Dogs on the Trail: A Year in the Life

by Blair Braverman, Quince Mountain

Overview

A delightful photographic journey into a year in the life of a team of sled dogs, based on Braverman’s wildly popular Twitter feed.

When Blair Braverman started posting pictures of her dog team on Twitter, she had no idea the response she would get. Being a musher, after all, isn’t just about racing—raising dogs from puppyhood to retirement (and beyond) is a full-time job. She and her husband, musher Quince Mountain, wanted to share stories about life with their dog team. And not just the big stuff, like expeditions and wild animal encounters, but also the everyday things: the challenge of storing a thousand pounds of raw meat, scouting new trails with the dogs, the decisions that go into putting a team together, how she trains puppies to be brave. These were goofy stories, scary stories, heartfelt stories, stories that clearly connected with people and kept going viral.

Inspired by those connections, Dogs on the Trail is a chronicle of a year in the life of their dog team. Beginning in the fall as the weather starts to cool, training on both dry land and in the snow, then camping and racing. Spring brings mud—lousy for sledding, but the dogs love it. And summer is the season of puppies. The book ends on a beginning, in anticipation of the adventurous lives that the new pups have in store.

An irresistible adventure, Dogs on the Trail will delight and entertain while taking you inside a musher’s world, and showing you why the wilderness isn’t simply a place to visit but also a home to return to.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063066267
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	11/16/2021
Pages:	144
Sales rank:	387,844
Product dimensions:	7.60(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

BLAIR BRAVERMAN is a writer, dogsledder, and adventurer who uses innovative storytelling to make the outdoors accessible. She is the author of Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube, a contributing editor to Outside magazine, and a contributor to The New York Times, Vogue, This American Life, and elsewhere. She lives in the northwoods with her husband, Quince Mountain, and their team of sled dogs.

Quince Mountain has written for the New York Times and elsewhere about gender, religion, and the outdoors. He’s been a survivalist on Discovery’s Naked and Afraid and was the first openly transgender musher in the Iditarod. He lives with his wife and their sled dogs in Wisconsin. 

Editorial Reviews

This beautifully photographed book is a small treasure…. For dog lovers, armchair dogsledders, and those who love adventure and survival stories or stunning nature photography.” — Library Journal

“Truly gorgeous…. Guaranteed to please…. While strictly light-hearted, this chronicle is rich in facts about all aspects of mushing, sled dogs, racing, and terrain." — Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube — ///

“Her descriptions of the natural world are arresting, and powerfully convey her conviction that ‘how to be cold’ means ‘how to live.’” — The New Yorker

“As a storyteller and a stylist, Braverman is remarkably skilled, with a keen sense of visceral detail that borders on sublime. Her ability to draw readers into heart-pounding action sequences is what makes the book so courageous and original as a travel narrative and a memoir of self-discovery.” — The New York Times Book Review

“Remarkable. . . . It’s amazing to watch as she develops backbone and grit, determined not to let anyone or anything stand between her and the icy landscape she loves so much.” — Entertainment Weekly

“Braverman left her California home at 18 to learn dog sledding in Norway. As she chronicles in this bold adventure memoir, she’s returned again and again to the coldest places on earth in search of a fearlessness frequently off-limits to women.” — O, the Oprah Magazine

“An enchanting memoir of exploration and adventure, self-discovery and self-doubt. . . . Ice Cube hugs everything tight, turning experiences exotic and fearsome into moments tenderly funny and pure.” — Buzzfeed

From the Publisher

Her descriptions of the natural world are arresting, and powerfully convey her conviction that ‘how to be cold’ means ‘how to live.’

The New Yorker

An enchanting memoir of exploration and adventure, self-discovery and self-doubt. . . . Ice Cube hugs everything tight, turning experiences exotic and fearsome into moments tenderly funny and pure.

Buzzfeed

As a storyteller and a stylist, Braverman is remarkably skilled, with a keen sense of visceral detail that borders on sublime. Her ability to draw readers into heart-pounding action sequences is what makes the book so courageous and original as a travel narrative and a memoir of self-discovery.

The New York Times Book Review

Braverman left her California home at 18 to learn dog sledding in Norway. As she chronicles in this bold adventure memoir, she’s returned again and again to the coldest places on earth in search of a fearlessness frequently off-limits to women.

the Oprah Magazine O

Remarkable. . . . It’s amazing to watch as she develops backbone and grit, determined not to let anyone or anything stand between her and the icy landscape she loves so much.

Entertainment Weekly

Praise for Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube

///

Her descriptions of the natural world are arresting, and powerfully convey her conviction that ‘how to be cold’ means ‘how to live.’

The New Yorker

12/17/2021

People are fascinated by sled dogs and mushing—witness the incredible popularity of TV shows set in Alaska. This beautifully photographed book is a small treasure in which Braverman (Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube) and her husband Mountain capture a year in the life of their dogsledding team, based in Northern Wisconsin. They show the backbreaking labor of feeding their dogs thousands of pounds of meat and supplements, along with the unimaginable joy of riding the rails of a sled propelled by ecstatic, bounding dogs whose primary pleasure is to be out in the snow, pulling something heavy. The dogs are cherished individually, and readers can admire their quirks and unique foibles while appreciating their stamina, conditioning, and athleticism as they run in sync through the snow pulling sleds or other equipment. Braverman and Mountain do a remarkable job of demonstrating just how special these Alaskan Huskies are, and how their half-wild nature can help them successfully adapt to life as a house pet when they retire from sled-dog responsibilities. VERDICT For dog lovers, armchair dogsledders, and those who love adventure and survival stories or stunning nature photography.—Susan Riley, formerly at Mamaroneck P.L., NY

Library Journal