of the requirements was, however, that it would be a heavy 4-wheel cart to possibly train a full team. So, this year we finally finished that project and Mike will be one of the first mushers to train with the new cart. He also was kind enough to visit us here in Oregon and give a presentation about his dogs, races and life in Alaska, that got fantastic reviews by all who attended.

Mike and Sue also run an all Siberian Husky team.

Team Tsuga will be back at the Yukon Quest this season, after their rookie Iditarod in 2013.

Please see their website and facebook page for information and yes, plenty of pictures of their beautiful team, that has always room for another sponsor for a bag of kibble. 

Good luck and happy trails to all of "our" teams, our customers and friends and everyone else who shares the same passion for this wonderful sport.

Karen Ramstead Presentation in Portland, OR

Tales from the Trail

A presentation by 10-time Iditarod veteran 

Karen Ramstead of North Wapiti Siberian Husky Kennels, Alberta, Canada

Saturday, June 22nd 2pm in Portland OR

At the Norse Hall, 111 NE 11th Ave (click here for map)

(a few short blocks from I-5/ I-84 interchange)

Karen’s audio and visual slideshow will cover her experiences raising, training and racing her magnificent Huskies, as well as plenty of stories from the Iditarod trail. Her presentations are informative, engaging and a lot of fun. Questions are always welcome. 

Donations per person are $20 in advance or $25 at the door.

100% of the proceeds will go to Karen’s kennel, as they prepare for Iditarod in 2014.

For questions, please e-mail henning@arctis-carts.com or call 949-280-7019

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.

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!

Wild & Free!

Finally a moment to update the blog after a long drought.
Yes, we're still here and have been spending pretty much all of our time on the trails and in the shop, so updates on our website, blog and facebook have been few and far between.

Someone else has also been very, very busy recently: our good friend Brent Sass of Wild & Free Mushing in Fairbanks, AK.
Brent is a 5-time Yukon Quest Veteran and in addition to signing up for his 6th time at the YQ, he also decided to run his first Iditarod this season, going for "the double"!

We met Brent in September of 2010 when he was visiting family in our area. By accident, he was at our mushing group's staging area when we returned from a weekend morning fun run. When he saw our carts he immediately said "I want one!".
Sure enough, after he finished his amazing 2010/11 season, he called and placed his order for one of our carts, the famed Bumble Bee.
Initially, the cart was supposed to be used for puppy training at his kennel, but Brent scrapped the idea as soon as he received the cart, and hooked up the first 6-dog team of his mainstring to the cart...the first of 4 teams to go out the first day. The next day he added two more dogs to the team and after about 2 weeks, he trained up to 10 of his race veterans on the cart every day.



During his fall training, he constantly kept us updated about how the cart performed and what updates/upgrades would have to be done to run a team of his caliber with the cart. Once his season comes to an end in April, we should have the "Brentified Arctis Cart" ready for him to test. That will be our first all new cart design since we started on the 3-wheel cart.

Since Brent has been such a great advocate of our carts, we decided to start sponsoring Team Wild & Free for the current season. In addition to being a general team supporter, we also sponsor "our boys" Scroggie & Braeburn and looking forward to seeing those boys cross the finish line in Whitehorse and Nome (albeit not in person, unfortunately).



Brent's enthusiasm for the dogs, the sport and life in general is absolutely amazing a definitely infectious. He is held in high regards by his peers and a great ambassador to the sport of dog sledding.

Feel free to check out his website Wild & Free Mushing, see the dogs and read up on any news regarding the races this season. There's also a link to Wild & Free gear and, last, not least, opportunities for sponsorships!

If you check out his facebook page, you'll see plenty of picture and video updates of the team's training regimen as well as the trials and tribulations of training sled dogs in Alaska.

Be wild and free!


As always, if you're looking for a cart for this season, please contact us for current wait times and delivery schedule. Our e-mail is info@arctis-carts.com and phone # is (949) 280-7019

Iditarod Veteran Karen Ramstead Mushing Clinic & Presentation

9-time Iditarod veteran Karen Ramstead will do a presentation about her mushing experiences and adventures on Friday, September 16th at 'Sit Happens' in Calgary, Alberta.
On September 17th & 18th she will hold a mushing clinic at the Rosebud Race Site in Didsbury Alberta, just outside Calgary.
For more information about these events, please see the event facebook page or the local events page and keep checking back at this blog for any updates.
For more information about Karen and her team of purebred Siberian Huskies, please see her website northwapiti.com and North Wapiti blog.

