Our Life

Going Camping

Sarah · December 29, 2015 ·

Well, it seems every time around new year’s a thaw occurs in Alaska. The snow is melting. Yesterday it rained. So tomorrow, I am traveling north with Wade Marrs to go train on the Denali Highway.

I’ve never gone on a training trip with anyone but Travis so I’m excited about traveling with another musher. I’m sure I’ll learn a thing or two.

This will be a good test before Copper Basin. My dogs have been doing well. We have been running consistently though our runs haven’t been too long in length and we have only done a few camping trips.

Copper Basin isn’t something I’m really going into in “race mode.” I am not going to be out there competing to win. My objective is a strong Iditarod team and this race is playing into that.

Copper is a 12 dog race that is about 310 miles long. The runs are as follows

50 miles
73 miles
43 miles
85 miles
59 miles
FINISH LINE (otherwise known as a warm bed and hot shower for the musher and a warm dog box and long rest for the dogs!)

The race has a mandatory 18 hours of rest that each racer must take. Of course, you are able to take more if needed or wanted.

Right now, I’m still working on trying to figure out my intended race plan. I can take 12 dogs and am hoping to take mainly the younger dogs in my training pool to see how they do and get them some race experience. The final cut will really determine how I run the race but, to be honest, I’m not really expecting anything more than finishing with a happy team. My goal is to finish Iditarod and to use Copper Basin as a tool to help get me there.

I’m hoping that the hill training on the highway will help prepare us for some of the hillier runs in Copper.

So now it’s time to pack for my training trip. It’s a lot like packing for a race but instead of drop bags you simply haul everything.

Here’s an idea of what I’ll take:

Ax
Dog booties
Sleeping bag
Human food
Dog food (kibble & meat)
Parka, gloves, hats, jackets, extra layers, extra boots & checkpoint shoes
Headlamp & spare batteries
GPS
Travel dishes, ladel
Dog food cooker, heet, matches, lighter
Watch / Alarm Clock
Drinks & Snacks for the run

I’m looking forward to the trip. I’ve been working with Penny as a lead dog and she has been phenomenal except when going up hills so I am hoping this experience will give me lots of experience to teach her to charge ahead.

Here are the dogs who will be taking me on this awesome adventure:

Penny, 2 years old, female
Madori, 5 years old, female
Dolly, 2 years old, female
Athena, 1.5 years old, female
Pippa,1.5 years old, female
Lena, 1.5 years old, female
Crazy, 2 years old, female
Shark, 2 years old, female
Hoover, 2 years old, female
Bensen, 2 years old, male
Coda, 2 years old, male
Check, 1.5 years old, male
Rowdy, 1.5 years old, male
Hammer, 1.5 Years old, male
Thunder, 6 years old, male
Hank, 2 years old, male

I like numbers so let’s take a look at some of my team’s stats:

I will be taking (6) 1.5-year olds, (8) 2-year olds, 2 veterans. 63% of my team is female and 88% is 2 years old or younger. 50% of my team is out of our kennel super-dog and amazing leader, Boston. 25% of my team is out of 4-time Iditarod Champion Xena. 19% of my team is out of Iditarod & Yukon Quest Champion, Hope.

Don’t worry, I have several older dogs in training who won’t be making this trip. Ray, 10 who finished Iditarod in 11t last year. Zema, who is a phenomenal leader and is 5. Boston, another great leader. I also have Tamere and Star who have finished Iditarod multiple times. I’m also leaving behind Varden, another superb 2-year old.

Kind of cool to look at. At the end of the day however, stats aren’t the same as results. Still, I’ve been fortunate to work with some pretty talented dogs. Every day I spend with them is fun and exciting.

Here’s looking forward to a great trip!

– Sarah

The Warm Up

Sarah · December 29, 2015 ·

The last few days have whirled by in activity. We’ve been doing more camping with the dogs. Run 30 rest for 3 hours run 30 again. It’s not far but it’s fun.

