Team Tsuga is on the trail. The team was very excited to hit the trail today. Just a quick video of the start. We will be heading to Braeburn in just a bit. Enjoy the ride.
Tsue and Handler Tphil
Zirkle and Esther
Saturday, February 5, 2011
And the race begins
Team Tsuga is on the trail. The team was very excited to hit the trail today. Just a quick video of the start. We will be heading to Braeburn in just a bit. Enjoy the ride.
Tsue and Handler Tphil
Zirkle and Esther
Friday, February 4, 2011
Getting ready to go
Here we go!
The video is of the start banquet and todays training run. I will post as much as possible. Thanks for watching
Tsue
The video is of the start banquet and todays training run. I will post as much as possible. Thanks for watching
Tsue
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
the good, the bad, and the beautiful-
Hi all-
We're just back from the Copper Basin 300. It was a crazy weekend with lots of challenges, time with some great friends-both two and four-legged, a great many positives overall, but not the ending we wanted... Congrats to my many friends who had their own highs and lows on this race. Kyla and Cody get a special shout-out!! NICE!!!!
With the Yukon Quest dropbags needing about 24 hours of effort a day to get done right now, I don't have time to tell the whole story just now, but I'll try to cover a few bases quickly-
Our team was the subject of Donna Quante's film camera this weekend as she was telling the story of the Copper Basin 300, in part by following one team - TeamTsuga! Once it's done, we'll post links of how you can get the movie...
Our team that started had all finished the Quest at least once, with a very noteable exception of Isis. This was her first race since she finished the Can-Am 250 in 2007 on Sue's team. This was her test for Quest and I'll cut to the chase; she passed with flying carpets!!
I dropped Ambler at Sourdough after his left triceps had stiffened up. I'm positive I could have massaged it to the point he could have continued, but with Quest less than 3 weeks away, I opted to be safe rather than sorry. He is moving without any limp in the kennel now and will be in harness again this weekend.
The rest of the team acted and ran like the veterans they are. I was VERY proud of our dogs this weekend.
The Copper Basin trail always has it's challenges and this year was no different. We saw numerous spots with overflow water that was deep, not just a little wet on top. Wet feet at -20 has it's charm, and the dogs need more care with icing on their boots, too. This is just part of crossing this beautiful country, although it's not the best part... The weather was pretty darn nice and I think we only had a range from -25 to around zero. Very comfortable for mushing for dogs and ME. I had more trouble being too warm than cold.
At Sourdough checkpoint, our last, I left with 11 dogs, that I had given a bit of extra rest beyond our mandatory to make the stop a bit over 4 hours. They had all eaten a full meal when we first got in, just before 9am. We left in the afternoon sun and I knew the first miles would be slow with the temps as warm as it had been all race. We were leaving in 18th place in a field of 51 mushers. We were the only Siberian team in the race. With friend, and driver of very speedy dogs, Jodi Bailey, right behind us, I expected her, and maybe another team, to pass us on the last leg to Paxson. At worst, I figured we had 20th place. I had said, and had heard said by several others, that a top 20 finish in this field would be a huge accomplishment for about any team.
The first miles out of the checkpoint are on the road that runs along the pipeline. It was plowed and fast, but wide open to the sun. I enjoyed the view and knew we'd pick up the pace once the sun got down a bit. I stopped a couple times within the first hour to let the dogs roll in the snow to cool down. They all looked happy. In a narrow section of bush trail that had very soft snow, Mugs squatted to pee and stumbled a bit. I thought it was the soft snow. She ran another half-mile and her back end gave out and she fell to the snow. She looked at me when I got to her, but she was weak and pretty limp. I knew she was in trouble and needed more help than I could give her. I was pretty sure she was going through sled-dog myopathy, and it's as serious as it gets. A million thoughts ran through my head as I loaded her in to the sleeping bag in the sled and got moving to find a place to turn around because I knew it was too far to go forward. Just then, I heard a car in the distance, and remembered that this was the only spot on this leg where the trail gets near the highway. Once up along-side the road, I waited for traffic. As I waived my arms frantically from the ditch, I realized the first truck coming by was Sue and TJ!!! It was a bad spot (a whole other story) to do it, but we decided loading the whole team and sled right there to get us all out of there and to the vet staff at the checkpoint was the best thing we could do. Once up at Meiers Lake, we had fast action from the vets who gave her really the only thing can help, which is a flush of the system by pumping a lot of fluids in to Mugs. I can't say enough about the help of Sam, Karsten, Tabitha, and Nina- by phone. Mugs has recovered, and is really enjoying her time in the house.
