We woke to just above freezing temps and snow falling from the sky. I loaded up the 16 dogs, just like the day before and off to the trails. The plan was to do 8 miles with the same two 8 dog teams.
The first team had Luna and Gabby at lead, Bogey and Zia at swing, Velma and Apollo at team and Timber and Thursby at wheel. This was Gabby’s first time in lead from start to finish. The temps were warm and the snow was heavy and wet. I expected our run to be a little slower than normal. The first team broke trail for the entire run.
It was a little cooler for the second team. I had Mae and Bear at lead, Amizette and Cyphers at swing, Alli and Tolby at team and Lasar and Hawkeye at wheel. This team flew. We were about 15 minutes quicker than the first team.
The shoulder was a little soar when after I got home and everyone off-loaded. It’s doing a little better a few hours later.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Don't tell the Doctor or Physical Therpaist - 18 Feb 09
I got off work at 6:30 AM home at 7:15 AM and after a 5 hour nap, I loaded the truck, collared and watered the dogs. Loaded 16 dogs into the truck. The dog truck is configured for 20 dogs (5 boxes double stacked per side), with a possibility of 22.
Since I can’t lift anything over my head for fear of regressing my shoulder that cuts out the top boxes. Now I have to fit 16 dogs into 10 boxes. The first 2 boxes on both sides of the truck are doubles. I was able to load the 4 that normally go into those boxes and add a smaller female per box. Then the remaining 3 boxes on each side got a dog. Ok, that leaves 4 left. Those 4 rode in the cab of the truck. It’s a good thing it’s a crew cab and the trails are only 10 minutes from the house.
I was at the track at 3:15 PM and had the first team out a few minutes after 4 PM. I ran two teams of 8 dogs on the toboggan sled for 8 miles. The toboggan sled is older and a little heavier than my other sleds, which makes it a great training sled. The secret to steering the toboggan is to have some weight in the sled.
The first team I had Mae and Bear in lead, Amizette and Cyphers in swing, Alli and Tolby at Team 1 and Hawkeye and Lasar at wheel. I want to take advantage of the shorter runs to see what leader potential may have developed over the last few months.
Halfway through the run I moved Cyphers up and put Mae back at swing. Mae did great at lead. Cyphers was a little unsure at first as he remained a nose length behind Bear, but then he caught on and kept pace with Bear.
The second team consisted of Bogey and Luna at lead, Velma and Gabby at swing, Apollo and Zia at team 1 and Timber and Thursby at wheel.
I used the same approach and halfway through I moved Gabby at lead and Bogey to swing. I moved Zia up to swing and Velma back to team 1 with Apollo. Velma wasn’t focused at swing. Gabby did a great job. On tomorrow’s run, I am going to start Gabby at lead and see how that transpires.
Shoulder update: The shoulder is still a little soar. The physical therapist tech found a knot in the tendon during my deep tissue massage last Thursday. Monday morning (after a night shift), she went to work again. She couldn’t find the knot, but said the tendon felt “ropey”. The good news is she did find a knot.
Editor’s note: We won’t tell the doctor or physical therapist that I took the dogs out for a run. They might threaten to cut off my muscle relaxers.
Since I can’t lift anything over my head for fear of regressing my shoulder that cuts out the top boxes. Now I have to fit 16 dogs into 10 boxes. The first 2 boxes on both sides of the truck are doubles. I was able to load the 4 that normally go into those boxes and add a smaller female per box. Then the remaining 3 boxes on each side got a dog. Ok, that leaves 4 left. Those 4 rode in the cab of the truck. It’s a good thing it’s a crew cab and the trails are only 10 minutes from the house.
I was at the track at 3:15 PM and had the first team out a few minutes after 4 PM. I ran two teams of 8 dogs on the toboggan sled for 8 miles. The toboggan sled is older and a little heavier than my other sleds, which makes it a great training sled. The secret to steering the toboggan is to have some weight in the sled.
The first team I had Mae and Bear in lead, Amizette and Cyphers in swing, Alli and Tolby at Team 1 and Hawkeye and Lasar at wheel. I want to take advantage of the shorter runs to see what leader potential may have developed over the last few months.
Halfway through the run I moved Cyphers up and put Mae back at swing. Mae did great at lead. Cyphers was a little unsure at first as he remained a nose length behind Bear, but then he caught on and kept pace with Bear.
