Q & A with Rohn Buser
September 5, 2024
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Location: Points Unknown, Hovland, Minnesota, USA
Occupation: Entrepreneur. Outdoor Adventure business & Beeswax Candle crafting
Next Adventure: Training FIVE puppies in harness in the fall and navigating the new CDC regulations for getting dogs back into the US after an evening dog training class in Canada just up the road.
Linda Newman lives remotely in Northern Minnesota with a pack of sled dogs and offers unique experiences for our guests to experience the splendor of living off-grid and adventuring.
In 31 years with working dogs, 24 of which have been in sled dogs, I have never raced. I most enjoy the silence of solitude with the dogs. But I also enjoy educating guests about these special traditional sled dogs and how to allow them to live their best lives as good sled dog ambassadors, sled pets, and working dogs.
In Denali National Park.
When folks ask if I’m going to run Iditarod and if all the dogs have names. Then, of course this is where education comes in.
The peacefulness of the wilderness.
You get to have a good life too, as it relates to having a dog that is not a fit for you and your kennel. This is also along the same line as putting the dogs FIRST. If you are frustrated because a dog isn’t fitting into your particular kennel culture, imagine how the dog is feeling. If you are frustrated and not appreciating the dog as he/she should be appreciated then it is not fair to you or to the dog to keep things as they are after you have both given it a fair chance. It is, however, your responsibility then to search for the perfect placement for that particular dog to bring out the best in them so they can live their happiest and most fulfilling life.
A 75lb toboggan freight sled made by the same builder of Will Steger’s expedition sleds, Mike Falls.
Thinking that my body would want to cooperate with my sense of adventure as I grew older. But now that I know, I’m on top of it!
That it is necessary to NOT follow the crowd. Do what is best for you and your dogs because we’re all different. Find your own path.
Finding time away from a busy dog sledding tour business is necessary for the funds that this dream trip would require.
Make sure the dogs are your first priority. Then, with that trust and respect you’ve built, you’ll be able to do whatever you set out to do, together.
Hearing from guests how well-behaved and how well cared for our dogs are.
Before, and in the infancy of the tour business, I did various camping trips into the BWCA and one big trip on Lake Nipigon in Ontario. I recall the most challenging being my very first time navigating in the BWCA which happened to be during a wet snowstorm, while I was suffering from a horrendous sinus infection. Not a pleasant combination but the dogs and scenery were spectacular.
Living remotely and off-grid, it is being in a situation where a dog is in trouble and I’m not able to get them the veterinary help they need soon enough.
EVERYTHING tastes better on the trail. I once brought a small propane stove/oven combination out on a BWCA day trip and we had fresh cinnamon rolls right on the lake.
Spending time silently in the woods with the dogs.
Place a dog too far away to effectively enforce their adoption contract should I ever discover things aren’t as they should be.
