Winter is coming...but not here just yet.

/

Two Rivers has yet to receive any substantial snowfall, and according to the Fairbanks Daily Newsminer, we're having the latest snow since 1980! Even Barrow (Alaska's northernmost community) is setting a record for the latest date without snowfall, which follows a record-early spring snow melt. According to Alaska Daily News, "Kotzebue, Nome, Iliamna, Cold Bay, King Salmon and St. Paul posted the warmest Oct. 1-10 periods on record, and Bethel had the second-warmest average temperature on record for the period, the agency said. Communities in Southeast  also had their driest Oct. 1-10 periods on record."

Even though there's no snow, we've had lots of below freezing temperatures, which has created a unique landscape. The swamps behind the kennel have all frozen over, and since there's no snow to cover the unique ice patterns, we're able to "walk on water" and explore!

Today, Riley from Dark Horse Racing and Jeff from Black Spruce Mushing came out to the kennel to run the Two Rivers trails and have the opportunity to practice passing. There were lots of excited dogs at the kennel this morning!

Flying Mushers Raceway Subdivision

/

What is Flying Mushers Raceway Subdivision you may ask? Well, it's the future home of Ryno Kennel!

Last year, we discovered a large parcel of land in Two Rivers that had been on the market for quite awhile. With no structures, no access road and no power, it wasn't very marketable to the average home buyer, but to us, it was PERFECT. After jumping through several hoops, the 150 acre parcel was ours!

While keeping 150 acres for ourselves was an appealing idea, having good neighbors makes life much easier during a cold Alaskan winter. And who better neighbors than fellow dog mushers?! With that in mind, we created Flying Mushers Raceway Subdivision- home to "R" (Ryno Kennel) "Ace" (Smokin Ace Kennel- Matt Hall/Amanda Brooks) and "Way" (Tukaway Kennel- Chase Tingle/Steph Otto). Get it? "R""Ace""Way"? And "Flying" for Derek of course.

Anyways, we're VERY excited about the new neighborhood! The picture is of the top half of the property. With the help of Dave Greer's D7 Dozer (Thank you Dave!), we put in an access road, dozed an airstrip (the large swath), and cleared a large area for a cabin, dog yard, garden, or anything. Stay tuned as we continue to build the dream homestead for Ryno Kennel!

Below are a few other pictures from life at the kennel.

Prepping salmon for the winter.

Jana and Coot smiling for the camera.

Yearling Squad

/

There's a great group of yearlings this winter at Ryno Kennel! Even though I say that every year, I am really excited about these goons. Their tails are always wagging, they love to run, and several already lead!

In the video below, Frosty dutifully took on the job of chaperone for our all-yearling team. Co-leading with Frosty is Blitz, followed by Wombat and Gringa, Fish and Wingman, Yuker and Uno, and Crunch and Ewok in wheel.

A common question is how does a dog become a leader?

Some dogs are comfortable at an early age leading the team and handling the extra pressure of running in front of all their companions. Others take one, two, or five+ years. Others are never lead dogs. When training a lead dog, I give every dog an opportunity to run up front. Sometimes a shy dog with little self-confidence will surprise you and really shine at the front of the team. Once I've determined that they like to lead the team, then I begin focusing on all the manners and commands. A good lead dog should know how to "line out" (hold the gangline taut and not turn the team around), go "Gee" (right), go "Haw" (left), go "Straight Ahead", go "Gee Over" (run on the right side of the trail), go "Haw Over" (run on the left side of the trail), and be willing to run through deep powder, overflow, across glare ice, or any other obstacle we may encounter. Not every leader is perfect in all conditions, so it's important to learn the strengths and weakness of each dog. Some prefer speed, some like twisty trails with lots of Geeing and Hawing- it just depends on their personality. But for now with the yearlings- it's all about having FUN!

Autumn in Two Rivers

/

Fall is one of my favorite seasons. Not only do the leaves change color (as shown by the incredible picture of Two Rivers by photographer Scott Chesney), but the temperatures drop each night, freezing the ground and crisping the air- it's time to run dogs!

We've been training lots of new leaders, including Lefty and his sister Belle! These two are probably the cutest siblings leading down the trail.

The puppies, as you can see, now resemble small dogs! That's Elmer front left, followed by Flash, Amelia, King Louie, Badger, Nile, and Nessie. I'm guessing this group will increase the average weight of the kennel by at least 10 lbs! They're huge!

Fall is also official project time. We're building new dog houses (aka giant chew toys), expanding the dog yard for our growing numbers, painting new name plates, stockpiling straw, ordering supplies, and prepping for the upcoming race season. 

And in between running dogs and prepping for winter, we like to get out for a bit of fun with Jezzy, the grouse sniper. Plus, it helps to fill the freezer!

Fall Training Has Officially Begun!

/

We've had several freezing mornings in the past week, and the dogs are LOVING it. This season, we're beginning training with 9 yearlings and 22 adults. The yearlings build mileage slower than the experienced adults and only prep for a 200 or 300 mile race. This season, the adults are comprised of 1 two-year-old, 8 three-year-olds, 7 four-year-olds, 5 five-year-olds, and 1 seven-year-old. Most have completed the Iditarod, Yukon Quest, or both, so we're ready to rock and roll!

In this video, Lefty and Boone are leading the charge, Niagra is in single swing, Cartel and Kindi, Fish and Crunch, Wombat and Chagga, and Blitz and Wingman are in wheel.

Athlete Portraits

/

Scott Chesney with Tailspin Media has been visiting the kennel to update the athlete portraits for the upcoming season. Here are a few teasers until they have all been finalized. It's particularly fun to see how much the puppies have changed! Enjoy!