The second team consisted of Bogey and Luna at lead, Velma and Gabby at swing, Apollo and Zia at team 1 and Timber and Thursby at wheel.
I used the same approach and halfway through I moved Gabby at lead and Bogey to swing. I moved Zia up to swing and Velma back to team 1 with Apollo. Velma wasn’t focused at swing. Gabby did a great job. On tomorrow’s run, I am going to start Gabby at lead and see how that transpires.
Shoulder update: The shoulder is still a little soar. The physical therapist tech found a knot in the tendon during my deep tissue massage last Thursday. Monday morning (after a night shift), she went to work again. She couldn’t find the knot, but said the tendon felt “ropey”. The good news is she did find a knot.
Editor’s note: We won’t tell the doctor or physical therapist that I took the dogs out for a run. They might threaten to cut off my muscle relaxers.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Back on the Runners - 15 Feb 09
Mary and I were able to load up the pups and head down to thetrails. It was around 37 degrees when we arrived at 2PM and keptgetting warmer. Mary hasn't been on the runners in about 2 years, so we decided we would each take a small team 6 miles and then shewould take the third team of five out by herself.
Mary's first team consisted of Bogey and Zia in lead, Gabby in Swing and Alli and Tolby in wheel. After 3 miles she wanted to give Gabby some lead time, so she made the swap.
I had Bear and Mae in lead, Amizette and Cyphers at swing and Hawkeyeand Apollo in wheel. We caught Mary after 2 miles and stayed behind her for another 2 miles. We made several stops to let the dogs divein the snow and cool down. Bear was ready to do some passing andtook the team on the right side of Mary and on past. Not a bad run.
The last team consisted of Luna and Lasar in lead, Velma in swing and Timber and Thursby in wheel. They came in very strong. She said they flew even when she tried to stop and let them cool down, they just wanted to keep running.
The dogs had lost a great deal of conditioning, but were happy to getout and stretch their legs.
As for my shoulder, it is doing a little better. I didn't do a great deal of lifting, so there was little stress on it.
Mary's first team consisted of Bogey and Zia in lead, Gabby in Swing and Alli and Tolby in wheel. After 3 miles she wanted to give Gabby some lead time, so she made the swap.
I had Bear and Mae in lead, Amizette and Cyphers at swing and Hawkeyeand Apollo in wheel. We caught Mary after 2 miles and stayed behind her for another 2 miles. We made several stops to let the dogs divein the snow and cool down. Bear was ready to do some passing andtook the team on the right side of Mary and on past. Not a bad run.
The last team consisted of Luna and Lasar in lead, Velma in swing and Timber and Thursby in wheel. They came in very strong. She said they flew even when she tried to stop and let them cool down, they just wanted to keep running.
The dogs had lost a great deal of conditioning, but were happy to getout and stretch their legs.
As for my shoulder, it is doing a little better. I didn't do a great deal of lifting, so there was little stress on it.
Training Report - 29 Jan 09
Wed night we received a couple of inches of snow. I was off onThursday, so we decided to get the team out for a short run. My shoulder was feeling pretty good with some minor pain. Mary's help was appreciated and without her, this run would not have happened.
We ran 2 teams of 8 with the 4 wheeler for a 9 mile run. This permitted me to get the 3, which recovered from previous injuries,back in the team.
We were the first ones at the trails so there wasn't an opportunityfor the snow to get packed down on the ice.
Everyone was excited to get back in harness and they performedadmirably. I kept them at a trot so they wouldn't risk a shoulderinjury by sliding on the snow that hadn't stuck to the ice.
I chose the 4 wheeler, since the 2 inches of snow wouldn't createenough base on top of the ice to hold a hook. This would give memore control over the dogs if I had to stop and not jeapordizehurting my shoulder anymore.
We did lose some conditioning, but not as much as I thought. Once weget back on sleds, I will be in a better position to assess theirconditioning and re-evaluate the rest of the race year.
We ran 2 teams of 8 with the 4 wheeler for a 9 mile run. This permitted me to get the 3, which recovered from previous injuries,back in the team.
We were the first ones at the trails so there wasn't an opportunityfor the snow to get packed down on the ice.
