Happy Trails, March 1st.

While the Iditarod mushers took off in Anchorage, we ran three teams and took my granddaughter for a sled ride on the beautiful trails today.

All dogs were excited to go, Lillen was leaping in the line, retired or not, as was Skinny, who led the first team out. Frita had a great run with her children here today, as her daughters, Bullet and Mouse , took off with Aliy Z. and Allen M. in Anchorage.

Dogs run: Leaders, Buffy, Skinny, Ruthie, Medio, Frita. Team dogs, Lillen, Kiddo, Sherpa, Yepa. Wheel dogs, Quattro, Herman, Swix, Yuki. One snow bank literally swallowed Yuki... she fell off the groomed trail into deep snow, and the sled fell over her. A taste of Alaska for her, but she was fine, resilient. The driver flipped the sled so he could drag her out.

Late day it has warmed up too much, but trails are still intact, so we're off on our xc ski trek for the day.

Iditarod Blog

We have an Iditarod Blog, http://iditarod08windypups.blogspot.com/. Our main blog is for our kennel journal. We will go to our Iditarod Blog (above) to chat about Iditarod.

Dogs over Ten Years Old

We have been fortunate to have dogs live long with us, but it gives us a core group of dogs over the age of ten. Over ten are: Chena, Sierra, Skinny, Lillen, Buddy, Tanni, Martin, Power, Glory,
King, Balto, Drummer and Victor. Some of these are still running in teams, the others are enjoying long walks and sunbathing. Three of these dogs are pups of our original Scuba, three are her grandpups. Three are retirees from Alaska. Four came to us as rescues.

Fantasy Iditarod

Well, if we can't be there, we'll 'enter' online. We have 3 SPK participants in Fantasy Iditarod, modeled after Fantasy Football. Each of us has chosen ten bib numbers. On Thursday after the bib drawing, when we know who has which bib, we must pare our ten down to five.

The link for Fantasy Iditarod is : http://www.colomtnmushers.org/fantasy-iditarod.html

Training Runs, Six

We had some guests today and we ran some nice training runs. The trails were fast, but sides still soft/ deep if the sled veered off. We opted to stay on internal trails to save dog feet and to avoid the risk of leaping the hardened snow banks near the highway. We're hoping for more snow, but the trail base is excellent. We geared our day to working on skills, hills, curves, speed, gear, etc.

Total dogs run was ten, six teams. Skinny ran lead in one team; Lillen ran lead in one team; Buffy and Ruthie both had multiple times in lead and Sherpa led once. Buddy was once again THRILLED to be chosen to run on TWO teams and he pulled his weight in wheel with great spirit.

Tomorrow we plan to run some dogs who need more time/running. It's pretty easy to pick the best runners, again and again... some of the others need practice.

Photo: Guest , Ron, with a happy four dog team, (Buffy, Ruthie, Buddy, Quattro) honing skills, although he's already a good dog driver and likes the speed the dogs dished out.

Sulatna

December 1994 to February 25, 2008

Mother: Poppers (Butcher)

Father: Yukon (Peters)

Sulatna In Memoriam 1994 to 2008

Sulatna loved to climb up the overhanging tree at the cottage while Chena and I swam below.

The Sulatna era has dimmed today, with the passing of this beautiful blue eyed, gentle, intelligent, fast, quirky , almost indescribable, gee haw command leader, best friend.

In the past few days Sulatna has been hiding in a basement corner or running up the stairs to jump into my lap and look me in the eyes. She has been battling a peripheral nerve sheath tumor for two years .

We are too sad to say much beyond a very special Godspeed, dear Sulatna!

Iditarod Coverage

Iditarod starts on Saturday, March 1st, in Anchorage. For now the restart, is scheduled for Willow, on Sunday. The bib draw is on Thursday prior to the Start. The link to Jon Little's Cabela's coverage is our favorite site for following online: http://iditarodblogs.com/news/

Word is that The Discovery Channel will be filming, following a number of specific teams, from Start to Finish of Iditarod. As I understand, there is nothing live , but the production will be aired in October or November. http://dsc.discovery.com/. Per some of the participants, they will be doing some "neat things".

Jessica Klejka, age 17, of Bethel, AK , won the Junior Iditarod by TWO seconds, with Cain Carter, stepson of Lance Mackey, coming in 2nd with Lance's core group of dogs set to run Iditarod. The Junior Iditarod was 140 miles this year. http://iditarodblogs.com/news/2008/02/24/jr-iditarod-won-by-two-seconds/

Of course, our loyalty lies with Aliy Zirkle and Allen Moore, and also, this year with Sue Morgan and Trent Herbst and Karen Ramstead. Another fun team to watch will be Molly Yazwinksi (I may have wrong spelling), running dogs from Susan Butcher/David Monson kennel. We are also participating in the Fantasy Iditarod initiated on Sled Dog Central. We did get 3 sets of teams set up.

Fun Runs, Warm Temperatures

Yesterday the temps were a bit warm making the trailsides soft and the runs a bit more challenging (slow/hard running) as even the groomed/repacked trails wouldn't set up hard.

We had a great group of five fit people, new to dog sledding, who were up for the challenges as were the great dogs.

We ran five teams and even Skinny and Lillen (retirees) got to run on the last six dog run.

With a few dogs out of commission for various reasons (feet, etc), we had a willing core of:

Leaders, Ruthie, Buffy , (Skinny, Lillen), Matilda; Team/Wheel, Herman, Medio, Kiddo, Quattro, Sherpa. They'll get a day off today, and tomorrow, weather permitting, we'll have some good runs again.

Photo: Upper Loop, Bob running well; Herman, Kiddo in wheel.

Picture Worth 1000 Words: This Morning

Lunar Eclipse and Frigid

The temp at 4:27AM is minus 17. This has been a flip flop winter. Temps are supposed to be up to 30 again on Sunday, up/down/up.