It’s really hard to gauge how training is going. The dogs are doing well but to be honest this is the first time I’ve trained my own group of dogs so consistently. I have a lot of questions and a lot of anxiety’s from time to time about how things are going. I ask what I canand I try to just run my team and not worry about what other people around me are doing. I suppose it’s like racing in that regard – we all have our own agenda and our own plan so we just have to do our best to stick to it and not worry what everybody else has going on. For rookie, that’s easier said than done. I find they often ask myself and I doing enough? Am I training as much as I should be? It’s hard to know. You see a lot of my shirts posting on Facebook about how they are doing these 200 and 300 mile camping trips. Sometimes it seems as though these mushrooms are doing them on a weekly or even twice a week basis. That’s great for them, but I don’t think I have quite that level of stamina just yet. I just want things to be fun and have a good time. So far, we are achieving that goal for the most part. Like any athlete or teen, we have periods of ups and downs and highs and lows but overall I would say that we are all consistently having fun. The dogs jump with excitement and I almost always have a smile glued to my face when I’m out on the trail.

Unfortunately, I warm weather front has moved in. Today it got up into the 40s. One of my favorite movies is an older Jack Lemmon film called grumpy old man. It’s about these two neighbors, older gentleman, who have an intense rivalry and like to go fishing. At one point, in the background the song is playing ironically the temperature outside is about 20 or 30 below. But the lyrics to the song go we’re having a heatwave, a tropical heatwave… I find this warm weather has made that short piece a song play endlessly through my head.

Last night I hoped up a 14 dog team and we traveled about 50 miles down trails we’ve never been on. I had my GPS so I knew I couldn’t get too lost because I could always find my way back. So I decided that my goal would be to uncover as many new trails as possible. Up here in Willow, the trails are numerous and though I have looked at maps Thee squiggly lines on a sheet of paper are much different than the snowy intersections I often find myself at. Like so many things in life, the best way to learn is through experience.

So on our voyage last night we uncovered a ton of new terrain. Parts of it were hauntingly beautiful. Birch forests at night are one of my favorites. The white trees stick up like a bony extensions of the snow. There isn’t a lot of undergrowth so when you shine your headlamp you can see for 100 feet or so perhaps further, if you had a brighter or better light. Often I look side to side trying to find moose. On more than one occasion I got nervous as I saw fresh tracks. There have already been several dog team and moose encounters so far this year and it seems that due to the forest fire this summer and the snow that they are particularly agitated. At one point during the run, I rounded a corner after the team and saw a pair of green eyes staring back at me. My heart leapt into my throat. Then, I realized that one of my dogs had simply turned its head back towards me. What a chicken, I told myself.

The dogs tackled the new trails marvelously. At times we ran on soft snow and at others, we traveled on hard fast trails. I must’ve taken a wrong turn at some point because once I ended up coming out onto the road. The dogs however were well-behaved and there was a large parking lot. We made a large sweeping loop. It was effortless. Then, we headed back down where we had come from.

Originally, I had packed so that we would camp somewhere on the trail. But it was raining, and I didn’t think it was necessary. I know I don’t like sleeping out in the rain and I’m sure the dogs we’re grateful to return to their warm dog houses. We filled their houses with fresh straw a few days prior and that sounded far cozier than sleeping under a light drizzle.

This morning, the dog lot was a sheet of ice. I was grateful to have ice grippers so that I didn’t slip and slide all over the place. I had been planning on trimming nails today, it’s important that we keep the nail somewhat short, but ended up deciding not to because several of the dogs ended up wiping out and falling during the excitement of feeding. What a bunch of goofballs. I should note that everybody was fine.

Today I made my weekly trip into town. Ironically, I had to make the trip due to my cats. We were out of cat food and though they really like to eat dog food it isn’t nutritionally complete for them. I ended up getting new food for them and some new squeaky toys for our house dogs. I wanted to get another dog bed but holy cow! I forgot how expensive they were! of course, everything with dogs is expensive.

