First Annual Valley Snow Fest

The First Annual Valley Snow Fest took place this past Sunday, December 2nd.  Organized by the Waterville Valley Region Chamber of Commerce, everyone met at the Campton Info Center for a wagon ride to Rocky River Ranch.  Despite the rain, we had a good crowd, lovely food, a bonfire and the event was in full swing.  For a couple of hours, Valley Snow Dogz gave  sled dog rides around the fun, twisty trail at the Ranch.  Folk could meet and greet the dogz at the trucks and enjoy learning a little about what we do.  The dogz didn't care about the rain and neither did the guests. The sled dog rides were a bit hit and each round of rides had passengers.  Food was provided by the Campton Cupboard, Silver Fox Inn and the Ranch.  It was just excellent and we can't wait for next year. The event will grow each year and we already have thoughts and ideas for the next one.  Thank you to everyone who came out to support the community and local businesses.

2013 Annual Waterville Valley Santa Run

As always, the minute we arrive in Waterville for our Annual Fund Raising Santa Event, winter arrives with a freezing cold blustery wind and snow!

We had a warm welcome from the town and an amazing crowd to welcome Santa, his Elves and Sled Dogz.  The crowd stayed around the trucks and dogz for at least two hours, asking lots of fun questions and interacting with both teams of dogz.  Another really fun event at Waterville Valley.

We were very proud of the Valley Snow Dogz, they did an awesome job and were so calm and well behaved, well done doggies and well done to everyone involved who helped make this fund raising event a huge success!

We look forward to next year.

 

 

Both ATV's were nicely decorated

 

Our very favorite Law Enforcement Officer

Andy

 

 

Lottie from Team Kelim

and she really is a whole lotta dog!



 

Funny picture of Rosie

she looks like she's wearing a napkin

and about to eat dinner!



 

Heading off the road and onto the dirt trail

Bringing Santa into the Town Square

Both teams stood patiently for quite some time!

 

There was quite a crowd around the Valley Snow Dogz
Team Uktousa and Team Kelim

Happy Birthday Beautiful Diva

15 years young!
An amazing lead dog and mamma

Wheeled Sled Dog Rides

Our Campton based wheeled sled dog rides are a lot of fun for families and groups. We have a quaint New England location with exciting, twisty trails, warming hut and evening bonfire to keep you toasty warm while your friends and family join us for an exciting twilight or moonlight ride.

We have a special event this Sunday December 2nd introducing the community to Valley Snow Dogz and Rocky River Ranch here in the Campton, the heart of the White Mountains and Lakes Region. The event starts at 4pm at our local Chamber/Info center in Campton.  Horse drawn wagon ride from the Chamber building to the ranch, meet and greet our Musher Guides and our dogz and watch us harness up the dogs as we take a few guests out for a Sled Dog Ride and memorable experience.

You can call 603-340-2390 for more information!

Happy 7th Birthday Dear Rosie

Love LOVE love my Rosie
She is the keeper of my heart and soul
a mirror that reflects back at me and shows
me all that I need to see about myself
Happy birthday!
and happy birthday to her siblings Ari and Phoenix
at Points Unknown

Juicy thick sausages
as a birthday treat for Rosie and her furry family

A very fun Sunday with Kim, Kelly and Bobby and Team Kelim at the Sandwich Notch Meet and Greet the Mushers!  Despite warmer temperatures, we managed to catch the clouds and things cooled off and the teams had a couple of great runs.  The pups came along for the experience and they handled the event and the visitors like pros. 

The Valley Snow Dogz Head For Sandwich NH

White Feather and Dougie on their First Road Trip

Wishbone and Peanut Sofiel

Heading out with our friends Kim, Kelly and Bobby
Nice pass!

Coming In From Our Training Run



 

 Fantastic day with a group of adventure lovers.

They had no idea they were coming to our home

for a Presentation and Kennel Tour

It was like having family, after a few hrs of talks and dogz

We enjoyed a BBQ together, campfire and some songs!

