Mushing Loon Trail

Here is one complete loop around my trail, 1.4 miles. shot by Angie over my shoulder on the back of the quad.

Morning Comes

The sky was black, with a little color curling up the edge, like a flame on the bottom of a piece of paper. It was cool, but not cold, and I could just see my breath. The mist made a beam in my headlamp. The dogs were as calm as they could be, Alice handled getting hooked up rather well. Nick nearly put his harness on himself, in a rush to get going. Once we took off, they pulled hard, nearly dragging the heavy quad along until I got up in gears. Then we ran! Around corners, across the wet grass, down dusty trails...the morning came as we ran.

Nearly half an hour later, over five miles, we had to stop running. We didn't want to, didn't have to, but I needed to. Chores and off to work. Work to afford this pleasure. This union of souls and goals - we just like moving!

It was the wind in my eyes that caused the tears - no, really!

The Zen of Mushing

There is a Zen thing with the dogs - feeding, cleaning, harnessing, running - it seems to make sense that their happiness depends on me, and my happiness depends on them.

The simple, daily act of caring for them is a routine, a ritual, that is soothing and familiar. In it, I find a calm feeling of balance.

There is nothing dirty, or gross, with them. (Well, maybe their breath! “BBID” – Bad Breath In Dogs!) As a new parent learns the joys of baby poop and vomit, so, too, the musher learns the intimate details of his dog’s waste. We learn to recognize subtle changes in texture and color. The poop, it speaks to me!

And then, the running. There is something about the early morning...it is quiet, calm and peaceful. The weather is cool, but not cold yet. Mist is in the air, and fog over the river. Birds are singing, dogs are barking. They want to run. They know that I know they want to. I try not to talk to them and get them excited, which they quickly learn means we ARE going to run!

Hooking up can be an adventure, as the dogs tremble with excitement and can hardly contain themselves. (Or can NOT, in Alice’s case!) But once we are in motion, the dogs change. They RUN! They were born to run, bred to run, they have it in their genes, from generations of ancestors, they are runners.

Muscles rippling, bodies in synch, we go. We go. We don’t like to stop. They look at me with that inquisitive look dogs have, the “What the devil?” look. Alice gets nervous, Nick just stands there, slowly wagging his tail, waiting to go. Oh sure, I can give them some loving attention, but that is not what they are wanting. They want me to ask them “Are you ready?” The answer, as always, is “YES!”

And we’re off, down the trail, through the landscape, moving, enjoying, loving life and each other.

Nature, peace, love, happiness - what a sport!

First Training Run '09

And we're off!

Crisp and clear, 52 degrees, cool weather forecast for the rest of the week, so I decided - "Let the season begin!"

The dogs knew it, could sense the change in the air. When we have cool days, they've been looking at me like, "Well?" We all knew it was time.

Two dogs are not a lot, but they're what I've got - for now. Which one to hook up first? The other one will throw a fit. Hmm, as I did last Spring, start with Alice, because her fits are worse. Of course, she tangles herself up before I even get Nicky harnessed - first tangle of the year and we're not even hooked up yet!

But eventually, both are harnessed, hooked to the tuglines and the neckline in tact.

"Line out!" I command. (Suggest?) They respond!


So far, so good. I snap their picture, like the first day of school, and climb aboard the quad. Man, do I like this view:


"Ready, guys? Let's go!" We take off, and immediately go off the trail.

Now, these are sprint dogs, and not "Gee Haw" leaders, so I know that we'll struggle as we learn the new trail. This trail goes around our acreage, across the yard, around the garden, a couple of loops through the trees and tall grass, until it straightens out for a nice long stretch through the cornfield waterway. A full loop is 1.33 miles. Today's goal: complete a loop!

Where the trail is obvious, we run. When it opens up to the yard, they stray off the trail. Alice runs on the left and pushes against Nicky's shoulder, and pushes him off the trail, towards the dog yard. I stop a lot, pull them over to the trail, love 'em up, jump on the quad as I tell them to "Hike!" We take off, and run anywhere from 5 feet to 100 feet down the trail. It's exhilarating when we're moving - we start to air it out just a bit to stretch our legs, but there are areas that take excrutiatingly long to get through: the big loop through the East Lawn is only slightly worn down and although marked with flags, we have trouble finding our way. But, eventually we make it all the way back, with much more success on the return run. The doggers do great with all the intersections, and Alice actually pulls Nick the right way on occasion! I'm so proud!

One lap and we're finished. I could go more, but they're both straining towards their houses. Ok, it's the first day, we're done. Water all around. Easy unhook, time for breakfast. Life as a sled dog is eating, sleeping, running.

Fall is here, dogs are running, life is good!

