Interested In Mushing? Jack Christopher Will Give You A Ride
MONTICELLO, Minn. (WCCO) -- It's been a tough year for dog mushers. Typically the dogs need a decent amount of snow to pull a sled. But one musher in Monticello is packing his weekends by finding a way to give families and kids a ride anyway.
Just give Jack Christopher from Silent Run Adventures a couple of huskies and a sled and he'll show you how to truly celebrate winter.
"I've been running sled dogs for close to 20 years," Christopher said.
His love of mushing stems from his love of huskies.
"I was a senior at St. Cloud State when I picked up my first husky, which was a Samoyed," he said. "Most of my first huskies were rescues."
Now Christopher breeds his own. His current litter of 20 is a vocal bunch. They're in a constant state of yelping waiting to get hooked up to the sled.
"They're just excited while they're waiting, they don't like to wait, but once I pull the hooks you don't hear a sound out of them, they'll just run," he said.
With the lack of snowfall this winter, the huskies might be getting a little cabin fever.
"It's been tough, I've had enough snow just to get by at my events," Christopher said. "When I'm running on grass like in my pasture I can get by on scant snow, if I'm running on the river that's well froze I can get by on scant snow."
While the furless type may prefer a mild winter, the dogs don't.
"Thirty degrees and sunshine is a bad combination," Christopher said. "They love to run when it's zero degrees, it's perfect for them."
Through his company Silent Run Adventures, Christopher is able to give all ages rides at winter festivals across the state.
"I can run 250 people in about four hours," he said.
This weekend you can have a chance to get a ride with Christopher and his huskies. The Kidarod is a first-of-its-kind race for kids ages 7-17 that includes snowshoeing, trail-running and hill-climbing. Christopher will be giving rides to racers and their families.
It all takes place this Saturday, Feb. 28 at Fish Lake Regional Park in Maple Grove.
For more information, click here.