Sunday the 30th: Denali National Park, Alaska
The rain continued and the cold really started in. A typical night involves us wearing full fleece outfits and wool hats to bed. Our sleeping bags are definitely being put to the test. Nights average about forty degrees.

Spent most of the day in the tent but decided to brave the rain to see the parks sled dogs. The park does not use vehicles to monitor its six million acres in the winter; it uses dog sleds. They have a full kennel with about fourteen dogs. The breeds are mixed and are really more about ability and friendliness than blood line.

In the summer, the park gives very short demonstrations on running a sled and information about how they care for the dogs. Basically, the dogs are in their kennels until they are given the opportunity to pull the sled. The dogs definitely go crazy to pull. If they're not picked to run, they jump up on their kennels and bark and moan. You can only imagine the force they pull at when they do get the opportunity. Just to give you an idea of how excited they get when the trainer picks them, they have to carry the dog by its collar with its front paws in the air so they don't sprint off.