These Dogs Have Zip!

Summer doldrums. Yet, there is a feeling in the air, Fall is just around the corner. The daylight is getting shorter and the air is cooler – sometimes. Those sled dogs can sense it and they want to run!
Alice can be trusted to free run around the farm. She doesn’t run off and she comes when she’s called. After she runs for a while, she is ready to be back on her chain again. Nicky is another story. He totally ignores us. He refuses to even return to the part of the yard that we are at. The last time he was free, he went onto the road and into a field. He just cannot be trusted.
So last night I put Nicky on the zip line and let Alice free. Usually whichever one isn’t on the zip line whines the entire time, so I thought this way they’ll both get to run around. But Nicky was jealous and he wanted to free run, too! He ended up pacing and running back and forth along the line, which is actually the intended use. Normally he just sniffs around the trees and bushes and doesn’t exercise. So they both burned off some of that pent-up sled dog energy. I think it was quite the success!
Now, come on cool weather, we want to hook up that quad and hit the trail!

Trail Talk

This time of year we don't do any running in harness, it's just too hot and humid. The only way to stay involved in mushing has been to work on our trail. We have 5 acres plus I can run down a waterway in a cornfield. By looping and running the entire thing both directions, I have just over one mile.

Since I hope to pick up another couple of dogs to race the 4-dog class, I made it one-and-a-third of a mile in length, so three laps is 4 miles. It's got a lot of sharp corners, but that can't be avoided. There are a couple of nice, long straightaways.

After the corn is harvested, I have permission to run a snowmobile trail through some nearby woods that would give me a 2-mile loop.

I'm not sure yet if I'll be able to race this coming season, as I still need to invest in a couple more dogs and a good sled, but we'll see.

At least I get to run around it on the quad, but it sure makes Alice mad: "Hey, I want to pull that thing!"

The 2010 Iditarod Mushers

Here are the mushers that signed up at the volunteer banquet:

1 Matt Hayashida Willow AK

2 R Kurt Reich Divide CO

3 Ken Anderson Fairbanks AK

4 Ryan Redington Wasilla AK

5 R Jane Faulkner Kasilof AK

6 Lance Mackey Fairbanks AK

7 Karin Hendrickson Chugiak AK

8 R Nancy Yoshida Thompson ND

9 Jessie Royer Fairbanks AK

10 R Newton Marshall St. Anne Jamaica

11 R Quinn Iten Kotzebue AK

12 Sue Allen Wasilla AK

13 Lynda Plettner Houston AK

14 Cindy Gallea Seeley Lake MT Canada

15 Jeff Deeter Wasilla AK

16 Jim Lanier Chugiak AK

17 Robert Nelson Anchorage AK

18 Cim Smyth Big Lake AK

19 Jeff King Denali AK

20 Sven Haltmann Willow AK

21 Terry Adkins Sand Coulee MT

22 Ramey Smyth Willow AK

23 Michael Suprenant Chugiak AK

24 Hans Gatt Whitehorse YK Canada

25 Sonny Lindner Two Rivers AK

26 R Emil Churchin Anchorage AK

27 Kirk Barnum Seeley Lake MT

28 R Kim Darst Blairstown NJ

29 R Justin Savidis Willow AK

30 R Kathleen Frederick Willow AK

31 R Hank Debruin Haliburton Ontario Canada

32 Ross Adam Grande Prairie Alberta Canada

33 Linwood Fiedler Willow AK

34 Martin Buser Big Lake AK

35 Allen Moore Two Rivers AK

36 Mitch Seavey Seward AK

37 R Tamara Rose Fairbanks AK

38 Gerald Sousa Two Rivers AK

39 William Pinkham Glenwood Spring CO

40 R Scott White Woodinville WA

41 Dallas Seavey. Seward AK

42 Zack Steer Sheep Mtn. AK

43 R William Johnson Unalakleet AK

44 R Pat Moon Chicago IL

45 Sebastian Schnuelle Whitehorse YT Canada

46 Blake Frekking Finland MN

47 Fabrizio Lovati Brenua Italy

48 R Dave DeCaro Denali Park AK

49 R Michelle Phillips Tagish YT Canada

50 Zoya DeNure Gakona AK

51 Aliy Zirkle Two Rivers AK

52 Dee Dee Jonrowe Willow AK

53 Paul Gebhardt Kasilof AK

54 R Wattie McDonald Stonehaven Scotland UK

55 Karen Ramstead Perryvale AB Canada

56 R Chris Adkins Sand Coulee AK

57 Ray Redington Jr. Wasilla AK

58 John Baker Kotzebue AK

59 R Kristy Berrington Kasilof AK

60 Warren Palfrey Quesnel BC Canada