Best laid plans…

Well… you know how it goes. Things work out eventually if you keep plugging away.

We plan optimal training runs for the dogs. Getting them in shape for certain races at the correct time, as well as  keeping them happy and healthy are our highest priorities. Throughout the season, we reach for certain mileage goals at certain dates by gradually stepping up their work load. We also introduce hill conditioning or speed training depending on which races we enter (Copper Basin: very hilly versus Kusko: flat.) We also don’t want to go too fast. We’ve learned that the faster you train, the more injures you sustain. And for us, in distance racing, a moderate steady pace wins. We then will add a couple of ‘camp out’ work outs in order to further the dogs conditioning. This also refines our skills as long distance mushers. This is our general plan for a successful racing season.

But things don’t always go according to the plan. Do they?

This past week we scheduled a trip south to Paxson. We wanted to train for a couple days with Jason Compaeu (fellow YQ and Iditarod musher) just prior to the holidays. It would be lots of hill training in the Alaska Range Mountains and several camp outs. We sorted through race sleds, packed the truck and were ready to roll Wednesday night. We woke early Thursday morning to check the weather before heading south. It didn’t look good. CHANGE OF PLANS!

Cold weather was coming in but we still needed to fit in a long training run. There is always the option of running teams on our local trails. But with the truck packed and a promise to the dogs that we were “heading for some fun in the hills” we decided to head to the White Mountains.

White Mountains means several things in the dog mushing world. White Mountain is the last village on the Iditarod Trail. There is mushing in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. But the White Mountains for us is BLM’s National Recreation Area. It is located about 50 miles northwest of SP Kennel.

There are 100 miles of trail that loop through the mountains. It is a common recreation area for Alaskan outdoor enthusiasts. We have trained in the Whites several times already this season and seen many of our neighbors up there as well. The weather forecast was for chilly temperatures but we hoped that there would be a temperature inversion – warmer in the hills, cooler in the valleys. And we hoped to stay in the hills much of the time. There was no forecast for wind.

So after changing plans and sorting through gear, two mushers – Aliy and Allen – and 28 dogs in two trucks headed to the Whites Thursday afternoon.

The route to the White Mountains from SP Kennel is the route used to get to Alaska’s North Slope oilfields – the Elliott Highway to the 400 mile Dalton Highway. Many winter ‘ice roads’ are now open up north so the truck traffic is heavy. The two SP Kennel 4 wheeled rigs were out of place. The biggest plus to this road route is the obligatory food stop at Hilltop restaurant.

We arrived at the parking lot for the Whites Rec Area and the usual popular spot was vacant. The temperature was a balmy -12ºF. It was a gorgeous sunset.

After dressing the dogs in harnesses, jackets and booties, the teams took off. The sky cleared and the temperature dropped a little more and was -20ºF at departure.

The training run went GREAT!

All 28 dogs and two mushers scooted down the trail all night Thursday and into Friday. The inReach tracker map (above) shows the teams’ progression into the mountains, down into Beaver Creek valley and across the creek then back up a southern slope of Cache Mountain.

The temperature along Beaver Creek was very cold (guesstimate by Allen was “COLD!“) The ice fog coming off the heat generated by the dogs made seeing the front of the dog team nearly impossible for a mile.

The turn around point was slightly higher in elevation so the ice fog cleared before we reached Cache Mountain cabin. The cabin’s thermometer showed the temperature at -33ºF. Practically balmy!

The mushers took a 15 minute break to have a hot beverage and grab an unfrozen protein bar out from under several layers of clothing. At this temperatures it is important to not expose too much skin for long.

After a short break and a small meal, the teams were rocking to run again.

Despite the temperature we were able to get a video of the dogs during the break. They are nibbling on dog food in the snow. It’s sometimes better to feed them in the snow at these temperatures than in a metal dish (ouch frozen nose) or a plastic bowl (immediately shattered.) Some things just don’t work correctly in arctic temperatures.