Our last run was quite eventful. Our parking area is normally extremely quiet but that day we drove up to a full picnic with vehicles, trailers and snowmachines parked all around. It was quite the sight and put us off our game a little bit.Thankfully Kathy was running with me that day and having her company at the start was a huge help. I get nervous around other people and some times a bit irritable when I want it to be just the dogs and I. Having two kids hanging around my truck didn't help either. I didn't mind them watching but as soon as I started to unload the dogs I had to tell them to stay back not once but twice.
My guys are generally pretty shy and I didn't want them to bite anyone out of fear. Hera is our toughest case and since she chewed her gangline last time out of anxiousness I REALLY didn't want those kids getting her nervous again. I was out of spare line!
Just about the time we were ready to leave another person drove up walking a tiny excitable pup that looked so much like a prey item to my dogs. Not good... Fortunately he walked down the path we were not taking and it didn't take long for the pair to gain enough distance down the trail for chasing to be a non-issue.
Since we were pushed out of our regular spot by the picnicker's I had to shovel down the berm at our tie out posts and hope our take off would be okay. I left three dogs off their tug lines but by the time I pulled my snub line it was impossible to tell. They were more than ready to GO!Fortunately Hermes was up front in single lead and knew exactly what to do. I was hanging on tight watching for bumps in the trail and hoping I wouldn't tip the sled. A few weeks before the parks and rec officials made a troublesome snowmachine course that really messed up our smooth take off area. Going over those bumps and turns took all my concentration. I was holding on so tight, keeping tabs on my hands and feet while watching where Hermes was going and giving short tight commands. Hermes, my star little pup, took every single one on a dime!! I was so impressed!!
Once out there things started to settle down a bit though my team was so full of power that we quickly lost Kathy and her six dogs. I really didn't think my guys would be so ready to go but I welcomed the excuse to stop and rest them so she could keep up. Later down the trail we opted to take different routes since I wanted my guys to get back into trail breaking mode.
The cloud cover was really great and helped keep the dogs cool. It was boarder line too hot at the start before the clouds came in but everyone held up really well, even Hera who has the thickest, warmest coat of them all.We did some nice trail breaking out there but on the route home we ran into a family of snowmachiners having fun with their kids. That was interesting... we had to pass two kids on one machine, travel down a ways, pass their dad on another machine, travel again then pass their mom with their little sister on yet another machine!
Hermes did great on the first two passes but started to loose his nerve on the third. He tried to pass around the other way but with my encouragement, and the two veterans behind him (Ichabod and Reba), he passed with only a minor tangle at the end.
Salmon came with us today and did great. She seems to handle these shorter runs much better than I had thought she would. Gaea had to stay home since she is still going through her heat cycle. I CANT WAIT until that is finished! Her and Spock have been driving me nuts during the day with all their dancing and mating behavior.
Total Miles: 11.5
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