Everyone was excited to get back in harness and they performedadmirably. I kept them at a trot so they wouldn't risk a shoulderinjury by sliding on the snow that hadn't stuck to the ice.
I chose the 4 wheeler, since the 2 inches of snow wouldn't createenough base on top of the ice to hold a hook. This would give memore control over the dogs if I had to stop and not jeapordizehurting my shoulder anymore.
We did lose some conditioning, but not as much as I thought. Once weget back on sleds, I will be in a better position to assess theirconditioning and re-evaluate the rest of the race year.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Knik 200 - Return Trip
We move slowly down the Yentna and I put Lasar up front with Bear. I have used Lasar a few times in training up front. Although he doesn’t know his commands he runs forward. This gives Luna a break and keeps the team moving. Lasar keeps drifting off the hard pack trail away from the trail markers and Bear’s letting him go. We get back to the Susitna and in cell coverage around 2 AM. I call Mary and tell her about my decision and ask her to call the Knik Bar and inform the race rep that I am scratching. The team and I are ok and I will drive the team to Burma Rd. I ask Mary to pick us up.
We are still having issues with Bear and Lasar, so I put Luna up with Lasar and that seems to help. We make it off the Susitna River, through Dismal swamp and Flathorn Lake. I decide to snack the team on the far side of Flathorn Lake and that’s when Luna decided she wanted to rest more. I give them a little break and then I move Thursby up front and we were off. Now I have 2 wheel dogs leading the team. This worked for a little bit until Thursby was getting irritated when the swing dogs moved next to him. I try a few other dogs up front and they would either lead for a little bit or just not go at all.
I let the team rest and this gives me time to figure out what to do next. There is only one dog left that I haven’t tried up front and he is much like Bear when Bear was younger. Bear has the puppy version of ADD and only 2 brain cells. Bear doesn’t always bring both brain cells with him. He is afraid he is going to lose one of them. So, I am looking at Hawkeye and finally decide to give him a chance up front. He is the only one I haven’t tried, but he can be a knucklhead sometimes. He loves to run forward and at this point that’s all I need. Lasar is doing ok at taking commands and I can take the time to train them as long as we can keep moving. This combination is working and we are off. I know these two get along since they have been running wheel together for quite awhile. I am really surprised that Hawkeye is moving forward and not trying to stop and mark everything.
We get to the Nome Sign and I decide to stop and snack one last time. This is when everyone lays down to rest and they are out. Then my bulb in my headlamp blew and I replace it, then the batteries are weak and I replace them. I let the team rest for about half an hour and then roust them and off we go.
The last few miles weren’t too bad and the team did great. We made it to Burma Road and the truck was waiting for us. Mary moves the front end off the trail and we load dogs in the boxes and off to the house.
It took us 9 hours to get back to the truck. There were a lot of other issues we had to work through which contributed to the time it took to get back to the truck.
On the way home, I chatted with Mary for a little bit, but sleep deprivation took over and I slept all the way back to the house. It took a while for the buttons on my sweater to defrost enough so I could actually get undressed. The dogs went to their kennels and went to sleep.
I took a hot shower, poured a scotch, crawled under the covers, positioned a pillow under my very painful shoulder in hopes of keeping pressure off of it and fell asleep to a football game. Mary crawled into bed shortly after me. I forgot how little sleep she has had as she helped with drop bags, getting the team ready and then having to come pick us up.
Mary went to feed the dogs about 6 hours later and they are bouncing around as if they had been locked up all night. This was good to see and told me that it was the conditioning plan that needed adjustment, but then again I have known and stated this since late Sept/early Oct.
The dogs did great and I am very proud of them.
Let it be stated, that I didn't scratch because of the cold temps orbecause of my shoulder, but due to the lack of conditioning of myteam and that is my responsibility.
We are still having issues with Bear and Lasar, so I put Luna up with Lasar and that seems to help. We make it off the Susitna River, through Dismal swamp and Flathorn Lake. I decide to snack the team on the far side of Flathorn Lake and that’s when Luna decided she wanted to rest more. I give them a little break and then I move Thursby up front and we were off. Now I have 2 wheel dogs leading the team. This worked for a little bit until Thursby was getting irritated when the swing dogs moved next to him. I try a few other dogs up front and they would either lead for a little bit or just not go at all.
