When five-time Iditarod finisher Jeff Deeter asked me how I got interested in the Iditarod, I blamed Winterdance, Gary Paulson’s 1994 book on his 17-day run to Nome. But really, it seems like at least a small awareness of the Iditarod was always around. Maybe that’s just what happens when you’re raised by wolves. …
Read more
In the months after Sadie died, I followed a bunch of dog rescue organizations. Luke, my other dog, has always been part of a pair. He was surrendered to our local SPCA along with a twin sister before I brought him home and then he spent a decade plus with Sadie.…
Read more
PART I: The Arrival
When I pulled into the designated parking spot for my campsite at Big Bend, I became immediately concerned it was, in fact, just a pile of rocks. I couldn’t see any semblance of a campsite from the car. The website said the sites weren’t level, sure, but this seemed excessive.…
Read more
It was a Monday when kittens started falling from the sky. I didn’t know then that the kittens had fallen from the sky, just that they were in the way. Half a second before letting out Luke, my 70-pound, bird-killing, husky mutt, I spotted a very small, very young kitten two steps away from the back door.…
Read more
Driving toward Hayden Valley, legendary land of Yellowstone’s wildlife, I decided to temper my hope. I would, I thought, release my expectations. I wanted to see critters. That’s why I was awake before the sun, why I was already on the road by six something, but I knew better than to hope.…
Read more
Just when we thought 2021 was done lighting dumpster fires, raining COVID and murdering joy, it took Betty White from us. Here’s what I didn’t hate about this shit storm of a year:
RUNNING RACES. I did a handful of virtual running challenges in 2020, and while they definitely helped me survive the chaos of that year, nothing beats the excited anxiety of an in-person start line.…
Read more
In the immediate aftermath of a loss, you may find that you wake without remembering. Maybe it hits you within seconds, maybe it takes whole minutes. Either way, grief will strike. It might hit you like a wayward wave, bowling you over, ripping the air from your lungs. Maybe it’s a quick strike, less cinematic, more like a gut punch, a face slap, a snake bite.…
Read more
I was fresh off the loss of her, hadn’t made it more than 10 hours without a full-body cry and I was probably running from the devastating emptiness of a single-dog house. But, I was there, in Montana. Work sent me there, and I, being an opportunist, added an adventure to the backend of the work.…
Read more
I had to say goodbye to Sadie, Wolf of my Heart, on June 5th.
It has been weeks and weeks, and almost months, and I am still heartsick and aching.
I want to tell you the story about her life. I want to tell you how she came to me, what she was like in those early days and weeks.…
Read more
Blah, blah, blah, 2020 sucked, but it wasn’t all bad, blah, blah, blah, deep thoughts, etc. Here are some things that got me through that dumpster fire of a year.
MY RUMPL. A Rumpl is a blanket, but like a really good blanket made for outdoor adventures. It is very cozy, very good and very warm.…
Read more