Took the dogs out for a run yesterday with temperatures starting at -10 and steadily dropping. I wasn't sure how cold it was going to get out there but decided to go with my warmer clothing just in case.My attire consisted of polypropylene shirt/pants, sweat pants, one pair of heavy socks, my Sorrel boots, Alaska Wear jumpsuit, double gaiter, fleece hat, mittens and my new Cabela's parka. I wasn't cold in the slightest and I would expect that combination of clothing to be very comfortable down to at least -30.
It sounds like a lot of clothing but its really not all that much. The parka and the Alaska Wear suit is what makes the most difference. I wasn't to surprised in the warmth of the parka but my suit is insulated about as much as the Carhart brand and it does a fantastic job of keeping me warm. Too bad I can no longer find their products. Ive been sold on them for many, many years...
Most of the time I had my parka off but my face kept getting cold. I find that I need the protection of my fur ruff to keep my face warm but not the full warmth of a jacket. I'm looking to invest in a fur hat later down the line and I like my fox tail fur ruffs so much that I think a fox fur hat would be the perfect way to go.
What surprised me most was that I didn't have to use chemical hand warmers this time. I wear a some what medium weight mitten most of the time and have added fleece 'wristies' that have helped a lot. The wind still finds its way into my hands though especially on the colder days like yesterday.Since my parka is an XL tall I found the sleeves were just long enough to pull over my mitts and kept my hands really, really warm. I was quite surprised as I always seem to have trouble with my hands and using heavier mitts have been a problem since I cant keep a constant heat source inside of them to warm my hands when I need it most.
The dogs had a bit more trouble with the cold and for the pups this was their first official cold run. There will be more for them but they did great this first time out. Poor Salmon was needing a coat more so than the others. I will have to look into making a few coats for the dogs who aren't as furried. Hermes, Ichabod and Salmon are all on my list...
Calypso did so much better this time out and Salmon did exceptionally well too. I think Salmon's problem isn't so much her age but that she really doesn't like running up front, not even in swing! This is very odd since she ran lead all summer in Kantishna and was a leader before I got her. Even her pups are showing strong leader potential so I know its in her blood but cant quite figure out what is mentally going on with her that shes so against being up there.
Hera had some trouble again... I know the cold didn't bother her since she has the thickest coat of all the dogs but it might be her feet. I hesitated to bootie her since she really hates having her feet touched and I know the fleece booties I have will heat her up too much. I need to find some large cloth ones for her and try that next time.
Boreas is still nursing his paw but did very well with the bootie again. Hes not as strong as he was before his injury but every day its getting better and better.Gaea is still limping and had to stay home again. This time I had her over at my moms for babysitting since she isn't used to the colder temperatures. I think both my mom and Gaea had mixed feelings about this... both grudgingly accepting the arrangement... : )
And finally my truck did very well out there. That was very nice to know since we weren't sure how long it would stay warm and how long it would have to sit out there with me on the trail.
The overall low energy of my team has me wondering what is going on, aside from the minor issues with those few dogs. We didn't do much breaking trail but the trail we were on is new so I'm sure they worked hard. I carried our full weight again and I'm thinking that next time I may drop about 50lbs to see if that gets them back up to speed.
I know my work schedule may have a lot to do with their energy. At the beginning of the season I didn't want work to get in the way of their training but business matters are not slowing down much this year so I have to find a balance. Wanted to get them about again this weekend but they will have to wait until Tuesday for another run. There is too much work to do...
We had a beautiful full moon lighting our way and LOTS of wildlife. Had a flock of ptarmigan fly up right by our sled, a huge owl take flight from one of the tall spruce trees, snowshoe hares were bounding across our trail and a herd of about five huge moose surprised us as we came down one of the hills. It was like passing by a pasture full of horses they were so close!
Total Miles: 14
GPS lost signal at 10 miles but recorded this information:
Max Speed: 16.8
Moving Average: 7.4
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