The dogs are down for two days to rest up for the race...but not so for the musher. There is lots to do in preparation, however, for this race much less than others.
Yesterday I got to play butcher...I had bought 100 pounds of beef for the dogs. It came in 10 - 10 pound packages..frozen solid.
I ran them through the table saw and then used the chop saw to cut into snack size pieces for the dogs. I then decided to walk out to the dog lot and give them all a treat. They loved it and were eager for more ! I bagged the pieces into gallon zip lock bags and most bags had 24 pieces of the frozen meat in them. I also made a few 12 piece packs. 
They are now in the freezer in boxes. While I was doing the meat cutting and packing, Ted was repairing my sled. I drove to the post office to see if my Mukluks were in ... and sadly they haven't arrived. I an so hoping that they arrive so that I can wear them on the race...it will mean warmer feet.
Today I will clean out "Whitey"...the dog truck. I will make sure that the dog boxes have straw in them. Right now it has a trailer on it with additional dog boxes that we used when we were running Shirley Towne. We will unhook the trailer. I will need to get the snow off...and there is quite a bit ! Then the sled will get loaded on top and the equipment in the back. I have a check list of all the items that I need...some of which are: harnesses, gang line, additional 2 dog sections (Right now my gang line it set up for an 8 dog team), a pooper scooper and bucket, and bowls for the dogs. The water will be on the list for Saturday morning. If we loaded that up today, it would be frozen solid.
I am also planning on cutting up a 60 pound box of poultry skins for the dogs. After any meat cutting is done, "Bear"... one of the house dogs will make a bee line straight for the blue house to devour the saw dust...which is like powdered beef laying on the snow. Today he will feast on the poultry dust.
The race tomorrow is called "The Alaskan Excursion 120". But because of the snow conditions the race details have been constantly changed and updated. Up until Monday it was looking like it would be cancelled due to lack of snow. The big concern was for the safety of the teams and mushers and the inability to be able to set a snow hook.
I will be contemplating which dogs to race and how many...We are able to take a "pool" of 12 dogs and from what I can tell, you will be limited to a 10 dog team on Saturday and may run a 12 dog team on Sunday. On either day you are allowed to run a smaller team. The race was also shortened to 46 miles each day and the starting time was delayed until 10:00 so that the start would be in the daylight. The nice thing about this race is that I will be able to return home after day one and sleep in my own bed...so there will be no camping out !
My hopes for this evening will be a full night's sleep. Last year before the races I would lie awake most of the night...and that would drive me crazy ! On multi day races it is so important to get adequate rest beforehand as while on the race you will have very limited sleep...
Yesterday I got to play butcher...I had bought 100 pounds of beef for the dogs. It came in 10 - 10 pound packages..frozen solid.
I ran them through the table saw and then used the chop saw to cut into snack size pieces for the dogs. I then decided to walk out to the dog lot and give them all a treat. They loved it and were eager for more ! I bagged the pieces into gallon zip lock bags and most bags had 24 pieces of the frozen meat in them. I also made a few 12 piece packs. They are now in the freezer in boxes. While I was doing the meat cutting and packing, Ted was repairing my sled. I drove to the post office to see if my Mukluks were in ... and sadly they haven't arrived. I an so hoping that they arrive so that I can wear them on the race...it will mean warmer feet.Today I will clean out "Whitey"...the dog truck. I will make sure that the dog boxes have straw in them. Right now it has a trailer on it with additional dog boxes that we used when we were running Shirley Towne. We will unhook the trailer. I will need to get the snow off...and there is quite a bit ! Then the sled will get loaded on top and the equipment in the back. I have a check list of all the items that I need...some of which are: harnesses, gang line, additional 2 dog sections (Right now my gang line it set up for an 8 dog team), a pooper scooper and bucket, and bowls for the dogs. The water will be on the list for Saturday morning. If we loaded that up today, it would be frozen solid.
I am also planning on cutting up a 60 pound box of poultry skins for the dogs. After any meat cutting is done, "Bear"... one of the house dogs will make a bee line straight for the blue house to devour the saw dust...which is like powdered beef laying on the snow. Today he will feast on the poultry dust.
The race tomorrow is called "The Alaskan Excursion 120". But because of the snow conditions the race details have been constantly changed and updated. Up until Monday it was looking like it would be cancelled due to lack of snow. The big concern was for the safety of the teams and mushers and the inability to be able to set a snow hook.
I will be contemplating which dogs to race and how many...We are able to take a "pool" of 12 dogs and from what I can tell, you will be limited to a 10 dog team on Saturday and may run a 12 dog team on Sunday. On either day you are allowed to run a smaller team. The race was also shortened to 46 miles each day and the starting time was delayed until 10:00 so that the start would be in the daylight. The nice thing about this race is that I will be able to return home after day one and sleep in my own bed...so there will be no camping out !
My hopes for this evening will be a full night's sleep. Last year before the races I would lie awake most of the night...and that would drive me crazy ! On multi day races it is so important to get adequate rest beforehand as while on the race you will have very limited sleep...
well, now that you have meat cutting experience I'll talk to the butcher about a job for you when you get back Jan! Good luck in the race!!!!!
ReplyDeleteGood thing you have all that experience from carpentry work. Running the chop-saw was a walk in the park for you. I have enjoyed all of your posts on your adventures in Alaska. Jeff
ReplyDeleteLove hearing all of this - you write well and it seems so other worldly! Coral
ReplyDeleteI love hearing your comments !!! It is fun sharing my experiences with you all !!! Kind of a connection from home and family and friends ! I miss you all !
ReplyDelete