We were being shadowed for much of the run.
Training continues… now all we need is more SNOW! (please)
Yes it is November, and we are in the full swing of things. Runs are getting longer and days are getting shorter, and everything is progressing beautifully.
Yeah; except for a lack of snow in our neck of the woods.
OK; I am not saying there is none, just not enough.
Well; there might be enough to run a 6-8 dog team as long as you didn’t have to set a snow hook. But seriously, Dan and I do not have a handler… who has time to run 3-4 eight dog teams 3-5 hours a day each!?!?!?!?! Nope that is a luxury we do not have right now. So we are still using the quad and truck to run much bigger teams, usually 14-20 at a time.
Hooking up Jake and Loben are in lead holding the team out. And thanks to Manmat for the awesome gear! The gear bags hold a teams worth of harnesses and lines, no gear explosion in the truck. And the mesh sides means things don’t get all soggy when you pack them up after the run.
That is exactly what we did today, and it was a blast. These photos are from the first run of the day. The team is made up of the Buggers (remember these little cuties) and the Monsters (wow, they were so small then). We have Jake and Loben in lead, and Yuki and Sister joined the young ‘uns to add some experience to the line up. We set out mid morning in order to enjoy sunshine for most of the run. The sunlight was glorious, and with temps at slightly above zero it was comfortably warm. High winds and some overflow later in the run were a nice opportunity to let the young dogs practice dealing with the same things they will encounter on the Yukon Quest or Iditarod trail.
Overflow
Like any proud mama I had to immortalize this young teams first overflow crossing. As you can see they handled it like pro’s. That was until I opened my mouth to narrate the video I was shooting. (oops) But when I gave the ‘straight ahead’ command they all got right back to business. (good dogs!)
Shadow Dogs ~ photos & video
The sunlight was glorious, and as we traveled along a team of shadow dog appeared to run with us. They ran along for miles. Again I could not help channeling my inner photog and videographer to try and capture this run. You be the judge~
Heading out with the team.
See what I mean about the lack of snow.
Feeling very fortunate to be out on such a beautiful day (despite the lack of snow).
The light shifted all day as we traveled through the hills at the base of the White Mountains.
Whiskey came with us today to help supervise, but half way through he curled up in my bibs for a nap. Supervising such a big energetic team is hard work for a little dog.
Maybe I am not going to win an Oscar for this, but I hope you will enjoy this clip showing you the Dew Claw dogs doing what they love to do, and the shadow dogs that joined us this beautiful day.