I let the team rest and this gives me time to figure out what to do next. There is only one dog left that I haven’t tried up front and he is much like Bear when Bear was younger. Bear has the puppy version of ADD and only 2 brain cells. Bear doesn’t always bring both brain cells with him. He is afraid he is going to lose one of them. So, I am looking at Hawkeye and finally decide to give him a chance up front. He is the only one I haven’t tried, but he can be a knucklhead sometimes. He loves to run forward and at this point that’s all I need. Lasar is doing ok at taking commands and I can take the time to train them as long as we can keep moving. This combination is working and we are off. I know these two get along since they have been running wheel together for quite awhile. I am really surprised that Hawkeye is moving forward and not trying to stop and mark everything.
We get to the Nome Sign and I decide to stop and snack one last time. This is when everyone lays down to rest and they are out. Then my bulb in my headlamp blew and I replace it, then the batteries are weak and I replace them. I let the team rest for about half an hour and then roust them and off we go.
The last few miles weren’t too bad and the team did great. We made it to Burma Road and the truck was waiting for us. Mary moves the front end off the trail and we load dogs in the boxes and off to the house.
It took us 9 hours to get back to the truck. There were a lot of other issues we had to work through which contributed to the time it took to get back to the truck.
On the way home, I chatted with Mary for a little bit, but sleep deprivation took over and I slept all the way back to the house. It took a while for the buttons on my sweater to defrost enough so I could actually get undressed. The dogs went to their kennels and went to sleep.
I took a hot shower, poured a scotch, crawled under the covers, positioned a pillow under my very painful shoulder in hopes of keeping pressure off of it and fell asleep to a football game. Mary crawled into bed shortly after me. I forgot how little sleep she has had as she helped with drop bags, getting the team ready and then having to come pick us up.
Mary went to feed the dogs about 6 hours later and they are bouncing around as if they had been locked up all night. This was good to see and told me that it was the conditioning plan that needed adjustment, but then again I have known and stated this since late Sept/early Oct.
The dogs did great and I am very proud of them.
Let it be stated, that I didn't scratch because of the cold temps orbecause of my shoulder, but due to the lack of conditioning of myteam and that is my responsibility.
Knik 200 - Start
I completed my last night shift and was off work at 6:30 AM Monday morning (Dec 29) and back on the 12 hour day shift at 6 AM Wed and Thurs morning. This didn’t help my circadian rhythm at all. I didn’t sleep very well Thursday and Friday night, mostly pre-race jitters and worrying if I have all of my equipment and am I ready for this event. Since the entry fee was paid and non-refundable, we might as well go.
We went to the driver’s meeting on Friday night and I drew bib #9. This meant I had 31 mushers behind me, either professional or really experienced mushers.
Saturday morning rolls around and it was a very cold -12 when Mary was up at 5 AM to feed and water dogs. She let me sleep until 6 AM. I packed the last of the frozen snacks in the sled and we loaded it into the dog truck. We got the dogs loaded and off to the Knik Bar to get set-up. As I load Timber into his top box, I felt an excruciating pain and no strength in my left shoulder to push Timber into his box. Timber had to push off my shoulder to get into his box. It felt like someone jabbed a knife in the shoulder socket. I thought this wasn’t good, but then quickly forgot about this issue as I didn’t have to lift anything else over my head.
All went well finding our parking spot and getting set up. Mary helped get the dogs dropped and started preparing their water. Jill showed up and was a tremendous help throughout. Karl made it and was good at watching our dogs in close proximity to the dogs parked next to us. During the Fairbanks dog show we met Ken, who owns and runs a small team of Siberians. Ken recently moved from Fairbanks to Knik and showed up for the start. He also volunteered to help us out.
This was a great crew and took care of everything. This allowed me to focus on my sled and making sure I had everything. I didn’t worry about a thing.
The time came to harness and booty and get the dogs to the line. Jill held the leaders and Mary double checked harnesses and booties. The race marshal waved us to the line and all went well. I noticed there were people on both side of the chute and further down taking pictures and video. Since the team has never experienced this, it should prove interesting. I get the team to the line and hook down. I chat with the race marshal and then the timer calls 1 minute. I ask Ken to stand on the brake and don’t trust anything. I go up to the front and talk to my lead dogs, Bear and Luna, and make my way back petting each of the dogs. I get back to the sled and the timer calls 15 seconds. At 5 seconds the race marshal moves his foot from the hook and I pull it at 2 seconds and we are off. The first few steps were a bit odd as Bear and Luna noticed all of the spectators. They pulled the team together and we looked really good going out, especially in time for the photographs. I had both feet on the drag in hopes to keep them slow, but that didn’t work so well. Surprisingly I wasn’t nervous.
