TWELVE DEGREES AND NEW SNOW !

Well, I woke up this morning to about 5 or 6 inches of new snow. It was so beautiful out, kind of like a winter wonderland...so clean and fresh. I watered the dogs bright and early and then pulled out a different sled from the sled shed. It took a while to get the sled ready for a run. I had to hook the snub line to it, and connect the gang line. Next I found two snow hooks to attach to the sled, along with a drag. I pulled out the big bag of sand that was in my other sled and placed it in the new sled.

I took out the snowmachine and ran down to the creek. I decided not to groom the trails, but rather have the team break trail. It would be a good work out for them. I did run the snow machine back and forth over the berm that the snow plow left when he plowed the road.

I hooked up a 9 dog team, with Tok and Ned in the lead, Jim and Red in Swing, then Max and Newman, then Jack running single, followed by the two wheel dogs, Roan and Rice. It was so beautiful out and the dogs were running well, excited after having a day off yesterday. I love it when we set the first tracks on fresh snow. I had my ipod with me for the first time this winter and I listened to Bronn Journey...one of my favorite musicians when I am mushing. His music just fits watching the team before me, going through the trails and around the lakes.

We went out to Ramano Lake and on over to Frying Pan Lake. We saw Vern with a team, Marilyne on the snowmachine, followed by Bob double sledding with a team and then the two handlers on a snow machine. I took some pictures and videos. I am hoping that they turned out, as my camera was acting up. I am hoping it was due to low batteries. I don't want to have to replace my camera.

After the run, I put the dogs up and then I decided to take out the snowmachine and groom the other part of the swamp. I was out there about an hour and a half and came back in the dark. Team 2 will have to wait until tomorrow.

PUPPIES PUPPIES PUPPIES...

Tuesday, December 29th.

Another beautiful day in the swamp...I was on a high from my two runs yesterday. They were great. Tok is an awesome leader and he proved it yesterday.

Today, the plan was to put on some miles. I was hoping to run the "A" team for 40miles. We were doing great and just had completed Lost Lady Loop and we were on our way back. Up ahead of me I saw a snowmachine coming and then I notice all of the puppies. Oh no...as I flashed back to last year and my puppy encounter. These guys were older dogs, about 8 month olds. The were full of themselves and so full of energy. They ran right into my team and were wanting to play with my leaders. Ned was so distracted by the puppies that it was all I could do to keep them going.

The handler tried calling the puppies, but they were not going to stop following my team. I went aways and then stopped and waited for the handler to come and try and retrieve her dogs. No handler. This was getting rather frustrating. I had puppies jumping at my wheel dogs, puppies running in front of my leaders and stopping. I had puppies in the middle of the team. Oh my, this was not what I had planned. We ended up with 6 puppies who followed me about 8 miles.

When we left the swamp and was on the trail out to the kennel, I saw Mary with a team coming at me. I thought that this wasn't a good thing and it wasn't. She ended up with the puppies in her team and her sled hit my wheel dog Spot. She couldn't figure out what was going on...why would I be running loose dogs??? Well, I went on to the kennel. I realized that I only had 2 puppies with me...she had picked up 4 of them. When I got to the kennel, I hooked my team down and jumped on the snowmachine to help her. I thought that maybe the puppies would follow me rather than be messing with her sprint team.

By the time I got there, her husband was there on his snowmachine and he told me that the handler picked up the four dogs and was looking for the two lost dogs. It ended up that they were on the trail to my kennel. Shortly afterwards, Susan showed up looking for their dogs. Happy to say that the puppies are all accounted for and safely back at their kennel I sure hope that I don't encounter them again on the trail.

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Living My Dream--Part 3...MY THIRD WINTER TRAINING IN WILLOW, ALASKA

A QUICK TRIP TO WILLOW--September 24- October 12th, 2010

It was exciting to be heading back to Willow a month earlier than usual. Driving to Willow was such a different experience. In all of my times in Willow, it has always been snow covered and with the rivers and lakes frozen over. This time, the snow was missing, the rivers were flowing and the lakes were open water.

Ted and I got busy running teams at Shirley Towne. We would have to load up the 2 four wheelers on the trailer and then load up 16 dogs in the dog truck. We would drive to Shirley Towne and run the dogs on the dirt road. I think that we ran the dogs about 14 miles on our training runs. It was good training with the hills.

I attended the Willow Dog Musher's Symposium, where I met Mary Shields, one of the first two women to run Iditarod in 19__. She was a remarkable women...so soft spoken and I was in awe of her experiences with her dogs. She had me wishing that I had begun my mushing carear much earlier. I found myself wanting to go back in time and to have the opportunity to live life as she did with her dogs. I would have been in my glory. I didn't begin mushing until in my 50's.

I traveled to Fairbanks to attend the Alaska Dog Mushers Association Symposium. It was a power packed information gathering time for me. I learned about feeding and training and vet care from the experts. Lance Mackey, Jeff King, Hans Gatt, Egil Ellis, Aliy Zirkle were so me of the top names there. I left realizing how much there is still to learn.

CHAD WAITING FOR SNOW....

Well, my two and a half weeks went by fast. It was time to head back home to prepare to return for the winter.

THE ARRIVAL OF 2000(ONE TON) POUNDS OF MEAT

I ordered a ton of beef for the dogs. It was trucked from Minnesota and we picked it up in Palmer. That was quite a load for our little trailer, but we made it home safe. That was the easy part...now each of those 5o pound blocks will have to be cut up into 10 pound chunks and then sliced into small pieces and bagged. Just for Serum run, we will pack out 500 pounds of the beef and 150 pounds of the fat.

Before I went home for Christmas, I cut up nearly half a ton of the beef and loaded it in a large chest freezer. I still have the other half to deal with. It is stacked in our "Outdoor Freezer"...on a palet right in the yard. Lately it has been like a deep freeze, with mother nature keeping it at -10 degrees.