It's in the Details

My last post I felt wasn’t detailed enough to give you a good idea of what exactly it is that I am doing up here in Hetta so I am taking the time to give you a more in depth look into my daily routine.

Each morning I try to wake up at 6.  I never make it.  So around 6:30 I roll out of bed, grab some grub and a strong cup of coffee, put on as many layers as necessary for the day’s temp, and trudge out the door.  I then walk for 30min until I arrive at Anna and Pasi’s house.  To begin I prep the food for all of the dogs down on the farm and then drag the food and water on sleighs down to the cages and kennels where all of the dogs sleep and play until training time.  I then go around and feed all of the amazing huskies and poop their general area not only for their sake but also to make the farm presentable for incoming clients.  This is the best time to really get to know the dogs because for the remainder of the day I am too busy to stop and play with them.

After breakfast, we typically train two sets of huskies, averaging about 56 dogs in the morning with the rest doing 10K runs in the afternoon.  This is both the most challenging and the most rewarding part of the day.  It is challenging for several reasons beginning with the actual preparation of each dog team.  A team can range any where from 4 dogs/sleigh to 10 or 12 dogs/sleigh.  Larger teams require a more experienced driver as the dogs are quite strong and it is easy to lose control of a sleigh if you don’t know how to handle it correctly.  We are currently putting 6 or 8 dog teams together.  This is difficult because you really have to know each dog’s character, what their strength and weaknesses are and who they get along with in order to make a cohesive team.  As I have only been here a week, I obviously don’t know the dogs well enough to make teams on my own, but I do help collect the dogs, harness them and get them in line in the correct order.  This is hard work because, as I said, the dogs are very strong and some really don’t get along so you have to be conscientious about which path you are taking through the kennels in order to avoid any unneeded fights.

Once all of the teams are made, the guides pair up for each team and head out for a 8-10K run, switching out driving every 2-3 loops.  There is nothing more exhilarating than driving a dog sleigh.  You have to be in tune with your entire body and you really have to understand the maneuver of the sleigh to do a good job at driving, but once you get these basics down, wow!  And the scenery in this part of Finland is unbelievable.  Everything is covered in snow, the trees are dripping with pure white sparkles and the air is clean and crisp.  It is a “Disney candy land” as one guide described it and I have to agree.  Riding in the sleigh is also great because you have more of an opportunity to really take in your surroundings.

When we are done with training in the afternoon it is time for the evening feeding and pooping, then we prep for the following day and if we are really lucky we are home by 7.  Somebody comes up with a plan for a quick-fix dinner and then it’s typically off to bed unless someone was nice enough to buy a bottle of wine.

And that’s my day!  Any questions?  Hahaha…it really is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I am trying to soak it up as much as possible.  So far the sunrise and sunset are my favorite part of the day.  There are always just a few clouds in the sky to glow brilliant shades of soft pink, orange and gold.  The sun never gets very high so these colors last for nearly the entire day, only changing with different degrees of saturation.  The morning is always more spectacular because it usually snows a little during the night so everything has a fresh layer of pure white perfection.  Breathtaking doesn’t quite describe it.  I think magical is a better word…

Week 1: My How the Time Flies

Today is the first day I have felt normal in some time now.  Apart from achilles tendinitis, I am adjusting to the work schedule fairly rapidly.  Every day is different from the one before but one thing is very consistent...I love it here!  It is a winter wonderland to the T and the experiences I have had in my first week pose great expectations for the months ahead.  Time is moving a bit slow at the moment since I am still trying to adjust to the weather and the work but I know by the time I leave it will feel as if I arrived only yesterday.

At the moment things are a bit hectic because Anna and Pasi (the owners of Hetta Huskies) are acquiring an additional husky farm that is in pretty rough shape.  This means more work for all of us as we are now trying to manage two farms with clients arriving in only 2 weeks!  It is difficult but immensely enjoyable at the same time.  By far sledding/training is my favorite part of the day.  It is a great way for me to interact with the dogs and really learn all of their different characters.  Right now Bino and Atlas are my favorite dogs but I have only been here 1 week so I am trying to give everyone an opportunity to win the spot of Emily's Favorite Husky.  I am also learning how to cross country ski at the moment which I think I am really going to form an attachment to.  It is just so nice to be in a place with a real winter season!

I feel like I have so many things to tell you all about, but I am too exhausted to think of them!  I promise my next post will have a bit more detail but for now I am going to head home and start cooking some grub for the 9 guides that are now here!  Much love to everyone and check back for an update soon!

