A
word about 
your
Hosts
and
Guides on your dog
sledding trip
We began running adventure dog sled trips after many years in the
Alaska wilderness. Starting our sledding with a small team as a
hobby which has grown to involve our who family.
Here is a little background information on our family of 3 and
our dogs: We are Wayne and Scarlett Hall, son Garf and 30some
friendly, energetic huskies. We began mushing as a hobby more than
15 years ago with our own dog and a few borrowed dogs. It
quickly led to a breeding program of raising our own sled dogs.
Each dog is special, each dog has a name and a personality, and
each dog on its own could make someone a wonderful pet. Our
dogs are raised as part of a happy family. They work hard
for us all winter and they get their playtime in the summer.
They love to take walks, go for rides in the boat and runs thru
the forests, heck even meeting up with the occasional porcupine,
which for them is a blast, at least for a few minutes!
Each dog is taught from a pup to come to its name, to sit and to
whoa (stay). So we do not hesitate to let them loose to run
around because we know that they will come when called and are very
happy to do so.
Once we had developed our own sled dog teams we began yearly adventures
into remote Alaska. For up to 3 months, the three of us would
be totally isolated in interior Alaska. Dependant only on
ourselves and the dogs. We had no outside communication and
the dogs were our transport, to haul our supplies and us from one
remote site to another. It was during these years that we
learned our survival skills, because our lives actually did depend
on our skills and ourselves. There was no one out there to
bail us out, no trail to follow, and no safe route to take.
We put in our own trails over miles and miles of wilderness forests
and jumbled river ice.
We decided to put our skills and dogs to the test and Wayne ran
in the 2002 Yukon Quest becoming the first musher, in the history
of the race, to finish with all 14 dogs and received the Challenge
of the North Award for his finish.
Our dogs have proved over and over again their
loyalty and love. We have guided, just the two of us, for a number
of years and are pleased to be adding a third guide, Matt Emslie,
whose lifestyle and beliefs are so similar to ours.
“My greatest passion has always
been the outdoors. After experiencing diverse landscapes, I
have come to find my home, here in the Alaskan Bush. Here, with
my dogs, I find a great satisfaction and joy of life. By living
remote and following a simple lifestyle I am fulfilling a lifelong
dream. It is heartening to know that I create very little impact
on my surroundings and the landscape that gives me so much.
This is my contribution to our world.” —Matt Emslie
For those of you interested in learning some
cold water survival skills here are two sites that have information
you might need for yourself or to pass along to someone.
http://www.exn.ca/video/?Video=exn20020325-icewater.asx/
http://www.yukonman.com/cold_water.asp
CONTACT: For more information and/or
questions e-mail us at bushalaskaex@starband.net
or bush_alaska_expeditions@hotmail.com ask for our brochure
or write us at: Bush Alaska Expeditions, P O Box 161, Eagle,
AK 99738. No incoming phone calls due to the remote location
but there is Internet access via satellite. Phone calls can
be arranged via computer and satellite.
OCT-NOV-DEC each year finds us at our
American Summit Base Camp. Our internet access is limited
to once every 7 to 10 days. Please contact us with any questions
but also be aware that during that period you may not receive a
reply for a period of time depending on weather and travel conditions.
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