Tonight we’re going to check the trail and see if it’s suitable to run on. If it’s too slick, the dogs may end up sliding around and getting some sort of injury or sprain. That’s no good.

Depending on how the snow thawed and refroze it could also be quite granular which could lead to foot injuries – Also not good. We only run our dogs when the conditions are safe to do so. Otherwise you sort of defeats the purpose of training. We may be able to booty the dogs and not have a problem but I doubt it if it is granular. Hard icy snow like that just tears through booties. Healthy feet are necessary for a sled dog for obvious reasons.

I took a break and writing this post and unfortunately the trail is no good. We could run on it if we really wanted to but again what is the point? Training isn’t just about getting miles or experience. It’s about bettering your dog team. Sometimes, the best way to do that is to let the dogs sit or travel to wear conditions are better. We will see. At this point, we either need it to snow more or we needed to warm up enough during the day that conditions get slushy and we can run in the slush but even that isnt ideal.

Here’s hoping to colder weather and to better trails.

– Sarah

The Little Things

Sarah · December 16, 2015 ·

Today is a rest day not just for the dogs but for me as well. I went to the library and continued to work on our 2016 Kennel Guide which will, I hope, be available for download in the next week or two. The guide is a behind the scenes look at our kennel and includes interviews with both Travis and myself. We also do a recap of 2015 and share some of our kennel highlights. We are hoping to be able to sell this download to help us raise money for dog booties so we can keep our dogs in tip-top shape.

It’s been a fun project for me and it’s hard to believe but it’s almost a full 30 pages of information and interviews. When I complete this, I will work on another that is a guide book about our dogs. I hope people like them and think of them as a fun way to invest and help our kennel.

Max came to the library with me but he sat in me truck. When you stay there for the afternoon it’s funny all thre characters you see. You have your normal library patrons but then you have those who look like old time gold miners. One girl came in wearing jeans and a ripped t-shirt and left in a green ball gown. Oh the questions I would have liked to ask her!

I was impressively able to score some last minute tickets to Star Wars. I wasn’t sure if the boys would want to go but Travis mentioned it today and I was able to snag 4 tickets to the 7:00 showing in 3d tomorrow. I’m beyond excited. When I was back home, we had a marathon watching the original trilogy. Personally, I like to forget about the saga with Jar Jar Binks.

Tonight we are sitting on the couch. I’m drinking tea and Travis has a beer that he neighbor gave him. Our house dogs are sprawled over the floor laying on dog beds and blankets and heaps of dog booties.

It always seems as though there is so much work to be done. It never ends but we have learned, finally, to pause and take time to just be.

There is all this rushing about in the world for this and for that. At the end of it all, most of it doesn’t matter. What matters are the pauses. The in-betweens. Sitting on the couch talking together. Playing another round of cards. Typing a story to share.

Distance mushing is a slow, languid, and meditative. You learn that it is the little things that matter. It is the small stuff that makes the biggest difference.

Fresh Tracks

Sarah · December 15, 2015 ·

Today I worked on speed. We had a bit of fresh snow so it was good to go a little faster because it was soft. It was a good trail to run on because the trails on Iditarod are like that, slightly wind blown with a little bit of fresh powder.

Mongoose stood out to me on this run in particular. This was the first run I’ve been able to run with him in lead on a long run and have him rise to the challenge. Normally, he loses focus but tonight he was on his a-game. It made me happy because he’s a great athlete to have up front. Plus he’s young and spunky.

There was a team out on the trail behind us at one point trying to pass us, I don’t know who it was, but I called the dogs up and we left them in the dust. Doing things like that is a real confidence builder not only for me but also for the dogs.

As usual, the dogs ate well on the trail. My face got cold with the fresh snow and I keep telling myself I need goggles but I never seem to remember. I guess it will make me tougher.

