From spreadsheets to sled dogs: A Texas accountant finds balance in northern Minn.

Anastasia Gill, a Houston accountant, walked away from her job and the warmth of the Texan sun to train sled dogs on the north shore of Lake Superior between Grand Marais and Grand Portage.

“I’m not an outdoor girl, I’m more of a city kid, so it never really was on my radar until I started getting burnt out on my job,” Gill said.

As an accountant, Gill says she had no work-life balance and it was taking a toll on her health. She decided to take six months off to try something different. Originally the plan was to go to South America. But while working on a project in the Twin Cities she heard from others that the Boundary Waters were a must-see.

She signed up for a canoe tour and met musher Frank Moe. When Gill shared her tale of woe with Moe, he offered to give her a job helping take care of sled dogs in the winter.

“At first I was like ‘Oh, I can’t really do that, it’s going to be cold,’” she said. “But the more I thought about it the more I thought ‘Well this is probably something I’ll always regret if I don’t say yes to it.’”

She took the leap and she’s glad she did.

Now, her story can be summed up as: "Sled Dogs, Cold Toes and a Gal from Texas." It’s the name of a new Paw-dcast from our partners at North Shore Community Radio.

Meet the dogs

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