Took this photo of the moon about 8:40PM last night. The next lunar eclipse, I believe, will be in 2010.

Copper had surgery on his foot laceration yesterday and stayed the night at the clinic. He'll be happy to get home today.

Snowbanks and Trails

We hooked up six dogs early yesterday, knowing the trails were great. It was a nearly perfect 8 mile run, although on the takeoff our team had to leap a snowbank created by the plows over night, to get to the trail. The second snowbank caused a quick fall but they rallied well. Later on in the trail we met the large groomer coming toward us, so we had a smooth team turnaround , mostly thanks to Ruthie and Matilda, and they were off. It just cut us short one mile on this usual run. Not a single snowmachine yesterday.

Dogs run: Buffy, Ruthie, lead; Matilda, Sherpa, swing; Kiddo, Quattro, wheel. Copper has an injured foot, sad to say, so he'll have some quick repair surgery this a.m., and he'll have to watch from the sidelines for awhile, we think.

Leaders know their trails. I tried to lead them around the snowbank on the way home, but they went right back over the big snowbank again, smoothly.

We had hoped to enter a small race first weekend in March but just heard it probably won't go on, due to other races competing for teams.

Jackpine 30, faster or shorter?

Looking at past results the Jackpine 30 had much faster finishing times than when we first ran it:

2004:

Our team is Julia Newton, finishing third that year, approx 15 minutes off of first, with a four hour, seven minute time . (that included crossing Pelissier Lake in ankle deep slush).


David Gill
10:42:00 AM
2:33:10 PM
3:51:10
2
Ron Modin
10:48:00 AM
2:49:13 PM
4:01:13
3
Julia Newton
10:32:00 AM
2:39:16 PM
4:07:16
4
Kate Larsen
10:52:00 AM
3:09:59 PM
4:17:59
5
Rose Smyth
10:38:00 AM
3:20:06 PM
4:42:06
6
Kim Harron
10:58:00 AM
4:01:27 PM
5:03:27
7
Judy Rybinski
10:36:00 AM
3:43:40 PM
5:07:40
8
Randy Foust
10:44:00 AM
4:07:00 PM
5:23:00
9
Steve O'Mara
10:56:00 AM
4:32:28 PM
5:36:28

(There were 15 teams in this 2004 finish).
***********************************************

2005: Our team, Julia Newton, came in tenth in 2:48:18, a much improved time for our team but further back in the pack (tenth). There were 24 teams and longest time out was a little over five hours. That was the year the dogs let Julia run after them after they dumped her, down Marquette Mountain ski hill, woo hoo!!


Jack Pine 30 2005 Results
Place
Name
Hometown
Start Time inGwinn
Trail Times
1
Kate Larsen
Hancock, MI
11:08 a.m.
2:27:30
2
Larry Fortier
Gaylord, MI
10:56 a.m.
2:30:02
3
Ron Modin
Chatham, MI
10:44 a.m.
2:31:46
4
Darlene Walch
Gwinn, MI
10:42 a.m.
2:39:19
5
Elizabeth Mills
Munising, MI
11:06 a.m.
2:40:45
6
Maggie Heilman
Somerset, WI
10:46 a.m.
2:41:42
7
Brad Quayle
Ishpeming, MI
10:30 a.m.
2:43:02
8
Judy Rybinski
Marquette, MI
10:36 a.m.
2:44:15.
9
Rose Smyth
Laona, WI
11:12 a.m.
2:47:50
10
Julia Newton
Florence, WI
10:34 a.m.
2:48:18
11
Shaynee Seipke
Gladwin, MI
10:48 a.m.
2:48:40 (and 13 more teams for total of 24 finishers).

This year(2008) the winner, Mark Churchill, won it with a time of 2:25. It is a challenging race trail, sometimes a lot of snow and in good years they can cross a frozen lake (in bad years, they skip the lake or run across it (as in 2004) in ankle deep slush.

Whatever it is, it is a very nice race, well done by the volunteers. We were sorry to miss it again this year and are hoping for a team in it next year.

Winter Storm Warning; UP 200 Winner, Ed Stielstra

We're having the best/worst storm of the winter today, accumulations of from 8 to 12 inches of snow, forecasted, with winds up to 29 mph, for blowing snow, poor visibility. Our neighboring county has requested that no one travel at all until the blowing/snowing stops.

This will dampen our plans to run two teams to Pentoga in the morning with visitors. We doubt they would be able to make it here, let alone for us to clear trails to make it out of here with sleds. so we'll wait until it calms down.

We haven't heard officially but we're guessing that the ski jumps were cancelled today and jumpers will have to stay around a bit longer. My son and family went off the road in their 4wheel drive Sequoia today, but were able to be towed out of the ditch.

Yooper /Iditarod veteran, Ed Stielstra, won the UP 200 today. I believe it was two years ago that his wife, Tasha, won it. Congratulations to the Stielstra kennel. Thankfully this storm comes at the tail end of the three race weekend.

Pine Mountain Continental Cup Jumps; UP 200; Jackpine 30

Winter sports all compete for the same time frame . The UP200 got underway on Friday night, the Jackpine 30 ran on Saturday, and Saturday and Sunday , the annual ski jumps on giant Pine Mountain were underway.

Photos are of the jump and landing, billed by foreign jumpers as 'very pleasant, with a bit of a short landing and steep drop " (understatement). Newer hills are carved out a bit longer, but this hill has a great history of jumping. Local jumpers have done well over the years with 18 North American champions.

Julia's son, Daniel, age 18, is pictured in his second trial jump yesterday. He is scheduled to fly to Poland today for competition in the World Juniors, but it was iffy if Poland has enough snow for this to go on. We've been watching these jumps for many years and each year it is amazing to see them fly off the scaffolding with seemingly no concerns. Of course, they start at age five, increasing their jumps over their training years.

Happy Valentine's Day to All of My Dogs!

