Even though we're still on ATVs, we've received a nice dusting of snow! Not only does the snow make everything look beautiful, but it helps protect the dogs' feet from sharp rocks or frozen mud underneath.
Peter left Ryno Kennel last week to continue his adventures in Mongolia, but before he left, he made one final drone video for us. Thanks Peter!
Yesterday was the first day of pounding the well at our future home! This video makes it look easy, but like any do-it-yourself project, there were a few hiccups along the way. Hopefully after another day or two we'll have our well completed! Thanks to Gus for helping Derek and me get the pounder rocking and rolling and the Meierottos for letting us borrow it!
1- Have some great neighbors with a well pounder who let you borrow it. Figure out a way to get the massive contraption onto a trailer and take it to your future home site.
2- Dig a massive starter hole (approximately 15 ft deep) with the help of another neighbor and their heavy equipment.
This is actually the septic, but it's a similar concept, so you get the idea!
3- Place a 20 ft casing in the starter hole, then fill it back in. Try to pick the rainiest, windiest, muddiest day possible and shovel it back in by hand.
Flushing out the crushed rock
4- Wait for the ground to freeze a bit and then start pounding! Pound for several minutes. Once the casing stops moving, send the driver down to the bottom of the pipe and let it crush apart the rocks.
5- Put a powerful air compressor hose down the pipe and flush out the crushed rock. We had already hit water by this point, but if you haven't yet hit water, dump water into the casing to help flush the rock.
6- Once the casing is sunk to the ground, weld another five foot section of casing and repeat steps 4 and 5.
7- Keep at it until you reach your desired depth.
We hope to have the well completed in the next day or two!
You might have noticed a few missing portraits this year, so I'd like to take this post to talk about our "retired" athletes. I'll introduce you to the retirees who live at Ryno Kennel as well as talk about where our athletes go when they retire. Ultimately, it's always my responsibility to make sure I can give each dog the most rewarding and fulfilling life for them as an individual, whether that's here at Ryno Kennel or in a different home.
We all know Alaskan Huskies are exceptional athletes. With exercise and good nutrition, they can live a long and happy life, sometimes as long as 16 or 17 years! However, just like people, their goals and desires change throughout their long lives. Every Alaskan Husky is born with a desire to run and pull, the question is how far? Do they want to pull and explore for 10 miles? 100 miles? 300 miles? 1,000 miles? Until they're 2 years old? 7 years old? 16 years old?
It's always hard when I realize that I might not be the best home for a dog, but ultimately it's about them. Because of that, if a dog isn't fitting in at their new home, their new family knows they can always bring them back to Ryno Kennel. Every time a new puppy is born at Ryno Kennel, I'm making a commitment for life, wherever their best life may be.
To quote Aliy's philosophy, we always strive to have “the right home for the right dog at the right time." It's all about the dogs!
Crazy
12-year-old Crazy
Some athletes, like Crazy, can't imagine a day when they're not pulling in some capacity. Even though she's 12-years-old, Crazy still runs short distances, trains puppies, and competed in the canicross event last weekend. Although Crazy has never raced with Ryno Kennel, she competed with several other successful teams and absolutely deserves a comfortable retirement. Plus, she's a fantastic nanny and enjoys caring for the singleton pups like Amelia then Cooke and currently Terrell.
Frosty
Frosty
Frosty joined Ryno Kennel from Smokin' Ace Kennels (Matt Hall and Amanda Brooks) a couple years ago. He no longer had the desire to race, but he wanted to go back to his roots running a trapline and breaking trail. Don't ask Frosty to run much more than 15 miles, but if it's shorter distances through remote terrain, he's in heaven! Frosty helps train the yearlings when he's not out on the trapline with Derek.
Stormy
Well, we all know Stormy! After running a few Iditarods with SP Kennel (including my rookie Iditarod in 2012), Stormy retired to a couch at 7-years-old. She has ZERO desire to pull anymore and prefers to sleep under the fire place or next to the toyo stove. Even though she doesn't like to pull, Stormy still loves to go on puppy walks and is an exceptional puppy wrangler.