When something like this happens, it's impossible for me not to feel responsible and wonder what I could have done differently or better. It is hard on confidence. I've thought my way all around this and have tried to move on in head, but if timing hadn't worked out so well, I fear the outcome could have been much worse. This is extemely difficult for me. I would risk my life for these dogs, I somehow need to accept that they would do the same for me, but I'm not sure I can......
We're glad to have the support of the vet staff, race organizers, other mushers and handlers, and especially our friends on all of this. We've been told time and again there was nothing else we could have done, but is there??????
We will move forward.
We are deep in to Yukon Quest dropbag prep.
TJ is here and helping for a few more days. He had quite a weekend handling his first race in Alaska. I hope the experience helps his dogs, down the trail. He followed me around 30 miles of Two Rivers trails yesterday, with Stump and Moon in lead. Now for that 800 pounds of meat that still needs to be cut and bagged!
Gotta get busy-
We're just back from the Copper Basin 300. It was a crazy weekend with lots of challenges, time with some great friends-both two and four-legged, a great many positives overall, but not the ending we wanted... Congrats to my many friends who had their own highs and lows on this race. Kyla and Cody get a special shout-out!! NICE!!!!
With the Yukon Quest dropbags needing about 24 hours of effort a day to get done right now, I don't have time to tell the whole story just now, but I'll try to cover a few bases quickly-
Our team was the subject of Donna Quante's film camera this weekend as she was telling the story of the Copper Basin 300, in part by following one team - TeamTsuga! Once it's done, we'll post links of how you can get the movie...
Our team that started had all finished the Quest at least once, with a very noteable exception of Isis. This was her first race since she finished the Can-Am 250 in 2007 on Sue's team. This was her test for Quest and I'll cut to the chase; she passed with flying carpets!!
I dropped Ambler at Sourdough after his left triceps had stiffened up. I'm positive I could have massaged it to the point he could have continued, but with Quest less than 3 weeks away, I opted to be safe rather than sorry. He is moving without any limp in the kennel now and will be in harness again this weekend.
The rest of the team acted and ran like the veterans they are. I was VERY proud of our dogs this weekend.
The Copper Basin trail always has it's challenges and this year was no different. We saw numerous spots with overflow water that was deep, not just a little wet on top. Wet feet at -20 has it's charm, and the dogs need more care with icing on their boots, too. This is just part of crossing this beautiful country, although it's not the best part... The weather was pretty darn nice and I think we only had a range from -25 to around zero. Very comfortable for mushing for dogs and ME. I had more trouble being too warm than cold.
At Sourdough checkpoint, our last, I left with 11 dogs, that I had given a bit of extra rest beyond our mandatory to make the stop a bit over 4 hours. They had all eaten a full meal when we first got in, just before 9am. We left in the afternoon sun and I knew the first miles would be slow with the temps as warm as it had been all race. We were leaving in 18th place in a field of 51 mushers. We were the only Siberian team in the race. With friend, and driver of very speedy dogs, Jodi Bailey, right behind us, I expected her, and maybe another team, to pass us on the last leg to Paxson. At worst, I figured we had 20th place. I had said, and had heard said by several others, that a top 20 finish in this field would be a huge accomplishment for about any team.
The first miles out of the checkpoint are on the road that runs along the pipeline. It was plowed and fast, but wide open to the sun. I enjoyed the view and knew we'd pick up the pace once the sun got down a bit. I stopped a couple times within the first hour to let the dogs roll in the snow to cool down. They all looked happy. In a narrow section of bush trail that had very soft snow, Mugs squatted to pee and stumbled a bit. I thought it was the soft snow. She ran another half-mile and her back end gave out and she fell to the snow. She looked at me when I got to her, but she was weak and pretty limp. I knew she was in trouble and needed more help than I could give her. I was pretty sure she was going through sled-dog myopathy, and it's as serious as it gets. A million thoughts ran through my head as I loaded her in to the sleeping bag in the sled and got moving to find a place to turn around because I knew it was too far to go forward. Just then, I heard a car in the distance, and remembered that this was the only spot on this leg where the trail gets near the highway. Once up along-side the road, I waited for traffic. As I waived my arms frantically from the ditch, I realized the first truck coming by was Sue and TJ!!! It was a bad spot (a whole other story) to do it, but we decided loading the whole team and sled right there to get us all out of there and to the vet staff at the checkpoint was the best thing we could do. Once up at Meiers Lake, we had fast action from the vets who gave her really the only thing can help, which is a flush of the system by pumping a lot of fluids in to Mugs. I can't say enough about the help of Sam, Karsten, Tabitha, and Nina- by phone. Mugs has recovered, and is really enjoying her time in the house.
