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.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
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.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
25 Dec 08
I had intended on running tonight and when I woke up at 2 PM, it was snowing fairly heavenly. While still in bed, I called the local time and temp and the forecast was for 2-4 inches. I looked outside and we had more than 4 inches and there is no sign of it letting up. I hurt my good knee on the run last night and my right ankle and left shoulder are sore. Something deep in my gut tells me to give the dogs the night off. I call Mary and explain everything and she says “it’s your decision”. Not much help. After mulling it over, I decide to follow my gut and call off training and let the dogs have the next four days off to recover from any sore muscles. If I have them I am sure they do also.
The bonus round is I get to spend some time with Mary. When I work the night shift, I don’t see her as she is going to work when I am coming home or vice versa. It turns out my decision was a good one as the snow continued until about 6 AM on the 26th. I have over a foot and a half of snow in the driveway. That would be a great deal of snow for the dogs to have to break through. If this were a race that would be different, but this close our debut, I can’t afford an injury.
The bonus round is I get to spend some time with Mary. When I work the night shift, I don’t see her as she is going to work when I am coming home or vice versa. It turns out my decision was a good one as the snow continued until about 6 AM on the 26th. I have over a foot and a half of snow in the driveway. That would be a great deal of snow for the dogs to have to break through. If this were a race that would be different, but this close our debut, I can’t afford an injury.
24 Dec 08
Yes it’s Christmas eve and we need to get a longer run in. The Knik 200 is 11 days away. Realizing I am still on the night rotation from work, I make it to the 6PM Christmas mass. There is a 9PM, Midnight and 10AM (Sunday) mass. The 6 PM is the best one for me to keep on the night schedule and not rush training.
Mary waters and collars the dogs. I am re-loading everything into the dog truck as it had to have a sensor for the blower replaced the previous day.
Apparently Bear and Cyphers had a difference of opinion and got into a scuffle. They are kennel mates and Bear looks after Cyphers as Cyphers is Bear’s little brother. Cyphers, who is taller than Bear, got the best of bear and injured Bear’s front left paw. It must be injured because Bear is sitting looking at me holding his paw off the ground. Not good this close to the race. So Bear is off tonight.
I get to the track and tell Mary that we should be out about 10:45 PM and will should be home around 7 AM. She tells me Bear is moving around the back yard fairly effortlessly. This is good news for the team.
There is some fresh powder on the trails and they haven’t been groomed. It looks like one other sled has been here before me. The run was planned for 50 miles. Realizing there is fresh powder on the trail, the run is going to be slower than normal. I keep Luna up front and try to use Mae, but she has decided in the last week she doesn’t want to lead. My only other leader on the team is Zia who is in season. Zia is a back-up leader and still lacks a little self confidence when she is up front. I have a few girls between the leaders and the boys, and we have the trails to ourselves, so I move Zia up front. It was a slow run and Bear’s leadership was missed, but we made it through. We broke trail for a few miles here and there and I decided to call it a night after 45 miles. With all of the trail the dogs had to break, I figure they made up the last 5 miles. This was our longest straight through run to date.
Mary waters and collars the dogs. I am re-loading everything into the dog truck as it had to have a sensor for the blower replaced the previous day.
Apparently Bear and Cyphers had a difference of opinion and got into a scuffle. They are kennel mates and Bear looks after Cyphers as Cyphers is Bear’s little brother. Cyphers, who is taller than Bear, got the best of bear and injured Bear’s front left paw. It must be injured because Bear is sitting looking at me holding his paw off the ground. Not good this close to the race. So Bear is off tonight.
I get to the track and tell Mary that we should be out about 10:45 PM and will should be home around 7 AM. She tells me Bear is moving around the back yard fairly effortlessly. This is good news for the team.
There is some fresh powder on the trails and they haven’t been groomed. It looks like one other sled has been here before me. The run was planned for 50 miles. Realizing there is fresh powder on the trail, the run is going to be slower than normal. I keep Luna up front and try to use Mae, but she has decided in the last week she doesn’t want to lead. My only other leader on the team is Zia who is in season. Zia is a back-up leader and still lacks a little self confidence when she is up front. I have a few girls between the leaders and the boys, and we have the trails to ourselves, so I move Zia up front. It was a slow run and Bear’s leadership was missed, but we made it through. We broke trail for a few miles here and there and I decided to call it a night after 45 miles. With all of the trail the dogs had to break, I figure they made up the last 5 miles. This was our longest straight through run to date.
Chugiak 50 - Heat 2 (21 Dec 08)
We arrive at the track and get set up. Today we decided to water at the house and then load up and go to the track. This builds in a little time at home. The plan is to do the same thing as yesterday, but with 50 pounds vice the 35 pounds of weight in the sled.