Knowing the team was under conditioned and we lost some training days between Christmas and the start, the plan was to run a very conservative and slow race to Luce’s where we would feed and camp for about 4 hours. Luce’s was about the halfway point between the start and Skwentna. Skwentna was the halfway point with a mandatory 6 hour rest. I would use the same strategy on the way home.
Going up 3 mile hill, I noticed a sled dog with booties and a harness following us. It looked like he may have chewed through his tug line and got loose from one of the earlier teams. I attempted to call Mary and had her relay to the race marshal the loose dog, but only heard voice mail and I left a message. I noticed another musher coming up from behind me and the loose dog was playing with his leaders. I planted my hook and let him pass and the loose dog went with him. He was not amused by this loose dog. I was glad it went with him as I won’t have to deal with this.
Going up 9 mile hill the loose dog is there to greet us. He is friendly with the dogs, but is moving between the leaders and the team dogs and this is throwing off their pace, not to mention really annoying me. Then he gets ahead of us and runs faster causing the team to go into chase mode expending valuable energy when I want them to go slow.
Just before the turn for the Burma Rd crossing the loose dog goes straight and Bear and Luna taking the Haw command and the loose dog saga is now behind us and somebody else’s problem.
At the 10 mile point, the trail guard has traffic stopped and waves us across. As we cross the road we are surprised to see Mary, Jill and Karl. The dogs did great not stopping to see their Mommy and kept going.
The next 6 or so miles were uneventful with teams passing us. This was predicted and the passes went great. Then one of my snow shoes fell off the sled. Now I take the time to tie the team off to a tree as I am not willing to trust both snow hooks, not to mention there is another team getting closer. The last thing I want is for a team to go by and then the dogs pop the hook and I am walking. We have lived this scenario before and it’s not good for anyone. While I am reclaiming my snowshoe, Bear and Luna turn the team to follow me. At least I don’t have to worry about them leaving me. I get them turned back around and get the couple of tangles undone and noticed the snap on Tolby’s tug line has broken. In my six years of mushing, I have never seen or heard of a brass snap breaking at the bend. No worries, I retrieve my sled repair kit and fix the brass snap. Then I noticed the s-hook that holds the brass snap from the cable neckline to the dogs collar is bent and now the brass snap is hanging from Tolby’s collar and the neckline is dangling near the ground. I pull out the spare brass snap and go to work on Tolby’s tugline. As Tolby is hanging out with me, almost getting in the way of my repair, I realize something is not right and he shouldn’t be this close to me. Then it hits me, there is nothing holding Tolby to the gangline. He just wandered over to me and hung out. I get him hooked up to the tug line and put a quick-link between the cable neckline and the brass snap, hook Tolby’s neckline to his collar, untangle the team, remove and stow the rope and we are off again.
I noticed the team starting to lose a little bit of steam and I predicted this. Instead of making it to Luce’s in 6 hours it looked like it might be 7 hours. No worries as I planned 7 hour runs between stops. As we drop onto Flathorn Lake, there is a nice view of Mt. Susitna. It takes a little longer than I expected to get off of Flathorn Lake and through Dismal Swamp. The swamp is about 3 miles long. Other than the close up view of Mt. Susitna and Denali (Mt. McKinley) in the background the swamp is not very exciting. The sun is pretty much down and there is still enough light to see without a headlamp. As I look at the clear sky I know it’s going to get colder really soon.
We drop onto the Susitna River and make the run toward the Yentna River and we are slowing down. I noticed I had cell coverage and call Mary to let her know we are moving really slow and I may not push the team to Skewntna, but not to worry. We make the turn onto the Yentna and start running to Luce’s. Luce’s is about 9 miles from us. I look at my watch and we have been running for about 7 hours. This isn’t good as we left the chute at 11:18 AM. At 7 PM, we still aren’t at Luce’s and I don’t have any idea how far up the river it is. I make the decision that we will stop and camp at 8 PM no matter what. If we haven’t reached Luce’s then the writing may very well be on the wall.
