Questions & Answers Wk 10
Every week Team GoNorth! answers ten questions related to the module topic from student explorers -- so stay tuned and submit YOUR questions!
Yes! On April 11th they joined-up with the team.
You can read about their exciting trip from the US to meet with the Team in the Week 10 Trail Report.
Is Wendy and Aaron on the trail with the huskies yet?
Arianna
Hancock Park Elementary
4th grade Grade
Los Angeles
We move around! We do jumping jacks or ski harder to make our blood flow faster. We get warm from the blood flowing around in our body! When you move fast, like run fast, your heart has to pump your blood faster and that makes you feel warm, maybe even sweaty. Now, for the body to be able to make all that happen it needs energy, and we get energy from what we eat. So the other thing we do is that we eat, like an energy bar or some chocolate. That food is like a burst of heat! Not just for the extra energy to move around but also because our bodies 'burn the food' and that makes us a bit warmer too!
How do you stay warm?
Korey
WDMS
08 Grade
Chicago, IL USA
That's a great question!
While the sun rays are very intense in the Arctic, the temperatures get so low it would be very difficult to use. Also, we cannot predict sunny days... and with how much we need to eat every day so that we can stay warm and maintain our weight and energy, it is very important that we always eat. So we use our gas stoves (which also help to make the tent warm).
We are making solar ovens. Do you ever cook with solar instead of gas?
Lauryn
Neill Elementary
1st Grade
Minnseota, USA
OH! So you saw that in the Week 08 Trail Report huh!
That was another first for the Polar Huskies. It went very quickly and they did it like pros! When we were in there our voices echoed... it was fun!
If you missed it, there are pictures of the Polar Huskies going under the street and through the culvert in the Week 08 Photo Journal and Expedition Movies.
What was it like in the culvert with the Polar Huskies?
Lauryn
Neill Elementary
1st Grade
Minnesota, usa
Hi! It's ME! Beacon.
YES! This trip has been so much fun. I have learned Finnish and Norwegian and I am learning Swedish (I also learned a little Russian last year when we were in Chukotka).
You read my blog every week right??? I LOVE going on these adventures every year and I am still SO EXCITED that I get to blog for you every week!!!
Beacon was it fun?
Lauryn
Neill Elemenatary
1st Grade
Minnesota,usa
The Polar Huskies do not get cold while on-the-job.
Part of what makes a Polar Husky so spectacular and able to handle the temperatures of the Arctic are it's coat and it's paws. Their coat (or fur) is made of two layers that helps to both keep them warm and keep them cool. And their paws are not only very BIG and strong... but they are able to tolerate the temperature extremes without the need for little booties.
Do the dogs get cold while on the job? And if they do, do you stop to take a rest?
Faith
Walt Disney Magnet
4th Grade
4140 N. Marine Dr
People or Dogs? In People Years or Dog Years? (you know, they say 1 year for a dog is equal to 7 years for a person...)
Here is the answer to your question for both! :-)
In People-Years everyone is:
Aaron 36
Aksana 33
Baffin 3
Beacon 5
Disko 8
Freja 9
Goodie 3
Hershey 8
Jupiter 3
Khan 8
Kodiak 3
Lightning 3
Lipton 9
Mille 34
Nazca 9
Paul 46
Rubi 6
Sable 8
Trigger 3
Tucker 6
Wendy 24
In Dog-Years everyone is:
Aaron 252
Aksana 231
Baffin 21
Beacon 35
Disko 56
Freja 63
Goodie 21
Hershey 56
Jupiter 21
Khan 56
Kodiak 21
Lightning 21
Lipton 63
Mille 238
Nazca 63
Paul 322
Rubi 42
Sable 56
Trigger 21
Tucker 42
Wendy 168
How old is your team?
Abel
Walt Disney Magnet School
4th Grade
Chicago, IL
Well, we really can not get the dogs to pull if they do not want to. Really!
With that in mind it is our job to make sure that they want to pull. The easy part is that Polar Huskies by nature love to - live to - pull. They are absolutely crazed about what they do, no matter if they come across as calm, laid back, nuts or flat out wild, they all want to pull.
If a Polar Husky starts to show no enthusiasm for pulling they are retired. That said, as you can imagine we can all get a bit burned out at doing even what we love, especially when it is tough going. The Polar Huskies easily pull month after month, 8-9 hour days in bitter cold temperatures and howling winds up and across mountains, over fields of rocks and through jagged pack ice. Our job as mushers is to keep them happy and excited about pulling. To make them feel like a team and remind them that their every little effort counts. We are much like a football coach or a coach of some other team sport. We need to consider on a daily basis how each dog is doing - how their mood is, and if we can change anything in the team to make the day and every mile on the trail optimal.
Besides from working on who runs where with whom in the team we keep the dogs going by showing them lots of loving and affection, appreciating their hard work. We cannot fool the dogs. If we don't believe it is possible to go forward, they don't believe it either.. and if we are tired and really just want to stop for the day, well then they get to feel the same way. They know when we are happy and when we think the effort could be better, they simply read our body language. And they can hear it in our voices. They know different calls of excitement and that gets them excited, and they use our voices to work as a team. Have you ever heard how a captain on a rowing boat yells to get a rhythm going in the team? We do the same. If we are going up a mountain side we go "Yiiip, Yiiip, Yiiip, Yiiip..." in a rhythm that all the dogs can then fall into and take that extra step to make that sled go up the mountain.
Running a team of Polar Huskies moving the best possible all the time is pretty amazing really - incredibly gratifying and very very hard work.
My question is: how do you get the dogs to listen to you while you are riding along the trail? I mean, do you ever have any issues with communicating with the dogs?
Noelle
Walt Disney Magnet School
8 Grade
Chicago Illinois
Yes, we often call them all sorts of things.
Some of the nicknames are:
AkselBaksel
Beakie
ChuckieChukieChuckChuck
Goodie
Jupi
Lightnight
Lippy
Rrrrrrubi Drruuuuuuuubi girl
Timber-Bimber
Do you have nicknames for the dogs sometimes?
Joanna
Hancock Park
4 Grade
Los Angeles
So so so so SO MUCH FUN! It is a lot of hard work and at night, we are exhausted... but it is totally worth it. We LOVE this.
Are you have fun so far on your trip?
Zsipporah
Hancock Park Elementry School
4th Grade
Hancock Park Elementry
