Joe Pawelek
Joe's mural painted in 2011.
Joe was born and raise in Michigan, where he was active in the Boy Scouts of America and reached the highest of honors in the program, Eagle Scout. He attributes his interest in the outdoors to the experiences he had camping out with his troop every month from ages 13 to 18. Along with the merit badges and lessons learned in the Boy Scout Handbook, it was the fun and adventure of traveling all over Michigan that defined his love for nature.
In the fall of 2006, Joe left Central Michigan University to pursue a guiding position in Jackson Hole, Wy working at Jackson Hole Iditarod Sled Dog Tours. Joe cared for 35 dogs and for the first time got behind the sled runners guiding guests to a remote hot spring where they learned about dog sledding. Joe admits that he too was learning right along with the them! After the season ended in March, Joe sought out the opportunity to again give tours, but much farther North in the Sheep Creek Valley of Juneau, AK.
Alaska was just what Joe needed to start networking, and after driving a school bus with sixty dogs and three others inside, he gave tours to hundreds of cruise ship tourists on wheeled carts for Gold Rush Sled Dog Tours. He met with a couple that mushed sled dogs in his home state of Michigan and decided to pursue a winter of mushing in the upper peninsula of Michigan. Joe took care of about eighty dogs with another handler; an Alabama first mate turned musher named Bouie. Together, they gave 40 mile overnight tours and learned what goes into training young dogs. Again this was a very new experience, learning different methods of harness-breaking yearlings, as well as using older dogs to help train. Though he learned a lot, mostly from his mistakes, Joe remembers that winter for it was when he ran his first race. The Taqhuamenon Country Sled Dog race was Joe's first race, 40 miles through Jack pine and birch forests with an eight dog team. Joe finished in the back of the pack but under four hours, making it a lasting and powerful memory in Joe's history.
Mendenhall Glacier, located with Juneau's city limits, would be Joe's home for the next two summers, where he guided helicopter transported passengers for a two mile tour on the Juneau Icefield for Alaska Icefield Expeditions. Living in a remote camp with 300 sled dogs and 15 employees, Joe learned lots from other mushers in the way of vet care, training, and the addiction that is dog mushing. Joe ran dogs from The Yukon, which to this day made the biggest impact on him and was lucky enough to mush them two years in a row.
Willow, Alaska is where Joe handled for another couple who were recreational in the sport and had extremely well trained dogs. The love for their animals and care given to them showed Joe much more about the sport than he could have ever known. By this point, Joe knew some about running dogs, but not what it took to train dogs to run far (his longest run before Alaska was forty miles). Long distance sled dogs require a running schedule that pushes them to run sixty or more miles in a single run without stopping. With that mileage comes great dog care, something that Joe took with him after his experience in Alaska. To this day, Joe looks back on the Winter of 2009 as the winter that he learned how important the care for a sled dog is, as well as how management of a team of huskies defines what type of musher you are. He likes to use the quote from a musher who once told him, "It doesn't matter how fast you go, as long as you look good."
Joe and Erin worked together in Summer 2011 in Juneau for Gold Rush Sled Dog Tours, and Joe mushed dogs again for cruise ship tourists all summer long, but this season proved most successful. Joe had his first story published in Mushing Magazine, which was a huge step in his other passion as a writer. He also accomplished a thirty by thirty five foot mural of a sled dog team mushing through the valley where he worked. The final product is the very first thing customers see before they start their tour at dog camp. With these two dreams becoming reality, Joe wasn't expecting the third and most exciting dream to come true. In early September, weeks before the end of the Summer tourism season, Joe was awarded Tour Guide of the Season by Princess Cruise Lines. This award is given to the guide who makes the most impact on their guests, and is truly earned through the voice of the consumer for it is up to them to fill out a tour guide recognition form back on their ship. He is appreciative that his experiences touched the hearts of thousands of guests throughout his guiding career and sums this award up as five years in the making.
Currently, Joe is working on his latest creation, a book about craft or micro-brewed beer. He is traveling to all fifty states and choosing two breweries from each state to highlight in his book. Also, he is writing 100 short stories from his life's experiences to accent the 100 breweries he will have chosen to create a hearty coffee table book for the local beer lover. His travels thus far are 35 states, 100 breweries, and a lifetime of memories. It is his goal to spread the word of dog sledding and the lessons that it can teach, as well as supporting local and sustainable enterprises such as buying and selling locally to reduce our footprint, and leave behind a better world for future generations.
