Fall Training Begins

We are returning from our summer blog, Summer at Summer Place. We hope to take our first training run on Wednesday of this week. Dogs are ready!

We enjoyed visiting the Mitch Seavey kennel in August and took a ride with Tyrell S. as our driver, learning a few more pointers on running dogs. Always learning.

Photo: Riding with a team at the Mitch Seavey kennel in Seward, August, 2008.

End of Season, Back to Summer Blog

Another day of hauling, pitching straw. We left the ATV perched precariously in a deep snow pile in the lower waste pit. It will have to wait until more melting to get it out.

With the grass greening up, we are moving to our summer blog now. The link is:
http://www.spkjulie.blogspot.com/

Progress is being made each day in the straw 'war'. 7 more loads hauled yesterday.

Balto goes in for surgery on her ear this morning. And thunderstorms are predicted.

Next Year's Notes

Each Spring I have to remind myself that the work actually does get done... it's just a task at a time.

Yesterday's list included:

Feeding dogs, of course. (hauled in multi pounds of food from the truck).
Clean up food dumped by dogs who say they've had enough high fat content. (switch to lower fat mix).
Scooping straw from ice, pitching into containers for hauling. (major part of the day)
Hosing out concrete pens as straw pitched out.
Washing mud off of my face/teeth (several times).
Cleaning all pens, of course.
Connecting/draining the hoses. Cleaning water pails, watering all dogs, twice.
Hauling the waste on the snowy, icy, muddy trail on the ATV.
Getting ATV unstuck.
Putting up tarps in half the pens for shade (70 degrees, sunny). (dogs help by jumping, on me)
Charging battery on 2nd ATV and moving to shed for hauling. (hook positive first!)
Moving several dogs for different reasons. (full moon, dogs coming into heat, again; dog eating gate)
Starting and moving lawn mower.
Fixing broken chains for two dogs that need to be tied. (fence leaper, gate eater)
Cleaning the cat's room, washing the boxes.
Airing the house dogs' beds.
Meds to dogs with allergies enhanced by Spring. (Balto may need surgery on ear)
Hauling rocks from the upper field to fill newly dug holes. Ground very nice for dogs' digging.
Cooling overheated ATV from hauling.
Riding all the trails, to check for downed trees (none over trail, hooray! but numerous downed in woods from heavy snows)
Getting ATV unstuck.
Treats to dogs, late day. Answering their questioning looks about why they can't come out to run. (porcupines, skunks)
Chasing Skinny into the woods when he returned to the house at night.
Setting trail camera to look for predator leaving headless rabbits.

Today, more of the same.

Meltdown and Spring's Surprises

We have gone from 17 inches of new snow to almost bare ground. The straw is soaked and heavy and almost immoveable, but looks like some sun in the forecast. The valley areas still have deep snow. I have put the snowmachines away and am using the ATV with great care.

The bored dogs have taken to eating the walls of their houses (just two). So it's the season for everything needing attention. I found a live lizard in Martin's water bowl, one of the more ugly surprises of Spring. What kind of lizard can live in Wisconsin? And I hear that the ticks are already out. I hope to not see the usual pine snake in the straw, but I'm sure I will see one or two eventually. The dogs do not like them and usually dispose of them quickly.

We hope the trails will dry up soon so we can run some bored dogs.

Dig and Melt

Digging out from this and it is melting, again. Driveway is still impassable, but parts require the ATV while others still require the snowmachine. Dogs are sunbathing!

Photo: Trail to the waste pit after the storm.

The Nearly White Squall

While the storm is still going, it wasn't quite as bad as anticipated. We'll see by tomorrow what we have. We have had thunder, high winds, heavy wet snow, rain, sleet and now the winds are picking up again. Of course we can't? have a white squall on land, but at times it appeared that way.

28 dogs had individual or group free runs, out of the pens, today. We raked out wet straw out of the houses and put in dry . In this stuff it won't stay dry very long.

I haven't attempted the roads as the driveway wasn't plowed and the county crew left some big banks at the end of the drive. It's been a good day to stay home with pups.

