Lead Dog Graphic Arts: Breaking some tough trail...

We were really busy giving rides again today with Mary Shields and bus loads of second graders but those details will have to wait for later. For now I wanted to talk about our run yesterday and how nice it was to get out under cloud cover and bit of blowing snow...

To get the team prepared for Mush for Kids this weekend, and also to reset my mind from being caught up in the stress at work, I took the guys out for what I thought would be a pretty easy run. The temps were about 15 to 20 and the cloud cover was great.

Since Ive been so caught up with work our trails have snowed in and have not been broken what so ever. The last time we were on them was before our dump of snow during the few continuous snow storms we had. I thought for sure that snow machines would be out that way but I was wrong... its silly of me to think that recreators would be out in our areas. Its tough work out there!

We broke down the slough as far as we could but didn't make it to our trail turn off. Probably was a good thing since after the turn off there would have been more work breaking through snow. But the slough was tough, tough work, more so than a forested path.

Sloughs always seem to get more snow and if the wind comes in its likely to blow more powder on our trail or crust the top making the dogs fall through. That is what we came on mostly, a lot of heavy punching through for the leaders.

We took lots of breaks and I gauged the dogs to see how they were holding up. As our breaks grew longer the further we went I figured it was time to head back.

The key to doing this type of work and having a happy healthy dog team to take you back home is to watch their minds for wear and tear, only push them a bit harder than they had run the time before but not too far or they will loose trust in their musher. And take it slow... very slow, especially on the sections where the leaders need the time to break through the snow while the team is more than willing to follow quickly up behind them.

Technically I could have snowshoed ahead of them but this is heavy mental training for them that I need them to go through. And they were all so strong that they would have quickly over powered me and gotten us all frustrated. Hermes also needed the practice finding the trail. Hes doing it incredibly well, nose to the ground seemingly sniffing for the trail beneath the loose powder. Its incredible to watch him work.

At our turn around point the trail back was still tough for the dogs. It was well broken out but the snow was still incredibly soft and they were starting to get tired. They held up really well though and were really glad to get back on the packed trail again.

After running a mile or so we stopped for salmon snacks, pictures and another rest. From there we headed back to the truck with all the dogs fully tired out and ready to call it a day.

Our new foster, MacKenzie, came with us today and did incredibly well as a leader and as an 'anchor' holding the team out. She also did very well with all the hard work I put her through. She is a real trooper and so calm in harness. I really enjoy running her...

Gaea was able to come again and Salmon too. Both girls held up incredibly well and its really nice to not have to keep Gaea away from the boys anymore. She is able to romp and play with everyone again and every one was back to work without getting distracted.