Seeking out SNOW!!

Alright, since the snow situation around here bites, a bunch of us winter-hanger-ons went out seeking some of that coveted white stuff. It was a wonderful, sunny Sunday afternoon yesterday. This is a beautiful time of the year up high in the Yukon as it's warm and sunny out (till almost 9pm now). Luckily there are areas around here where the snow is plentiful!!!! Namely - the Fish Lake area, just north of town.

Ray, Laura, Tyson, Jon (skijoring with rotties) and I went out for a fun run. It would involve some good hill climbing, but well worth it for the spectacular views from the top!


So we did a fair bit of climbing (for us river dwellers anyways), and got into the alpine after a few miles of uphill. My dogs did really really well on these hills - I was quite proud of them. I had 7 dogs: Ripper & Kate in lead, George and Harris in swing, Gracie, and Octane and Loki in wheel. Tyson took his 2 dogs, and my Jack, Rupert and Lucy. All dogs did well on the hills. And they really surprised me with their energy on the way up in that soft stuff. I think that run up took a toll on them since we had a pretty slow run on the way back. The hills combined with the soft, soft snow tired them out a bit, plus I realized we haven't been out for a couple weeks now! Oh well, it was a good experience for them in many ways, and most importantly, they came back happy.

A bit o' hill climbing. That's Laura in front.


Tyson & team. Lookit that kick! He's been taking notes at the sprint races...


There was so much snow up here, that if you accidentally stepped off the trail, you'd be up to your thighs in snow. It was unbelivable! As I watched Ray up ahead scout out the trail while hanging onto his leaders, he repeatedly sunk up to his waist and his leaders completely disappeared. There was also one *hole* where we all got stuck in on the way out and back - our dogs disappeared then reappeared two by two. They all took it in stride and did fine as long as we were watching and braking at the right time so the dogs in behind didn't overrun them.

Ray (in front) and Laura ahead:


Check out that powder!

Getting the snow hook to set in this soft stuff was tricky, but no one lost their team. Not that they would have taken off at warp speed in this stuff anyways...

More deeeep stuff! Mmmmm..... powder....

Jack in lead with Zoe. He did great on the way up - but after we turned around Tyson had problems with Jack. I'm not sure if he was tired, or if it was because he wasn't chasing us (his team) anymore.

I think the next order of business is to take the tele skis up there before the snow disappears!!!

Loki has made some breakthroughs lately. He took his first treats out of my hand today, he let Tyson pet him (!), he took to the truck like he's been living in it his whole life, seemed really comfortable on this whole road trip, and he worked hard (with a few minor tangles due to his inexperience) on the run. He was a bit tired at the end, but it was a pretty good workout for them all. I'm optimistic this guy is going to come to like people and be a great sleddog soon. In fact, Ray is trying his best to talk me into swapping Loki with one of his (forget it!), and Tyson is wishing he adopted him first. Too late suckers! :-)