And, I didn't get any photos. The deer were in for corn, carrots and apples. I didn't haul waste as the pit might be a bit hard to maneuver today.

The Perfect Storm

We're sitting here waiting for the grandpa of all storms... high winds, a combined snow depth predicted of 7 plus 5 plus 5= 17 inches ?? on top of the last 12 new inches, which have turned to slippery slush.

For some reason the photos aren't posting to the blog, but I imagine tomorrow I'll get a few good ones. Hopefully all the dogs will make it through this blast, safely. Oh and yes, thunder is predicted along with this stuff. This should be a real treat the next two days.

Yesterday

These are the nicely working drains from yesterday.



Today we have another new six or seven inches of wet snow.

Mud, Rain, Ice, Snow, Hot Sun equals Spring

We've run the gamut with weather lately. Last two days it's been up to sixty degrees. We put one snowmachine on the trailer. Luckily I kept one out as tomorrow they predict four more inches of snow. It's raining out right now.

Balto looks like she has a puffed up ear and possibly will need to go in for surgery today. All other dogs seem fine, but restless. Now if I can stay upright on the slippery ice, we'll be OK. The drains we've dug are working well, but new rain backs up, mixed with straw and clogs the drains. The dogs are loving the sunbathing. I've put up one shade tarp already, for Lillen. It's a nice rain shelter this morning.

Photo is from last year, month of March. We were a bit ahead in the cleanup process/drying out with a lower snow year in 2007. No complaints about the good snow this year, though, and the rivers should be great for kayaking.

Fate of the White Pine

We love these white pines and hate to see one fall like this. Luckily it wasn't on the cottage or , more luckily, there were no people around. The weight of last week's heavy snow did this one in. We haven't been able to go up our back trails yet, so hope all is intact there. This one is going to take some work. No doubt that Spring is the most labor intensive season of all. Maybe not quite like Alaskan breakup, but close.

MuDD and Downed Tree

Mud, mud, mud... we can't complain because it is part of pen cleanup, but the driveway is almost impassable.

Late in the day we had some brave young prom goers... they walked the whole long MUDDY driveway to pay a visit in their beautiful clothes. It is slippery out there but they did NOT fall in the mud and went off to their prom still clean.

Then we paid a visit to our lake cabin. A beautiful white pine had fallen from last week's heavy snow , smashing on the roof of the old log shed. That will be some major cleanup, and possibly requiring a new roof.

This is dog digging weather. Skinny has excavated almost the whole side of my house for which I relocated him to a dog house for the day. Until this 'wonderful' mud is dried they will all be digging to their hearts' content.

Koyukuk Spring Race and George Attla

This is the link to the Koyukuk Spring Race where they are honoring George Attla.

