With our first official race of the season — The Sheep Mountain 150 — only two weeks away, we’ve got a busy weekend of training going on. Of course, we’re always busy training, but this is something a little different…
There’s a lot more to training than just running the dogs to get them in shape. The humans have to train themselves as well. Not just the physical training that Aliy and Allen are both vigorously pursuing, but a lot of “going racing” logistical training: Getting the team trucks ready for long distance winter travel, organizing and packing all of the necessary gear, loading and unloading dogs, etc. Our veteran mushers have done it all plenty of times before, so it’s more like a refresher course, but it’s still important to do. Practice makes perfect, right?
So, early yesterday morning Aliy, Allen and Bridgett packed up three teams of 12 dogs and headed an hour north to the White Mountains where there’s been a lot more snow. In addition to making it a “test run” for the logistics, it was also an opportunity to run on sleds again. I went along and shot a ton of media that I will edit and post this week.
The veteran dogs are very keen to see the trucks being loaded, because they know it means they’re going somewhere fun. You can see ChaCha is standing as if to say “Let’s get after it!” Her daughter Olivia — standing behind her — doesn’t seem so sure. Beemer — the youngest Iditarod veteran — is cool, calm and collected. Dingle — a real up and coming lead dog — is taking it all in stride. The trip was very successful on all counts, and the mushers report that they all had a good day.
This morning we’re packing up again, even though it’s only to drive a few miles down the road to a short “tune up race” hosted by the local mushers’ association. The drive is shorter, but the program is the same. I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes!
The plan for tomorrow is to repeat the White Mountains trip, which will make it three “test runs” in three days. That ought to have us good and ready for the real thing in two weeks!
LOL – I thought I saw "Big Red" heading down the Hot Springs Rd with dogs and sled aboard, but I thought "Nah, there ain't no way they're headed to the Sheep Mountain yet, and they are too busy training to make any kind of a road trip.
Hope you enjoy the White Mountain trip. The snow isn't too bad up there. Maybe I should consider a road trip for my guys.
Swanny
I can't wait to see the footage of the training runs. In fact, I can't wait for the racing to begin. I've been jonesin' for races to the point that I go the race sites and just stare at the musher listing. I probably have read the bios of every musher in the Quest and Iditarod two times – pathetic.