When something like this happens, it's impossible for me not to feel responsible and wonder what I could have done differently or better. It is hard on confidence. I've thought my way all around this and have tried to move on in head, but if timing hadn't worked out so well, I fear the outcome could have been much worse. This is extemely difficult for me. I would risk my life for these dogs, I somehow need to accept that they would do the same for me, but I'm not sure I can......
We're glad to have the support of the vet staff, race organizers, other mushers and handlers, and especially our friends on all of this. We've been told time and again there was nothing else we could have done, but is there??????
We will move forward.
We are deep in to Yukon Quest dropbag prep.
TJ is here and helping for a few more days. He had quite a weekend handling his first race in Alaska. I hope the experience helps his dogs, down the trail. He followed me around 30 miles of Two Rivers trails yesterday, with Stump and Moon in lead. Now for that 800 pounds of meat that still needs to be cut and bagged!
Gotta get busy-
Friday, December 17, 2010
Well life at Team Tsuga has had a few challenges including no internet access at home. The weather has been very cold lately and we have not been able to get the dogs out as much as we would like. Mike continues to do all the training and dog chores. Yesterday I got cleared to walk without crutches and I will soon be able to do more around the dog yard. The dogs are in good shape so the few days off won't be too hard on them.
We are looking forward to the race season with Gin Gin starting us off on December 27th. Then we are heading to Copper Basin the first week in January. Our friend TJ is coming up to help with the race and also help prepare drop bag for Quest, and probably a few other things too. So happy he will be joining us soon. Then the focus will be on Quest. We are so happy that our good friend Phil Cook will be joining Team Tsuga for the race. He is our Tsuper Phan and will be a huge help this year. Thanks Tphil!
It feels like life is creeping up on us. Quest is not that far away. The house is littered with dog gear, drop bag contents and a variety of other things. We are working daily to get everything done in time. Drop bags are due January 22nd. Just over a month to get it all in a few bags. Needless to say we are pretty busy and loving every minute off it.
Hope to keep posting as much as possible.
Sue
Mike
And the rest of
Team Tsuga
We are looking forward to the race season with Gin Gin starting us off on December 27th. Then we are heading to Copper Basin the first week in January. Our friend TJ is coming up to help with the race and also help prepare drop bag for Quest, and probably a few other things too. So happy he will be joining us soon. Then the focus will be on Quest. We are so happy that our good friend Phil Cook will be joining Team Tsuga for the race. He is our Tsuper Phan and will be a huge help this year. Thanks Tphil!
It feels like life is creeping up on us. Quest is not that far away. The house is littered with dog gear, drop bag contents and a variety of other things. We are working daily to get everything done in time. Drop bags are due January 22nd. Just over a month to get it all in a few bags. Needless to say we are pretty busy and loving every minute off it.
Hope to keep posting as much as possible.
Sue
Mike
And the rest of
Team Tsuga
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Thanks-
'Bad weather' to most, is fun to me. I like blizzards. I like windstorms. I like the bitter cold. I like the challenge of moving comfortably through the country in any weather with my dogteam, well, almost any weather. There's nothing I dislike more in the realm of our glorious natural world than rain in winter. Nothing ruins a good snowy trail like rain. After several straight days of snow last week that had our trails approaching mid-winter conditions, Alaska has just had a 100-year weather event in the way of 3 straight days of winter rain. The powder has turned to slush. The streams and rivers and ponds are overflowed with water that had nowhere to go on the frozen ground. Any plowed or trampled surfaces are glare ice as the frozen ground held it's cold. It's been dubbed the 'Icepocalypse.' Most of Interior Alaska has been shut down since Monday. We haven't run dogs since Sunday and will need at least a couple inches of snow before we can safely take them out, even with the atv. Some grooming has already started as things froze up yesterday afternoon and we've gotten a skiff of snow overnight, with more in the forecast. We'll take today off too, in hopes of some accumulating snow, while we share the day with friends and think of all our friends and family that are so far away. We wish you all the best and are forever grateful to you that help us do what we do. This season looks to have some serious challenges in store for us, but it's not what happens to you in life that makes you who you are, it's how you deal with what happens to you...
All our best to you and yours for a fantastic Thanksgiving. Be well, our friends-
All our best to you and yours for a fantastic Thanksgiving. Be well, our friends-
Sunday, November 21, 2010
When the going gets tough-
It's been a bit of a roller-coaster around here this week...
After a little over 1000 miles of atv training this fall, I started riding the sled last Saturday, November 13. (Coincidentally, that was the same date I first rode the sled last year, as well.) The sheer joy I feel on the runners with my pals is hard to explain, but there is nothing like it!! I started slow with 8 dogs and short runs as the dogs got their 'sled legs.' As the snow kept coming throughout the week, I worked up to running 14 dogs as we broke trail and then broke it again on the way home. We did some long runs and some back to backs, with the race team doing our first 100-mile day of the season. The team is going strong, staying happy, and working hard. That's the good news!