I liked running on the wind blown trail with fresh snow. It was warm so the breeze helped keep the dogs cooler. It’s good running when it’s a little warm so the dogs get used to it. We teach them to roll around in the snow when we stop and that sort of thing so they don’t get too hot.

Justin was driving my b-team and I really enjoyed the fact that they kept up so nicely. Each run, I think my confidence and the dogs confidence in themselves grows because we just conquer everything.

I love the dynamic of my team and how they love to travel fast.

I’d like to thank Tom M. for sponsoring me for a third year in a row. I met Tom during one of my tours and he’s been a huge supporter. Having people like that cheer me on in racing and training always makes each run that much sweeter.

Happy Trails,

Cabin Life

Sarah · December 15, 2015 ·

When I went back home, my friends and family on the east coast thought it was both strange and fascinating that I had willingly adopted a lifestyle with no running water or no power. While I occasionally gripe about the inability to take a shower or other simple luxuries modern life affords most, I find myself not only content but quite happy.

Our days are full, often bursting at the seams as we find our dog runs stretching across the night. At home, life is simple. There is no television available. No phone constantly ringing. And getting on the Internet is a privilege rather than an expectation. Instead, we fill our time with what the day requires.

We chop meat. We get water to feed the dogs. To get water we have to hook our generator up to our well. It’s a bit of a process by most people’s standards but it isn’t hard to do. The most important part of it all is making sure we shut the water off properly so our well doesn’t freeze up. When we feed the dogs, we do it like all mushers, a 5 gallon bucket at the time. Right now we are feeding 2-3 times a day and it takes 8 buckets for the kennel.

After feeding the dogs, We make food for ourselves. We eat a lot of Mac and cheese, pancakes, and biscuits and gravy. It seems that bacon always finds a way into whatever we eat. I’m sure it isn’t healthy but the fat helps us stay warm in the cold.

We find that we spend a lot of time talking and playing cards when we aren’t in the dog lot. Our favorites are monopoly deal, cribbage and uno. We are creatures of habit and don’t change our routines much.

Quiet time is sudoku or reading books on dog mushing. The boys drink a lot of coffee together but I’m doing my best to abstain from caffeine so that it’ll have a bigger effect on me when I need it during races. I drink water and juice and this supplement I started on last summer called Plexus, which has done a surprisingly good job of keeping me in tip-top shape, gotten rid of the allergic reaction that has plagued my hands for years and well energized even on little sleep.

The days are wonderously simple. There is a certain beauty to their routine. Our cabin is small (14×20) and is home to 4 house dogs and 3 cats. Outside, we have our chickens who have adapted surprisingly well to the cold. Keeping everything maintained is a full time job. Charging our one battery so we have lights. Charging our phones so we can stay in touch. When the snow comes, Travis hopes in the side by side and plows.

On nights we are tired we turn the generator on and will use our laptop to watch movies. Last night we watched A Knights Tale even though we’d all already seen it. Most of our days echo the days before.

When my phone is charged, I find that the urge to write is what fills me the most. I want to share what we’ve done or accomplished — even if it isn’t much — because, in some small way, it helps us stay rooted to a world that we otherwise wouldn’t be a part of.

It is a fun life. A full life. There is something about working with a small group of people and dogs that makes what we do so satisfying.

Here are a few photos of the cabin:

We have just enough space to hang out parkas

our cabin stars double as a place to hang dog gear and dog booties to dry

our couch, currently occupied by Perry, and our magnetic dry erase board. We use this to make teams for the day , leave notes, and stay organized

I’m sure our cabin doesn’t look like much, but to us it it paradise. It means we have trails out the door and we can do what we love. Staying organized is a challenge but we somehow manage. Simple things are still hard. It’s hard to want to leave and go into town and do things we need to: check mail, get caught up on emails, return phone calls. We do it, but we do it somewhat reluctantly because the desire to stay and run is so strong.

Unlike last year, running dogs is something that only requires going outside and hooking them up. No driving required!
Life is good