At 8 PM, we sill aren’t at Luce’s and the dogs have been running for about 8 hours and 40 minutes. I think I see a Neon light around the next bend, but told myself I was sticking firm to my decision and won’t play the “it’s just around the bend”game with my dogs. I want to get them fed and let them rest.
Before I can get their coats on them, all but Lasar has laid down and have settled in. I get the cooker going and start prepping food. Nine of the 12 dogs eat and are still hungry, so I give them so more food. I try to coax the other 3 into eating, but they just want to sleep.
I attempted to feed myself and get organized. I then decide to look at my thermometer and it registered in at -34 degrees Fahrenheit (yes that’s a minus). Still packed in my sled were my Northern Outfitter’s wind garments, which will make me 10 degrees warmer, my second set of heavy poly’s and a pair of windshear fleece pants. I put on my Cabela’s insulator jacket to do my chores and then when I stopped to eat, I put my parka back on and was pleasantly warm. Hand warmers were of course present and kept my hands warm while doing chores. I was still warm and not miserable just worried about the team.
About 11:30 PM, I see a headlamp bouncing down the Yentna River coming at us. It’s a dog team and as they get closer, I can see a race bib. The musher has a concerned look on her face and keeps driving the team. I tried to say something, but she is focused on keeping her team moving. I know they didn’t make Skwentna as they would have had to do the mandatory rest, so she most likely is scratching for one reason or another.
As I watch the team, they are resting and look really tired. I realize the right answer is to take the team home and get them back to the house. I am a little frustrated and depressed at my decision to scratch, but realize it’s the best thing for the health of the team. They are a young team and I want to end on a happy note. They experienced a great deal that we can’t duplicate on the trails at home and we can build on this for the future. As they rest I reviewed the valuable lessons I learned and re-learned.
After 4 hours, I remove coats and have the sled packed up. I then booty and turn the team around and off we go.
We went to the driver’s meeting on Friday night and I drew bib #9. This meant I had 31 mushers behind me, either professional or really experienced mushers.
Saturday morning rolls around and it was a very cold -12 when Mary was up at 5 AM to feed and water dogs. She let me sleep until 6 AM. I packed the last of the frozen snacks in the sled and we loaded it into the dog truck. We got the dogs loaded and off to the Knik Bar to get set-up. As I load Timber into his top box, I felt an excruciating pain and no strength in my left shoulder to push Timber into his box. Timber had to push off my shoulder to get into his box. It felt like someone jabbed a knife in the shoulder socket. I thought this wasn’t good, but then quickly forgot about this issue as I didn’t have to lift anything else over my head.
All went well finding our parking spot and getting set up. Mary helped get the dogs dropped and started preparing their water. Jill showed up and was a tremendous help throughout. Karl made it and was good at watching our dogs in close proximity to the dogs parked next to us. During the Fairbanks dog show we met Ken, who owns and runs a small team of Siberians. Ken recently moved from Fairbanks to Knik and showed up for the start. He also volunteered to help us out.
This was a great crew and took care of everything. This allowed me to focus on my sled and making sure I had everything. I didn’t worry about a thing.
The time came to harness and booty and get the dogs to the line. Jill held the leaders and Mary double checked harnesses and booties. The race marshal waved us to the line and all went well. I noticed there were people on both side of the chute and further down taking pictures and video. Since the team has never experienced this, it should prove interesting. I get the team to the line and hook down. I chat with the race marshal and then the timer calls 1 minute. I ask Ken to stand on the brake and don’t trust anything. I go up to the front and talk to my lead dogs, Bear and Luna, and make my way back petting each of the dogs. I get back to the sled and the timer calls 15 seconds. At 5 seconds the race marshal moves his foot from the hook and I pull it at 2 seconds and we are off. The first few steps were a bit odd as Bear and Luna noticed all of the spectators. They pulled the team together and we looked really good going out, especially in time for the photographs. I had both feet on the drag in hopes to keep them slow, but that didn’t work so well. Surprisingly I wasn’t nervous.
Knowing the team was under conditioned and we lost some training days between Christmas and the start, the plan was to run a very conservative and slow race to Luce’s where we would feed and camp for about 4 hours. Luce’s was about the halfway point between the start and Skwentna. Skwentna was the halfway point with a mandatory 6 hour rest. I would use the same strategy on the way home.
