dog stuff

Had a good weekend at Lost Lake. Raced 6 dogs in the 7 dog class, 8.4 miles. I borrowed a couple of my son's Seppalas, Bear and Blaze. Fiona, Danya, Goose and Kirov from my team made up the rest of the 6. It was a great run on Saturday, cold, snowy (Had to wear the goggles for the 1st time) and we went out 14th, and passed everyone that took the 7 dog trail! It was fun to pass Ted, as he went out first. Heehehheee! I rounded a curve, and there was Ted and our friend Tara...of course, Ted had helped a musher who lost her team. (He got a sportsmanship award) Sunday's run was perfect in every way...o.k. a little slower, but the dogs did well, and we didn't get passed. A herd of deer jumped across the trail ahead of us, so that got up their speed for a while. Then we just settled in and enjoyed the trip! oh, and we won too.
Having the fastest Alaskan Husky teams in the U.P. running in the Jack Pine 30 helped! Thanks Brad & Stu! Anyway...enough bragging...but needless to say, I am very proud of my team!! (And Bear and Blaze, too! Bear ran in the 3 dog class with Jill's team, 4 miles each day, then ran in the 7 dog class with my team. He is a good dog, and a hard worker!) Thanks RJ!

Joe G. and his team are in my thoughts tonight. RJ too, as they are all in the UP for the UP200.
Joe had some trials during his 200+ race, and had to scratch 30 miles from the finish. I am very proud of him for getting himself and his dogs through everything intact...if anyone can do it, Joe can. RJ is handling for him, and so he gets to drive the dog truck and help with taking care of the dogs. Hope they all get home safely and soon! Can't wait to hear all of the stories and experiences from the race. RJ will be surprised that I won the 7 dog class, and will probably tell me it was because I used 2 of his dogs! (MAY be true!?!)

We have the Sweetwater Challenge this coming weekend...if we don't lose the snow that we have. I love the trails that we've run there. Am going to try to make it 24 miles each day depending on how the dogs (and me) fare on the hills. Really looking forward to this weekend, and plan to take some water & snacks for the dogs so we can take a break if needed. It will probably be me that needs a break, but I'm sure the dogs won't mind either, especially after doing a couple of those big hills! I hope to be out on the trail for the better part of the day on Saturday...not racing, just enjoying the time with the dogs.