November 9, 2007 

(The article on me for a National Canadian Website came out this week, but I changed my real name to 'tenzicut")

PRESS RELEASE:

NOVEMBER 6, 2007

Sled Dog Mail Run Celebrates History

When "Tenzicut" first moved to Canada, she made jokes about giving up her car for a dog team. While she hasn’t gone that far, she has surprised herself by becoming a dedicated participant, volunteer and organizer of the annual Gold Rush Trail Sled Dog Mail Run.

It’s no surprise that she will run a dog team again in 2008, when the mail run will kick off BC150 Years celebrations across the province. It’s an ideal BC150 Years event because, as "Tenzicut" says, the mail run keeps B.C. heritage alive.

“I was overwhelmed by the sense of history the first time I ran my dogs into Barkerville. I actually cried.”

From January 24 to 27, dog teams will carry souvenir envelopes over the historic Cariboo Waggon Road, stopping at past and present post offices. The mail run begins in Quesnel, where participants are sworn in as honourary postal carriers for the weekend. From there, participants travel through Barkerville, Cottonwood and Stanley before arriving in Wells, where the envelopes are funnelled into the regular mail system and sent worldwide.

The souvenir envelopes, which are redesigned every year, are sold online, where you can also add a personal message to the recipient. You can also order the envelopes by phone or mail.  

In 2007, the mail run delivered 4,000 letters to 20 different countries with help from 18 dog teams, six cross-country skiers and three skijorers. Skijoring combines cross-country skiing and dog mushing by connecting one or two dogs to a skier with a towline.

"Tenzicut" gives due credit to the dog teams, which range in size from three to 14 dogs.

“We really are a team. Mushing involves a lot of running with the dogs. In fact, the only time you get to ride is when you are going down hill, especially when the snow is soft.”

In addition to the actual journey, mail run events will include overnight camp-outs ("Tenzicut" uses straw under her tent and hot water bottles in her sleeping bag to make it through the night), pancake breakfasts, a community dinner, a catered banquet and a mushers sport competition.

“We have huge support from local communities,” said "Tenzicut". “However, this can be a curse when you slip on ice in front of a cheering crowd, which then gets to watch your dog team drag you across the bridge that leads to Bowron Lake.”

To find information about purchasing envelopes or participating in the Gold Rush Trail Sled Dog Mail Run, visit www.dogsledmailrun.ca.

t is hog butchering day today. The snow, which would have been really nice to keep the hogs clean has developed into yucky mud. The pigs were on my front porch as he was almost here. They got out this morning, by moving those heavy gate pole rails. Just got them back in, just as my friend showed up to help butcher. 

Everything went good and did not take long to do. When each one was done, they got loaded into the back of my pickup to take to the butcher to be cut and wrapped sometime next week. Each one was weighed and each person who owns each individual pig had their name put on them. They will hang for a few days in a huge refrigerator before they get cut and wrapped. These will sure taste good this winter. These hogs were lighter this year than last year. I was never very happy with this batch from the day I brought them home. I do not know if it was the cold, the quality of the pigs or being able to run around and get alot of exercise, but they were about on the average 20 pounds lighter than last years.