Photo forwarded courtesy of Phillip Albert, Fairbanks

FAIRBANKS, Alaska Every spring, the villages of Hughes, Huslia and Allakaket/Alatna get together and hold a party. This year, more than most, there will be something big to celebrate.
It's been 50 years since Huslia's most famous resident, George Attla Jr., won his first Fur Rendezvous World Championship. The victory launched a career that eventually made the unknown musher the most successful sprint racer in history.
So when the Koyukuk River Championship Dog Race is held this year from April 3-6 in Huslia, it will have a dual purpose. Not only will the villages hold their annual celebration, they'll also be honoring one of their own.
"It should be pretty big," said Ginger Attla, who is George's niece and the party coodinator. "We're all getting excited about it."
The 1958 Fur Rondy victory was a huge moment for Attla, who became known as "The Huslia Hustler." He was basically anonymous when he arrived at the Anchorage race, but his win became a validation for the numerous mushers who lived in the villages along the Koyukuk. As many of them had suspected, their dogs were as fast as anybody's.
"I must have enjoyed it," George Attla said, "because it doesn't seem like it was that long ago."
Attla's accomplishment became a Hollywood movie starring Slim Pickens, 1979's "Spirit of the Wind." He went on to win nine more Fur Rondy titles and eight Open North American Championships, capturing the most victories of any sprint racer.
The Anchorage Daily News put him at No. 2 on the list of the top 100 Alaskan athletes of the 20th century, and the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner selected him as the greatest musher of all time. He was inducted into the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.
A party at the Huslia Community Hall next Sunday will honor Attla, along with his contemporaries from the village's golden age of mushing.
"I think the younger generation wants to honor their mushers before we all go to the happy hunting grounds," the 74-year-old Attla said with a chuckle.
The party will be wrapped around the four-day Koyukuk River Championship Dog Race festivities. The KRC was launched in 1979, when the three First Chiefs of Hughes, Huslia and Allakaket/Alatna met to discuss the spring carnivals in their respective communities. Each of the Koyukuk River villages held its own spring carnival - with events like dog mushing, showshoe racing and ice picking contests - which made it tough for those who wanted to attend all three.
As a solution, they decided to combine the three carnivals into one event, which would rotate between the villages each year. Twenty-nine years later, the tradition is still going strong.
Ginger Attla said about 600 people usually participate, including several hundred who come from neighboring villages to be part of the action. Huslia, with a population of about 300 people, does it all without facilities like formal hotels or restaurants.
"Everyone stays with relatives and friends," she said. "Huslia's a pretty friendly community, so everyone just opens their doors."
The weekend includes dances, potlucks and contests, along with sled dog races for men, women and old-timers.
The races, particularly the 17-mile main run, should be seriously contested. The region still takes pride in its ability to produce speedy mushers.
"There's a lot of champions that come from here," said Al Yatlin, a Huslia resident who has handled dogs with Attla since the 1960s. "Some of them are still around."
One of the mushers this year could be a familiar face - seven time KRC champion George Attla. Although his 19-year-old son Frank is doing most of the work with his team now, George said he's tempted to give the race a shot. "I still enjoy doing it, but it's a little tough on the bones," he said.
Always the competitor, Attla is interested to see how his dogs stack up.
"I'm kind of curious about it. How much better are these guys?" he said. "I was talking about it with a friend, and the only way I'm going to get my answer is to go out and do it."
And after all these years, Attla said he still knows how to lead a winning team.
"The body may be shot, but I think my mind's pretty good," Attla said with a laugh.
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Out Like a Lion

Photos: Upper, Tsunami, Yeti and Matilda; Lower, Buffy and Rosie.

Wow, the biggest storm of the year and it is still snowing at 5:30 AM. The snow started to fall about 1PM yesterday. We will post some photos later, but it looks to be at least ten inches of new, wet, heavy snow. The dogs will have a field day free running this morning. Trails, what trails?

Back to Nome, All Alaska Sweepstakes

The All Alaska Sweepstakes has started in Nome, enroute to Candle and back to Nome.

There are 17 mushers and the start was under the Iditarod finishing arch. This is the link:

http://www.allalaskasweepstakes.org/

We are in meltdown here, although it freezes up at night and the gates are hard to open.

Lots of chopping and definitely Yaktrax weather. Unless we get significant snow, we will not be running sleds again, but one never knows in N.E. Wisconsin.

Photo: Dog lot in Nome , just downhill from the finishing arch.

Easter Sunday, 2008

It snowed a bit yesterday, but nothing much new stayed on the ground. We are still feeding the deer each morning with our dog friends. The young buck is starting to come in alone these days, but he was with all of the gals yesterday.

We had a great day with our ten month old granddaughter , Fina. Nothing like a baby to lift your spirits.

The temperature is zero right now, still needing straw for dogs. The hot sun has been working at meltdown in the pens though and it's treacherous walking . We're working on the drainage trenches at each gate. The trails have lost just a bit on a few curves in the sun, but the railroad grade trail has ice chunks/tough for dog feet even with booties. Unless we get a really great snow, we'll probably stop running now until trails dry out for the ATV.

Photo: Chena accompanies me to feed the deer.

Old Line Vigor in Pups

Ruby is six years old but she runs like a pup. Her mother was Liller (Iditarod 01) (Butcher ) and father Skinny (Jerry Louden's Quest leader).

