You win some, and sometimes you have to bag a dog…

Yesterday during the race, Daria one one of my point/swing dogs tripped during the race.  She is also one of the most consistent, strong, fast and dependable dogs on the team.  She is the dog I call my invisible dog – never does anything wrong, and never brings attention to herself.

I knew it was going to be a fun day when the Mayor of North Pole, Doug Issacson, turned up at the start of the race and agreed to be the turnaround judge.  Mayor Doug was the original driving force behind this year’s race sponsorship.   Having him involved in an important role was great!  As I went past I yelled hi to him and his face beamed! I just spoke to him and he had such a fun time he is coming back to be our turnaround judge again tomorrow!

So today I was making the final preparations for the North Pole Championship Sled Dog Race – getting sponsor banners, arranging the trailer from Goldstream Sports (A big heated trailer with electricity!), and general running around.  It was a seriously crazy day.  I thought the world was running away and I needed to catch up.

Next weekend is the Annamanet Gold Run put on by my club – Alaska Dog Mushers Association. The location has changed from Mushers Hall to the Chena Lakes Recreation Area in North Pole.

Last weekend we raced in Anchorage in the Exxon.  The conditions were tough on the dogs, and we placed 6th.  Considering everything I am proud as punch of my dogs.  Especially Clara who stepped up to the plate this season to fill some very big booties.  So far she is doing very well.  I am thankful for Jolene, my steady and trustworthy leader who is showing Clara the ropes.

Today’s conditions were slightly better, with no snowfall overnight.  However, the trail was still very slow, and the more dogs running over it, the more it fell apart.

The nice thing about today’s race was that the dogs knew how far they needed to go, and they gave a lot more speed.  There were some very slow sections, but all in all the dogs gave it their all again and I am super proud of them.

Well, I never thought I would hear myself complaining about the snow falling!

We (my team and I) arrived in Anchorage last night to snow falling.  This is a beautiful sight, and one we are missing in Fairbanks.  But, with the 4 inches that fell previously that day, and the forecasted 2 inches to fall over night.  Then all day at the track it snowed. This would make the going slow for today’s race.