Emily

First Day on the Farm

Wow.  I am so unbelievably tired right now.  Today is by far the hardest physical day I have ever lived through.  I started the morning with a brisk 30min walk to the farm from the guide house followed by the feeding and pooping of all 87 dogs.  This took up most of the morning since I was quite slow at the pooping part.  I just couldn’t help but to stop and play with each dog.  They are all so wonderful!  I think that Mars and Pluto are two of my favorites so far.  After the morning work we all had lunch together in the farm house.  Pasi’s parents are staying with us for the winter and his mother had made a great dish with carrots, onions and meat.  After lunch it was back to work.  Lotti actually took me training today so I got to harness a team and go for a few rides through the surrounding woods.  It was the experience of a lifetime.  I can’t believe I am going to get to do this everyday for the next 3 months!  It is difficult and will take some time to master but I already love it!  We took out two teams, the first one composed of Arvi and Max as leads, Pluto and Elvis as swing and Jopi and Ponde as wheel dogs, the second composed of Princess and Diva as leads, Mars and Elle as swing and Lassie and Peanut as wheel dogs.  It is going to take me some time to learn everyone’s name and personality but I feel like I got a good start today.  Lotti and I also saw a pack of reindeer while we were out sledding.  It was truly a magical day.  Once we were done with training it was time for one more feeding and pooping before the 30min walk back home.  I really did not want to walk back home by the end of the day!  It is all very strenuous but rewarding work and it is unbelievable how strong the dogs are!  I am so glad I came even though I know my body is going to ache in ways it never has by tomorrow morning!  It is worth the pain though! 

Well as I said I am ridiculously tired so I’m off to bed.  I will send another update when I get a chance!  Much love to everyone in the slightly warmer US…it was -22C this morning…)

Arrival

I am finally in Hetta after 4 days of travel.  I spent one day in Rovaniemi and took the bus up to Hetta this morning.  Luckily my bus driver knew where Hetta Huskies was along the road so I was able to get off right across from my new home.  Once I arrived I met Tim, a British volunteer who is an expert builder or so I’m told.  After that was Hamish, also British, Kierra who is Irish, Lotti who is Belgian, and Martin who I’m not quite sure about.  They all seem pleasant enough though everyone is very tired.  I’m sure I will feel the same once I start work tomorrow.  Lotti seems to be the one in charge of all the guides.  She has been here for 3 winters now so she knows basically everything about the operation of the farm and winter safaris.  She is all business I feel, but I like that.  She showed me around the farm a bit, took me to see the dogs and then we went to the new guide house which is very nice.  I think I am really going to enjoy my time here.

A Snag in the Master Plan

Well I wasn’t expecting to give an update so soon, but thanks to my overnight stay in the Helsinki airport I have plenty of time on my hands to give a quick update.  All of my flights have been great.  I slept the entire way to England and on the 3 hour flight to Helsinki so I feel pretty good.  Unfortunately I found out at passport control in Helsinki that regulations have changed for the Schengen States (the 25 EU Member States who signed an agreement to open their borders and drastically reduce passport control between neighboring countries) and therefore you are now allowed only 90days per each 180day period in the entire Schengen region!  This was very unexpected because the previous policy was 90days/180day period for each country, not the entire region.  So my travel plans are going to have to change quite a bit unless I can some how persuade the Finnish Consulate to grant me a long-stay visa typically reserved for work and study….only time will tell.  The good news is that I can go back to England and Ireland, two countries that have refused to join the Schengen Agreement, thank god, and stay in each of those countries for a period of 90days.  By then my next 180day period in the Schengen states will be renewed and I should be able to return.  It’s ridiculously complicated.  What happened to the good ol’ days when you could backpack across Europe for a year hassle free?  Damn terrorism.  Someday maybe humans will evolve past this heated conflict phase and travel will be unlimited around the world…what a fantastic yet impossible dream.

Day 1-Traveling to the Last Great Wilderness in Europe

Hello Everyone!

I am starting this blog so that all of my friends and family who are interested in my upcoming adventures can keep tabs on where I'm going, what I'm doing and basically what happens to me over the next 10 months.  Today I depart for London after which I will make the long journey up to Hetta in the Laplands, Finland.  For the next 4 months I will be working as a guide for huskie-sledding in the Enontekio region.  Jealous?  Don't be.  The average temperature during the winter months is -20C.  Brrrrrrr!  But I will have 8 new huskie puppies to keep me warm at night!  I will post an update as soon as I'm settled.  Until then...

Emily the Traveler