More trail breaking, same old trails...

Got the team out on Christmas day (Thursday) and had a great run! We received quite a bit of snow a few days before, nothing really substantial but enough to make a bit more work for the team. We were going to do some more exploring and break out more of our new loop but I decided to go for the old trails instead to balance out the work they would be doing breaking the path. It was a nice mix...

We took off after Kathy and her group did (three teams and a snowmachine) with my team looking very good. Griffin though was lagging way behind at the start which had me worried and I almost turned the team around for a shorter loop to get him back home.

After watching him it appeared that he was more interested in dipping snow than running so I think that is what was slowing him way down. He didnt drink well the night before (which is normal) so he must have been more dehydrated than the others.

The trail was pretty packed for the first mile or so but when we got onto the route we hadnt taken for a while it was clear we were going to have to break it out again. The dogs looked back at me a little bit but quickly got into their low-gear mode and we made short work of it.

Almost our entire route was like that and I thought our speed must have been cut down but when I checked the gps it was clear they were up to their full strength dispite the hard trail.

Gaea was leading us most of the way and Calypso was doing very well working hard on her tug. I was worried about her on our last few trips if she was going to be able to keep up and contribute but she seems to be coming along nicely.

Ive got her running with her mother mostly since those two are the same size and she doesnt get pushed off the trail by Salmon when we are forging a new path.

It dawned on me while we were out there breaking trail that its best to have her and her mother farther back in the team to let the taller dogs break through the snow so she those two dont get bogged down so quickly.

Having small dogs further back in the team isnt common practise for most but for us it has worked really well and Calypso is thriving in her position.

Total Miles: 14.6
Max Speed: 16.9
Moving Average: 7.7
Time Moving: 1.54.29
Time Stopped: 0.42.09