On Sleds...Again.

It seems as if the snow is finally here to stay.  We got about eight inches so its back to the sleds again.  After going to Washburn, we had gotten some rain and it sucked for us, and demolished the trail in Washburn, too, but this last storm has allowed us to forget all of that.  On Friday-12-21-2012, we loaded up and went over to Marenisco again to enjoy some of our old standby trails up there.  There was a foot of untouched snow and we had to break trail the whole time.  It was warm when it snowed, so it was squishy and sticky and the dogs were tired after the 16 mile run, but we are not complaining-thank goodness for the snow!

We were joking that because I follow with my dragmat down to slow my team a bit and stay behind, Jeremy breaks the trail and my team "grooms" it...this is how it looks when I hit it...

and this is how it looks after.

Sledding in Washburn, Wisconsin

  We are still without much for snow (maybe two inches), and heard that Washburn, Wisconsin had gotten a foot of new snow with the last storm and that they have some nice trails over there, so we decided to make the 55 mile or so drive over yesterday with two eight dog teams and our sleds to check it out.  We were informed that there are lots of interconnecting forest roads and it can be easy to get lost so we should have maps for sure, so we studied the roads on Google Earth before hand and stopped at the Forestry office in Washburn to pick up a couple maps when we got over there (the snowmobile trail maps worked best on the sleds).  We carefully planned out a 25 mile set of loops and parked right by the Long Lake turnoff.   The snow had settled to about six to eight inches, which is good enough for us-beggars can't be choosers-and the trails over there are fantastic!  There isn't really much base, so there are a couple SHORT sections that are a little rough, but it was totally worth driving over for and we had a blast!  We will definitely be going over there again.  We didn't see any sign of any other mushers (unbelievable with those trails!), there was a couple trucks driving around out there, but that's just good training for the dogs (passing them).  I hope other mushers decide to head over there-we definitely recommend it.

 The dogs really enjoyed the 25.5 mile run and its really great to see the yearlings improving with every run.  Everyone finished happy and in great shape.  The maps were helpful and made it easy to navigate the trails (forest roads), even when we missed our first turn-we were easily able to improvise slightly and were able to complete the run with no problems.  We can't wait to do it again.

No More Snow and The Jack Frost Parade

Almost all of our snow has melted and we have had to go back to wheeled training.  This really stinks for everyone.  Its really hard on the dogs' feet having to run on gravel and frozen gravel and its really hard to get the miles up.  Its noticeably harder on the dogs in general-the snow softens some of the impact on the joints, too, and the dogs are just plain happier when they are on snow, to say nothing of the mushers.  Its really one of the most helpless, frustrating things to deal with this time of year-not being able to get the weather we need. 
  We went and tried out a part of the trail system we are hoping to use this winter over near Marenisco a couple days ago.  This section has a tunnel that goes under the highway-it's an old railroad tunnel that is now part of the snowmobile trail system east of Marensico that allows us access to many, many miles of trails (hopefully) without the worry of crossing the highway.  We decided to see how the dogs would take it, as they've never been through a tunnel before.  They slowed down a bit, and at first it looked like the leaders were searching for a way around it, but in the end, they went through with no trouble.

This Friday was Ironwoods annual Jack Frost Parade.  We've been talking for a couple years now about how we should get the dogs in the parade and get a little more involved in and exposed to our community, and this year we finally did it.  We decided to just have a small team of dogs pulling either a sled or four wheeler.  At first, we were hoping for the sled, six dogs, Autumn riding in it, Jeremy driving it, and Elliot and I keeping the team under control with leashes.  Well, the snow all melted so we had to go with the four-wheeler.  We decided to go with eight dogs , Jeremy driving, Spike (Autumns fuzzy little dog) riding in a milk crate on the front rack, Elliot, one of Elliot's friends, Charlie, and I held leashes to keep the dogs on the right path and under control, and Autumn walked along near the ATV to keep an eye on Spike (and stop frustrated dogs from chewing lines).  We ran a string of lights up the gangline, and had some lights on the ATV-the lights of course stopped working halfway through, ARGH!
  The dogs handled it all pretty well-we went with Thunder(of course) and Cherry in lead, Storm and Cloud in point, Hail and Lara in team, and Nakiski and Aspen in wheel.  The young dogs got some crowd experience and we had to take the two blue eyed dogs just for show.  Thunder really shined and enjoyed himself, grinning and pulling/leading the team like mad.  It turns out LOTS of people bring their dogs to this parade, so the yearlings (Storm, Cloud, Lara) were pretty nervous and vocal about it, and they all got frustrated with the SLOW and stopping, and Autumn had to stop some line chewing from happening, but all in all, they put on a nice show and lined out and kept moving forward nicely, and looked pretty professional if I do say so myself!  I took a couple pics before the start of the parade, but it was dark (parade started at 6 pm) and our camera is not good in low light.

