We had thought the trip out would only be a half day but since we have a policy of 'throwing our watches away' we were having so much fun that time quickly got away with us. Fortunately we had just enough daylight to get in and out safely but headlamps were stored in the sled bag just in case.
I was really pleased to see our most active rider request to take the challenge of the overflow on his own. With a bit less dog power he did great and with a few quick steps he never lost control of the sled and handled everything beautifully!
All the dogs did great and Josh was a great help to us talking to the clients while we were arranging gear or dropping the dogs. Hes turning out to be a real asset with his eagerness to learn about the sport and now able to work with his own dogs that Nita brought up from Eagle last fall.
Mary was great, as always, and it was a blast to catch a quick bite of her moose stew and bread before Nita and I headed back down to the dogs to make sure they were doing okay.
My guys had a bit of trouble seeing Mary's team in their own yard beside the cabin and I'm sure there was a bit of, "This is my place...", "No, this is my place..." conversation going on.
They got it sorted out quickly enough and realized that the command to stay by the truck applied at the cabin as well and gave respect to Mary's dogs and their space. Well, all except Gaea who was quite the flirt to a few of Mary's male dogs and I think she even sweet talked one of them out of a tasty moose hide! She is a sly one!
Having dogs loose also gave everyone a chance to get to know each other, who is grouchy with who and where my big boys need to be while Nita is leading us out. They were pretty confused to see the trail blocked not only by her sled but a full team of 'big boys' claiming their path! Its good for them to know they wont always be the biggest ones in the forest! :)
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I have been struggling to catch up on my work load this season and running full speed really catches up to me when I stop. Today was supposed to be a work catch up day but I quickly felt the energy draining from me a few hours into it. And since James had the day off it was hard to be 'serious' about anything.
I miss him when I get so busy out on the trail. The adventures are a blast, keep me occupied and put my mind in a euphoric state like nothing else but when I come home it quickly becomes apparent how long Ive been away. The lap top has been wonderful in that I can get quite a bit done along side of him while he relaxes watching TV.