Dogs have GREAT hearts!! They deserve the very best of everything on Valentine's Day! (and, of course, on every day).

Photo: Sweet Frita :)

Annual Dress Right List, Part One

Photo: Sierra in minus forty six windchill, yesterday. She takes her yard guarding very seriously, no matter what the temps.

Short of being a Norwegian Elkhound, it takes a bit of experimenting to learn to dress for the different winter temps and conditions.

Each year I try and often reject new gear. Following is my tried and true list. I keep this for myself, but it might help someone else to review it for one's own use.

Winter Dress Rules:

One: Layering. Do not dress too warmly for activities requiring you to move around a lot, e.g. hooking up/running dogs; cleaning the dog lot; xc skiing, etc. When you take off with dogs the last thing you need is a sweaty underlayer. Better to be a bit cold in the hookup and have a jacket on the sled.

For standing still, add more layers, but be careful on the feet. We only wear one pair of socks

(wool/wool blend) in almost any conditions. We do use chemical foot warmers in very cold weather. Too tight layering of socks will make your feet colder. If in extreme temps (e.g. minus thirty/forty) possibly wear two pairs of socks and boot large enough to accomodate them.

If going for a long run, take extra wool socks in a pocket.

2. Cotton is rotten (as the backpackers say). Never wear cotton in a winter environment, period, anywhere, including underwear. Sweating makes it wet and it does NOT dry. There are new types of layering materials for underwear that we've been trying, more later.

Materials to consider, polypro, fleece, wool, bamboo, Under Armour materials, etc.

3. Wear adjustable outer layers, e.g. removable neckwarmer, glove layers, outer jacket, hat layers, boot layers.

4. Be able to move! There are technical types of gear that allow maximum warmth and breathability and still afford flexibility in movement. Seven top layers, for example, make it very difficult to move around.

5. Experiment before you go on a big trip, try out your gear, break in your boots, etc.

That said, we'll give our favorites in the next post.

Weather

We can't figure out how to put the weather link on here, so trying this. I AM going back out, but now that I read it feels like minus forty five out there, I'm a bit less excited about it. However, it IS minus 45 in Two Rivers, that makes it awful up there, don't know what their wind is.

http://www.accuweather.com/us/wi/florence/54121/city-weather-forecast.asp?partner=accuweather&u=1&traveler=0

YQ 300 Flu Bug; Get Well greetings to you guys!!

Randy Chappel was too sick to start the race and about 50 miles into the race, Allen Moore had to scratch, going to the hospital, too ill to continue. Of course, Aliy withdrew, as well, and got the 2 teams home. They were at the Valley Center Store, just down the road apiece from their kennel, a timely place to make the decision. Think this photo is the place they mean as it is frequently a checkpoint on Chena Hot Springs Road.

When I read Aliy's blog, the Two Rivers, AK weather was posted at minus forty five degrees.

Even healthy people are going to have trouble with that stuff. Hopefully, Allen (and Randy) will mend fast.

It's too cold for anything! Here, not unbearable, but I wore my down jacket and beaver hat to feed/do chores this a.m. Back out shortly... it's very windy, about minus ten, temp, winds 25-30mph, some impressive gusts.

Winds and Yukon Quest

Winds are still fierce here, so we continue to empathize with the Yukon Quest mushers.

Local Weather: (Wisconsin) Today: Mostly sunny and cold, with a high near -4. Wind chill values between -30 and -40. West northwest wind between 21 and 23 mph, with gusts as high as 39 mph. Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around -11. Wind chill values between -20 and -30. West northwest wind 17 to 20 mph decreasing to between 5 and 8 mph.

In comparison, we're a picnic:

Yukon Flats and Uplands Weather: Tonight...Partly cloudy. Patchy valley ice fog through the night. Otherwise clear. In valleys lows 40 below to 55 below zero with light winds. Above tree line lows 15 to 30 below and northeast winds to 35 mph with wind chills to 45 below and areas of blowing snow.Sunday...Partly cloudy. Patchy valley ice fog in the morning. Areas of blowing snow in the high country through the day. Highs 25 to 40 below. Light winds below tree line. Above tree line northeast winds to 25 mph with areas of drifting snow.


Kaz is updating the SPKennel Log faster than the YQ people can do on their site, so , once again, this is the link to Aliy's/Allen's dog blog: http://spkenneldoglog.blogspot.com/
Sounds like things are moving along OK in both the YQ and YQ 300, although adjustments have been made to the trail and rest times, because of bad weather.

Can't help but think about soaking in the wonderful Chena Hot Springs waters under the stars:)

Fierce winds preceded by quiet ski run

Less than an hour ago, Sulatna accompanied me while I skiied around the trails. It was a bit warm, getting dark, beautiful, and very still. Just now the winds have come up fiercely, in stark contrast. The dogs are hunkering down... things will be blown about tonight, for sure. It feels as if we're playing Yukon Quest out there. Wind chills are expected to get to minus 30-40.

We were visited by either a fox or coyote in the night. I heard "yip, yip, yip" near the front porch, then smelled the musky scent of a fox, the dogs barked and that was that. When I opened the door this a.m. two large rabbits were hiding out on the porch.

Yukon Quest Trail Map with elevations

http://www.yukonquest.com/site/yukon-quest-trail-map/

Doesn't look like a hint of postponing for very low temps/ windchills, so we'll be watching.

Weather Link Two Rivers, AK

Doesn't look good today for the Yukon Quest area weather.

http://www.accuweather.com/us/AK/TWO%20RIVERS/99716/city-weather-forecast.asp?partner=accuweather&traveler=0

Even Paul Harvey...