This past spring, we had three dogs join new homes: Fez, Brant, and Chagga.
Fez
Fez joined Sally and Eider with the Bagamary family just outside of Fairbanks. Fez still has the desire to run (and she wishes she could run 1000-miles), but after her porcupine encounter a couple summers ago, her wrist prevents her from running 1000-mile races. Since Fez wasn't ready for retirement, she still gets to run and compete with the Bagamarys. They compete in 50-300 mile races as well as kids races! As you can see from the photos, Sally and Eider are enjoying their new life with the Bagamarys as well.
Fez and Sally playing fetch in the pond.
Eider lounging on the couch.
Eider
Sally
Chagga, Brant and Teflon
Chagga, Brant, and Teflon all joined the Sehmels to enjoy a life of active retirement. Chagga has always preferred more quiet settings, so a close knit atmosphere with only a few other dogs is a perfect fit for her. Even though Brant has completed both the Quest 300 and Copper Basin 300, he was ready to enjoy more leisurely runs. Like Chagga, Teflon has really flourished in a smaller, quieter setting. The Sehmels now have a four dog team allowing Chagga, Brant, and Teflon to still get to mush!
Teflon rocking the Funjor Canicross 5K
The Sehmel's team finding the only spot of snow on a summer hike.
Brant
Chagga with her teammate Chupa.
Earl- a previous retiree
Earl, oh Earl... he could have been a powerhouse! Earl never was much of a sled dog, but he is now one fantastic companion. Maliko, Earl, and Lahja now have lots of adventures, and Earl even professionally models bow ties!
Amy- a previous retiree
Amy knew the sled dog life was never for her, so she retired young and has been enjoying her life of luxury with the Millers in Phoenix, Arizona. When she's not at work with Joan, she's basking on the couch without a care in the world.
Derby- a previous retiree
Derby leading the way.
Derby retired a couple years ago with our neighbors across the street. Though Derby wanted to continue racing, her build effected her ability to run long distances. Now she gets to go on adventurous trips across Alaska including the Brooks Range and White Mountains!
This past weekend, Ryno Kennel ran in a fun community event organized by Abbie West and the Two Rivers Dog Mushers Association- The Funjor 5K Canicross! Derek ran the race with Jezzy (she pulled the whole time!), and I attached myself to our old dog, Crazy. I haven't spoken of Crazy much on the website because she joined Ryno Kennel late in life as a ten-year-old and had one litter of pups: Elmer and Bugs. Bugs lives with Riley Dyche. Elmer is the handsome red yearling that you all probably know! Prior to joining Ryno Kennel, Crazy lived with first Mitch Seavey and then Dallas Seavey, and she finished on Dallas's winning 2012 Iditarod Team. So even though Crazy has been in retirement for the past couple years, she made a showing at the Canicross event on Sunday and brought home two more gold medals! Not only did she help me to a first place finish, but she ran with my college friend Andrew in the 1K relay and helped earn another first place! This old gal still has it!
On Saturday and Sunday, I was also taking a class called Integrated Medicine for the Racing and Retired Sled Dog taught by Dr Kim Henneman DVM, DACVSMR. She discussed diet and nutrition, acupressure techniques, homeopathic remedies, and other topics relevant to caring for an extreme canine athlete. A big thank you to Jodi Bailey and Michelle Phillips for organizing this event!
Dr. Henneman demoing with MaiTai
Peter made another drone video from our training run a couple days ago when there wasn't a cloud in the sky! Some of the footage was taken while running by the fields near the kennel including a peonies field owned by our friends, The Russells. Paul and Amanda Russell watched Jezzy and Cartel this summer!
I love how drones provide a unique view of the dog team that you don't get to see very often!
Most mornings, Ryno teams hit the trail in preparation for the upcoming races. My college friend and licensed drone pilot, Peter Bittner, joined us on our training run the other day and made this awesome drone video! Thanks Peter! He's visiting for one more week, so we hope to make another video or two before he leaves.
