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| Trail Tails! |
Fall 2007 to Spring 2008 Hard to believe It's that time of year already!!! Training begins shortly........ Bigger Truck, Bigger Boxes... Bigger Kennel!!!! |
| Highlights from the Fall 2006 to Spring 2007 Season (see below for last season's trail tails) |
| This year started of tough due to weather and trail conditions. Dogs worked so much harder, pulling an ATV since the beginning of September and well into the winter months. The trails were a tease with minimal snow cover and lots of ice and water. We should have been on sleds much sooner than we were, but we managed to stay on a sled right up to the first week of April though, with our late winter snow storms extending our mushing season. Still, as always, at UKTOUSA, we remain upbeat and excited just to be on the trail doing what we love and despite all of the above, we actually had one of our best training seasons to date and the most miles on our paws. |
Early Fall We ran at night this season quite a bit. Often meeting up with Whatleigh and running our teams until very late, taking
advantage of quiet trails and cold temperatures. My two teams worked hard with a considerable amount of hill work again this year with
several dogs taking turns upfront to lead - Yahboo, Rosie, Tonka, Diva and Tiger-Lilly. Even Sharky-Bob lead who will be a good pace
setter once he matures a little.
advantage of quiet trails and cold temperatures. My two teams worked hard with a considerable amount of hill work again this year with
several dogs taking turns upfront to lead - Yahboo, Rosie, Tonka, Diva and Tiger-Lilly. Even Sharky-Bob lead who will be a good pace
setter once he matures a little.
| Moose Encounters it seemed like almost every run, we ran into moose. At least, that's how it seemed with well over a dozen moose sightings, some very close indeed. Often, too close. One time Richard was ahead on his mountain bike, this was at night. I was behind him with the team and my ATV, when he failed to respond to me via radio, I became concerned as his last radio message said " STOP, moose directly infront of me on the trail and he won't move". |
| I was worried for Richard, I had no idea what was going on. I didn't know that he couldn't respond to me because his radio battery died so he no longer had the ability to radio me. I decided to turn the team around before encountering the moose, tie them off and go and find Richard. Just at that moment, Richard appeared, pedalling hard. He said the moose had turned towards him, they were really close to each other. After some rock throwing and no doubt some yelling, the moose walked away, into the woods. So, I decided to continue, but boy, I kept looking over my shoulders incase the moose changed its mind and stepped back out onto the trail. |
Train In Maine Weekend Many thanks to Tara for hosting a super weekend. It was nice and cold for the dogs and quite cold for
those of us nesting in tents at night, though for the most part, I was quite comfy and warm. The dogs loved the change of terrain,
running out of Tara's yard was bliss and so well organized. With at least 10 teams there, we all fitted in nicely with some teams
running together, taking advantage of passes and head-on passes and simply having a great time! Can't wait for the next 'Train In
Maine' weekend.
those of us nesting in tents at night, though for the most part, I was quite comfy and warm. The dogs loved the change of terrain,
running out of Tara's yard was bliss and so well organized. With at least 10 teams there, we all fitted in nicely with some teams
running together, taking advantage of passes and head-on passes and simply having a great time! Can't wait for the next 'Train In
Maine' weekend.