...and just a reminder: we are planning to make the trip up north to attend presentation and clinic and will be happy to deliver a new Arctis Cart right to your doorstep, if you live in the vicinity of our route (click here for map). For details, please feel free to contact us by e-mail or phone (949) 280-7019

Arctis Cart in the Arctic...well almost.

Our "Bumble Bee" made it to Fairbanks, Alaska, almost all the way to the Arctic Circle...just about 2 degrees short.
Our friend Brent Sass of Wild & Free Mushing picked it up at the Fairbanks freight terminal the other day, unpacked it and put it right to work. He's currently running 8 of his Yukon Quest proven dogs at a time on midnight runs on local trails. Here are some of his first impressions:



If you are a facebook member, check out Brent's videos on his profile page, too.

Wild & Free's "Silver" lined out and ready to lead his team.

He recently made an announcement regarding his BIG plans for the upcoming season on his website and also mentioned his new training tool (aka Arctis Cart).
Thanks again Brent! All the best and good luck in the upcoming season and beyond!

Missing Iditarod Musher Melanie Gould Found!

Update 6/11: GOOD NEWS: Melanie has been found and she is alive and safe.
Alaska Dispatch Story Here
Update 6/13

Sledding season coming to an end

Slowly, but surely, dog sledding season 10/11 is coming to an end.
Alaska's Iditarod ended with Alaska native John Baker crossing the finish line first in a new record time, ahead of Ramey Smith and Hans Gatt. Overall, 47 mushers completed this year's race.
For complete results, please click here.

In Europe, the annual Finnmarksløpet ended with an overwhelming victory by Norwegian mushers, who finished in 1st through 7th in the 1000km race. In the 500km race even more Norwegians placed in top positions.
For 500km and 1000km results, please click here.

The last distance race for the season will be the Kobuk 440 in Kotzebue, AK, starting on April 14.
Up-to-date information can be found here.


So, now it's back to the dirt trails for several dryland events up and down the coast, as well as across the country.
On the weekend of April 9/10 Pacific Sled Dog & Skijoring Assocation will host a fun run/ race weekend near Sisters, OR. For up-to-date information about this event, please check Tumnatki Siberians' website.

At the end of April (23rd & 24th), NWSDA is hosting their Spring Fling at Camp K in Cle Elum, WA.
Team Arctis will be there again to join the fun!

Iditarod, Serum Run & Iron Dog

Alaska is a busy place this time of year.
Last weekend, the 39th Iditarod started in Anchorage. 62 mushers are on the 1049 mile trail to Nome. Lance Mackey is trying to win his 5th Iditarod in a row. Is he going to succeed, or is this the year when Sebastian Schnülle is finally going to be the first to reach Nome? Are Hugh Neff and Hans Gatt able to make up for scratching in the Yukon Quest a few weeks ago?
Click here for current standings, provided by the Alaska Daily News.



At the same time, the bi-annual Norman Vaughn '25 Serum Run is still going on.
The run started on February 20th and at last check, the teams made it into Unalakleet.
Some of the faster Iditarod teams might just pass them on their way to Nome.
Wishing our friends Don Duncan, Margaret Black and Von Martin a great adventure, lots of fun and, of course, happy trails!



Last, not least, the 2000 mile Iron Dog snowmobile race just finished in Fairbanks. Apparently, participants of this race also crossed paths with the Serum Run teams.
Who knew, there was this much traffic in the Alaskan wilderness in winter???

Iditarod Veteran Karen Ramstead visiting Southern California

As previously announced, Karen Ramstead, 9-time Iditarod veteran (and quite the engaging speaker) will be flying down to Southern California from her North Wapiti Siberian Husky Kennels in Alberta, Canada.

Our Urban Mushing Group will be hosting 2 different events in order to help Karen raise funds for her kennel:

July 10 (Saturday) will be at an auditorium at the Costa Mesa Community Center (Map) from 1 PM - 4 PM. Karen will give a live audio and visual slideshow presentation covering her experiences in training and racing in the Iditarod with her "Pretty Sled Dogs". Cost is $30 per attendee - drinks and snacks will be provided for. No dogs allowed.