Commenting on the Fairbanks weather, Paul Harvey reported, today, that East of Fairbanks it is minus sixty seven degrees. Well, it's bitterly cold and the Yukon Quest begins in Fairbanks on Saturday, brrrrr, and heads East . Hope this cold snap ends before then. It's always cold at Quest time, but that is crazy cold. Looks like I can't apply the term "bitterly cold" to our upcoming minus 13 :)

Will stay tuned for the race and the weather. http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?zoneid=AKZ222

Tim Mowry, in The Daily NewsMiner , says it's the result of an air mass from Russia... some hope of it lifting, depending on cloud cover, he reports minus 62 at Chandalar Lake.

Teams and Trails

Perfect trails, although the Michigan part was bumpy, the snow was deep and mostly well packed.

We ran three six dog teams with different combos. Senior Skinny and senior Lillen ran in the third team. Both were more than eager to be taken along and both looked great. The first run was into Michigan, the second two on our trails. Julia came out to take her first runs of the winter. Copper ran with Quattro for the first time, and no nipping. He's becoming a gentleman, well behaved on the picket line, steady and ready in the hookup.

SNOW: more than last year, consistent trails, but warm up/down weather. (We didn't get the dumping that Chicago and Madison got, thankfully. I'm still shoveling gates from the last six inches.)

Dogs run today: Buffy, Ruthie, Kiddo, Quattro, Copper, Sherpa, Zoom, Kiddo, Skinny, Lillen,

Matilda, Herman.

Susan Butcher day in Alaska , approved

The State Legislature approved a Susan Butcher Day in Alaska, to be celebrated the first Saturday each March (also the day of the Iditarod Start).
http://www.newsminer.com/news/2008/feb/05/legislature-approves-susan-butcher-day/

Living in Teams

This idea is working out pretty well... the dogs live, untied, in pens, with team members. They run with other dogs as well, but each has a core team . They work out the living rules among them and there are no surprises in the hookup or on the line, usually.

Buddy is a rescue , but before he aged into an arthritic shoulder, he did run the UP200. He lives with Ruthie, a leader, and Josie, a skittish little team dog. Until she died, Liller, gee haw command leader, lived with them. Since Liller is gone , they are trying to establish a new set of rules for their 'team'. Yesterday when we hooked them all up on the first team out, they were bursting their buttons. Buddy looked at me with his big blue eyes and a big 'smile'. His face is the white face in wheel in this photo. Josie is in wheel with him.

Different view of Lillen's pup, Cowlick

Cowlick is the small dog in the photo. She is ten.

Anna and 3 teams

Anna ran three teams today. The high temp late in the day was 39 degrees, so we were pushing it , finishing up at noon. In three teams we ran ten dogs. Buffy ran lead on all 3 teams, Ruthie ran lead twice, and Sherpa ran lead once. Soon Mat and Rosie will be back sharing lead . The runs were relatively spotless. I groomed the trails early as we had some fresh snow. For being so warm, it was not too punchy for decent runs.

Copper ran solo wheel in the 5 dog with his girl pals. Other team dogs included, Buddy (who was so excited he stopped a second after take off, he was on the first team and proud of it); Josie, Herman, Medio, Zoom and Kiddo. Zoom is too chubby ; Anna's father said Zoom needs more 'zooming'! :)

Photo: Upper loop , Anna with her 5 dog team. Buffy and Sherpa are leading. Chubby Zoom and Kiddo, in swing; Copper in wheel.

Unlimited Finisher, Three Bear

Teams from all over the Lower 48 were here and the Jamaican team was also at the Three Bear Race. We didn't get a photo of them running, just one of their truck and dogs at rest. We did see and photo the Perry team from Colorado. I don't know who this finisher is, will check bibs later to i.d.

Here Puppy, Puppy!

Cooperation in the 6 dog, catch me if you can! Lots of fun at this race.

Becky's 6 dogs in the dual start, Three Bear Race

Go, Becky! Looking good in the dual start chute at Three Bear Race. (Becky on left in photo, Bib 22).

Three Bear Sled Dog Race, Land O Lakes, WI

The race is Land O Lakes, WI Trailblazers, Sprint, is always a good one. Our first kennel race was held there 14 years ago, when Jenny won the 4 dog (her first race). It was bitterly cold then and the race was held up until the bank sign said minus twenty degrees. Our first pups ran in that race.

This is a photo of one of the 2 dog finishers, the best part of the race! It happens that the smaller leader in this photo is Cowlick, daughter of our Lillen. I don't know the musher, but we were talking as we waited for his child's team. Fun!

And Becky, age 23, started training with us, 14 years ago. She ran her six dog Siberian team yesterday... photo in next post.

Yukon Quest

The Yukon Quest has a new site, www.yukonquest.com

SP Kennel, Aliy Zirkle/Allen Moore, will have 3 teams in the Yukon Quest 300,
http://www.yukonquest300.com/servlet/content/532.html

It all begins February 9th.

Wyoming Stage Stop

http://www.wyomingstagestop.org/2008/2008dailyarchive/cumulative.htm

This is the link to the current standings in the Pedigree stage stop race in Wyoming.
Melanie Shirilla has pulled ahead of Wendy Davis . They had to cut a stage short for fierce
(60 mph) winds, first time in that race.

Jason Barron won the Beargrease in Minnesota.

Frigid

The past two days have been back to FRIGID, brrr! Minus thirty windchills, minus twenty plus temps, strong winds. More and more straw in houses, coats on dogs, hot , good soups. Today there's a break in the frigid temps and then back to too warm, again. Best thing was more good snow.

The deer are in, morning and night, looking for the extra boost to their winter diet (corn, carrots, alfalfa hay).

Plans coming together for Iditarod. More later.

Photo: Peaceful frozen swamp trail.

River Crossing, Beautiful Trails

Photo: Buffy, Ruthie (age five); Medio (age four); Sherpa (age three); Kiddo (age five); Copper (age four) and Jim, (age 77). :)

Each winter we look back on one perfect day for running. Yesterday was, for the moment, the most perfect day.