In the fall of 2006, Joe left Central Michigan University to pursue a guiding position in Jackson Hole, Wy working at Jackson Hole Iditarod Sled Dog Tours. Joe cared for 35 dogs and for the first time got behind the sled runners guiding guests to a remote hot spring where they learned about dog sledding. Joe admits that he too was learning right along with the them! After the season ended in March, Joe sought out the opportunity to again give tours, but much farther North in the Sheep Creek Valley of Juneau, AK.
Alaska was just what Joe needed to start networking, and after driving a school bus with sixty dogs and three others inside, he gave tours to hundreds of cruise ship tourists on wheeled carts for Gold Rush Sled Dog Tours. He met with a couple that mushed sled dogs in his home state of Michigan and decided to pursue a winter of mushing in the upper peninsula of Michigan. Joe took care of about eighty dogs with another handler; an Alabama first mate turned musher named Bouie. Together, they gave 40 mile overnight tours and learned what goes into training young dogs. Again this was a very new experience, learning different methods of harness-breaking yearlings, as well as using older dogs to help train. Though he learned a lot, mostly from his mistakes, Joe remembers that winter for it was when he ran his first race. The Taqhuamenon Country Sled Dog race was Joe's first race, 40 miles through Jack pine and birch forests with an eight dog team. Joe finished in the back of the pack but under four hours, making it a lasting and powerful memory in Joe's history.
Mendenhall Glacier, located with Juneau's city limits, would be Joe's home for the next two summers, where he guided helicopter transported passengers for a two mile tour on the Juneau Icefield for Alaska Icefield Expeditions. Living in a remote camp with 300 sled dogs and 15 employees, Joe learned lots from other mushers in the way of vet care, training, and the addiction that is dog mushing. Joe ran dogs from The Yukon, which to this day made the biggest impact on him and was lucky enough to mush them two years in a row.
Willow, Alaska is where Joe handled for another couple who were recreational in the sport and had extremely well trained dogs. The love for their animals and care given to them showed Joe much more about the sport than he could have ever known. By this point, Joe knew some about running dogs, but not what it took to train dogs to run far (his longest run before Alaska was forty miles). Long distance sled dogs require a running schedule that pushes them to run sixty or more miles in a single run without stopping. With that mileage comes great dog care, something that Joe took with him after his experience in Alaska. To this day, Joe looks back on the Winter of 2009 as the winter that he learned how important the care for a sled dog is, as well as how management of a team of huskies defines what type of musher you are. He likes to use the quote from a musher who once told him, "It doesn't matter how fast you go, as long as you look good."
Joe and Erin worked together in Summer 2011 in Juneau for Gold Rush Sled Dog Tours, and Joe mushed dogs again for cruise ship tourists all summer long, but this season proved most successful. Joe had his first story published in Mushing Magazine, which was a huge step in his other passion as a writer. He also accomplished a thirty by thirty five foot mural of a sled dog team mushing through the valley where he worked. The final product is the very first thing customers see before they start their tour at dog camp. With these two dreams becoming reality, Joe wasn't expecting the third and most exciting dream to come true. In early September, weeks before the end of the Summer tourism season, Joe was awarded Tour Guide of the Season by Princess Cruise Lines. This award is given to the guide who makes the most impact on their guests, and is truly earned through the voice of the consumer for it is up to them to fill out a tour guide recognition form back on their ship. He is appreciative that his experiences touched the hearts of thousands of guests throughout his guiding career and sums this award up as five years in the making.
Currently, Joe is working on his latest creation, a book about craft or micro-brewed beer. He is traveling to all fifty states and choosing two breweries from each state to highlight in his book. Also, he is writing 100 short stories from his life's experiences to accent the 100 breweries he will have chosen to create a hearty coffee table book for the local beer lover. His travels thus far are 35 states, 100 breweries, and a lifetime of memories. It is his goal to spread the word of dog sledding and the lessons that it can teach, as well as supporting local and sustainable enterprises such as buying and selling locally to reduce our footprint, and leave behind a better world for future generations.