The black dogs (siblings) zero in on each other, ignoring their brindle siblings, chasing each other. They are FAST.

Photo: Ruby, age six, was breaking trail on our morning free run to the back forty.

Old Line Vigor, 3

And this is Glory, age twelve. She raced in lead on a 4 dog sprint team with me. Her co leader was Skinny, what a pair! Sulatna and Balto were also on that spirited team. Glory still takes off like a two year old.

Old Line Vigor, 2

This is Martin running his morning route with me, while I hauled waste. Martin ran Iditarod with Aliy Zirkle and was on her championship Quest team in 2000. He's powerful and a real sweetheart. His pen pal, Ruby, ran with him, too. Martin's father was Flood, a great leader for Aliy. Martin runs in wheel mostly.

Old Line Vigor

It's a great day for free running and 17 dogs had their turns. This is Power, twelve years old.

His mother was Scuba, first dog in our kennel. Scuba ran Iditarod with Susan Butcher. Scuba's mother was Susan's leader, Elan.

Power is incredibly tough and fast; great feet, coat, speed, endurance, best eater/drinker. His sister was out running with him, too. Trails are way too punchy for sleds, but Glory and Power are both deep snow dogs, seeking it out. They were a tough three dog team with their brother, King, at one time... tough runners and tough to handle, very exuberant.

Photo: Power, age twelve. March 13, 2008

Herds

Our vet refers to the kennel management as herd management. Our dog group (herd) has been enjoying the sun and warm meltdown temps, but we have three inches of new snow this a.m. which will make it less slippery for their morning free runs. The temps have moderated a lot so hopefully no more twenty below cold spells for them this winter. Soon we'll be raking and hauling out the straw, the biggest task of the year.

We still have fifteen deer coming in twice a day for feedings. They have been fun to watch and we're glad to see the small yearlings wintering over so well. Once the fields are melted we stop the feedings. We have a natural shelter for them in our swamp/valley surrounded by hills.

Back to Earth

With Lance Mackey claiming victory again in the Iditarod, we have been glued to watching the race. Aliy is moving along in 21st position right now, heading into White Mountain.

Back here, we have been in a meltdown for two days, but looks like now we'll get another 3 inches (at minimum) of snow, so back to shoveling gates and cooking soup. Winter is not yet waning in Wisconsin (although there was some false thought of that yesterday at 45 degrees).

Chicken Soup Morning, Cold

My house thermometer says minus thirteen, so bet the dog pen thermometer will read at least minus twenty/twenty five. The good thing is that the sun is already shining. I'm off with hot chicken soup to the dogs. March 8th, Wisconsin, minus twenty. March 8th, Alaskan Iditarod Trail, plus thirty.

Quiet Days

We haven't been running with the icy condtions. A little snow yesterday helped somewhat, but the dogs and I are still slipping/sliding unexpectedly from time to time. We're watching the race on the computer and doing the regular work.

It'll be back down to at least minus ten tonight. They need these temps for Iditarod, we'll trade!

Temperatures

Temps are warm. Aliy is resting at Mile 165; some of the others that rested near her are moving on and looks like temps just as warm or warmer (38 degrees) ahead, and it's just daylight (if that).

Allen should be into Rohn soon . Sue Morgan left Finger Lake right behind Runyan and Scdoris.

Trent Herbst, with his yearlings, still has 16 and is in Finger Lake resting, it appears, making him last in the pack for now.

Photo: Rainy Pass Checkpoint in 05 or 06.

Back at the Ranch

It's very icy/hard in the dog pens and the entries into the pens. I didn't free run the dogs yesterday as they all get excited /leap around. Several dogs took falls just in plain exuberance yesterday, so we'll try to keep the lid on again today, although they get restless and like their usual day. I dislocated my left thumb on something, probably chopping ice, but it's wrapped and working. Paw safe salt is not to be found around here, so using Morton's salt, not working too well.

We're watching Iditarod with great interest and commenting from afar on our other blog.
The GPS info this year is very interesting. As someone said, 'like a race within a race', as the official stats show one thing and the GPS shows more current info on the mushers carrying the devices.

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.