Third Sled Run

Kathy came out with us again and was a great help... the first trek had me going out with the dogs who haven't been in the team for a while like the fosters and a few others who aren't quite sure they want to be sled dogs.

That run was a short solo trip while Kathy stayed at the truck and made sure the pups didn't go ballistic seeing me leave. Mercury had to come along and run behind cause if he stays in the truck and catches even a whiff of me leaving he will try to chew out of his box and follow.

Juno was up front with Reba, Gemini was in swing, Remus in team with Iggy and MollyAnna (our shelter foster) and Hera in wheel.

I was really nervous to take this first trip as most of those dogs don't know whoa and if they did they certainly don't like putting it into practice! It wasn't a lot of dog power though so the pace was fine. Our first turn however was trouble since we had to stop for a moment for Reba and Juno realize where we were going.

I wasn't much help as my commands were falling on deaf ears, standing on the break, shouting at the top of my lugs while Iggy and Molly barked without a break. Very unlike my 'trained' team who stand quietly and only have difficulty being quiet at the start when Salmon tries to get everyone barking and lunging into their harness. Shes getting better but 'forgets' her training every now and then.

That first trip was just over 2 miles and most of the dogs were showing signs of slowing down on the way back in. There clearly was not a whole lot of power compared to when the pups are on the line. It was a good short trip for them though, nothing too hard or too long.

Hera and Remus showed wonderful signs of strength while working so they were popped into the main team for the second run. Ive been leaving them out cause of Remus' need for a bit more training to calm down and because Hera is a super powerhouse, a dog who's power Ive never been able to match. Though maybe Thani would make her equal, or close to it...

Kathy loaded up in the sled and we took off with our full main team for another adventure, and what an adventure it was!! Half the time we were either chasing down the trail or chasing down the snow! It was hard to find but the dogs did super and far better than I would have imaged!

Juno was a fine, fine leader... as always... and she took haw-over and gee-over commands as if she had been doing it all her life! This year I'm sure we will be fine tuning her even more but to think that she had so little confidence in finding a trail last year compared to what I saw on this run is amazing. She only tried to turn the team around twice while we were in the deep brush but all the other times she continued to break through searching out our path.

It was rather comical when I would 'loose' her in the plant stalks and she would call back in her frog voice, "I'm here, I'm here! What do we do?"

The trail was quite challenging since all the holes and bumps are clearly open and have not been filled in by snow. Then, as we were trying to find the trail we found quite a few moose wallows, got stuck for a moment but after waiting a few seconds I would give the command and those babies hit their harnesses and pulled both Kathy and I out. They are amazing!!

I feared I might break my runners with all that rough terrain but when we took a turn to check out yet another one of our exploratory trails I realized my bar break had dropped a bolt somewhere and was hanging on only by one side.

It didn't matter much as I was using my drag and commands more than anything but we stopped and did a quick fix anyway to prevent further damage. I let most of the dogs off and the pups played with each other as if they hadn't worked at all. It still amazes me how fresh they are... the trip through all the brush, carrying the weight of an extra person AND all my gear should have wore them down but they acted like we were nothing more than feather pillows.

After the break was fixed we headed back the way we had come... good thing too cause I was smelling water some where real close. A clear sign that there is much more freezing up to do out there and that might shorten our miles a bit.

All the dogs flew back with such vigor I thought for sure they smelled a moose... only Salmon was showing signs of tiring. Even Gaea had some time free running and thankfully at least she came home tired and almost slept completely through the night.

Our total trip was about 9 miles but with all the heavy terrain it was much more work for them than if we were on a smooth trail...

Where we will go next? I'm not too sure... somewhere with bridges and dry land though... I'm not too keen about checking the flotation properties of the sled right now! If we get more snow it will be all the more enjoyable but if not, it wont be a problem. Everyone on this run, as they were on the last, were on excellent behavior so I have no trouble letting them lead us on another adventure.

I still cant believe how many miles we are up to already. At this point the water is the only thing that will be holding us back...