Several deer crossed the trail as we were moving along, the river and swamps and ponds were frozen and wildlife trails were everywhere. That backwoods trail is just great for dogs and humans.

Working with Dogs

We use this chart when we hook up training teams. In the excitement, it helps to remember who we're trying where. The chart is two sided for different dog combos.

The comment by Lillen's name doesn't mean she isn't fast, just that Ruthie pushes her from behind (Lillen, 11; Ruthie, 5). Lillen is still one of our strongest gee haw command leaders, but we just let her run for fun, since she is always eager to be hooked up. It works better if she runs in swing behind Ruthie or Buffy, as she still takes commands, but doesn't have the pressure of leading.

Run into Michigan

We literally 'seized' the day before the rains could come. The trail into Michigan was perfect and there was no traffic ( one snowmachine). The dogs were wound up and happy. It was a near perfect run. Ruthie and Buffy ran in lead, Medio and Sherpa in swing, and Copper and Kiddo in wheel. We only had time to take one run so some of the dogs were disappointed. More later as we're expecting some good snow. We were sorry we didn't hook up eight... next time.

Allen Moore wins the Tustumena 100

Allen Moore of SPKennel won the Tustumena 100 and daugher, Bridgett, is not far behind.
Venus, Skittles, Girlfriend, Reeses and all dogs and drivers, yea!

Allen Moore and Bridgett Watkins, father/daughter

Allen Moore and Bridgett Watkins (father/daughter running out of SP Kennel, Aliy Zirkle) are in first and second positions out of Caribou Lake in the Tustumena 100, looking good! Bridgett flies from Nome to handle for Aliy Zirkle and Allen Moore.

Three Teams

The weather held to run three teams today. First leaders were LilleN and Buffy; second leaders were Buffy and Ruthie; third leaders were Buffy and Sherpa.

The second team had the smoothest run, but, after a few shenanigans, all teams ran well.

Copper continues to have good performance. He nips a bit in the start but only out of excitement. We stopped his team to fix a harness and he was cheering, but not nipping.
He wants longer runs and I keep promising. He's very strong. He's learned to run alongside both Kiddo and Quattro, great progress as we were running him alone in wheel.

Sherpa, youngest dog in the park, held it together well when dogs behind her tangled today.
She's a talkative gal in the pens, but once in harness she is impressive with her focus.

Maybe tomorrow's predicted rain will not happen :) There are 7 females in season here so each hookup is a bit of fun.

Race Sites

Allen Moore and his daughter, Bridgett Watkins are running the Tustumena 100 this weekend in Alaska. www.tustumena200.org.

The International Stage Stop Pedigree International Sled Dog Race is on as well:
http://www.wyomingstagestop.org

Trailblazers of Wisconsin's first sprint race is expected to be 'on' for next weekend in Land O Lakes.

Hilarious if you weren't the driver

Six dogs, almost rabid to take off, left their driver in the dust (snow) today. Buffy, Matilda in lead; Kiddo, Ruthie, in swing; Herman, Quattro in wheel, took their chance to fly when their driver (un named) pulled the quick release but wasn't on the sled. The handler (hm, me?) looked at the driver quizzically, watched the flying dogs whizzz by and jumped on the SkiDoo.
The driver had already taken off running after the team, ha ha.

We picked up the driver who threw himself onto the back of the sled and couldn't budge from the hauling compartment, legs in the air. We found the team rolling down a steep hill, sled tipped and I drove the Skidoo across the trail to stop them, ha! They skirted me and rammed into the driver, the brushbow knocking him into the sled on his knees. He looked up at me and all I could do was laugh. In a masterful leap, he was back on the runners and the crazies headed for the front gate at Mach 1 (did I spell that right?). They tried to dump him again, but he drove them home where they stopped on a dime and demanded soup for such a fine run.

Of course I did not have my camera handy when they bagged him on his knees, or it would have made the front page of 'fun pictures' of SDC for sure.

Running

We did run a five dog team yesterday, but I goofed up my camera somehow... too cold? not sure.

Buffy and Sherpa ran lead, Kiddo and Zoom, and Copper alone in wheel. Very smooth run, trails were great! after we dragged them. Still a bit cold but dogs were psyched. This below zero streak is going to end and then into the 30's , no, no!

Lillen: Great Dogs Series

Lillen is a perfect leader, but she's starting to have some hip problems. There are better photos of her than this but this is a recent one of her just having fun. She gets the first free run every morning and she has an established route, checking for foxes, rabbits, etc.

Don't know if we'll hook her up this a.m. or not, but , if not, she'll voice coach us from her front row pen.

Fritas Friends: Great Dogs Series

Of course, we love all of our dogs. They are all great dogs. Frita, is one of the 'greats'.


Photo was taken at minus twenty as we fed the deer. The blue of the photo reflects the cold of that morning.

Usually four or five dogs go with me to feed the deer. Sierra, the little Elkhound, gives them enough of a warning to keep them skittish around us, which is good for them. Frita, obviously, gives them no scare at all. She looks at them and they at her, but she's always close at my side.

We are finally running again today.

Here comes the sun

Medio's coat was torn overnight, but it kept him warm in the bitter overnight cold. All of the dogs are glad to see the sun come up. The temps did not warm up much yesterday and another cold day is expected. They receive higher fat diets in the winter. Today's breakfast menu includes sausage and rice soup, with Eagle Pack Ultra as the kibble.

Races

The Klondike 300 is running right now: www. klondike 300. org
as is the Kusko 300, http://k300.org/k300/ranking.php

Trail Dedication in Memory of Bob Johnson

Today the local snowmobile club dedicated a beautiful portion of the main trail in Florence County in the memory of Bob Johnson, former Board member and key worker for the club.

