Got up early to water the dogs. It is far too warm out...in the upper 30's.
The biggest concern is losing our creek crossing. At times it can be so frustrating just trying to get in the much needed training runs. Well, on yesterday's grooming run with the snowmachine, there were small trees down and it looked as though many more may come down, so the plan was that at first light Paula and I would go out with the chain saw and take the small trees off the trail and also cut down any trees that we could. John was supposed to be in Anchorage all weekend with sprint racing, but just as Paula and I were taking off he called to tell us that the races were cancelled. I told him that we were just heading out to tackle the fallen trees. He said that he would change out the chain on his saw and join us.
So off Paula and I went, and we took down quite a few trees, and cleared the trail. When John showed up, I took Paula back to the house and returned to the trail. It was 5 hours of falling trees and bucking them up so that we would hopefully not have to deal with any downed trees on our trail. There were a few trees that were left in hopes that they would not come down. They would be easier dealt with in the summer.
So, back to the dog lot I went and selected a team and away we went. I had planned a short run as it was New Years and I didn't want to be on the trail in the evening with many snow machiners out there. The run was fabulous and I was thrilled. We were going to be home before dark and then in the morning I would take out the dogs that I didn't run today.
We turned onto our trail off the swamp and the team was strong. Then suddenly one of the trees that we didn't take down, had fallen across the trail. Oh my gosh ! Hmmmm. Why didn't I take the hand saw? It was so windy that it was actually kind of scary on the trail. As I looked up into the trees, they were dancing an ugly dance...with so much weight on them from the wet snow that it seemed that they could fall at any time. I had the feeling of running a gauntlet, hopingto make it through without any trees falling on you.
As I was clearing some of the branches out of the way to try and make a crossing over that tree, my leaders had turned the team around behind me...so I had to go back and grab my leaders and bring the team back around. I ended up with tangles and finally I unhooked Amber, as I knew that she would stay close by and I removed two tugs from my gang line and tied off two dogs that were being trouble makers, each to their own tree.
I was then able to lead the remaining dogs up and over the tree, dragging the sled behind us and then lifted the sled up and over. With everyone across the tree, I straightened out the gang line and the dogs and started re hooking the dogs and tugs. I had called Ted and Paula and they just arrived on the snowmachine. Ted had brought the chain saw and I bucked up the tree and cleared it from the trail.
By then it was dark and I was glad to be on my way. I got to test out my new head lamp and was very happy with it. We got back to the kennel and I fed the dogs and Called Angie. I was about an hour and a half late.
I spent the evening with Angie, sewing neck warmers and wristies. I had to laugh because it seemed like I spent more time ripping out seams. It was a fun evening even though not all that productive (as far as the sewing went). It is always great to get together with other mushers and share what works for you.
The biggest concern is losing our creek crossing. At times it can be so frustrating just trying to get in the much needed training runs. Well, on yesterday's grooming run with the snowmachine, there were small trees down and it looked as though many more may come down, so the plan was that at first light Paula and I would go out with the chain saw and take the small trees off the trail and also cut down any trees that we could. John was supposed to be in Anchorage all weekend with sprint racing, but just as Paula and I were taking off he called to tell us that the races were cancelled. I told him that we were just heading out to tackle the fallen trees. He said that he would change out the chain on his saw and join us.
So off Paula and I went, and we took down quite a few trees, and cleared the trail. When John showed up, I took Paula back to the house and returned to the trail. It was 5 hours of falling trees and bucking them up so that we would hopefully not have to deal with any downed trees on our trail. There were a few trees that were left in hopes that they would not come down. They would be easier dealt with in the summer.
So, back to the dog lot I went and selected a team and away we went. I had planned a short run as it was New Years and I didn't want to be on the trail in the evening with many snow machiners out there. The run was fabulous and I was thrilled. We were going to be home before dark and then in the morning I would take out the dogs that I didn't run today.
We turned onto our trail off the swamp and the team was strong. Then suddenly one of the trees that we didn't take down, had fallen across the trail. Oh my gosh ! Hmmmm. Why didn't I take the hand saw? It was so windy that it was actually kind of scary on the trail. As I looked up into the trees, they were dancing an ugly dance...with so much weight on them from the wet snow that it seemed that they could fall at any time. I had the feeling of running a gauntlet, hopingto make it through without any trees falling on you.
As I was clearing some of the branches out of the way to try and make a crossing over that tree, my leaders had turned the team around behind me...so I had to go back and grab my leaders and bring the team back around. I ended up with tangles and finally I unhooked Amber, as I knew that she would stay close by and I removed two tugs from my gang line and tied off two dogs that were being trouble makers, each to their own tree.
I was then able to lead the remaining dogs up and over the tree, dragging the sled behind us and then lifted the sled up and over. With everyone across the tree, I straightened out the gang line and the dogs and started re hooking the dogs and tugs. I had called Ted and Paula and they just arrived on the snowmachine. Ted had brought the chain saw and I bucked up the tree and cleared it from the trail.
By then it was dark and I was glad to be on my way. I got to test out my new head lamp and was very happy with it. We got back to the kennel and I fed the dogs and Called Angie. I was about an hour and a half late.
I spent the evening with Angie, sewing neck warmers and wristies. I had to laugh because it seemed like I spent more time ripping out seams. It was a fun evening even though not all that productive (as far as the sewing went). It is always great to get together with other mushers and share what works for you.
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