Red Ridge Trail |
Snack time above the clouds |
Mugs & Hawkeye in lead. |
Howdy all.
We finally got snow last weekend and have been out running sleds
ever
since!! After just a couple inches on Friday night, Sue took
the
first team of Wyatt, Birch, Kobuk and Trip, just for fun.
Since
then, we've been taking 8-10 dog teams for 20-50 mile runs from
the
cabin all week. Trails are still a little challenging in some
places
with thin cover, stumps, roots and overflow, but most trails
are
smoothing out and it's snowing again today. It's SOOO much
nicer
taking sled teams out, instead of riding the atv. We'll do just
a
few more runs before heading out just after Christmas for Alaska
for
a week or so to race, shop for some things, visit some old
friends
and maybe make a few new ones.
Our 100-mile run out at the Canol Road at the end of last week
went
great. There had been 6-8 inches of new snow out there, and
only a
couple of teams had been through ahead of us, so the trail was
much
slower than the times we had previously run it. The team didn't
slow
much on the way out to Quiet Lake. Then we took a 5 hour break
at
the campground pavilion (with woodstove!). 3-time Quest winner,
Hans
Gatt, was there with a resting team, too, and it was fun to talk
with
him once I'd finished dog-chores. The return run, through the
middle
of the night was uneventful, if a little slower than the way
out.
It's more uphill that way... All in all, the team did great
and
looked the best they have all season! From the truck, back to
the
truck, we spent 15 hours out. The team and musher got home
feeling
confident, if kinda tired...
Sue taking the first sled run. |
Reaching for sunbeams |
Sue with Squiggle & Wilson in lead |
The dark of the Yukon winter is finally at it's worst.
Solstice!!
We are looking forward to the days getting a little longer,
stating
soon. It's only light out from about 9:30am until 4:30pm.
Now,
that's just light enough to see. The sun never gets high enough
in
the sky to clear the mountains and shine on our little cabin,
but
some of our sled runs do get us out to where we can actually see
the
sun. We're ready to see it a bit more!
Christmas is upon us and we'd like to wish you all the very best
of
the season. We hope your holidays are filled with peace, hope
and love.
Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to you all-
Mike, Sue
and
TeamTsuga.