The trail goes from the Menominee River crossing from Michigan into Wisconsin, to the Brule River crossing, back into Michigan. We have run dogs on that trail many times and have met Bob and Nan on the trail at times, they on their machines, we on our dog sleds. Bob and Nan have worked tirelessly for years, together, getting the maps out, the publicity, serving in various offices, grooming trails, performing various tasks too numerous to remember!

It was bitterly cold and the turnout was fantastic... many people came on their machines , with the great new snow, and others drove then walked into the river crossing.

The sign is great and remembers a truly good friend and member. Bob died in June of the same tragic disease that claimed Susan Butcher.

Photo: Nan and her son, Todd, along with Bob's brother and grandson, stand at the newly posted sign, along with some of the other well wishers, including my son, Tim, and Jordan, representing IM Power Sports.

Pine Needle Cold

You can tell by looking at the pine needles when it is below zero. They take on a blueish cast and hang down , on the white pines.

We are in for an arctic blast. We had seven inches of new snow yesterday (dig, dig, dig) and now we're in for a stretch of days which may not see above zero in the day time.

All new straw, fluffed up for all today. The thinner dogs have coats on. Four dogs are in the house. The chill is coming right through the logs of the house, so we're in for it.

Weekend ahead: Kusko 300, Klondike 300, Packers

Two races to watch this weekend:

http://k300.org/ The Kuskokwim and The Klondike ,http://www.klondike300.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=72&Itemid=55

Also, the PACKERS and the Giants! Hopefully, Brett Favre will slay the Giant.

Photos CB 300

The website has a photo link now: http://www.cb300.com/, click on PHOTOS.

This is a photo of a camping trip we took with Aliy and Kaz several years ago... we had just returned from a night of minus thirties on the Chena River. Not quite the same as three days out there in minus thirties , racing!

The photos at www.cb300.com do tell it all.... dogs look good at the finish . Whew, that is one tough race.

Fairbanks Daily News Miner article, CB300

http://newsminer.com/2008/01/15/10891/

Article on the race. Sigrid took a wrong turn in the last leg and had to double back, thus losing her first position. Looking for info on trail conditions in the last leg as all teams were running slower times. Temp in Fairbanks at time of this listing is minus 35. The race was cold as well.

Allen Moore wins CB 300 YEA SPKENNEL!

While still unofficial, Allen crossed the finish line with 11 dogs at 2:26 AK time, just 12 minutes ago, to win the Copper Basin 300. A THIRD win for Allen and SPKennel great dogs, in this race, 2005, 2007, 2008

Still watching for other standings, and Aliy is enroute with 7 dogs! Yea for the whole kennel,
handlers, dogs, Mama Kaz at home, the whole team.

Waiting for a finish

Three mushers were at the 3 mile out mark not too long ago... Sigrid, Allen and Lance, it seems.
Hm, a photo finish? It's minus 19 degrees at the finish.

Happy Herman

While I'm awaiting CB300 results will just post a photo of happy Herman, free running.

We're forty degrees warmer (at +20 and winds) than Glenallen, AK where the race will finish any minute.

Finally we're getting our trails back and we should be back on sleds soon (we had a major thaw/rains). Now we'll get some below zero weather it appears.

Today I chopped gate openings and gave dogs new straw.

Sigrid and Allen

Sigrid is leading into the finish and Allen and dogs are giving it a good shot... . She had a good lead on him, but we're watching, anything happens in races!

Copper Basin numbers

Allen left Sourdough with 11 dogs, 24 minutes behind Lance Mackeywith 8 dogs and about 1 hr 20 minutes after Sigrid Ekran with 11 dogs. Jean Denis-Britten left at 00:40 with 10 dogs. Aliy left Sourdough at 1:03 AM with 11 dogs. Sven Haltman left at 1:03 as well.

The total rest time is a key factor . The cold is very challenging and Allen and Aliy and their dogs deal well with that.

It is 57 miles to Wolverine from Sourdough.

Sigrid's speed into Sourdough was 10.7 mph, Lance's was 10.1. Working on Allen's, Aliy's.

Alaskan Terrain

This shows the Iditarod Trail traversing the lower third of the photo. I took this as we left Rainy Pass a couple of years ago. It typifies the vast and unforgiving terrain surrounding the race trail.

On the Homefront

The Packers beat the Seahawks in yesterday's playoffs. http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/recap;_ylt=AoHpKY8hmkFWcb6pT_87Z4RDubYF?gid=20080112009

It is snowing beautiful snow now.

Link to update from the trail

Kaz is keeping the info flowing, thanks, Kaz!! at: http://spkenneldoglog.blogspot.com/
with the news that Lance was into Paxson, Sigrid on the way and Allen /Aliy on the way.

Hooray for trail handlers Bridgett, Ken and Amy for any scoop they are providing and all the freezing work they are doing!

From afar (way far) it looks to me like Allen/Aliy will rest early for the mandatories , already ahead of Lance's rests, by two hours. Joe Runyan( or was it Jon Little, think Joe) pointed out in MUSHING that in Sorlie's Iditarod success was a philosophy of early resting on the trail, keeping dogs calm/slower in order to pour it on, later on. Not an expert on Aliy's /Allen's strategies, but I know they keep their dogs calm/happy/rested and fast.

As Kaz says on the SP blog, Aliy/Allen plan their runs and rests very, very carefully. It is fun to watch/guess even way out here.

PBS PROGRAM ON DOGS

This is the link to a PBS program tonight, 13th and next week, 20th , on service dogs/medical dogs, the training of dogs to detect disease, etc.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/dog/medicaldogs.html?print

Mushers out of Chistochina

This info is my personal take on reported findings... errors found, please advise.

Lance Mackey left Chisto at 18:44 with 3:31 of rest towards his 12 required. His speed in was 12.7, just .2 behind Allen's speed. The 12 can be accumulated at checkpoints along the way. There is one 8 hour mandatory in addition to the accumulated 12. He left Chisto just about 2 hours ahead of Allen, but has about 2 hours less required rest at this point.

