Had time for a run with the team yesterday but since I had to be back home early I figured we should head out to Chena Lakes for a short run instead of traveling our usual area. There aren't many options to explore on that side of the dike so I knew I couldn't get us into much trouble.The one thing I wasn't expecting was boredom! The lakes are so BORING!
I'm sure they are a great training grounds for sprint or regular dog teams but I found that area so flat and uneventful. At times I was leaning against my handlebow wishing the run would finally be over. That is definitely not the feeling you want out there on an exhilarating run with the team!
The one interesting thing we found was a lady walking her labrador. This guy was big and intimidating but when he took a closer look at the team stretched out in front of me he thought better about coming to investigate.
The only dogs loose at that time were Juno and Griffin who both responded super quick when I called to them only once. I was very impressed with their behavior and how they both gave a respectful distance to both the woman and to her dog.
My team was also very well behaved and listened when I said whoa. They stopped to watch what the lady was going to do and see if her dog was going to advance towards us, which he did once when she lost hold of the leash but he was very respectful... his owner was as well. We caught them both quite by surprise speeding around the bend like we did.
I would say that the snow was helping me hold my team but since they groomed in that area it was mainly their good behavior that kept them still. I proved that theory when the lady called out sorry to me for not having better control of her dog, which my reply was, "Thats okay..."
BAD choice of words!
'Okay' is our take off command which the dogs gladly put into action and dragged the sled and me, with the break fully on, right towards the woman and her dog who did not have the chance to get off the trail!
All this wouldn't be so bad if I had my regular leaders in the team but it just so happened that Calypso and Hermes were both up there co-leading and following Juno loose running ahead. I barely had time to realize that two green horns were going to lead our entire team passed this amazing distraction... then it was over... in seconds... just like that... done...I remember calling to both Hermes and Calypso as they got closer and I swear that both of them took my command. Either that or they were following Juno up ahead who was behaving perfectly. It really doesn't matter who they listened to really, just seeing those two newbies leading the team and passing the ultimate of sled dog distractions was amazing! These really are fantastic pups!
So the insult of that run was the boredom and the overly fast groomed trail but the injuries ironically happened before we even hit the trail!
We were running low on snacks so I went out to cut meat before we left. As I'm headed into the house to plug in the meat saw I hear Gaea screaming at the top of her lungs. I rush out and see her just sitting there with her leg raised in major pain. I couldn't figure out what had happened since she wasn't caught in anything and I didn't see where she had been.
There was no blood and no swelling... the only thing I can figure is that she stepped into the pallets in the meat shed and twisted up her shoulder. If she had bumped it on something hard she could have recovered quickly and come with us but by the time the meat was cut she was still limping bad and yelping when she tried to put her weight on it. In the dog yard she stayed, which ended up being good training for her since she will be living out there full time this summer...
Then when we got to the trail head Boreas must have stepped on something that gave him a major gash in his paw pad. I didn't notice until we were on the trail. His pulling didn't let up at all but there was a lot of blood on the snow when we stopped. I pulled out a tight bootie and wrapped him tight in it to slow the flow then we were off again. Boreas pulled strong like he always does and didn't mind the bootie much. A quick check nearing the end of our run with a replacement bootie and we were off again.
His foot is looking much better today and Gaea is also doing much better as well. She is still having trouble putting weight on her leg but her yelping about it has lessened considerably. I'm not sure when she will be able to get back on the trail but when she is she might have another week off just to be sure its completely healed.
The other conflict we had at the lakes was the trails being so fast. The dogs barely had time to slow down and catch their breath and Salmon especially was having trouble with the constant speed. But the boredom of that trail helped me switch up the leaders, give Hermes more time up front and even give him a chance to run single lead which he did VERY well. Hes very sensitive when I tell him to stop so having him up there is a great benefit when I loose control of the team.
Miles: 12.6
Max Speed: 19.7
Moving Average: 9.2
Time Moving: 01.22.04
Time Stopped: 00.34.45
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