This season, Liz and I will be training the adults (athletes two-years-old and older), and Tyler will be focusing on the yearlings. Liz is signed up to run a second team in the Copper Basin, and Tyler is on the waitlist for the Quest 300. It's going to be an exciting season!
This last week, we've had an army to help crank out the dog yard platforms, and we're making great progress! Rick Patton, Derek's dad, has been visiting for the past week and put countless hours in at the property. Liz Schell, who will be helping at the kennel this winter, also arrived last week and received a crash course in fall training and platform construction. So with the help of Rick, Liz, and Tyler, the platforms are close to completion! Derek and I are pumped!
What is next? We still have to finish the third platform (should take half a day once the lumber arrives), then paint two of the platforms (assuming the weather will allow it), then pound 48 posts. It's so close!
After the completion of the platforms, we'll get rolling on the septic, well, and decking for the cabins. Oh, and the dogs are looking fantastic on their training runs!
Rick and Liz staining the platform.
Jezzy modeling our first platform
At the top of our building to-do list are all the projects that require completion before the ground freezes: dog yard (pounding posts), well and septic, and outhouse hole. We've been busy building the platforms for the dog yard, and we just completed the first of three platforms! Yes, it's HUGE!! The platform is 24ft by 96ft and will hold 16 dogs. An isle will separate each platform, and that's where the teams will be hooked up for our training runs.
So why are we going through the trouble of building such monstrosities? Because they'll be wonderful! No more eating rocks (Blitz, Ham, Fire, Outlaw litter), no more digging holes to China (Perm, Katy, Vanessa, Lefty, Wombat, Niagra... and the list goes on), and no more mud! For the past several years, I've dreamed of building the dog yard on platforms, and now that it's becoming reality, I'm ecstatic! Given the size of the platforms, our 16x24 cabin might be mistaken for the feed shed.
Transporting the well pounder.
We've also started prepping for the well. Our neighbors have a well pounder and were generous enough to let us borrow it. Truthfully, I'm not entirely sure how we go about pounding a well, but I'm excited to learn. Even though we'll be living in a small cabin, we will have running water!
A big thanks to Tyler for helping run dogs at 6 AM then turn around and build all day! And we have more help on the way: Liz, who will be assisting us all winter, will be arriving tonight. Rick, Derek's dad, is flying in this afternoon for his Fall vacation. Somehow his "vacations" always turn into work when he comes to visit. A big thank you to all of them! We're about to make some progress!
Tyler cranking out the square.
Derek and Jezzy, working partners.
Terrell helping build.
Crunch is turning into a rock star leader.
A view from the air. Check out that platform!
Fall Training Has Begun!
Fall training has begun, the pups are getting more animated, and construction on the new property is progressing! Life is good! Tyler is handling for Ryno Kennel again this year (he helped out at the beginning and end of last year), and he'll be focusing on training the yearlings. He has already arrived at the kennel and has been helping train dogs and build. A high school friend from Durango, Colorado, Liz Schell, will be arriving in 10 days to help me train the main team. Derek will be filling in and assisting with everyone. We've got a great crew!
We've been making steady progress on the new homestead. All the logs have been peeled, the well and septic marked out, and all the lumber for the dog yard has been delivered. Three large truckloads of lumber are needed to build the yard, which will be comprised of three long decks. Each deck will be 24ft by 96ft and house 16 dogs, meaning the yard will be built for 48 athletes. I don't pretend to be a carpenter, so after picking Allen Moore's brain and visiting a few different kennels, I think I have a general blueprint of how to make this yard become a reality! Since the ground will most likely be freezing in the next few weeks, anything that requires dirtwork is our priority (dog yard, septic, and well). Once those are completed, then we'll crank out the handler cabins and main house.
Badger
Our kennel photographer and friend, Scott Chesney with Tailspin Media, visited the kennel a few days ago and took the yearly dog portraits. Stay tuned for those! Once I've updated the website with all the dogs' new profiles, then I'll open up the dog sponsorship program. Here's a sneak peek of what the photos will look like! We hope to see all our prior year sponsors return for another exciting season!