Allen left Chisto at 20:45 with a rest of 5:52, meaning he has accumulated more required rest by 2:21 than Lance. His speed in was 12.9.

Aliy left Chisto at 20:39 with a speed in of 12.2 (recalculated in the results section). She has 5:33 against the 12 required. Her young ones are doing well.

Ekran left earlier than Allen and Aliy, with a rest of 5:05 and a speed in of 12.5. Her rest is just a bit shorter than Allen's and Aliy's and her speed in was slower than Allen's.

Haltman left at 21:20 with a rest of 6:08 and a speed in of 12.3, so he had more rest and was just .1 faster than Aliy into Chisto. Sass had 12.4 speed in, rest of4:57.

CB300, first checkpoint, Chistochina

Sigrid Ekran was first in to the first checkpoint, Chistochina, and Allen was 2nd... Sigrid's bib, 5 , his bib 13. Aliy was in 6th , her bib 11. Lance Mackey was next in line behind Aliy by 7 minutes. Temps seem very cold (minus 20 in Paxson). In times are close for this first checkpoint. Time to feed up the dogs and rest a bit. Allen rested 5:54 at Chisto last year after a little more than a five hour run in. Time in this year was 4:29 . They moved the start out of Glenallen because of lack of snow, but I have no idea what distance differential that created , if any.

Copper Basin photo link, trail photos

http://www.cb300.com/graphics/2006/jan14/karjala_marty/

This is the link to 2006 trail photos by Marty Karjala, for the Copper Basin. 2008 bibs were drawn last night. Aliy and Allen go out four minutes apart, #11 and #13.

Copper Basin/Aliy Zirkle/Allen Moore

This is the link to the updated SP dogblog for Aliy and Allen... a short! interview for each and the site shows the last minute prep for two teams in a dog race... hectic!!
Allen has won the CB 300 twice in the last 3 years. Aliy last ran in 2002. Bib draw is tonight.

http://spkenneldoglog.blogspot.com/

Web Cams

http://www.thesquirrelcam.com/Cam1.html

Well, not having much luck finding a web cam close to Glenallen, AK, the start place of the Copper Basin 300, but this is a webcam in North Pole, interior AK. Have heard the snow conditions at the start are not so great, but will keep looking for info. Race begins on Saturday.
Start has been moved from Glenallen to junction of Glenn/Richardson highway.

Once again, this is the official site for following the race updates: http://www.cb300.com/

Rain, Ice, Fog, Slop

We mended fences on slippery slopes yesterday. It has been drizzling/sleeting/raining for two days now. The pens are in a major meltdown, but at the point of hard ice and puddles.

YakTrax on my feet is the only way to negotiate out there right now Of course, the dogs are happy to see me and love to jump on me, putting us in some slippery dances.

Yepa has chosen this weather to go through her fence to visit the neighbors. Hopefully the mending will stop that as just climbing and jumping is dangerous on this ice. We don't need any broken legs, theirs or mine.

Kennel Philosophy and Tribute to Dogs

Photo: Each of these dogs has made a significant contribution to our kennel.
Liller (deceased), Timber (deceased), Chena, Sulatna, Frita (and Skinny and Medio on this walk but out of photo)... Fall, 2007.

This blog serves as our kennel journal and I've recently read they can be printed in hard copy.
Some of this is written in past posts, but this is a summary of where we've been and are as a kennel.

While many people read this blog with an interest in sled dogs, it is a bit personal as well, an archive of our life with dogs. I hope to print it at some point for my own personal keepsake of life with great dogs.


In 1994 we started our kennel with an Iditarod racing retiree from Alaska, Scuba. She came to us bred , the pups making our first teams. Scuba did race a bit here as did her pups, in Wisconsin sprint races, doing well, winning a bit, even though they were distance dogs. We lost her last pup this past summer as reported in the blog.

We've done just about all fun things with sled dogs, including camping (winter and summer),
long runs, short runs, Sacco cart runs, ATV's, sleds of all types, free runs on our great trails, long runs to our river cabin, wildlife encounters, etc. and we've continued to enter races (sprint and middistance) almost every year. Along the way, we've taken more retirees from Alaska and some wonderful nonhusky rescues who were headed for not good things if we didn't take them.

Each dog has always found a 'job' in the kennel, from puppy day care/manners training/harness training pups, to livestock/border guardians, to racing sled dogs, etc. Each of the dogs has an opportunity to try living in the house, but for the tough huskies it is mostly not their preferred environment.

It has been our commitment over these past years to give lifetime homes to dogs we take in or breed. While we have sold a few pups over the years, we mostly keep the ones we've bred for our own racing/recreational sled and trail running. We do not breed any more.

So, with this philosophy, now we're meeting the tough part, losing a number of these dogs who have lived 11,12, 13, 14 years with us as best friends/companions/racers. There are more dogs in their last stages here, but they have their choice of beds in the house and special foods, medications, etc.

Currently, we have 14 dogs over the age of 11. So, when the blog reports the loss of a dog, it is with much sadness, but also with much gratefulness for the fullness they have brought to our lives. The uniqueness of each dog here is hard to describe and certainly each is irreplaceable.
Dog lovers reading this know well what we are saying here.

Aliy Zirkle/Allen Moore dog blog

Aliy and Allen will be competing in the Copper Basin 300, link given previously, prior to Iditarod. This is the link to their kennel blog, http://spkenneldoglog.blogspot.com/ Very good dog information on this site.

Knik 200

http://www.knik200.com/

Here is the link to the Knik 200. Glad to see Karin H. in there.

Raining on our trails

We had perfect trails and now a few days of rain will 'fix' that! Not supposed to snow again until Wednesday, so the pens will be slop and the trails , too. Just changed all the straw in houses from the last rain. They predict thunder storms for Monday. Always weird weather in January. Fortunately, we got in a supply of dog food before the soft trails.