It really doesn't get much better than this !!

 

 

36 Wonderful New Zealanders

enjoying their surprise visit

with the Valley Snow Dogz

 

 

Dougie, an enormous pup!

Stole everyone's heart

 

White Feather showing off infront of everyone

and oh... gotta kiss Richard too!

She's a quirky, fun and affectionate pup

Everyone loved the pups

 

Our Visitors Enjoy Their Time With The Dogz

 

Yahboo, loving every minute of being loved!
All the dogz handled having almost 40 people
In the dogyard!

 

 

Rosie, always touching people's hearts

 

 

Nellie licks with such affection for a complete stranger

Lovin' Dougie and White Feather on this glorious sunny Fall day

Temperatures are slowly coming down though not as chilly as we are used to for this time of the year. However, soon enough, we'll have some consistent training runs under our paws and we'll be able to settle into a schedule.  Truck is almost complete, gear is clean and ready... we just need a few more bits and pieces and we'll be all set!  Sofiel will be running in harness, can't wait to see how she works out though I have a suspicion that she is going to be a wonderful addition to our teams.

Cookqiz All Muscled Up!

Just weeks after giving birth to the Heffalumps, Cookqiz looks incredible. She bounced back so quickly, her weight is awesome and she has muscled up nicely in preparation for running this season.  I think the addition of our 2 acre play area has really helped condition dogs pre-training in harness.

Richard Takes Off For Alaska!

A WOW experience for Richard as he escorted Jinty, now called Little Lidia or most recently 'Liddy Bug' to her new
family in Fairbanks.  Nita and Josh were superb hosts and we are so thankful to have them as good friends and for the experience they gave Richard.  Richard being Richard, he stained the exterior of their log cabin for them as a thank-you! It took him a while to come back down to earth, here in New Hampshire.  After experiencing big mountains, wide open spaces, daylight till dawn, running dogs at midnight and the general feeling of community, sharing and warm hospitality, well... he's slowly settling back into his life here.  Liddy Bug has a family of wonderful furry companions including her adopted sisters, the 'Bugs' and as soon as the babies that Nita has are old enough to play... the 'Sugar Babies'.  What a life she will have doing tours and running the trails of Alaska.

Richard arrives in Denali park for a 2 day camping experience

Majestic Denali

View Across to Denali

Friends Across Country

Kindred spirits.  Coming together through our love for our dogs and these special old lines.  So heart warming to know that two of our pups have gone to two great homes.  Our dear friend Linda in Minnesota who is so connected with Zola. That was so meant to be and now, Little Lidia has gone to Alaska to live with Nita and Josh and by the photos we've just received, she is in HEAVEN!  So grateful to both of you for loving our little ones and for the friendship.

It's that time of year when we start going through our sledding gear and seeing what needs replacing and what can be repaired.  The dogz have been watching us, they know.... despite the hot, humid temperatures, their natural internal mushing clock tells them we are just a few short weeks away from training and we simply cannot wait! We have a few Valley Snow Dogz functions and events to attend to over the next few months so they will start getting used to traveling once again, in their freshly painted truck boxes.  Besides our sled dog tours and recreation, we hope that winter is kind to us and allows us to train for some races this year.  We've lots of young dogz in harness this season, it's going to be so awesome to work with them and watch them grow.

Zola ... la la!

A vibrant and colorful pup

Big personality and a big girl!

Zola was called Phoebe but is re-named and now Zola and as of yesterday, July 18th, Zola now lives with our good friend Linda Newman from Points Unknown in Minnesota.

Zola is a great representative of Linda's Zulu line and as such, she was the perfect match for Linda's kennel. She is a spectacular puppy!

The Very Beautiful, White Feather

With deep meaning behind her name, she also represents my friendship with Linda Newman, without her, we wouldn't have any Hedlunds in our Kennel today.

