WE TOOK AN EXIT

Not an exit, but a road. We decided to drive down Exit Glacier Road to see a couple attractions. At the end of the road, we parked with all the other cars and took a hike.

The Park Rangers were available and one talked about bears to groups of people before you got too far down the path. Our destination – the Exit Glacier.

The sign said it was .6 miles, but that was just to a lookout where you can see the glacier. Mom stopped there and the three of us kept going. The remaining trail was pretty tricky and steep so dad stopped and we kept going.

We made it! It was worth the extra distance, but I was sore a couple days later.

Another point of interest on this road was a famous dog mushing camp. Mitch Seavey’s dogs are here and he has won the Iditarod race several times. Dog mushing sleds were necessary back when there were no roads in the interior of Alaska. Mailmen used them to deliver mail and people also sent important supplies like medicine in this faster method than other transportation available at the time.

Most people think these racing dogs are purebred huskies, but they are not. They are called Alaskan huskies. Hugo is a terrible mushing dog. The good ones are Heinz 57 mixed breeds.

We got to play dress up with the gear that is worn during the Iditarod race. The temperature can be -20 degrees, and that would be COLD on your face and body!

The sled weighs 35 pounds, but the musher has to take some supplies with him. Mitch’s sled has a compartment to put a dog in if they are hurt or exhausted. He needs to keep going until reaching a checkpoint where he can take care of the dog’s problem.

Of course, one of the highlights was being able to hold the puppies! They had 2 litters that were 6 weeks old. Our sweet girl wanted to eat my hair!

Another part of the tour was getting to ride behind a pack of dogs. These dogs were super excited to get in their harnesses and use their strength to pull us. We sat in what looked like a golf cart without an engine.

The lead dogs knew exactly where to go and the musher would give the dogs several breaks along the path. They love running in the cold weather, so the summer months are a little warm for them.

I love dogs and the cramped living quarters that each dog was given was a little upsetting. I had to remember that these are outside dogs, not inside dogs that sleep in the bed with me. The dogs are separated when not mushing because most are not neutered, which is good. But they love what they do. You could tell they wanted to run and pull the cart. They are bred to be muscular and strong with a lot of determination.