Cold Nights: Fast Trails : Reflections of a Modern Dog Musher

by Dave Olesen

Describes the attraction and joys of dog sled racing, as well as breeding techniques, training regimens and the experience of an actual race

224 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1989

About the author

Dave Olesen grew up in small-town Illinois. He has a B.A. in Humanities and Northern Studies. A veteran dog musher, he finished the daunting Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race eight times. Olesen immigrated to Canada in 1987. He lives on Great Slave Lake with his wife, Kristen, their two daughters, forty-three huskies, and a ninety-year-old Danish sailboat. He works as a bush pilot and guide.

Reviews

[Stephen Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love sledding books like this one!

[Avid Series Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cold Nights: Fast Trails by Dave Olesen describes how it feels to be a dog musher in the 1980s in Canada and Alaska. Using firsthand anecdotes, he describes the dreams and disappointments, crises and triumphs. The book is organized into 14 chapters followed by a glossary of dog mushing terms. Rather than a chronological narrative, each chapter has a theme, such as daily training, puppies, wolves, memorable dogs, traveling to races, and Dave's rookie Iditarod. He calmly and objectively describes what must have been the most frightening experiences of his life: acute appendicitis while on a wilderness trip, and being stranded in a blizzard at Topkok. His book shares many facets of the dog mushing lifestyle, for the vast majority of people who will never experience it.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever think about the dog's in famous paintings and what would happen if they came out and then got stuck in the wrong pictures? Fun story with real art dogs!

[Terry Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

favorite book of all time.