Blitz- Yearling

Yuker- Yearling

Wingman- Yearling

Uno- Yearling

Fish- Yearling

Crunch- Yearling

Blitz- Puppy

Yuker- Puppy

Wingman- Puppy

Uno- Puppy

Fish- Puppy

Crunch- Puppy

Yukon Quest Sign Ups!

/

Photo credit- Scott Chesney

Remember this cold race a couple years ago? The one that hovered around -35F to -55F for the first several days? Well, we've signed up to do it again!

Today was sign ups for the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race! That's right, we're having another go at this incredible 1000-mile race. Starting on February 4, 2017 the race will begin in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory and finish in Fairbanks, Alaska.

WE CAN'T WAIT!!!! WOOHOOO!!!!

Chase and Steph from Tukaway Kennel. Chase will be racing in the Quest 300.

Busy Summer

/

Cartel and Crunch in harness.

And just like that, it's July 31st. Tomorrow begins another August in Alaska where the nights start to have darkness, the air seems a little more breezy, and the cold chill on a rainy morning smells of the coming winter.  I'm getting jittery just thinking about it. Even though the summer has flown by, winter can't come fast enough. The dogs have enjoyed a long relaxing summer and are starting to get antsy (and slightly destructive by digging holes and chewing on their houses).  We're ready.

When the temperatures permit, we've taken teams out on short runs, trying new dogs in lead and teaching manners. Some of the upcoming yearlings are already showing leader potential including Wingman, Crunch, Ewok, Yuker, and Gringa. Gringa was dynamite up in lead, and she's only 10 months old! Several of the newly turned three-year-olds look stronger than ever. I have a feeling it will be a real challenge to pick the "A" Team this year! 

Yuker, Crunch and Cartel playing in the Chena River.

The puppies have been growing so fast, there is a noticeable change every day! "Flash" Flood joined the African Litter from Jeff King's Husky Homestead to make up a total puppy class of six. There are a couple more puppy recruits in the works, so I'll be sure to keep everyone posted.

Nessie- Nessie is very affectionate and confident. She's happy playing with her siblings, resting in your lap, exploring by herself, or doing just about anything. She looks just like Perm except white.

Nile- Nile is a handsome, leggy pup who reminds me of his older brother Yuker. They have a similar coloration and sweet, but cocky, attitude. He devours food faster than his siblings, so it's not uncommon to see him with a potbelly.

Badger- Badger has a very distinct face and coloration, so he's often picked as a favorite by visitors. He instinctively heels on puppy walks and rushes up to any new friendly face. He's quite the social butterfly.

King Louie- Although Louie is one of the biggest, he's the most reserved and occasionally timid. He does love people but prefers that his siblings check out the situation first. Some might call him smart.

Nala- Nala is in-your-face crazy. She's always jumping up for extra attention and is the first to come running whenever I call "pup, pup, pup." She has boundless non-stop energy.

Flash- Flash looks houndy like her mom, Zig. She has one blue eye and one 1/2 blue 1/2 brown eye giving her a very unique look. She loves to play in water and spends the most time in the kiddy pool out of all the puppies. She's playful and sassy.

Nessie relaxing in the woods.

Puppies helping me pick blueberries.

While unrelated to dog mushing and Ryno Kennel, I have to share a picture of my very first King Salmon. Allen has gone down to the Kenai River for the past 25 years to fish for Red and King Salmon, and this year, I got to tag along. I'm told King is not quite as tasty as the smaller Reds, but the 15+ hours we put in to catch this one 40 lb King was totally worth it. Allen's record is a 74 lbs King. Can you imagine?!

First ever King Salmon!

It's Getting Darker!

/

And just like that, Solstice came and went, which means....it's getting darker! Granted, it has yet to actually be dark, but since the solstice, we have lost two minutes of day length! This time of year, it never gets dark in Fairbanks, but the sun does drop below the horizon for a couple hours. The length of day on the solstice was 21 hours 51 minutes and 1 second. Today it's only 21 hours 49 minutes and 1 second. We're getting closer to winter!

Of course, we can't just sit around waiting for snow and darkness. We might as well enjoy the glorious Alaskan summers. Here are a few pictures from our outings.

Teamwork!

Nessie

King Louie and Nala

Rainy Day Runs

/

Nile, King Louie, Nala, Badger, and Nessa

"I know it is wet and the sun is not sunny, but we can have lots of good fun that is funny." - Dr. Seuss

Most of the summer, the athletes at Ryno Kennel lounge the days away, soaking up the sun and enjoying the occasional free run. However, some days when the rain pours and the temperatures drop to the 40s and 50s (when any normal person curses summers in Alaska), we rejoice! It's time to RUN!! Last weekend, we had incredible weather of heavy rains and brisk morning temperatures, so everyone had a chance to stretch their legs. As you can see from the videos, they were pretty excited about it. The only adults that didn't run were Perm (she has puppies) and Boone (we're just being extra careful about her wrist from this winter- tendons take a looong time to heal). Chagga and Earl are down at summer camp in Juneau with Maliko. They will be back to start training in early September.

Can you spot your favorite dog?

Team 1- Ham and Lefty, Coot and Derby, Niagra, Ewok and Supai, Fish, Wingman and Crunch.

Team 2- Katy and Jana, Brant and Drummer, Blitz and Wombat, Kindi and Uno, Gringa and Yuker, Rucu

Team 3- Fire and Cartel, Teflon, Fez and CJ, Fenton and Belle, Sally and Frosty, Drake