Going up 3 mile hill, I noticed a sled dog with booties and a harness following us. It looked like he may have chewed through his tug line and got loose from one of the earlier teams. I attempted to call Mary and had her relay to the race marshal the loose dog, but only heard voice mail and I left a message. I noticed another musher coming up from behind me and the loose dog was playing with his leaders. I planted my hook and let him pass and the loose dog went with him. He was not amused by this loose dog. I was glad it went with him as I won’t have to deal with this.
Going up 9 mile hill the loose dog is there to greet us. He is friendly with the dogs, but is moving between the leaders and the team dogs and this is throwing off their pace, not to mention really annoying me. Then he gets ahead of us and runs faster causing the team to go into chase mode expending valuable energy when I want them to go slow.
Just before the turn for the Burma Rd crossing the loose dog goes straight and Bear and Luna taking the Haw command and the loose dog saga is now behind us and somebody else’s problem.
At the 10 mile point, the trail guard has traffic stopped and waves us across. As we cross the road we are surprised to see Mary, Jill and Karl. The dogs did great not stopping to see their Mommy and kept going.
The next 6 or so miles were uneventful with teams passing us. This was predicted and the passes went great. Then one of my snow shoes fell off the sled. Now I take the time to tie the team off to a tree as I am not willing to trust both snow hooks, not to mention there is another team getting closer. The last thing I want is for a team to go by and then the dogs pop the hook and I am walking. We have lived this scenario before and it’s not good for anyone. While I am reclaiming my snowshoe, Bear and Luna turn the team to follow me. At least I don’t have to worry about them leaving me. I get them turned back around and get the couple of tangles undone and noticed the snap on Tolby’s tug line has broken. In my six years of mushing, I have never seen or heard of a brass snap breaking at the bend. No worries, I retrieve my sled repair kit and fix the brass snap. Then I noticed the s-hook that holds the brass snap from the cable neckline to the dogs collar is bent and now the brass snap is hanging from Tolby’s collar and the neckline is dangling near the ground. I pull out the spare brass snap and go to work on Tolby’s tugline. As Tolby is hanging out with me, almost getting in the way of my repair, I realize something is not right and he shouldn’t be this close to me. Then it hits me, there is nothing holding Tolby to the gangline. He just wandered over to me and hung out. I get him hooked up to the tug line and put a quick-link between the cable neckline and the brass snap, hook Tolby’s neckline to his collar, untangle the team, remove and stow the rope and we are off again.
I noticed the team starting to lose a little bit of steam and I predicted this. Instead of making it to Luce’s in 6 hours it looked like it might be 7 hours. No worries as I planned 7 hour runs between stops. As we drop onto Flathorn Lake, there is a nice view of Mt. Susitna. It takes a little longer than I expected to get off of Flathorn Lake and through Dismal Swamp. The swamp is about 3 miles long. Other than the close up view of Mt. Susitna and Denali (Mt. McKinley) in the background the swamp is not very exciting. The sun is pretty much down and there is still enough light to see without a headlamp. As I look at the clear sky I know it’s going to get colder really soon.
We drop onto the Susitna River and make the run toward the Yentna River and we are slowing down. I noticed I had cell coverage and call Mary to let her know we are moving really slow and I may not push the team to Skewntna, but not to worry. We make the turn onto the Yentna and start running to Luce’s. Luce’s is about 9 miles from us. I look at my watch and we have been running for about 7 hours. This isn’t good as we left the chute at 11:18 AM. At 7 PM, we still aren’t at Luce’s and I don’t have any idea how far up the river it is. I make the decision that we will stop and camp at 8 PM no matter what. If we haven’t reached Luce’s then the writing may very well be on the wall.
At 8 PM, we sill aren’t at Luce’s and the dogs have been running for about 8 hours and 40 minutes. I think I see a Neon light around the next bend, but told myself I was sticking firm to my decision and won’t play the “it’s just around the bend”game with my dogs. I want to get them fed and let them rest.
Before I can get their coats on them, all but Lasar has laid down and have settled in. I get the cooker going and start prepping food. Nine of the 12 dogs eat and are still hungry, so I give them so more food. I try to coax the other 3 into eating, but they just want to sleep.