In the challenging news of the week, Sue has been dealing with a bum knee since she crashed the atv out with a team of dogs earlier this year. On Wednesday, she went in for arthroscopic surgery on her left knee, her fourth surgery on this knee. Well, the good Doctor found more problems than he thought he would and a quick little 'scope and scrape' with Sue on her legs the next day, turned in to a micro-fracturing procedure on the end of her femur and an big ACL scrape. This means she is on crutches for a while and is looking at having to keep the leg braced essentially straight for 6 weeks. Maybe she'll be back to running dogs by January. This is a big blow to how things work around here and will force some new challenges on us both. If it was easy, everybody'd be doin' it-
Onward!!!
After a little over 1000 miles of atv training this fall, I started riding the sled last Saturday, November 13. (Coincidentally, that was the same date I first rode the sled last year, as well.) The sheer joy I feel on the runners with my pals is hard to explain, but there is nothing like it!! I started slow with 8 dogs and short runs as the dogs got their 'sled legs.' As the snow kept coming throughout the week, I worked up to running 14 dogs as we broke trail and then broke it again on the way home. We did some long runs and some back to backs, with the race team doing our first 100-mile day of the season. The team is going strong, staying happy, and working hard. That's the good news!
In the challenging news of the week, Sue has been dealing with a bum knee since she crashed the atv out with a team of dogs earlier this year. On Wednesday, she went in for arthroscopic surgery on her left knee, her fourth surgery on this knee. Well, the good Doctor found more problems than he thought he would and a quick little 'scope and scrape' with Sue on her legs the next day, turned in to a micro-fracturing procedure on the end of her femur and an big ACL scrape. This means she is on crutches for a while and is looking at having to keep the leg braced essentially straight for 6 weeks. Maybe she'll be back to running dogs by January. This is a big blow to how things work around here and will force some new challenges on us both. If it was easy, everybody'd be doin' it-
Onward!!!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Waiting for snow
Training miles are adding up and the team is doing great.
Here's another video, from today's run-
Here's another video, from today's run-
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Today's run
Fall in Fairbanks has been pretty warm so far, but we have been steadily running teams every morning, when temperatures are coolest. Last year at this time we already had our first snow. Today it was another sunny and 65 degree day, after a frosty start. We're waiting for the door to slam shut on summer very soon and will be glad when it does. Here's a video from today's run-
Thursday, August 26, 2010
August 26, 2010
Ready???
We're off and running, well walking actually. We've run 8 of the last 9 days and already see big changes in the dogs. Today we ran two teams, both 5 miles. Although the Quest pool is much smaller (realistically around 18), we are training 29 dogs right now, including several retired-from-racing dogs. I consider all the Quest finishers from last year and Stump to be our best 12 race dogs. After that, there are a lot of question marks in our team for this year. Hopefully Ambler and Cassin will be back from their injuries, with force. Jay and Ivy certainly have the potential to make the team. The yearlings are full of youthful energy and excitement, but only time will tell how quickly they mature. Esther and Isis look great this time of year and we wonder if this will be the year they finally want to keep up come February. Boom and Togo are both still lurking on the sidelines, too. We hope they may decide to get in the game this season. So many questions... For now, it's just slow, controlled runs with lots of different leader pairs. We'll mix up the turns and trails as much as possible and really look forward to distances increasing as tempertures allow. It's great to be back doing what everyone here loves to do!!
Let's go-
We're off and running, well walking actually. We've run 8 of the last 9 days and already see big changes in the dogs. Today we ran two teams, both 5 miles. Although the Quest pool is much smaller (realistically around 18), we are training 29 dogs right now, including several retired-from-racing dogs. I consider all the Quest finishers from last year and Stump to be our best 12 race dogs. After that, there are a lot of question marks in our team for this year. Hopefully Ambler and Cassin will be back from their injuries, with force. Jay and Ivy certainly have the potential to make the team. The yearlings are full of youthful energy and excitement, but only time will tell how quickly they mature. Esther and Isis look great this time of year and we wonder if this will be the year they finally want to keep up come February. Boom and Togo are both still lurking on the sidelines, too. We hope they may decide to get in the game this season. So many questions... For now, it's just slow, controlled runs with lots of different leader pairs. We'll mix up the turns and trails as much as possible and really look forward to distances increasing as tempertures allow. It's great to be back doing what everyone here loves to do!!
Let's go-
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