The ATV with our logo sign on it.

Trying to get a pic of the lights before hookup.

The team waiting for the start.  I think their whining/barking/howling annoyed the people from the float in front of us, but we had to listen to their generator run for the hour before the start, so I think we were even.

You can kind of see Spike in the basket on the ATV.  He was a real hit with the crowds, too.

Other people were supposed to have been snapping pics for us, too so hopefully I'll get a few more good photos soon.

Sledding-November 30

We went up to Marenisco, Michigan to check out some of the trails we had scouted this summer.  We were pretty sure, but not positive, that they wouldn't be plowed and so far we are right!  We did a 25 mile run-not what we originally intended, but it worked out anyhow.  We barely scratched the surface of the trail system up there.  We hooked up at one of the several Ottawa National Forest Campgrounds over there, which is obviously not in use during the winter (but luckily the outhouses are left unlocked).  There is miles and miles of Forest Roads to play on and enjoy.  They also link up to snowmobile trails, too, and if it all links the way we think and is all unplowed like we think, there's probably 100 miles or more that you could run teams of dogs on, with campgrounds scattered throughout to camp at with the dogs.

We took two eight dog teams.

Presque Isle River.

Crossing an old rail road bridge over the Presque Isle River.

Now we are experiencing warm (mid 40's-up to 50 on Monday) weather, so the snow will be gone on these roads, but hopefully it won't last as there is snow in the forecast later on in the week.  We really hope this last week of sledding isn't just a tease!

Snow!!!

We got a nice dump of snow on Black Friday, November 23!  On Thanksgiving Day, it hit almost 60 degrees, then cooled down in the evening and snowed eight inches or so overnight and got pretty cold so it has stayed around and we have even managed to get on the sleds!  In November!  YAY!!!

Puppies enjoying the snow.

Thunder and Brute like to lead the pups on a chase.

Brute.

 

Hooking up today.  Mucho's jumping for joy!

Cloud and Thunder led Jeremy's team (Mucho jumping in the background).

We took out two six dog teams today-the first on sleds.  We chose to be on the safe side with small teams because the hunters are still driving around in the woods and the snow is not as deep closer to the Lake where the trails we were using are, but it was sure nice to be back on the runners.  We might still have to do some truck training yet, until we get a little more snow.

The pups, who are almost five months old, had been squabbling too much amongst themselves, so we pulled the three males out and put them in the dogyard this week.  Its always a little difficult when pups hit this milestone because they cry and panic a little at first when they first learn about the tether, but they adjust pretty quick and enjoy visiting their neighbors, whom they are close enough to to be able to play and socialize with but not close enough to get tangled with.

Clay

Jax

Opie

The two girls don't seem to argue so much, so they are still together in the kennel for now, but they cried the most after we pulled their brothers out, they must have thought they were missing out on some special attention, or maybe they missed them at first, but everything has settled down now.

Gemma and Tara

We picked up a couple new dogs yesterday, from a kennel in Mason, Wisconsin.  They have good bloodlines and the male, Nakiski, is big by our standards.  We've been trying to get some bigger dogs into the yard, because Jeremy is a big guy (6'4") and could use more power that bigger dogs can provide.  We actually went to Mason just to get Nakiski but while we were there, we were shown a smaller white dog named Mucho, that they were looking to rehome, too, and she immediately reminded us both of my main little leader that died while in harness a couple years ago.  We really loved that dog and it was really devastating when she passed. We were told that when they got her, they were told she would lead, but they had never tried her as they'd only had her since this summer, so we are hopeful that she will lead for us.  We've decided to turn her into another house husky, because she is so mellow and quiet and so far is adjusting nicely.  We took both dogs out for a run with the team today, and they did well, she is a jumper at the start and they both seemed thrilled to be out, as they haven't run at all yet this fall.  Luckily, with the truck training we've been doing, we have the option of hooking them into our team with other dogs who've run 300ish miles so far and just load them up when we feel they need it.  They can condition at their own pace and it doesn't take away from the rest of the team.

