The Sled

There comes a time where something starts to make you think about the past. Today was one of those days for me. You see, today was the day I started taking some of the parts off the sled that was given to me last week. Some of the parts were put on after it was purchased and some bolts haven't been touched since Frank Hall made it sometime in the 70's. The parts that were later put on for the original driver of the sled were also put on in the 70's. This sled is nearly as old as I am if not older, and the dogs that pulled it have long since passed. One of the original owners of the sled was the person who handed it down for another shot to run on the snow, and come this winter it will be back on the snow. It's still in great condition and there isn't anything some sandpaper and varnish won't be able to do for this sled, but I know I will be thinking of the person who once rode this sled. When I picked up this sled last Friday I was stoked, it's not easy to come across a sled in southern California. I didn't realize what I was really in store for. I arrived at the residence and a really nice elderly gentleman named Chuck answered the door. He took me to his garage and showed me not only the sled, but a beautiful picture of his wife Fern on the sled with 5 German Shepherds in x-back harnesses pulling the sled. He talked about how much fun they had running their dogs. He talked about their races that they participated in and what an amazing thing it is to stand on a set of runners behind a dog team. The one thing that hasn't changed is that it is still an amazing thing to stand on a set of runners behind a team, the sound of just the runners as they glide along the snow, surrounded by trees that have been dusted with the last snowfall, there is really nothing that can describe it. It will take a little time to sand down the sled and varnish it up, but is going to be a lot of fun.