Whelp, as the temps continue to drop ...
Really?!?
It was a COLD time of feeding the dogs and scooping their poop this morning!
... I figured this would be a good time to stay inside, keep warm, and make a much needed addition to my blog.
Let's see, since I last posted (over a month ago, oops!) much has happened.
First of all, I was fortunate enough to take a week off to spend Christmas with my family in California. It was relaxing, rejuvenating, and most importantly: warm and sunny! :)
Unfortunately, I was slapped in the face with -25 temps when I stepped off the plane in Unalakleet upon my return shortly after Christmas, but nonetheless I loved being back (especially being back with my own pup Kiana banana butt).
The New Year brought on Jamboree (an annual basketball tournament for out-of-high school players from UNK and surrounding villages) and dog sled races.
A two day race that I ended up scratching from because my leader got injured (and yes, it was just too stinkin' cold!), and a New Year's Day race that never ended up happening because the temps kept dropping. The next weekend's race to Egavik was also cancelled due to extremely cold temps.
That's right, the temps here in Unalakleet hovered around -30 to -35 for three weeks. Alapaa!
It's amazing how warm 0, -5, or even -15 can feel. It's all in perspective :) After that cold snap, we hit 2 degrees and man was I sweatin'!
The next scheduled race was a 40 miler on a trail that was put in the day before. It was slow going through soft, deep snow and required a lot of helping the dogs by pushing the sled myself and kicking along with the dogs. I'll admit that I was a little sore the next day.
Due to the trail conditions, a race that was supposed to take 4-5 hrs ended up taking us 8-9 hrs. Despite the frustrating trail conditions and cold wind however, I still had a great time and just loved being out with the dogs!
Just this last weekend we had a race on the Iditarod trail to Old Woman (a mountain with a BLM shelter cabin at the base) and back. 36 miles one way. 72 miles round trip.
It was a gorgeous day! Sun was shining, the forecasted wind was almost nonexistent, and the temps were perfect (even got a little warm and had to shed a layer or two).
My dogs did fantastic! The most rewarding part was discovering a new leader named Pilgrim (2 yrs old) just a few days before the race and he did fabulous on race day. He still needs more training, but he is my new little gem!