We follow Christine, but the dogs aren’t going as fast as yesterday and 8 of the 13 have pooped in the first mile of the race. This slows us down and the junior musher catches us pretty quick. I see her approach and let her pass. Then Wayne caught us after 2 and half miles. Now that everyone is in front of us, we settle down and get into a nice pace. Much better than yesterday. Remember we are not sprinting and have a higher objective for this race.
As we drop onto Clunie Lake the layer of fog is pretty thick. This is great as your competitors can’t see you. The run is very enjoyable and the dogs are working well as a team. After about 19 miles, I noticed Alli is doing her best to keep up with the team, but having to work really hard at it. Then she slipped her collar. I stop the team and put her collar back on and off we go. I keep an eye on her and although she is running, she is still having to work a little harder to keep up with the team. She isn’t limping. I think about bagging her, but want to watch her for a little while. We drop onto Beach Lake for the last 2 and half miles of the race and Alli slips her collar again. Hmmm. She isn’t limping and is very cooperative when I put her collar back on. Off we go. We get back to the truck and I tell Mary what happened and that Alli should go home with her and not back out.
Once again we finished strong with a time of 2 hours and 48 minutes. Our total time was 5 hours and 45 minutes.
Realizing the dogs have run 75 miles in a 27 hour period, I decide to only go out for a 10 mile run. This way I can get Bogey out and run straight through.
Once Mary got home and was able to walk Alli, she stared to limp. Mary fed Alli and off to a crate so she wouldn’t further injure anything.
We follow Christine, but the dogs aren’t going as fast as yesterday and 8 of the 13 have pooped in the first mile of the race. This slows us down and the junior musher catches us pretty quick. I see her approach and let her pass. Then Wayne caught us after 2 and half miles. Now that everyone is in front of us, we settle down and get into a nice pace. Much better than yesterday. Remember we are not sprinting and have a higher objective for this race.
As we drop onto Clunie Lake the layer of fog is pretty thick. This is great as your competitors can’t see you. The run is very enjoyable and the dogs are working well as a team. After about 19 miles, I noticed Alli is doing her best to keep up with the team, but having to work really hard at it. Then she slipped her collar. I stop the team and put her collar back on and off we go. I keep an eye on her and although she is running, she is still having to work a little harder to keep up with the team. She isn’t limping. I think about bagging her, but want to watch her for a little while. We drop onto Beach Lake for the last 2 and half miles of the race and Alli slips her collar again. Hmmm. She isn’t limping and is very cooperative when I put her collar back on. Off we go. We get back to the truck and I tell Mary what happened and that Alli should go home with her and not back out.
Once again we finished strong with a time of 2 hours and 48 minutes. Our total time was 5 hours and 45 minutes.
Realizing the dogs have run 75 miles in a 27 hour period, I decide to only go out for a 10 mile run. This way I can get Bogey out and run straight through.
Once Mary got home and was able to walk Alli, she stared to limp. Mary fed Alli and off to a crate so she wouldn’t further injure anything.
Chugiak 50 - Heat 1 (20 Dec 08)
The team consisted of Bear, Luna, Gabby, Amizette, Timber, Mae, Thursby, Lasar, Hawkeye, Tolby, Cyphers, Alli and Velma.
This race is 25 miles each day.
Mary gets everyone fed, watered and collared in the morning. We load the dogs and double check all of the equipment and off to the track. We arrive at 11:30 and get the dogs dropped and watered by noon. The race starts at 1PM. As I sign up there is only one other musher entered. The musher is Christine Roalafs and I see her and her handler out at the trails at least once a week. Christine is fairly new to distance mushing but has a 200 miler under her belt from last year.
I talked with her earlier in the week about this race and told her my plans were to run the 25 mile heat (with about 35 pounds of weight in the sled), feed the dogs and then go out about 3 hours later for another 25 mile run. She asked what my thinking was and I explained that, my focus is getting ready for the Knik 200. Since the club asks those not racing to train in another area or come out after the race is over, I wanted to take the opportunity to utilize the trail close to home , get some race experience for the dogs and support the club. I am still on the night rotation due to work. The back to back runs will help condition the dogs recovery system and will get them used to what they will see on the Knik race, although the distances will be longer. Since Christine is running the Gin Gin 200 on Dec 27, she said she would do the same.
The driver’s meeting started at 12:45 and Christine and I are the only ones signed up for the Chugiak 50. The Chugiak 32 (16 mile heats each day) is being held simultaneously with our race. There is a junior musher entered in the 6 dog class and Wayne Curtis signed up for the Purebred class.
The timer counts down and off we go. The dogs are in chase mode and I am standing on the drag with both feet. I look at my GPS and we are hauling ass at 16.5 MPH. Way too fast for distance dogs. At about a mile and half into the race, I catch a glimpse of Christine and won’t see her again until we drop onto Clunie Lake. The junior musher catches me around the 3 mile point and we coordinate for a good spot to let her pass. She is pretty quick with her 6 dogs. About a couple of miles later, Wayne comes up and I let him pass. The team is still in chase mode and I can’t get them to settle into their pace. I think I pulled a calf muscle by standing on the drag. You would think the 35 pounds in the sled would have helped.