| Highlights from the Fall 2005 to Spring 2006 season |
Fall training never comes soon enough for us. The dogs always seem to know when it is time to train. I can fuss around the truck, handle the harnesses and gear during our non-training months without so much as a peep from the dogs, but the instant I decide today is the day to start training.... there is always a buzz of excitement as they somehow know it's time to go! It was warm and wet for the most part, but rain never stops us from running. It just means a ton of work to keep my gear clean, not to mention the dogs, dog boxes and the truck! But, it's all about hooking up, keeping things consistent and keeping the dogs in a routine. So, unless it is raining frogs... we go! Fall training always starts with small team work, leader training, trail etiquette, pull training, building strength and stamina together with a good revision of some basic commands. I typically run two teams. I have a plan, based on the previous season's notes and current goals. A planned rotation of dogs with most of the dogs getting to run in lead at some point during the early part of the season. Some dogs are just better suited in certain positions on the team. Around the schedule of running two teams, I then incorporate working on one bigger, main team. I like to proof their early season training whenever possible. Doing some Fall sprint races is a good way to do this and it is so much fun. It gives me an opportunity to see how we are all doing and what we still need to work on. Remember, these are freighting dogs, some of our goals may be very different to the average non-freighting team. |
HILL VILLAGE FALL SPRINT RACE
What a fun race to kick off the season with. Always exciting to race the dogs early in the season. It was a warm weekend. Saturday
allows for lots of fun runs, passes and just a good time with other teams and friends. The highlight of the weekend was camping with
Whatleigh and her dogs. We had some fun evening runs before we prepared dinner under the stars with our cooker, we even enjoyed a
glass of wine! The sound of the gushing waterfall in the background made it even more memorable. We pitched our tent, brought a
couple of pups in the tent with us and bedded down for the night. Well at least that we thought...around 9pm or so we saw bright
headlights go sweeping past us, stop, turn around and head in our directions. Okay, so we were a little spooked as to who was driving
towards our tent. We quickly threw on our boots, grabbed the pups and our headlights and bravely unzipped the tent door and made our
exit. We saw a truck parked with two guys getting out walking towards us.... As our hearts pounded, we then realized it was two mushers
arriving for the Sunday races, phew! Later we laughed because we were standing there with the cutest wee pups, all of a few months old
when instead, we should have grabbed a couple of my sleeping Malamutes. While I know they are big love bunnies, they might have
been a bit more intimidating.
Sunday was race day. There was a great atmosphere as always, despite more warm temps. Dogs were excited to go, they always
sense the buzz of race day.... We had a great time, clean passes, a good pace, placing 9th out of 11 teams. Quite respectable for a team
of fuzzies!
What a fun race to kick off the season with. Always exciting to race the dogs early in the season. It was a warm weekend. Saturday
allows for lots of fun runs, passes and just a good time with other teams and friends. The highlight of the weekend was camping with
Whatleigh and her dogs. We had some fun evening runs before we prepared dinner under the stars with our cooker, we even enjoyed a
glass of wine! The sound of the gushing waterfall in the background made it even more memorable. We pitched our tent, brought a
couple of pups in the tent with us and bedded down for the night. Well at least that we thought...around 9pm or so we saw bright
headlights go sweeping past us, stop, turn around and head in our directions. Okay, so we were a little spooked as to who was driving
towards our tent. We quickly threw on our boots, grabbed the pups and our headlights and bravely unzipped the tent door and made our
exit. We saw a truck parked with two guys getting out walking towards us.... As our hearts pounded, we then realized it was two mushers
arriving for the Sunday races, phew! Later we laughed because we were standing there with the cutest wee pups, all of a few months old
when instead, we should have grabbed a couple of my sleeping Malamutes. While I know they are big love bunnies, they might have
been a bit more intimidating.
Sunday was race day. There was a great atmosphere as always, despite more warm temps. Dogs were excited to go, they always
sense the buzz of race day.... We had a great time, clean passes, a good pace, placing 9th out of 11 teams. Quite respectable for a team
of fuzzies!
| CHRISTMAS MUSH, Sunday December 4th, 2005 Always a fun gathering of friends and their teams, Boot Camp style passes for the first few miles and then a free for all run. Great opportunity for repeat passes with teams of different sizes. Further into the run as teams spread out and go at their own pace, we are able to do head on passes. Dressed in festive accessories, it is just a wonderful celebration of friendship both human and canine. My leaders were Yahboo and Tiger-Lilly. There was a slight dusting of snow on the ground so I decided to drag a tire behind the rig to add a little more resistance and to help anchor the team if necessary. |
TUESDAY DECEMBER 27 - PITTSBURG, NH
We arrived fairly late that day (Vicki Daitch, Bill Matott and myself) in Pittsburg, so it meant we would be hooking up and running at night
when the conditions were not great at all, but at least we were familiar with the trails and certainly, Bill and I knew pretty much where we
may encounter problems, if any. Still, it was a brisk night and I was running a new mix of six dogs... just the kind of situation you need
when it is dark and iffy, I guess it was as good a time as any to try a new mix as the Winter proved to be iffy pretty much the whole time!
