Ran 30+ miles this a.m. at -15 degrees with perfect trail; only 550 ft. of climbing when every run is usually 3,000 to 6,500 ft. This may be it for posts for a while but you can follow us on the Iditarod website. Thanks to everyone who’s supporting us; we’ll do our best!
Just did our last long run after a 6-8″ dump of snow over to gold Creek and back, which is only 57 miles but has 5500 ft. of climbing in it with a trail sune put in twice but to little or no avail. The run took 71/2 hrs. but the dogs looked like they could have done more; they seem ready to go. We’ll do a couple of 30/40 mile runs this coming week but basically taper a bit this week as we prepare to leave for AK. 2/26. We’ll post the traveling squad before we leave; it’ll be some tough choices but this is for the big one.
It’s been in the 50s’ and low 60s’ but we’ve managed to get some runs in; not ideal humanly speaking, but getting the job done. The dogs will definitely be prepared for random weather and run schedule. Took a run from White Tail Ranch near Ovando to Seeley Lake; not only did the dogs handle 50 degrees but, averaged 9.5 mph. Anything that was previously plowed is now glare ice. The first 7 miles of the run were on solid ice and took only 35 minutes with me standing on the drag mat with both feet. Brake points had no effect on slowing them down. Still need to get in another back to back or overnight in. This was definitely the year to not run Race to The Sky.
On Friday instead of an overnight in the rain, we opted for a long run in the rain which was almost as fun. after a few days of -30 weather, it warmed to the mid-thirties and drizzled rain all day as we slugged out a 63 mile training run. Sune and Lindsay swapped off driving the other team and doing moose patrol and opening a section of trail that’s always blown in as nobody but us uses it to get over to Lake Marshall near Seeley. The dogs are handling these long runs in less than perfect trail conditions with great attitudes. still need to do some back to back runs soon but hopefully that will come. All the dogs are doing well but slowly the Iditarod team is showing itself through these longer runs. The main team will be Johny, Thelma, Starbuck, Walter, Taj, Ollie, Ellie, Anvik, Houdini, Peak, Froggy, Freddie, and Stella, with others to follow as training toughens next week with a 300 miler planned.
Drop bags piled, shrink-wrapped and ready for shipping to Alaska!
In to Helena yesterday to get drop bags to reefer truck to Seattle for barge to Anchorage and beyond. 1,100 lbs. of dog food as well as several hundred lbs. of related human food and gear to 22 checkpoints along the trail. Completed 2 really tough runs last week; 60 and 70 milers with over 5,000 ft. of climbing in each as well as a significant amount of trailbreaking in fresh snow. Even with those conditions we averaged over 9 mph. and on better trails we were over 10 mph., which is a perfect Iditarod pace. Plan on running a 100 miler camping trip this coming week to see how our rookies will handle sleeping on the trail and running two 50s’ with a 5hr. rest in between. after that we’ll try a 130 miler with 6hr. rest in between and see how they fare. Then, we’ll take 2 teams on the Race to The Sky trail (300 miles), and see how the rookies and vets do on multiple back to back runs with a 6hr. run-6hr. rest schedule. These next 3 trips will hopefully help sort out the final Iditarod team as well as the 4 alternates that we’ll take to Alaska.
We’ve had to have several unexpected truck/trailer repairs that have eaten in to our planned budget, so we would welcome any additional sponsorship contributions. Our dog truck is 11 yrs. old and headed for its’ 7th and last trip; we just need it to get us up to AK and back one last time before retirement.
Earlier last week Shell decided to retire, so we’d love to place her with any aspiring dog parents. Has the heart but can’t keep up with the faster teams any more. Please contact us if interested. Shell’s been a great part of the team these last 4 years and is ready to be on a couch.
Ollie gets so excited sometimes he just has to howl!
Here's a view of the dog yard with our cabin in the background.
Made it to Montana in time to get 2 runs in before the Flathead Sleddog Days Race, which went well considering there were mostly sprint teams racing. took 2 days off and ran a 30, 50, and a 40 mile runs mostly in the rain. It’s warmed up to the point where we can’t run until it gets cold again and the trail re-sets. If we were to run, the dogs would be post-holing through the trail which is too soft from all the rain we’ve had the last 4 days. I discovered another legitimate leader in Ferris, who had run lead some before but his legitimacy came while leading with thelma in a nasty, mashed potato-like snow for 40 miles without so much as a look-back. spent this morning clearing 2-3 ft. of melting snow off the dog houses so it won’t flood the inside and get their straw all wet. We started on drop-bag prep( Linda started cooking and freezing meals), made tugs, necklines, and cable necklines for several of the chewers we seem to have currently. Hope the race in B.C. at the end of the month doesn’t get cancelled; they’re getting the same weather as we are right now. Pray for colder temps and more snow!!!