"Iching ta git started" , brought on by cooler weather and longer nights, the mushing juices really get flowing. We have begun to get the "dog stuff" organized Harness's, lines,and the mountains of Iditarod/quest equipment that we have now accumulated. The game plan is the start training in "full on" beginning Sept 1st From then on its full time 110% We have so many trail options here we need to really study some maps and get a handle on the terrian and narrow down some of the many options We will have the opertunity to set of many varied conditions, river running with open water, very steep inclines, twisty trails going down hill, open terrian, Many that I have seen racing that we'll be able to recreate. That is the mantra for this year. the best will rise to the top this year, through training conditions and sheer athletic aptitude, the cream will rise. Last season the empahsis was on bringing a large number of dogs on the truck to the Quest , ensuring that there would be enough for Iditarod ina worst case senario. which was ok but not a good plan to be competitive. I essentaily divided the best dogs to both races and filled in the rest. we just ended up puttering along in both and didnt have the "edge" Speed was a large limiting factor in the training last year as well, I emphasized pulling huge loads thereby keeping speeds down I'm talking 50lbs +per dog or translated for a 12 dog team, 600 lbs - musher, sled and extra weight combined. Although we will be weight training, speed runs will be more of a test factor. I will be looking at doing quicker runs, with weight just not as much. how is the done?, well thats where the experiance and know how comes into play , and its easier said then done. Many of the obstacles are the mushers, not the dogs. Appitite, and attitude will aslo be factors, We are fortunate that the breed of dogs we have , are naturally very enthusiastic, durable and are great eaters, but there are always the few(hopefully 16 ) that will shine. P.S We have a huge "pasture" beside the river on the property, wlaking with the pups there, Kate discovered Saskatoon berries, I mean LOTS! I belive a close relative to Huckleberries, and blue berries? I assumed earlier ( a few weks ago they were just "bushes" We picked in a couple of hours about 10 gallons ! Warren

Well Jan 29  here in Yellowknife, our last run here until we get home from the races at the end on March.
 
Kate and I took our final pool of dogs on a 70 mile run. We have 27. I am still not sure which ones will go to the Quest. We could have almost 2 separate teams, for the two big races as the Quest allows a maximum of 14 dogs. 
Most of our 70 milers take about 6 hours, pulling about 40 lbs per dog (combined weight of musher, sled etc.)
 It will be interesting to run them with a relatively light sled of about 20- 25 lbs for the race. I have worked very hard this season to get the dogs in a manageable speed that is not bogged down (10 mph and less) as the dogs basic pace I feel and know is 11- 13 mph. The basic pace is what the dogs fall into  at some point in the race; it is ultimately the speed they are comfortable running and they pretty much find it themselves (if you allow them).
 
I have tried to see which dogs will fall out of the available pool. We have continued with the long runs, some consecutive at that. Granted, some have been a little sore, but they all get up and bark to go. I am leaning towards the thicker coated dogs  and the bigger dogs for the Quest. That is the only defining aspect that I can use as a measuring stick. All are eating well, they will gain a little more weight while we are on the road. 

We are headed tomorrow morning to our great friends Jacques and Magali's outside of Fairbanks.While there we will get the rest of the Iditarod food drops done, and a few more runs on the dogs, then head back into Canada to Whitehorse for the pre race festivities. So that being said ,  I will not be  saving dogs for the Iditarod, how ever it will end up that way.

MJ , Sake and Jean are down in Jackson Wyoming, they will be running with the Swingley outfit there for the race.  Mel is going to have a great race!  Look around all the standings, these dogs are  as close to dominating as you can get these days. Our buddy Dan Turner from Oregon just won the Beargrease 150( which is very competitive) , Jason won the Beargrease, He may not admit his bloodlines but they are primarily  Swingley 
I saw that Jeff King will be racing there, I can say  that he will not be likley to win . However, the  mid top ten will be moved around now that he is there.

Zion, Kazen, and Dude  are all still in the pool as well. These are all dogs that are for sale. I had almost closed a sale last summer on a group of six dogs , boy am I glad they didn't sell them, they are a great asset. 
We had some great leader training yesterday as well, there had been a lot of snowmobile traffic out on the big lake the past week and we had been using other trails, so the trail to our camp was pretty much non existent except for the tree and lath marking our trail. Cash, Earl, Caper, and Frank all had their turn getting in some more  practice running without a trail. Those that run dogs will appreciate a dog that will follow an old dog trail instead of a defined snowmobile trail. What a great feeling! And a testament of strong willed dogs!
Here is a picture taking down our camp yesterday.

Pictured is 1 of 2 16 dog teams  that we were training each day  35 miles at the cutline , week of November 11-13th 2008 notice pallet being dragged behind the sled. Makes a nice trail!

It snowed the whole time there, three days! We were almost stuck at the camping spot and had to chain up the truck , even then it took 1/2 hour to go about 1/2 mile to get back to the main road!

And yes Magali, we have good tires!- inside joke..


 Here is a picture of a big male buffalo that was "sharing" the trail with us, I was trying to get the team stopped so we wouldn't  run into him, and was not able to get the camera out of my jacket, He is standing between the two birch trees in the middle of the picture. It would have been a cool shot of the buffalo in front of the dogs!