The night was cold, the trail was fast, thin in parts with open water bars. Of course to add to the excitement, I had issues with my headlight
and my spare headlight. Moose were definitely on the trail as often our teams would pick up speed as we found ourselves in a chase.
We encountered open water, well let's say Bill did as he took a rather chilling soaking as he ran through some pretty deep water. Lucky for
Vicki and I, we were behind him. As Bill had a handler with him on a snowmobile, spare
clothes in his sledbag, we shouted over to him that we would turn around and head back. We were pretty much half way round our
planned route anyway, so the miles would work out to be close. What a challenge to turn around on a steep downhill, pretty much all ice,
snowhooks barely holding, but the dogs were real troopers and did great come-haws and our teams were turned around in no time and
heading back at what seemed like a really fast pace, of course, motivated by the smells of wildlife up ahead on the trail. By this time both
my headlights had failed, I was infront relying on my leader and some light coming from Vicki's headlight from behind. The dogs knew
where they were going and so did I so I just tried to enjoy the fast pace back to the truck and not worry about having no light at this point.
We all made it back safely. Bill decided to keep his wet Carhart suit on which had soaked up most of the water he fell into and he was
now a frozen statue. Desperate to get out of his suit, us girls had no choice but to blow on his zippers to unfreeze the ice which was
holding him hostage in his suit.... imagine....3 girls all blowing as hard as we could to unzip Bill !! What a sight. Thank goodness it was
dark. Okay, so we could have cut him out of his suit but he needed it !!!!!
We arrived fairly late that day (Vicki Daitch, Bill Matott and myself) in Pittsburg, so it meant we would be hooking up and running at night
when the conditions were not great at all, but at least we were familiar with the trails and certainly, Bill and I knew pretty much where we
may encounter problems, if any. Still, it was a brisk night and I was running a new mix of six dogs... just the kind of situation you need
when it is dark and iffy, I guess it was as good a time as any to try a new mix as the Winter proved to be iffy pretty much the whole time!
The night was cold, the trail was fast, thin in parts with open water bars. Of course to add to the excitement, I had issues with my headlight
and my spare headlight. Moose were definitely on the trail as often our teams would pick up speed as we found ourselves in a chase.
We encountered open water, well let's say Bill did as he took a rather chilling soaking as he ran through some pretty deep water. Lucky for
Vicki and I, we were behind him. As Bill had a handler with him on a snowmobile, spare
clothes in his sledbag, we shouted over to him that we would turn around and head back. We were pretty much half way round our
planned route anyway, so the miles would work out to be close. What a challenge to turn around on a steep downhill, pretty much all ice,
snowhooks barely holding, but the dogs were real troopers and did great come-haws and our teams were turned around in no time and
heading back at what seemed like a really fast pace, of course, motivated by the smells of wildlife up ahead on the trail. By this time both
my headlights had failed, I was infront relying on my leader and some light coming from Vicki's headlight from behind. The dogs knew
where they were going and so did I so I just tried to enjoy the fast pace back to the truck and not worry about having no light at this point.
We all made it back safely. Bill decided to keep his wet Carhart suit on which had soaked up most of the water he fell into and he was
now a frozen statue. Desperate to get out of his suit, us girls had no choice but to blow on his zippers to unfreeze the ice which was
holding him hostage in his suit.... imagine....3 girls all blowing as hard as we could to unzip Bill !! What a sight. Thank goodness it was
dark. Okay, so we could have cut him out of his suit but he needed it !!!!!
