Lunch Loop Extravaganza

A little catch up from the weekend....
Chel and her son Forest came up on Sunday morning. She and Mary each took a team of nine dogs out for a run. The plan was to figure out which eight dogs will run for each of their mid-distance Beargrease teams. Mark followed just in case of emergency. Meanwhile, back at the dog camp, Hannah and I hooked up two teams of six to take around the Moose Loop. Rob went ahead of us with the snowmobile as well, just in case of emergency. The only real problem we had was before even leaving the dog yard, my two leaders, Cleo and Olive, had a small scuffle. The scuffle grew to then include the next two dogs in my team. It was a ball of dogs wrestling around in front of my sled. After Rob jumped in to break everyone up, we were off.

Hannah and I had a smooth, but very quick run. The Moose Loop is only six and a half miles long, so it goes by fast. We were home just in time to put our dogs away and take a breath before Mary, Chel, and Mark were coming down the return trail. All the dogs did great, and neither Chel or Mary were sure which ones they would pick.

Monday started off the same as Sunday. Mary and Chel took their nine dogs a piece out. This time instead of Hannah, Rob and I going out, Mark and Forest took teams out. After everyone was home, Mary and Chel were still not positive who they would take to the race. I guess they will have to think on it for the next couple of days.

Today was the Lunch Loop Extravaganza! Mark would like us to take the dogs out more often and for longer runs, so that's exactly what we're going to do. We (Rob, Hannah, and I) each took a team of six dogs. Rob took Hercules and Olga, Michelob and Johnny, and Brown and Wally. I know he was pretty pumped to have Brown and Wally. The brothers running together again :). Wally was recently demoted and put back on the B team. Although we're bummed he couldn't hang with the Varsity team, we are pretty excited to have him back. I know Brown is more than excited to have his brother as a neighbor again. I took Kila and Cleo, Ranger and Bud, and Blue and Caribou. Ranger and Bud are two of my favorite runners. They work so hard and I never have to worry about either one. I was a little nervous about Cleo, as she was a key suspect in yesterdays scuffle. It turned out great, she is SO strong and she and Kila were a great little pair. Hannah took out a lot of the yearling puppies. She had Olive and Honey, Maggie and Moon, and Bree and Mac. Mark decided that running Honey would be okay, and all of us were glad she could come. Honey is the dog that has had a couple of seizures since we've been here, and also Robs #2 favorite. She is an amazing dog, hard working and smart. And she didn't disappoint today.

Hannah had a wipe out just as we were leaving the dog yard, but after that, we were wipe out free for the whole 22 miles!! Mark followed us to The Burn just to make sure things were okay, but from then on, we were on our own. It was a great run. I felt comfortable at all times, and confident I could not only stop the dogs, but leave my sled for any problems if necessary. I'm making progress! We stopped a lot to let the dogs rest and lap up some snow. This was the longest run most of them have been on in a LONG time. On our way to the loop part of the Lunch Loop, we passed Niel, riding along, eating a sandwich. We all got a nice hello! After we made the turn on the Lunch Loop my team slowed down noticeably. Blue and Caribou were feeling a little worn out, so we did a little dog switching between teams to even the load again. We passed Neil again going through The Burn. This time all of our teams were a little closer, with less room to pass. Everyone did fine, even Hannahs team of very curious yearlings.

As we pulled into the dog yard, I made a wrong turn. Or my team did, and I didn't correct them fast enough. It was my one major mistake for the whole run. I guess better at the end of the run while we are in the dog yard than any other time or place. My goal for tomorrow is to have another great run, just end on a better note and lead the dogs towards the right turn:).