Possibly the earliest we have been on the sled yet! I usually cant get out before Halloween but this year has brought a refreshing change! The ground is still a bit tough in places, the holes and ruts still need some filling in with more snow but so far most of our trails are in great shape and off to a fabulous start for the season!James L was a huge help driving the sled on this trip and providing break resistance when I need to fix the dogs. It was his first time driving 'the Beast' and he did an awesome job!
Dogs out were our main ones, those who know how to stop and stay without lunging into their harnesses: Hermes and Polar in lead, Calypso in swing, Juno, Gaea, Pandora and Reba in team with the big brothers Thani and Boreas in wheel.
It was really great to see Griffin's babies (now three years old) remember their previous years lessons and realize they have grown into dependable, reliable, strong, hard working dogs.
Pandora is doing a fabulous job with this being her first time in harness pulling the sled. Shes gotten to do a few four wheeler runs with us but nothing this long. She is a fast learner and very athletic! She is also coming into heat though so may have to sit out some very soon. Its kind of bad timing for her to start her cycles now but better to get it out of the way so she can keep training uninterrupted for the rest of the season.
Juno has been doing great as leader but is still a bit too hard on Hermes, who is still in training and also learning quite fast on his commands and drive to be up front. Polar is doing very well as his partner and its an absolute thrill knowing that she is staying with us instead of floating around as a foster where we would never know how long we would have to work with her.
On our next run we will have the same team set up, one sled, two mushers but adding in a few more dogs. Remus and Hera are due to come out and catch up on mileage while we wait for more snow to be able to run two teams safely. Once we are at two teams that will open up a lot more options for us to take some of our volunteers out for rides/training and also to get all the foster dogs out again and pulled into the main training roster.
Since we expanded the yard, and our foster program, it is very nice to have the many hands available that we have picked up this year to keep helping as we proceed into winter. Its making work here for myself very manageable and thrilling at the same time knowing that we have only just begun on our many adventures!!
Thank you to all who have helped get us to this point... our hard work is nearly finished and the fun has just begun!!
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