| Website designed by Lidia Dale-Mesaros Please email for permission to use or copy any part of this website All rights reserved |
UKTOUSA Sled Dogs
We managed to keep running to the end of May 2007, so the dogs were really only
out of harness for 3 months this year before training began again with short miles,
early Sept. Then due to finally selling our truck and buying another one, we had a
couple of weeks without running while the newer truck was being personalized to suit
our needs and of course, the boxes were sanded and painted giving us a whole new
look! My two little girls from Alaska, Nellie and Daisy, are just exceptional pups and I
simply can't wait to get them in harness and on the trail. This will come about just after
Christmas when the girls will get chance to enjoy some short runs and start burning off
some of that puppy energy. They'll be 8 months by then and old enough to start
understanding the routine.
out of harness for 3 months this year before training began again with short miles,
early Sept. Then due to finally selling our truck and buying another one, we had a
couple of weeks without running while the newer truck was being personalized to suit
our needs and of course, the boxes were sanded and painted giving us a whole new
look! My two little girls from Alaska, Nellie and Daisy, are just exceptional pups and I
simply can't wait to get them in harness and on the trail. This will come about just after
Christmas when the girls will get chance to enjoy some short runs and start burning off
some of that puppy energy. They'll be 8 months by then and old enough to start
understanding the routine.
At the same time as the truck swap, new puppies arriving, I also had to spend a lot of time fixing and painting my little
camp. With much excitement to run from the front door and simply focus on the dogs, sleeping and eating..... I
practically wore myself out this summer trying hard to get everything done in time for when our miles warrant trips to
the north country. With lots of new, unexplored adventure before us... we hope it will be a great place for us to get
some solid training without all the miles on the road that we have had to do over the last couple of years.
camp. With much excitement to run from the front door and simply focus on the dogs, sleeping and eating..... I
practically wore myself out this summer trying hard to get everything done in time for when our miles warrant trips to
the north country. With lots of new, unexplored adventure before us... we hope it will be a great place for us to get
some solid training without all the miles on the road that we have had to do over the last couple of years.
| Training has been going well with a fairly aggressive routine, using mainly the ATV rather than the rig. With more moose encounters this year, I decided to hang up the rig and train on trails where the chance of coming face-to-face with Bull Moose would be far less than here by my home. As a result, I've been able to hook up bigger teams and enjoy mixing and matching dogs. On the rare occasion, Richard came along too for added poundage on the ATV and we have enjoyed several wonderful moon lit runs. |
Winter came early and blessed us with enough snow coverage to get the sleds out long before Christmas. Our goal
was to move up in our distance and be well prepared for the Can-am 60. All was going to plan until I became quite sick
with gastric flu followed by a week of rain and ice on the trail. This has set us back quite a bit and we are really off
schedule. We are quickly moving ahead, but I will not make the final decision on the 60 miler until nearer the time.
The next 4 weeks will be our window, but we find ourselves, once again, with minimal snow coverage and I'm not about
to risk injuring any of the dogs or myself in the process, so here's hoping!
was to move up in our distance and be well prepared for the Can-am 60. All was going to plan until I became quite sick
with gastric flu followed by a week of rain and ice on the trail. This has set us back quite a bit and we are really off
schedule. We are quickly moving ahead, but I will not make the final decision on the 60 miler until nearer the time.
The next 4 weeks will be our window, but we find ourselves, once again, with minimal snow coverage and I'm not about
to risk injuring any of the dogs or myself in the process, so here's hoping!
| I have had some great runs through Sandwich Notch and especially on the Dorchester trails. Many times breaking trail which is what we enjoy the most. Typically, we will be out there on our own basking in the beauty of deep snow, snow covered Christmas trees and the serenity of being behind a dog team. This serenity was easily challenged by the steep, twisty and white knuckle rides on Whatleigh's trails. I can't believe I've run 7-dog teams on her trail system and survived to write about it. One time the snow was so sticky, you know the kind that when you brake, you form what looks like half a snowman between your legs. This made it impossible to brake on the downhills, as a result, the downhills got faster and faster and you had to focus simply on staying behind the team on the sled runners. Of course the dogs get more possessed the gnarlier the terrain and the faster the downhills get because now, mom is not able to brake completely and slow everyone down! It was if you were braking into a large marshmallow. |