Erin Myers
Erin on her families farm in Virginia.
Born in Roanoke, Va Erin grew up in Burlington, NC where she was active in Girl Scouting and part of a wonderful family who loved to travel. She has visited most of the fifty states, as well as other countries around the world. After her first year of college, she was accepted into the NOLS program and went backpacking and climbing in the Colorado Rockies for a month. In 2009 Erin was hired by Alaska Icefield Expeditions to work on the Mendenhall Glacier as the photographer and tour assistant. She photographed teams leaving the yard, as well as photos of camp life to sell to the guests visiting the glacier. She quickly learned that camp life was more involved than just her job as photographer. She fell in love with the puppies, and even crocheted a little sweater for her favorite of the litter, Noodle. Her love for dogs helped with all of the scooping and watering that went along with daily chores. Since she wasn't taking care of any particular yard, Erin helped out with everyone's dogs and learned much more about sled dogs and how they are cared for. After a summer of glacier life, Erin continued her studies at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC.
It wasn't long after returning home that she stumbled upon an opportunity to learn about bio dynamic farming, and study abroad in India. After two months learning, teaching, and farming, Erin and her friend Sarah spent two more months traveling all around India from south to north taking in as much as she could handle, and at times more than she was expecting. Erin continues to be influenced by Indian culture, and as a fantastic chef, has mastered some of the traditional foods cooked their. After four months in India, Erin returned to Boone and worked hard to finish her degree at ASU.
After four years and working in India and Alaska, Erin received her Bachelors degree in Agroecology with focus on sustainable development. Her families farm in Virginia is one of the places that she plans to start a farm in the future, and is hopeful that she can locally sell meat and vegetables at farmers markets. By decreasing travel costs and producing very fresh food, she hopes that a shift in how we buy our food makes our communities healthier, happier, and more profitable.
More recently, Erin spent Summer 2011 in Juneau, AK handling sled dogs at Gold Rush Sled Dog Tours. Her knowledge from working on the glacier two years before helped her get right into working with dogs, from feeding to harnessing, to driving the cart. It was the perfect opportunity for her to learn about dog mushing from hands on experience. Erin cared for dogs from Suomi hills, MN and worked closely with the dogs owner to learn how he trained his dogs, as well as the sacrifices that go along with that type of lifestyle. In addition to her thirty dogs, Erin was responsible for knowing the other 90 dogs in the kennel, and worked closely with each one throughout the week. Erin's experiences handling sled dogs and growing up with farmers has sculpted her love for all living things and taught her how to get back what you put in.
Erin enjoys photography and has made up a beautiful portfolio of landscape and plant photos. She wants to be able to not only sell meat and produce at farmers markets in the future, but also pictures of where they were before they get to you! Joe and Erin's photography page will be operating towards the end of this winter, and a link will be posted on this page for everyone to enjoy.
It wasn't long after returning home that she stumbled upon an opportunity to learn about bio dynamic farming, and study abroad in India. After two months learning, teaching, and farming, Erin and her friend Sarah spent two more months traveling all around India from south to north taking in as much as she could handle, and at times more than she was expecting. Erin continues to be influenced by Indian culture, and as a fantastic chef, has mastered some of the traditional foods cooked their. After four months in India, Erin returned to Boone and worked hard to finish her degree at ASU.
After four years and working in India and Alaska, Erin received her Bachelors degree in Agroecology with focus on sustainable development. Her families farm in Virginia is one of the places that she plans to start a farm in the future, and is hopeful that she can locally sell meat and vegetables at farmers markets. By decreasing travel costs and producing very fresh food, she hopes that a shift in how we buy our food makes our communities healthier, happier, and more profitable.
More recently, Erin spent Summer 2011 in Juneau, AK handling sled dogs at Gold Rush Sled Dog Tours. Her knowledge from working on the glacier two years before helped her get right into working with dogs, from feeding to harnessing, to driving the cart. It was the perfect opportunity for her to learn about dog mushing from hands on experience. Erin cared for dogs from Suomi hills, MN and worked closely with the dogs owner to learn how he trained his dogs, as well as the sacrifices that go along with that type of lifestyle. In addition to her thirty dogs, Erin was responsible for knowing the other 90 dogs in the kennel, and worked closely with each one throughout the week. Erin's experiences handling sled dogs and growing up with farmers has sculpted her love for all living things and taught her how to get back what you put in.
