Location: Finland, MN
Time - 7:58pm Central Standard Time
Temperature: 32 degrees F (0 C)
Conditions: Driving snow, wind
Forecast: Snow/wintery mix tonight and snow tomorrow. Up to 7 inches of snow possible. Highs in the 30s, lows in the teens.
Above is my 10-dog crew training earlier today on one of our favorite trails. The area we are going through is unusually open and hilly and usually has excellent views of the surrounding areas. However today it was FOGGY (which later turned to rain and ice and finally to snow this evening).
Today’s team was:
Capri Susan
Inga Lily
Mattie Rose
Violet Bonnie
Chime Hjordis
I am so pleased with my team. They are awesome! Add Fiona and Remi to the group and there are 12 dogs that I’ve been running who are potentials for my Beargrease 150 team.
BONNIE (left) and VIOLET (right)
Two of the flower girls. Daughters of Inga and Scout, both are little powerhouses. Bonnie is actually Bluebonnet and has a mischevious streak, as do all the flowers. Violet is a real sweetie and grabbed my attention last year when we were running them as yearlings.
INGA (left) and LILY (right)
Inga ran lead for me most of the year last year. She is retired from the main race team but still runs extremely well on the yearling and two-year-old race teams. She shone in lead on my 2009 Beargrease 150 team. Inga ran on Blake’s team in the 2005 Yukon Quest. Lily is one of Inga’s daughters from the flower litter. She is the smallest flower but more than makes up for it. I’ve been calling her Silly Lily and she often literally bounds up and tries to leap into my arms.
HJORDIS (left) and CHIME (right)
Hjordis is a three-year-old who was a superstar on my two-year-old team last year. She ran both the 2009 Beargrease 150 and Wolftrack 60. At the end of the Beargrease 150, all of my dogs settled down to rest except for Hjordis who stood and bounced around as if to say why are we stopping? Chime is the daughter of Bodo and Trouble and looks just like her father. Like most Bodo babies, she is a wonderfully strong, steady puller and and equally strong attitude. When she has something to say, she says it and she says it loudly.
SUSAN (left) and CAPRI (right)
We all know who Susie is! MY little brat from Inga and Scout’s flower litter. She is an awesome little dog and my head is about fifty sizes too big over her. I am sooo proud and have to brag. I’ve had Susan up in lead a good bit this season and she has never balked. Today she ran lead the whole way. Capri is an experienced leader who lead Jen’s team most of the way in the 2008 Iditarod. She is a lot of fun and I have much enjoyed having her up front in my team this year.
MATILDA “Mattie” (left) and ROSE (right)
Mattie is the daughter of Fiona and very much resembles her older sister Avery who ran with me in my races last year. She fits in well with the flowers and runs brilliantly. Rose is another of Inga’s flower children and, like the rest of the litter, she is a fantastic little wonderdog.
Not pictured are FIONA and REMI. Fiona was my other main leader last year who ran the Beargrease 150 and Wolftrack 60 in 2009. She was also on Blake’s 2005 Yukon Quest team. Like Inga, she is retired from the main race teams. Remi is an Alaskan husky who was also on Jen’s 2008 Iditarod team.
Now I just have to decide which eight of these twelve dogs will run Beargrease 150 with me next weekend (oh wow, vet check and musher meeting is a week from today. The race itself is a week from tomorrow! How the heck did that happen?). I can’t think of any reason to leave anybody off, really.
Stay tuned for more updates and info on how to follow the Beargrease!
