2/18/2011: The Stage Race was very fun and a great learning experience. We had some great days in the race and some not so great days but overall its was very enjoyable. The mushers, handlers, and communities, were all fantastic and the race was very well organized. Ryan and team ended up finishing 13 place overall but the coolest part is that Ryan recieved the Sportmanship Award! We learned alot and have already signed up to race again next year and try to improve upon this year's finish. Next up Feb 25-27 is the Fur Rondy sprint race in Anchorage. Ryan is super excited to try to run a different style of race. Also, on the same weekend we will be cheering on Emily and the pup team in the Junior Iditarod!
1/28/11: Well today is the first day of the Stage Stop! We are so excited that race day is finally here, it will be fun to get under way. This year, Ryan's rookie year in the race, is going to be a learning year. Once we see how musher and dogs like the race we will decide if it is something we want to do again next year. Training and traveling to this point have been going pretty well. In the previous post I mentioned a bit of truck trouble. It turns out that, in addition to having to have the glow plug controller replaced, our truck does not like the higher elevation. When training in Dubois at around 7,000 feet the truck had a real hard time starting. For the last few days we have been training out of Alpine where the elevation was 5,600 feet and the truck has been having a much better time. Ryan and the dogs have been having great runs, for the most part. The scenery has been beautiful and the dogs seem to really be enjoying seeing different places. Yesterday, on his last training day before the race start, Ryan tipped the sled. Watching him leave it looked like he was going to have a sore shoulder and I was hoping that the sled wasn't broken. When he returned, it turned out that the sled was fine but the musher was broken! Ryan ended up taking the snowhook to his wrist and had to go in for 8 stitches!!!! He is sore and stiff now but will be fine to race. This race will be a busy one, between running a heat each day, driving to the next location, and mushers meetings. I will try to post a bit if possible, but the race the website is: www.wyomingstagestop.org if you want regularly updated information. Also, as before , you can follow us on Facebook.
Ryan and the team training in the mountains of WY!
Ryan and team returning from a run in the mountains!
1/20/2011: Currently Ryan, the main team, and I are in Dubois, WY training for the International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race. Just after Christmas we loaded up 17 dogs and hit the road for the lower 48. We spent a couple weeks at my parents house in Northern Wisconsin and Ryan ran in the White Oak Sled Dog race in Deer River, MN where he and the team placed 2nd in the 8 dog class. After that we headed out to Wyoming to get the dogs used to running and working at elevation. With only minor truck problems so far, everything is going very well and we are having a lot of fun. Ryan is a big fan of Facebook and tends to post things there fairly regularly. If you want to friend us on Facebook just search for "RyanErin".
12/9/2010: Still waiting for more snow around here. The trails have very little snow on them right now and are pretty bumpy in most places. Ryan is running dogs on a sled and the rest of us at the kennel are still on the ATVs. Dogs are all looking good though, running around 40 miles at a good pace and coming in happy. Hopefully we will get more snow soon!
Ryan holding a team meeting after yesterday's run!
Mesa sporting an otter hat
11/25/2010: Happy Thanksgiving! The weather around here has not been nice lately. We have had several days of freezing rain and temperatures that turned the ground into an ice skating rink. Right now we are getting some snow so hopefully that will make our trails usable again. Even though we haven't been able to run the dogs the past few days, Mesa and I have been staying busy making mittens and hats!
Coyote mitts and assorted fur hats
11/7/2010: Happy Birthday Mesa! This month Mesa turns 7. While she is not a key part of the race team, she is a big part of the family. Mesa is the house pet that barks when people arrive at the kennel and she is a great puppy trainer as she tends to keep them in line. Things have been going very well, busy but well, here at the kennel this fall. We currently have about 36 dogs in training for various races this winter. We have Ryan and his team training for the Wyoming Stage Stop, whicih we are very excited about as we are looking forward to the new challenge. Also joining us this year is our friend Emily. She is a junior musher and will be running some of our dogs, that she is working hard at training, in the Junior Iditarod. Right now the teams are running between 14 and 27 miles each run. We have gotten a little bit of snow already and have about 2-3 inches on the ground in most places. This is not quite enough for a sled so we are still running with the fourwheelers. All the dogs are happy and looking very good. The yearlings are very impressive this year and it will be fun to see how they do this season. We have not quite buttoned down our race schedule yet. Other than the races mentioned above, the only other one on the schedule right now is the Alaska Excursions 120. It is a race that runs in our backyard and we will have 3 teams in the race. It will be fun to see who comes out on top!
9/3/2010: It is hard to believe that it is already Septemeber. This summer has been a busy one but a good one. Ryan, the dogs, and I all stayed busy once again giving dog sled tours in Southeast Alaska. The season is winding down now and we will return home shortly to start fall training. Be sure to check in from time to time as we will be trying to keep the website updated with how training is going.
