Looks like the forecast wasn't on target in a good way! We had -10 yesterday and -20 that morning. Since then its been snowing lightly but hasn't quit all day and all night. We should be able to get a steady accumulation at this rate. Breaking trail will be a bit harder with the new snow but we'll take it!!Got out to the trail Thursday and had a blast! Kathy helped me bring along the two new fosters for a quick mile run to see how they did before we ran the main team on our longer route.
Olive did great and loved to be in the team running but Stripe didn't pull for a second and fell over immediately in harness to be dragged by the team for a few seconds before I could stop. I stopped many times to let him pick himself up and one time to pick him up myself but nothing seemed to work. He really didn't want to be there and I cant understand why.
There doesn't appear to be anything wrong with him physically and mentally hes doing much better in the yard. I also made sure we were going very slow at the beginning so we didn't stress him out but nothing seemed to be working. We must have been less than an eighth of a mile from the truck before I decided to bag him. If he didn't want to work I certainly didn't want him to hurt himself.
Olive trucked along well though and since I didn't have to watch Stripe I let the team get a little bit of speed to see how she would do. I'm very impressed in her drive though she was off her tug during the run so that could mean that we were going too fast or that shes out of shape... probably a little bit of both.
After that short trip I loaded those two back in the dog truck and Kathy got her four dogs ready, borrowing Reba to fill her team out a bit more. That helped us stay together though my team was a bit slower than normal since most of them were not sure about having a team follow us so closely.
Once we started breaking trail Kathy decided to head back to the trail head and my guys got to work. They did much better but the going was still slow since we were going down a new path that no one has traveled yet this year.
Its another route we can work on breaking through to expand our training loops and this one could possibly be more beautiful than the rest! We've only broken out a mile but in that mile it was extremely beautiful. I LOVE forest runs and this trail might offer quite a bit more of that.The dogs did great and I found myself missing Laya and her bright energy more than I thought I would. I didn't realize I would be so attached to a sprinty girl like her so soon after her arrival but shes got a personality that is wonderful to be around. She might not be the best at breaking trail for us because of her small size but there are plenty of trails she can run that are wide and flat and shes so small that I don't mind letting her ride in the sled if she gets tired.
Our mileage today was a little over 18, a bit more than I had planned but every one did amazingly well. I was really impressed with their speed on the way back from the new trail and everyone held up beautifully.
If we had gotten out there earlier we could have taken advantage of a bit more light and gotten some more trail breaking in but it all worked out well. We were back at home in time for me to drop the dogs and run over to KJNP so they could do an interview on the basics of dog mushing. I had thought it would only be on the radio but apparently it was broadcast to TV. If I had known that I would have at least brush my hair! Oh well, it was authentic at least... I was representing mushers as they are in real life, fresh off the trail and a disheveled mess! : )
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