BTW

I do notice that the words are segmenting in the print, but don't know how to fix it... anyone tell me how to edit so words aren't split?

Part of the walking group, each with health problems

We have an aging population here, numerous seniors with various ailments. The walking group takes some of the more aged or infirm ones on safe and supervised exercise walks. Sometimes we take some young ones along, but they are a bit too energetic for the older ones.

At times we have up to seven dogs in the house. Liller was hard to keep inside. She'd insist on going out and go all the way back to her pen with her pups and lie next to the gate. I'd go out in my socks to take her back in, time and again.

Photo: Liller, Frita, Medio(Liller pup) and Sulatna

More Liller

Liller was a part of our walking group of well behaved, untethered dogs. She would come along behind, waiting for a quick snack out of my pocket, never taking her eyes off of the treats. All of the other dogs knew to not compete with her for snacks... she had a grab like a guided missile. And she also had a scream ( a quiet scream if there is such a thing) when another dog bent her rules about turf. I will miss all of her rules and requirements of us.

She would walk amiably with many females, but she was territorial around her pen. Way back in her beginnings with us, she marked off her pen with an old license plate and various other items she dragged there to warn away intruders. The license plate is still there.

Liller ran away once. We found her about a mile down the road in a field, very frightened. I had to crawl up to her to get her to come with me. Whether it was an animal or a human who frightened her, I don't know, but it was during the time of her first puppies. Maybe she chased an animal out of here? maybe she met the wolf that frequents that field? She never left again, so I do believe she was decoying something away from her pups. She was the most wolfy dog I've had here.

The dogs are all a bit quiet today. We are all very sad. She is irreplaceable. Someone said today, " All dogs are special, but she was SPECIAL!" That does sum it up.

Liller, sadly , In Memoriam

October 10, 1995 to January 4, 2008


Liller, leader extraordinaire, faithful and loyal friend, toughest of tough Alaskan dogs, mother of our racing pups, matriarch of our current kennel... we lost her today to cancer. Xrays showed it had invaded her body. There was a large tumor in her chest midline, not observable on the exterior.





Being the stoic and tough Mama dog that she is, just three days ago she was asking to go in harness when we ran. I was tempted to take her, and perhaps, now, I wish I had, but this morning she was fading away right in front of me. I rode with her to the vet's and held her in my arms.





Thank you, beautiful, tough, loyal of most loyal, Liller. Liller ran Iditarod 2001, Jackpine 30, several times, and various Wisconsin races. Her pups with Skinny were a great gift to us.


Her training skills will be missed so much . Mostly I will miss her sweet howl and kindness toward me. She did not enjoy being a house dog but she went on many trail walks with me as well. She leaves her pups: Ruthie, Ruby, Kiddo, Quattro, Buffy, Medio, Herman, Josie, Evalina, Matilda and two in New York, Yukon (Emmett) and Quest( Isabella) and her granddaughter, Sherpa. Josie will miss her the most, she was a Mama's dog.





Photo: Liller and daughter Buffy leading into the finish line of the Jackpine 30.

Yukon Quest and Iditarod

MUSHING magazine has some good articles on the Iditarod and the Quest. Also a great article about Karen Ramstead's Siberian Huskies, individual photos of her beautiful/great dogs.

If this photo uploads, it is of Aliy's winning team in the 2000 Quest. The white dog is Martin who lives with us now. He still gives his all just as in this photo. I don't have the photo credits for this photo but will look for them... it is not mine.

We will go to Iditarod again this year, arriving Feb 27th and hopefully going to the Ruby checkpoint.

Copper Basin link

This is the link to the Copper Basin 300 race starting on January 12th. Hopefully snow conditions will improve.
http://www.cb300.com/

Aliy Zirkle and husband, Allen Moore, both have teams in this race. We'll be watching online.

Trailblazers race cancelled

Because of too MUCH snow, the WI Trailblazer's race scheduled for Jan 5/6 has been cancelled in Wakefield/Ironwood, MI. They said the amount of snow makes it impossible to finish the trails.

Even with too much snow, the forecast shows 30's and 40's that weekend so that would be a mess if they get the warm temps as well. Sorry to hear it though.

Photo: photo from a Trailblazers year end fun run a few years ago, Skinny and Liller in lead.

Skinny's Team

As long as Skinny is still eager to go, he'll lead the first team out. He has some lung problems, but when he takes off you'd guess he was going to head for Alaska and make it... wow, some dog power!





But, when he gives it his all and returns, he flops down. His heart will always be in it.


The other three gals are Skinny's daughters, great runners, lucky to run with their trainer/father. He has a son, Herman, who is his rival these days... they don't fight but they spar by running past each other on their free runs.

Upper trail

We use an old wooden gate to drag the trails.... it even banks the curves a bit

Trails perfect

Glad we got some teams run yesterday as rain :( is coming! Hope it doesn't interfere with the first WI Trailblazers race this next weekend in Ironwood, MI... highs in 30's/40's to be here.

Off we go, into the wild blue yonder

Corporal Rob Richard, U.S. Air Force and his sister , Katie took nice runs today.

The dogs started getting excited at 9AM when I brought the sleds out, screaming to go most of the morning, altho we didn't take off until 1PM. Rob is home between assignments, for the holiday... really great to have both of them here. The dogs 2nd that!

We took some different combos and especially wanted to let Copper run, since he makes a point of 'telling' me every day, "You've forgotten I'm a sled dog!" He ran single wheel in a 5 dog team and did just great. Sherpa got a chance to try lead again, with Buffy, and not a hitch, she's very focused. Skinny always gets first honors and he ran lead with Ruthie; Rosie ran lead with Buffy. The teams dumped Katie and Rob each one time, but these runners (humans) were amazing at jumping off the machine and leaping on the sled to capture them. Nice saves!

All of the dogs (12) had great runs and it was a lot of fun to bring in the New Year this way.