Warm temps are hitting

To start, Devlyn had his 2 dog race this weekend. It was 26F and the sun was shining down. Devlyn did great! He didn't have any problems with the sled this weekend, made the turns like a pro and cut another 7 seconds off of his time. Unfortunately, Munchkin decided to poop on the race, so he lost some time. Plus, a bug has been running through the yard, so Munchkin wasn't a 100%. Still, they did a great job...Devlyn took 7th out of 11 racers with a time of 4:07. He's hoping to do even better next weekend. Hopefully, Munchkin will do her business BEFORE the race. Ha ha ha!

Boy, is it WARM out there! I woke up to 30F yesterday morning. But, I had a team to train, so off we went. The dogs ran very nicely, even in the warm temps. The snow was a bit powdery, but the run was nice. This is the line up: Dusk/Just in lead; Hopper/Anya in swing; Feather/China in team; Torus/Ahab in front of wheel; Inu/Jake in wheel. I wanted to give Feather a break from running lead and let her relax in the middle of the team...besides that, she's in heat, and I didn't want any "problems". At least she's in heat now, instead of starting it on the race, like she did last year (that was NO fun!). Anyhoo, the dogs started off real strong and since it was warm, the trail out was real icy, which made it hard to slow the dogs. So, it felt a little "out of control" at first, though really it wasn't. The start of any run is always crazy for me, as the dogs are rarin' to go and really strong. And of course, that's when things will go wrong. So, to get out in one piece with no problems is always something I'm thankful for. You see, it's a bit tricky leaving the yard, with a sharp 90 degree turn just 100 feet from the start, on a road, which is icy. Top that off with a mound of dirt on the inside of the turn, which the dogs always cut into, resulting in me launching off of the mound into mid-air, then slamming down onto the hard packed road. Still, I did it with style. :o) No, not on my face. Ha ha ha!

Things were going well, until we dropped onto the river. Just hates to turn left, so he decided that we were going to go to Fairbanks instead of North Pole. I got them stopped, but the hooks weren't holding in the soft snow. I waved Jodi by me (her dogs are used to the trail and made the left effortlessly), then turned my team, jumping back on the sled as the hooks popped. One of my hooks (I always carry 2) went under the runners and hooked on the other side. I had to get the team stopped, sink the other hook so that I could tip the sled and unwrap my 2nd hook. It actually went exactly as planned...surprise, surprise! Ha ha ha! We got going again, but I think this was Just's first time leading on a river and he was all over the place. Finally, I "Hawed" Dusk over and he dutifully yanked Just back onto the packed trail (though I use the term packed loosely, as it was warm and the snow was powdery). Then, Just stopped to poop and balled up the whole team. "Just, dang it!" I hollered. I had to untangle dogs, but then we got going and Jodi was stopped waiting. I told her what happened and she laughed saying she had heard me holler and knew that Just was up to his old, hard-headed tricks again. I went on ahead of Jodi and we didn't see her again until I stopped to check feet and booty dogs. She wanted me to go ahead of her, but I hadn't been on this trail for over a year and the only other times were always at night. So, I missed the turn off the river, because it looked like it wasn't the turn...picture a wall over 5 feet high of frozen rock/ dirt that the dogs would literally have to claw their way up. I said, "No way, that can't be it" and went by. Jodi yelled that I'd missed the turn. I know I looked at her like she was crazy. She just laughed, parked her team and helped me turn mine, because again the hooks weren't holding in the soft snow. After that, the run was great. We goofed around, taking pictures and such. I wasn't paying attention as we dropped down off of the second dike and when I jabbed for my track, I missed and plowed into the soft snow. Jodi stopped up ahead and asked what happened. I just laughed and said "I was tired, so thought I'd lie down." Jodi said, "No, you were hot and wanted to roll in the snow!" Regardless, we really had a good time. The dogs ran slower than normal due to it being so stinking hot (I started unzipping the jacket and all), but the run was FUN!!! Now, THAT'S why I run dogs. The dogs were happy, tongues lolling, tails wagging; Jodi and I were laughing and having a great time...it was fantastic!!

-Tammi