I attempted to feed myself and get organized. I then decide to look at my thermometer and it registered in at -34 degrees Fahrenheit (yes that’s a minus). Still packed in my sled were my Northern Outfitter’s wind garments, which will make me 10 degrees warmer, my second set of heavy poly’s and a pair of windshear fleece pants. I put on my Cabela’s insulator jacket to do my chores and then when I stopped to eat, I put my parka back on and was pleasantly warm. Hand warmers were of course present and kept my hands warm while doing chores. I was still warm and not miserable just worried about the team.
About 11:30 PM, I see a headlamp bouncing down the Yentna River coming at us. It’s a dog team and as they get closer, I can see a race bib. The musher has a concerned look on her face and keeps driving the team. I tried to say something, but she is focused on keeping her team moving. I know they didn’t make Skwentna as they would have had to do the mandatory rest, so she most likely is scratching for one reason or another.
As I watch the team, they are resting and look really tired. I realize the right answer is to take the team home and get them back to the house. I am a little frustrated and depressed at my decision to scratch, but realize it’s the best thing for the health of the team. They are a young team and I want to end on a happy note. They experienced a great deal that we can’t duplicate on the trails at home and we can build on this for the future. As they rest I reviewed the valuable lessons I learned and re-learned.
After 4 hours, I remove coats and have the sled packed up. I then booty and turn the team around and off we go.
Knik 200 - Pre-Race Notes
Our first attempt at a qualifier is the Knik 200 starting on Jan 3.
This is a 200 mile race from the Knik bar out to Skwentna Roadhouse for
a 6 hour mandatory lay-over and then back to the Knik bar.
The team is looking good, but we are not as conditioned as I would like
to be. There are several reasons for this. 1. The dog truck took some
extra attention in Sept. 2. I have several rookies, so we stayed at
smaller teams for awhile in order to teach everyone how to run together
and what they are supposed to do. This required some extra attention.
The plan is to run a very conservative race, with the goal of finishing
and hopefully within qualifying time.
We will run about half way out and camp for 4 hours and then run the
other have into Skwentna for the mandatory 6 hour rest. Then do the
exact same thing on the way back. I plan to carry straw on the way out
for the 4 hour break and use the same straw on the return trip. This
way the straw is already spread out and can be used a second time
without having to carry more straw.
The team will be: Bear, Luna, Gabby, Amizette, Timber, Zia, Hawkeye,
Lasar, Thursby, Chypers, Tolby and Mae. Velma will be an alternate if
someone gets injured in the next week. The race rules state you can run
a max of 16 dogs, but for my first distance race in a couple of years, I
will stick to 12. I have been running 14 dogs on sleds.
Apollo is still out with a shoulder injury. Bogey is back from his
shoulder injury, but only up to 15 mile runs and Alli just hurt hershoulder/back in the Chugiak 50 Race we just ran this weekend.
This is a 200 mile race from the Knik bar out to Skwentna Roadhouse for
a 6 hour mandatory lay-over and then back to the Knik bar.
The team is looking good, but we are not as conditioned as I would like
to be. There are several reasons for this. 1. The dog truck took some
extra attention in Sept. 2. I have several rookies, so we stayed at
smaller teams for awhile in order to teach everyone how to run together
and what they are supposed to do. This required some extra attention.
The plan is to run a very conservative race, with the goal of finishing
and hopefully within qualifying time.
We will run about half way out and camp for 4 hours and then run the
other have into Skwentna for the mandatory 6 hour rest. Then do the
exact same thing on the way back. I plan to carry straw on the way out
for the 4 hour break and use the same straw on the return trip. This
way the straw is already spread out and can be used a second time
without having to carry more straw.
The team will be: Bear, Luna, Gabby, Amizette, Timber, Zia, Hawkeye,
Lasar, Thursby, Chypers, Tolby and Mae. Velma will be an alternate if
someone gets injured in the next week. The race rules state you can run
a max of 16 dogs, but for my first distance race in a couple of years, I
will stick to 12. I have been running 14 dogs on sleds.
Apollo is still out with a shoulder injury. Bogey is back from his
shoulder injury, but only up to 15 mile runs and Alli just hurt hershoulder/back in the Chugiak 50 Race we just ran this weekend.
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