Its been a busy fun weekend for us here. After taking a full week off to get some rest and get over a lingering cough it was too hard to stay home watching all the new snow fall. Day after day it came until I couldn't sit any longer and we headed out!Turns out we had great timing cause its raining now and making things all slicked up and too dangerous to leave the house. Fortunately we had so much snow that this should only make a small dent in damage to our trails, especially since we are used to running on much less snow than this! Training in the rough has its advantages!
As Ive told James L at the start of this season, "It all gets easier from here." Once you master how we do things at the kennel under marginal snow conditions and rough trail it prepares you for anything mother nature has to throw at you on the sled or off! :)
The dogs have been doing super, holding strong and staying with the program even though we had a major jump onto the trails with minimal four wheeler training this fall. There was far too much work to do at the kennel and their fall training wasnt as heavy as it usually was. But so far they have settled into an amazing stride and only showed signs of fatigue yesterday when it was clear they should have had a bit more time off.
We had Leah and her mom come out to run the five mile loop with us so Leah could get a taste of what it will be like when she starts running her own sled with a few foster dogs following our main teams and so her mom could see up close and personal why we so love our lives here in Alaska.
It was a grand trip but when we turned the teams around for James L and I to head out for a second time the dogs were telling us it was a bit too much too soon. On the second trip we opted for no weight and just to have some fun but by the time we got started their speed was far too slow and we took the early turn back to run the 2 mile trail instead of another five.
This weekend they ran a total of about 22 miles (give or take), hauling weight of two passengers for 15 miles and hauling firewood for another three. Not too bad after having a full week off, and this early in the season!
We are planning another few days off for them and hopefully heading out Wednesday for another trail run. But as fluid as my schedule has been Im not setting anything in stone just yet. Best to let mother nature decide what she is going to do and go from there...
The other exciting news is that Gemini may be our next dog in the spot light! When Raymie Rushing (http://raymierushing.smugmug.com/) came out to take photos of the dog yard she caught this amazing shot of Gemini (see photo to the right) and it was picked up by the Tustumena 200 Dog Sled Race (http://www.tustumena200.com/) for their 2011 poster!If all goes well she will end up framed on our wall for us to view as well as countless other mushers, and armchair mushers alike, to enjoy! So even though she never desired to be a 'house dog' she may end up as one in spirit! :)
She still hasn't chosen to work the trail with us again but I hold onto the hope that one day she may change her mind. She is still master of her own space and enjoys being pulled around by Boreas during free play time in the yard but puts her foot down when Lykos and Pandora try to do the same thing. She knows the difference between the teasing of boys and the dominance of upcoming females into the ranks.
Its nice to see that Hera and her have worked out their differences and I'm sure it wont be long before Lykos and Pandora realize they have to settle into their positions as well. Its all about life in the dog yard, never a dull moment and the patterns of whos on top and in charge constantly changing.
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