Mucho is a jumper at hookup!  Salt thinks she's a little crazy...

Nakiski

Nakisk,-now we have two blue eyed dogs.

Mucho settling in to being a house dog.

Bough Cutting and Traces of Snow

  We have talked about cutting balsam boughs for the local wreath making business for a few years now and finally actually did it this year.  Of course, we got a late start, so only made a few loads (so far), but have discovered that it is a bit of work to get full loads, but it is good outdoors work that you can do at a pace you set yourself.  Once you know what you are looking for (telling balsam apart from other kinds of pine), and find a good spot with a good grouping of trees, its not too bad.  After a couple days of cutting, you do start to see balsam in your dreams and you look for balsam automatically when you are just out driving around or running dogs, but its some extra money that we can, of course, always use.  We've been bringing the two best behaved (stay close and always listen when called) little house dogs, Brute and Spike, along-good exercise and a fun time for them.  We tried taking Thunder, our main leader/house husky, with, but he likes porcupines too much, having found one on each of the two days we took him out, and naturally getting a noseful of quills both times!

Our second load.

Our next (last) load-a bit bigger.  You can see our "helpers"-Brute and Spike sitting on top. 

Sometimes there's neat stuff out in the woods-this is an old Chevy truck that had a homemade camper on it.  probably a hunting camp a long time ago...

A porcupine calls the camper home now-you can kinda see him here.  He scurried underneath before a good pic could be taken.

The line we had to wait in to sell the boughs on Halloween.

  In other news...we are finally starting to see traces of snow occasionally.

This pic was taken during our first 20 miler of the season on Thursday (Nov. 1st).

  So the countdown to sleds has begun!  Bring on the snow!  We're always hopeful for the 1st of December...


An interesting piece of machinery we've seen twice now on our runs that we've been doing in Hurley, Wisconsin, which has been a nice area to get longer runs in with the truck. Its some kind of trimmer that the utility company uses.  The photo sucks, because it was too close to get a full picture of, but you can see the cutting blade on the end of its telescoping arm.

If we ever have a Zombie Apocalypse, I want this machine!

Fall Update

  Training is going great this year!  Weather has been cooperating nicely, with temps. in the low 40's almost every morning and not too much rain, so less mud training.  We've been able to hit a high of 16 miles so far-further than we've ever gone during dry land fall training.  This is our first season doing most of our training motor assisted (off the truck) and it seems to be improving speed and performance.  Some of the training has been using a four wheeler, without the motor running, as we have had trouble getting it to run reliably, but running a bigger team (16) with it, they're not pulling nearly so much as in past seasons with a golf cart.  We have also changed our feeding this year, starting last spring, and are feeding no kibble.  They've been getting a combination of Eureka Race Mix, which is a blend of beef, kidney, chicken, fat, fish, eggs, bone meal, oil, and vitamins/minerals, and chicken and venison.  Looking to add extra beef fat when necessary.  We add a little cooked, steamed rolled oats as well, for a bit of bulk.  This new feeding regime has added energy and enthusiasm, as well as cut way back on waste (poo) and improved coats, too.
  Looking forward to winter and sleds, as with our improved training we will be able to start out with much longer runs on snow than we have ever been able to, and have scouted some new routes that should make the longer distances easy to achieve and a lot of fun, with camping being one of the new things we should be able to accomplish.
  Jeremy's race plans are looking pretty good, getting a couple sponsors/supporters that are helping along the way and its great to see the main dogs doing so well, especially the young dogs and yearlings.  Hopefully they prove themselves even more once the snows on the ground, and we can finish respectfully during their first full season.  The main goal, of course, is that everyone stays healthy, happy and complete this season strong and willing.