Winter logging...

Mentioned earlier (Back on Track...1/24/16) that winter logging was going on in the valley where our trails run. In the past, they bulldozed out whatever trails they needed to access the logging area and we had to use different trails. So some of us dog drivers got together and formed a group (with the catchy title of Little Chena Dog Drivers and Trail Users Association) and had a series of meetings with the State of Alaska, Division of Forestry, who held the timber sales. The upshot of it all was an agreement that they would put in separate logging roads so that the recreational trails would still be available for others. By and large it has worked OK, though sometimes they block cross trails with their berms and push debris onto adjacent trails. This year, with all the warm weather and lack of snow, the logging road crossings got real icy, so it's not uncommon for the sled to go sideways at the crossing. It's great fun.

Crossing one of the logging roads.

Now, with the latest warm spell, the dog running is mostly over, so it's the time of year to haul in wood (Iron Dog...4/19/09). It's been a race to haul as many loads of logs up the trail and over the hill before the snow's gone.

Hauling in logs, to be bucked up and split for firewood, is a spring ritual. Most of the trees that were  hauled in had already fallen on or next to the trail, so it's kind of recycling, in a way, they get used for more that just growing mushrooms.