Mussie

Day 207: She was Clark to my Lewis, Watson to my Holmes. She was a full harness of Huskies pulling Robert Service through the savage Yukon night. We climbed Mt. Everest together, journeyed to the center of the Earth with Jules Verne and sailed to Polynesia with Thor Heyerdahl, sought the poles alternately with Scott or Christopher Robin as our expedition leader. No matter where the adventure might take us, I had only to suggest it and Mussie was by my side, stepping into her role.

A highly imaginative child, my forays into terra incognita nearly always occurred in some section of unmapped forest near my home. In those days, parents didn't worry about their children's safety as much as they do now. I'd already proved my woodsmanship at age 6 when my mother got us lost on a trailless ramble. As the sun sunk low in the sky and I kept insisting, "Mama, I can get us out," she gave in and let me lead. I brought us straight to the road with the unerring sense of direction which still stands me in good stead. Turning me loose with a lunch, a pocketknife and the injunction to be home for dinner, my mom helped set me on the path toward the outdoor lifestyle which is now my signature, and Mussie was often my only companion.

I've done a lot of post-processing to restore this sketch. The paper has long since gone to a yellowed grey. It is arguably the best of any of my artistic attempts, and certainly one done with a great love for my subject. I was 11 when I drew it, Mussie posing on my bed, and surely anxious to discover where we'd be off to in the morning.