Everything about White Feather is rather large and rather gorgeous. A very precious soul, deeply focussed and wonderfully snuggly

Jinty aka Litte Lidia

A fire cracker from the start, first to do anything!

Jinty is going to our good friend Nita in Alaska.

One day as I wrote to Nita and sent her a written description of Jinty,

she wrote back and said the description of Jinty reminded her of me

and so, she said she wanted to name Jinty 'Lidia'

Little Lidia is going to love her Alaska Life.

My Big Beautiful Boy, Dougie

Love LOVE love ! ..... Dougie

Everything about him is big

big feet, big body, big coat, big head

big ears, big personality... big heart

He feels like all my malamutes all rolled into one

Now, Dougie isn't a Malamute but he has that big dog spirit

Puppies At 3 Weeks Old

We are in puppy heaven right now.  4 gorgeous, quite hefty puppies.  All four look very different.  They have big coats, infact, everything about them is oversized. They look older than they are. Each time I weigh them, they are significantly heavier than Daisy's litter and bigger than any litter that Linda Newman has had to date.  Could just be that Cookqiz has fatty milk or maybe, they're just big puppies, or maybe..... they'll be big adults!  It's certainly in their genes that's for sure.  It's wonderful to have the puppies here in the living room. The whelping box fits right in and we get to be with them a lot.  It won't be long though before they move outdoors so that they can stretch out and have plenty of room to run around.

My boy Dougie, everything about Dougie is huge..his body, his paws, his personality, his aura.  Love this boy so much! He makes me laugh so much.  I feel all of my past malamutes all rolled into him.  I sense them all through his personality.  He's stayin' !

!

A cutie!  This is Jinty.  such a pretty little star.  Confident little girl, well.. not so little, just smaller than her siblings. She is first at everything and was first to be born!  Jinty is going to live with our friend, Nita, in Alaska.

Precious Fergie.  A hefty female. Sweet and very low key. There's an old soul spirit with this girl. It was an instant bond between the two of us.

Big girl Phoebe at 3 wks.  She looks so like her mamma Cookqiz and will be going to live with our good friend Linda Newman in Minnesota where her mamma came from. She's so beautiful, very affectionate and a good sized female!

Cookqiz x Tumac Puppies Born May 15th

Cookqiz has been outstanding and has really surprised me.  She is such a smart dog and so well behaved that she broke her waters outdoors and not in the house.  She started delivering at 4am
in the morning and was pretty timely with each pup being born within an hour of the previous pup.  We love to whelp puppies in our living room where we can easily keep an eye on them and mom.  It's such a great experience and being able to have them here with us rather than outdoors, makes it more enjoyable.  We tend to spend a lot of time handling and holding the wee ones, it's hard not to when they are right here next to us.

Cookqiz had 4 puppies. 3 girls and 1 boy.  They all look so different and I already see a mix of the two lines that are in this breeding. 

Jinty @ 7 Days Old

Fergie @ 7 Days Old

Dougie @ 7 Days Old

Phoebe @ 7 days old

Last Week Of Running?

This might well be our last week running unless we get some cooler temperatures again here in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  Cookqiz has just a couple of weeks to go before the impending birth of her puppies.  Great timing as we will have lots of time to snuggle and raise the little ones before training starts up again as we head towards another season of Valley Snow Dogz sled dog excursions.  She is looking great, a little roundness to her belly which also seems to have dropped, but she doesn't look big at this point.  She seems aware I think of her state of being and is taking things nice and easy in the dogyard.  Slowly she'll be coming in the house more and more and settling into her whelping box, I hope.... though when Daisy mamma was having babies she really wanted them on the sofa!

Should Be Muddy!