Erin enjoys photography and has made up a beautiful portfolio of landscape and plant photos. She wants to be able to not only sell meat and produce at farmers markets in the future, but also pictures of where they were before they get to you! Joe and Erin's photography page will be operating towards the end of this winter, and a link will be posted on this page for everyone to enjoy.
King Tut
King Tut
Tut is an Alaskan husky, or so we think, and is about four years old. Not much is known about Tut's past, Joe adopted him from the Newberry animal shelter in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in 2008 after falling in love with his demeanor. After going through the puppy phases of chewing and being a goofball, tut found a new hobby; being a sled dog. He was like any other youngster at first, but caught on quickly and worked his way to the front of the team. After about 300 miles his first winter, Tut was well on his way to becoming a leader.
After his first summer on the glacier in 2008 Tut became a pretty good leader, but it wasn't until he starting long distance training in Willow, AK that he became a confident and strong leader. He isn't built for endurance, he's tall and fast, but still he leads strong for about twenty miles before slowing down into a trot. Though we love the fact he can be a sled dog, Tut is also extremely gentle around people. Because he has met literally thousands of people from all around the world, he doesn't know life to be any different than a good old pat on the back or scratch behind the ears. In Tut's off season, he is a great frisbee catcher and adventurous hiker. He knows several tricks, but his favorite is "speak," which sometimes turns into short sentences, and that is always good for a laugh! Tut is current on all of his rabies vaccinations, and has thankfully never had any injuries while on the job. He is the perfect example of a shelter rescue animal being an outstanding pet. He also is a TV star. Check out him and Ketza pulling Rachael Scdoris around the Mendenhall glacier in this Columbia Commercial.
After his first summer on the glacier in 2008 Tut became a pretty good leader, but it wasn't until he starting long distance training in Willow, AK that he became a confident and strong leader. He isn't built for endurance, he's tall and fast, but still he leads strong for about twenty miles before slowing down into a trot. Though we love the fact he can be a sled dog, Tut is also extremely gentle around people. Because he has met literally thousands of people from all around the world, he doesn't know life to be any different than a good old pat on the back or scratch behind the ears. In Tut's off season, he is a great frisbee catcher and adventurous hiker. He knows several tricks, but his favorite is "speak," which sometimes turns into short sentences, and that is always good for a laugh! Tut is current on all of his rabies vaccinations, and has thankfully never had any injuries while on the job. He is the perfect example of a shelter rescue animal being an outstanding pet. He also is a TV star. Check out him and Ketza pulling Rachael Scdoris around the Mendenhall glacier in this Columbia Commercial.
Ketza
Ketza
Ketza is an Alaskan Husky and is a two time runner of the Yukon Quest, a 1,000 mile race from Whitehorse, YT to Fairbanks, AK. She is nine years old now, and comes from strong blood lines, but we assure you even though she has the reputation of the wildest beasts, it's somewhat of a challenge to keep her off of a couch. After Joe adopted her in 2009, Ketza adapted slowly to life as a pet, and occasionally Joe would find something that she had never seen before, and it was a slow process convincing her that the plastic garbage bag would not attack her.
Now that she has been a pet for two years, she has become a family favorite and has the softest ears you could ever imagine. She is a strong leader,and continues to pull sleds in the summer in Alaska when not sleeping her golden years away. Ketza is up to date on her rabies vaccinations, and is arguably the most docile dog Joe has ever known. She is fantastic around children, and has fallen asleep on the laps of children during a few of Joe's assemblies... guess she'd heard that story before! Ketza looks forward to being pet by your children, and in return she'll give them a kiss or maybe some of her always shedding undercoat!
Now that she has been a pet for two years, she has become a family favorite and has the softest ears you could ever imagine. She is a strong leader,and continues to pull sleds in the summer in Alaska when not sleeping her golden years away. Ketza is up to date on her rabies vaccinations, and is arguably the most docile dog Joe has ever known. She is fantastic around children, and has fallen asleep on the laps of children during a few of Joe's assemblies... guess she'd heard that story before! Ketza looks forward to being pet by your children, and in return she'll give them a kiss or maybe some of her always shedding undercoat!