6 of the 11 pups
2x4s for the Dog Yard
In addition to training dogs and building, we've been busy promoting our new company, the Last Frontier Mushing Co-op LLC. Amanda Brooks (Smokin' Ace Kennels) and I have been to a couple tradeshows and were recently accepted to compete in an Alaska Tourism Association Shark Tank Competition! If you've ever watched Shark Tank, the competition is very similar except it's between Alaskan businesses that are competing for a $5,000 grant for a new idea. The competition takes place in Kodiak in the beginning of October, so we'll be sure to let you how it goes!
First- Thank you to everyone who sent suggestions for puppy names! I'll be sure to keep you posted on the final name choices.
Now that I'm back in Two Rivers, I can finally get going on the preparation of our property at the Flying Mushers Raceway. We hope to move by the end of fall (yikes!), but we're well aware that usually nothing goes as planned. We're ready to be flexible.
Since purchasing this property a couple years ago, Derek and I have been so excited to build our dream home. However, as you can imagine, our priorities are slightly different than your average person. There was no road access to the property, so first things first, we put in a road. Our good friend Dave Greer (who's company Alaska Commercial Rentals has been a long time sponsor of Ryno Kennel) loaned us his D7 dozer. Something that size plows in a mile-long driveway in no time. We also used the dozer to put in an airstrip for Derek (one of the main priorities). All the dirt work was last summer's focus. Now it's time to build.
So what is on the to-do list?
1- Construct a platform dog yard- After battling holes, rock-eaters, and mud, I'm ready for the entire dog yard to be up on decks. Our new land is relatively low, so a normal dog yard would turn into quite a quagmire. Platforms are essential. I've been chatting with other mushers who have built platforms to learn more about the best design.
2- Build a handler duplex cabin- If you recall from this Spring, we harvested enough logs to build the handler cabins. While Derek primarily hauled them in by snowmachine, Tyler, Gunhild, and I had some fun hauling in logs by dog team. It definitely wasn't as efficient, but it was way more fun. Here's the video we posted from this spring.
3- Build our main cabin- We ran out of time to harvest logs ourselves, so we purchased 3-sided logs from a local manufacturer. The plan is to build a 20x20 cabin for our main house. Our long term goal is to construct a Hanger House (the downstairs will be a massive hanger for Derek's airplane and all my dog gear/dogs/sleds etc, and we would live upstairs), but for the time being, a 20x20 cabin will be perfect.
These are the main goals, but of course there's multiple steps involved in each one. Derek is still fighting fires (he's currently down in California), so while he's gone, I'm trying to do as much prep work as possible. The pups and I have been busy peeling the logs for the handler cabin (as you can see from the photo, they're not the best helpers).
I'm babysitting these pups for friend Riley Dyche from Darkhorse Racing Kennel
I'll be writing posts about our progress over the next couple months. If you enjoy shows like House Hunter and Extreme Home Makeover, then these will be the posts for you! And while all this is going on, we'll still be training and preparing for the races, so not to worry, there will be plenty of doggie posts as well.
Puppy Pile!
Yam gave birth to 11 (that's right- ELEVEN!) puppies. Seven boys and four girls were born a few days ago, and all are looking strong and healthy. I'll be splitting this litter with Riley Dyche, from Dark Horse Racing. As you can see from the photos, it's a colorful bunch. A couple have the black and tan markings of their father, Goblin, but all the rest don't resemble either of the parents. We'll be doing our draft picks when the puppies reach four weeks old. We're still deciding on name themes, so if you have any great ideas, please share!
Momma Yam
Ryno Kennel is home to Iditarod and Yukon Quest veteran, Ryne Olson and her growing sled dog racing kennel in Two Rivers, Alaska.
All Photos Taken by: Scott Chesney, Julien Schroder, Kalyn Holl, or other Ryno Crew. All rights reserved. Please contact prior to using any photos.
BIG THANKS TO THE RYNO TEAM
Big Dan’s Trucking
Rick and Sue Patton
All Dog Sponsors
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