I broke myself away from work today with the idea of getting an easy run in, clearing my head and being open and ready for Monday to get things done... I almost followed that plan, except for the 'easy run' part!I had such great feelings when I dropped the dogs and sled at the trail head. The temps were great, the sky was starting to clear and the sun was trying to peek out. The dogs looked great, Boreas was back to his usual bouncy self and we were going to take a nice easy 10 mile loop then head back home. But darn my exploration bug... it would NOT leave me alone...
So, against my original plans we took a quick side route, turned onto a trail Ive always wanted to check out but I promptly dumped my sled. Why this happened was largely in part that I didn't expect the trail to turn almost a full 360 on me and that I had sewed on a sheepskin covering to my handlebar to help keep my hands warm but that also requires me to relearn how to grip my sled, all this in bulky gloves for that matter.
It all went well though since the team stopped shortly after I dumped the sled and, at the end of the day, my hands were not feeling the cold heat draining effects of the plastic handle. That my team stopped so willingly was a major blessing considering this was barely a mile into our run and everyone was hot and fresh!
After that mishap the trail was rather nice and very pleasant. We shot through there like a thundering herd of buffalo and before I knew it we were on the old trail again. Another hard left and we were somewhat back on schedule running the trail in reverse for a bit of added spice.
As we headed down the path I didnt think much of any tree obsticals since we had handled them so many times before but the little spruce that I had so casually pushed out of the way before was a bit less willing from that direction. As the team came up the tree I grabbed it, intending to push it over my head, but instead came to a complete standstill as it pulled me right off the runners!
I remember falling back with complete shock thinking, "Why the heck is the handle bow not in my hands and nowhere near where I can reach it?" And as I got up I could see the back of my sled, upright with snowhook safely tucked away merrily going down the trail with my precious team.I got up as quickly as possible, shouted the whoa command numerous times all the while thinking, this is completely hopeless.
Snowmachiners had gone down this path multiple times making the trail slick and fast, my team was still very fresh (only a few miles into our run at that point), pulling my upright riderless sled with no hope of slowing on such a nicely groomed trail.
As the sled vanished around the bend I kept running calling desperately out for Juno all the while wondering what my little pint sized girl could possibly do to stop a team of nine, very large, fresh dogs!
I ran for what seemed like only a moment when my eyes caught sight of the back of the sled and then the entire team all tangled up in a ball with little Juno right in the middle! Im not sure who stopped the team, who helped and who resisted but it didnt matter. It was clear that Juno either stopped or tried to turn the whole team around causing a terrific tangle forcing all of them to stop right there! My little angel!!
It was such a blessing and confirmed the reality that I still have a team who will stop for me even when I fall off. I was skeptical that this could still be true with the new pups but their loyalty is showing through strongly just as their mothers, fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers have done before them.
I have a suspicion that even Boreas even tried to turn the team around since he was facing the other way when I came upon them. Its rare to see this since he is by far the wildest pup out of that whole litter.
After untangling them all and giving lots and lots of praise we were off for more adventure! The whole team was feeling their oats strongly so I found myself franticly looking for an excuse to break trail... any trail! When we came upon an old slough that Ive had my eye on we took a sharp right and plowed away!
Oh man, that was so much fun! Juno was totally on her game and Reba was fast to catch on to my commands. I can see in her mind she wants to do the leader thing and call the shots but shes catching on that trusting me isn't all that bad.I didn't take them too far, about 1.5 total miles up and back on the slough breaking through virgin trail before we were back on the main path and headed for another area. That slough section is long and tough work so we may work at it a few more times before breaking completely through making a new loop for our training runs.
The rest of the run was beautiful, the team was still fast (even after all that trail breaking) and they were looking better than ever! Before we left the yard I decided to load my sled up with all my gear and extra dog food and was wonderfully surprised when that choice didn't trip us up in the least bit. Everyone pulled well with the heavy burden whether we were on the packed trail or unbroken sections.
At the end of the run Boreas was looking tired again but with no apparent injuries. I think he needs to learn to pace himself and not give all his strength and energy in the first few miles. Thani was so consistent throughout the entire run and really helped muscle us through the bad sections. Calypso was a little spit fire and worked in and out of the team off and on. She was very useful when we were breaking trail. When she would dart off into the woods the leaders wanted to follow so time and time again I enforced the idea that they need to listen to the map in my head and not to an outside distraction.
The moon was just gorgeous on the way back so we stopped for a quick snack then sped away again. Spotted four moose on homestretch way, way off in the distance... everything was beautiful and this run was completely flawless... I couldn't have asked for better mind medicine...
Total miles 15
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