I follow Wayne around Clunie Lake passing him once and then getting re-passed. I want to stay behind and let the dogs catch their breath. The pace is still too fast, but the team needs to learn this and compensate. After 9 miles, I stop the team and give them a breather and let Wayne get further ahead. The desired affect was achieved. The dogs settled down and now we are running the pace I want. I just hope they have enough gas to maintain this pace. They get a little slower and I give them a few rest breaks, mostly to roll in the snow and cool down.
We finish strong with a time of 2 hours and 57 minutes. Not too bad for their first race.
Mary helps get everyone fed and 3 hours later, we are back out. The team had the trails all to themselves. It was quiet and great. This run took us around 3 hours and I had everyone back in their kennels by midnight.
Christine took a fall getting onto Clunie Lake and hit her head. She opted not to go back out.
I hooked up Bogey and Zia for this run. Zia didn’t race because she is in season and that’s just asking for trouble. Bogey is recovering from a shoulder injury and isn’t at the 25 mile distance yet. I coordinate with Mary to meet me to drop Bogey off after 10 miles and I keep Zia for the whole 25 mile run. By having Mary meet me on the trail, I don’t have to take the dogs back to the truck. It’s very demoralizing for the team to go to the truck to drop a dog off and then have to go back out.
This run took us around 3 hours and I had everyone back in their kennels by midnight.
This race is 25 miles each day.
Mary gets everyone fed, watered and collared in the morning. We load the dogs and double check all of the equipment and off to the track. We arrive at 11:30 and get the dogs dropped and watered by noon. The race starts at 1PM. As I sign up there is only one other musher entered. The musher is Christine Roalafs and I see her and her handler out at the trails at least once a week. Christine is fairly new to distance mushing but has a 200 miler under her belt from last year.
I talked with her earlier in the week about this race and told her my plans were to run the 25 mile heat (with about 35 pounds of weight in the sled), feed the dogs and then go out about 3 hours later for another 25 mile run. She asked what my thinking was and I explained that, my focus is getting ready for the Knik 200. Since the club asks those not racing to train in another area or come out after the race is over, I wanted to take the opportunity to utilize the trail close to home , get some race experience for the dogs and support the club. I am still on the night rotation due to work. The back to back runs will help condition the dogs recovery system and will get them used to what they will see on the Knik race, although the distances will be longer. Since Christine is running the Gin Gin 200 on Dec 27, she said she would do the same.
The driver’s meeting started at 12:45 and Christine and I are the only ones signed up for the Chugiak 50. The Chugiak 32 (16 mile heats each day) is being held simultaneously with our race. There is a junior musher entered in the 6 dog class and Wayne Curtis signed up for the Purebred class.
The timer counts down and off we go. The dogs are in chase mode and I am standing on the drag with both feet. I look at my GPS and we are hauling ass at 16.5 MPH. Way too fast for distance dogs. At about a mile and half into the race, I catch a glimpse of Christine and won’t see her again until we drop onto Clunie Lake. The junior musher catches me around the 3 mile point and we coordinate for a good spot to let her pass. She is pretty quick with her 6 dogs. About a couple of miles later, Wayne comes up and I let him pass. The team is still in chase mode and I can’t get them to settle into their pace. I think I pulled a calf muscle by standing on the drag. You would think the 35 pounds in the sled would have helped.
I follow Wayne around Clunie Lake passing him once and then getting re-passed. I want to stay behind and let the dogs catch their breath. The pace is still too fast, but the team needs to learn this and compensate. After 9 miles, I stop the team and give them a breather and let Wayne get further ahead. The desired affect was achieved. The dogs settled down and now we are running the pace I want. I just hope they have enough gas to maintain this pace. They get a little slower and I give them a few rest breaks, mostly to roll in the snow and cool down.
We finish strong with a time of 2 hours and 57 minutes. Not too bad for their first race.
Mary helps get everyone fed and 3 hours later, we are back out. The team had the trails all to themselves. It was quiet and great. This run took us around 3 hours and I had everyone back in their kennels by midnight.
Christine took a fall getting onto Clunie Lake and hit her head. She opted not to go back out.
I hooked up Bogey and Zia for this run. Zia didn’t race because she is in season and that’s just asking for trouble. Bogey is recovering from a shoulder injury and isn’t at the 25 mile distance yet. I coordinate with Mary to meet me to drop Bogey off after 10 miles and I keep Zia for the whole 25 mile run. By having Mary meet me on the trail, I don’t have to take the dogs back to the truck. It’s very demoralizing for the team to go to the truck to drop a dog off and then have to go back out.
This run took us around 3 hours and I had everyone back in their kennels by midnight.
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