In one  way we are grateful for dry trails so training is not so muddy this spring, but the trail is hard and dusty.  Mushing in New Hampshire seems to take on a different look at each part of the season.  Our Fall training was almost always experienced in the rain or at least with very muddy trails.  Didn't stop the dogs from barking up a storm and howling with glee.  Then the winter Sled Dog excursions in Waterville Valley finally got underway with a decent snow base and the frequent snow flurries and cold temperatures kept things moving along quite nicely.  Then winter left us early and our sled dog excursions came to a halt, but because of the lack of snow, mud season didn't hang around too long and so we were back up and mushing again.  We are keeping the dogs running and working on new leaders for next season's Sled Dog adventures in the glorious White Mountains

Sofiel's First Run In Harness

We had a terrific afternoon with Brock Groombridge, the Adventure Coach from www.backpackwithbrock.com   Brock was making a tour of New Hampshire and the folk from New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism Development (www.VisitNH.gov) asked us to be part of his tour and to host him.  So we did.  Brock was a natural with the dogs.  We spent quite a lot of time in the dogyard and a lot time talking dogs, mushing, travel and blogging.  We just didn't want Brock and his mother to leave so we made sure to pass along an invitation to come visit us again soon.  Hopefully next time the temperature will be favorable for a sled dog excursion with Brock!  Check out his post on FB
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Valley-Snow-Dogz-LLC/286639864715116?ref=tn_tnmn  What a gifted and remarkable young man!  We loved Brock !

Sofiel At Almost 8 Months

Here's my peanut. she's a cute and built like a tank!  Love her to pieces, okay.. so I love them all to pieces.  She's a little star and loved by everyone.  Smart little monkey. Very playful and totally devoted.  Her preference is to be carried whenever possible and of course, I oblige .She's an awesome pup from Alaska.  She's a Bassich Husky with amazing blue eyes.  She'll be ready for her role on the team and also with The Valley Snow Dogz in Waterville Valley and other White Mountain Adventures.

Sofie learns some trail manners by sharing a bowl of water with Daisy.  My two lovely huskies, both from Alaska from pretty awesome lines.

Righty?  Lefty?  Righty?  who knows, time will tell for Sofie. But she did end up running back on the left side of the gangline.  Her she is next to her mamma, Daisy.

By Mile 2 Sofie was running like an adult, quite happy in the middle of the team and alongside her buddies.  It was like having Tisha back with us.  Tisha was peanut with a big desire to run and pull. She was a remarkable Malamute and we miss her.  I know that Sofie is going to be leading before too long as she is confident little soul and a curious one at that!

Winter Is Back!

Winter came late and then it left early and summer showed up.  At least the heat dried everything out and gave us a kick start with dogyard chores.  Cold temperatures have since returned 'Yay' and we are back out on the trail.  Pups are now taking their turn in lead and soon the youngest of them all, Sofiel... will be in harness too.  She's a fire cracker that one so I just can't wait to get her onboard.  Cookqiz is still running as she is  in the early stages of pregnancy (we hope).  Such perfect timing as she will have the summer to tend to her babies and recover before we kick off the season again Sept 1st.    If temperatures allow, we will run through April and into May.  The semi-retired dogs will be out running this week too so that just leaves Diva who will be 15 years old this year and still in good shape. She enjoys her walks around the property and lots of snuggle time.  She looks great!!  Love my Diva girl.

Update!

As I sit here and post photos and write up memories from this past winter, I'm also very excited to announce that we just bred Cookqiz with Tumac. Puppies should be born around May 10th, 2012.  They should be awesome puppies as both adults are really quite spectacular.  From Tumac's deep Hedlund Heritage and old school Reddington and Mackey way back in the line to Cookqiz's Beargrease and Susan Butcher lines. Stay tuned for more updates!!

 

Awww, love this photo.  We all felt safe and snuggly running dogs late into the night at Waterville Valley NH.  Nestled deep in the White Mountains on National Forest land, a winter wonderland for sure and such perfect timing as winter didn't share much of its snow with us this season, but it did on this night.  Such a lovely night.  The smiles say it all!

What a view!  We all had such a great day together.  Really didn't want the day to end.