A dilemma may be defined as a problem involving a difficult choice. Yes, that indeed sums up the situation I faced.
Last time I mentioned I was offered the assistant kennel manager position rather than guide at Snowy Owl Sled Dog Tours. Since I had heard absolutely nothing from the Conservation Canines (CK-9) program, it would have made sense to just accept the offer rather than potentially get stuck with nothing. However, I had a number of reasons for hesitating to accept the offered job.

1. All winter I would have watched the guides take the dogs and sleds to Spray Lakes Provincial Park for the day, leaving me behind to do yard chores.
2. The Canmore/Banff area is notoriously expensive for food, housing, etc.
3. I would have needed to bother someone for a ride- assuming we worked the same days – or purchased my own car.
4. With a high cost of living, student loans, and a lower than ideal paycheck, I thought I’d never relax enough to spend some money for fun now and then. Knowing me, I would have always wondered how much I really was saving.
5. For whatever reason,  I just didn’t feel I belonged in the Bow Valley.

Yet even with that list of reasons to turn down the offer, I knew it made sense to just take the job.

So I didn’t.

Because working as a dog handler or orienteer for CK-9s seemed like such a good match for my interests and qualifications, I didn’t want to tell Snowy Owl yes or no without talking to CK-9s first. I was completely honest with Snowy Owl regarding my situation, and luckily they were very understanding and gave me some time to respond.
I called the CK-9 office in Eatonville, WA, fully expecting to leave an after hours message asking about the status of my application. Boy was I caught off guard when the program coordinator answered the phone! With baited breath, I asked how close he was to making hiring decisions. Heath pulled up my application and told me he was sorry, but I hadn’t made the cut.

Wait, what?

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why a wise WLCHS teacher named Mr. Meyer taught me to never hope for or expect a snow day. Life is less painful when you anticipate the norm and don’t get your hopes up. (Anyone from a snow day-eligible region will agree that waking up to watch cancellations and seeing your school as the only one NOT on the list is pretty much the worst thing ever.)  Unfortunately, the CK-9 job had seemed so fitting for me to my parents, friends, and me that I had let my hopes rise too much. When I heard the negative response, my hopes crashed and made the phone call seem rather awkward.

That’s when I accepted the Snowy Owl job, right? Nope. Steph – a kid who admittedly doesn’t like change or prolonged uncertainty – gratefully declined the offer from Snowy Owl, leaving her with nothing.

Psych! True, I did turn down the kennel job, but I did have other options. Because I worked at Trail Breaker Kennel in August and September, a fellow handler had told the kennel at Chena Hot Springs about me. Chena needed someone, and I came with a pretty fantastic reference! So it looked like I’d be using that roundtrip ticket and returning to Fairbanks after all. Sorry, Teri, you couldn’t get rid of me that easily.

But wait! Why not make this more of a crazy adventure! After getting rejected from CK-9s, I wanted to go over my application with Heath, so I called him back the next day to “pick his brain” and see how I could maybe have a better chance next time. He mentioned that a lot of people he chose had stopped by to visit and volunteer – not that he expected me to come from Alaska to just say, “Hey!”

With that in mind and a fully refundable plane ticket in my pocket, I asked if I could come volunteer for a bit. The Banff area lies closer to WA than AK, so technically it made sense? Chena wouldn’t need me until November or December, so there really wasn’t a rush to get back north. Once I got the okay on a visit to CK-9s, I canceled my flight back to Fairbanks and realized just how mental I really was am.

After that there was only one thing left to do… explore!