July 11 (Sunday) will be a barbecue potluck picnic and Q&A workshop at Laguna Niguel Regional Park (Map) from 11 AM - 4 PM (or whenever). Hamburgers and hot dogs will be provided but please bring a potluck item (email Cindy Stepp via btrflygrl68 at msn.com) Donation amount is $20 per person, and $5 for children 12-and-under. Aside from enjoying the food, picnic, and mingling with Karen Ramstead as well as your fellow mushers, this event will also serve as a
Question & Answer workshop (note: this is NOT a hands-on mushing clinic so dogs are optional). It's a wonderful opportunity to pick Karen's brain and learn a little bit more about her training techniques and view points. IT WOULD HELP A LOT if you could write down your questions on the back of the registration form so that Karen can answer them as best as she can.

T-shirts will also be sold at the event (you can order them ahead of time - see registration form) as well as cookbooks, posters, etc., that Karen will be bringing.

If you will be attending any or both of the events, please mail in your registration form by July 3, 2010. Locations and other details are in the registration form which can be downloaded here
The registration form will likewise be available soon for download via www.urbanmushing.com.

Hope to see a lot of you out there, specially those who want to learn more about the Iditarod. If you can't live it, at least hear about it....from Karen Ramstead!

Mushing Boot Camp Klamath Falls OR, April 30th

Unfortunately, Mushing Boot Camp in Klamath Falls OR has been canceled.
Your next chance to attend will be October 8th - 11th in Togo MN.
For details, please see their website here.

It's on! Iditarod 2009 is underway

The 2009 Iditarod started on Saturday March 7th with the ceremonial start in Anchorage, AK, and continues today with the restart in Willow, AK.
For up to the minute coverage, please see Iditarod.com

Happy New Year!

What a way to start the new year!
We just finished our three day stay at the Rose Parade Expo in Pasadena CA, doing our part to celebrate Alaska's 50th anniversary of statehood. Wow! What an exciting event!

Thanks to the great folks at the Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau, we got to show the southern California locals, as well as visitors from literally all over the world, a little bit of dog sledding. Along with the local Urban Mushing group, the good people from Three Dog Bakery in San Clemente, and a pack of puppies from Counts Cove Kennels, Team Arctis was out there promoting the state of Alaska and all it has to offer to visitors wanting to explore the last frontier.

The ACVB had entered a float in the 120th Rose Parade, featuring, among other things, a sled dog team made of flowers. Riding the float/sled was none other than 1st female Iditarod champion Libby Riddles, who took the time to stop by the booth after the parade to meet the local dogs and mushers. She was also able to catch a glimpse of Arctis' three wheel cart and sign autographs.

See more pictures of this great event here.

Once again, thanks to the Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau for inviting us to take part of this great event!

Celebrating Alaska's 50th Anniversary at the Rose Parade

The state of Alaska is celebrating its 50th anniversary of statehood in 2009, and what better way to do it than to be part of the 120th Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena CA on New Year's Day!
The float will feature first female Iditarod winner Libby Riddles, among others, and the state's exhibit in the post parade expo will feature a real chunk of glacier ice, native Alaskan dancers and dog sledding demonstrations by southern California's "Urban Mushers" , including "Team Arctis".
We're honored to have been asked to be part of this great celebration!
For more information, please visit the Tournament of Roses website here.
We hope to see you there!

Back home

We just returned from the mushing weekend in Klamath Falls OR...what a blast we had! The carts were tried and tested on dirt trails, in mud and in snow, with 4 and 6-dog teams and passed the tests with flying colors (not that we're biased or anything...).
Thanks to Karen Yeargain for organizing this event and to Liz Parrish for allowing us to stay and play at her lodge. Last not least, thanks to everyone who tried the carts and for all of your input, comments and suggestions.
We'll be back!

Oregon Bound!

We will attend the Central Oregon Mushing Weekend at Crystalwood Lodge in Klamath Falls, OR from Now 7th - 10th. For more information contact us or Karen Yeargain at Tumnatki Siberians