Welcome 2018

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We started off 2018 with a beautiful dog run! This video was taken at about 1:00 PM near the peak of the sun's trip across the sky. It's been over a week since the winter solstice, and we've gained 20 extra minutes of daylight. Can't you tell? Just kidding. The sun still barely clears the horizon; however, that makes for spectacular colors throughout the day. During January, the length of day will exponentially increase until we're gaining about 6:45 per day, at which it will stay throughout February and March. Tour guests always ask how we can handle the darkness, and I reply, Alaska is the land of extremes. Just when you start to grow weary of the dark (or total light during the summer), the world rapidly changes. You just have to get outside regardless of the sun or temperature, and try to experience all Alaska has to offer because before you know it, the seasons have changed!

Thanks to everyone for being a part of the Ryno Team in 2017, and we can't wait to share our adventures with you in 2018! We wish you a Happy New Year filled with friends and family, both human and canine. 

The Last Frontier Mushing Co-op

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The crew relaxing inside after a long campout.

During the holidays, we've had a big rush of new adventure seekers going for rides with us at the Mushing Co-op! We do a few different types of tours ranging from 2-Hr Chena River rides to 4-Hr Aurora Tours to expeditions (in the spring). For the dogs, this a great opportunity for them to get a little extra attention, meet lots of new people, and practice camping (especially on the 4-Hr Aurora tour when we mush out to our campsite and stay for a couple hours waiting for the aurora). Typically I bring the yearlings on these tours; however, the rides are also great stretch out runs for the adults after we do a long training run. At night after the tours, the adults and I head out for longer runs in preparation for the Copper Basin in just a couple weeks!!

Success!

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We had a fantastic time yesterday competing in the Solstice 50! We finished in 6th place with a happy dog team who were still slamming their harnesses at the finish line! I call that a big success. Liz had a fantastic race as well. She stopped for 1 hour 15 minutes at a camp about 30 miles into the race. Since the yearlings did not have much experience running longer distances, this was a courtesy stop for them, but they thought it was just a waste of time! Crunch ( a two-year-old) led the entire way with Niagra and did very well. Overall, it was a blast!   

Ryne and Team- Photo Credit Scott Chesney

Liz  and Team- Photo Credit Scott Chesney!

Here are a couple videos from the trail.

Solstice 50!

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We're kicking off the 2017-2018 Race Season with the Two Rivers Dog Mushers Association Solstice 50!

With all the snow in Two Rivers, the trail will be taking a new route up over the highest hills outside of Fairbanks. Recently we ran the trail and took a short video of the incredible views!

Both Liz and I will be running in the Solstice 50 with Derek and Tyler helping us take off! My team will be:

Katy & Goblin

Boone & Drummer

Cartel & Perm

Yuker & CJ

Wingman & Lefty

Supai & Drake

Liz will be running a mixture of adults and yearlings. Given the strenuous course, she'll be taking a short break about 35 miles in, mostly for the yearlings. Her team will be:

Niagra & Crunch

King Louie & Belle

Wombat & Uno

Amelia

Gringa & Coot

Flash & Blitz

Our good friend, Mari, with ATAO Kennel (http://ataokennel.com/) will be running Nile and Vanessa in her team. Let the races begin!!

The Crew

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Liz & Thresher, Derek & Faff, Ryne & Mako, Tyler & Yoshi

Even though we're a few months into the season, I realized I have yet to introduce the Ryno crew this year! Liz and Tyler are helping us with chores, training, and building- so a BIG thank you for all their hard work!

Liz has been focusing on training the adults and will be running in the Copper Basin 300. Tyler has been training the yearlings and will be running in the Two Rivers 100. To learn more about Liz and Tyler, check out their bios under the "Mushers" tab. I can't say thank you enough for their love and care for the dogs and continual help at Ryno Kennel!

The Week at a Glance

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I know everyone is starting their Monday and planning the week ahead, but we wanted to share some photos and videos from last week! The weather here remains unseasonably warm. It even rained a little! It felt so strange to wake up to 33F and see photos from my family in Birmingham, Alabama after a fresh snow storm!

Even though it's warm, the Ryno athletes covered lots of miles. Tyler has been running the yearling team for the most part this season, but I hopped on the runners for a day of hauling supplies to our hillside yurt on Trapline Mountain. Nile and King Louie both took turns running in lead with Fire and did great! Cooke, Vanessa, Flash, Amelia, and Blitz all helped haul up supplies as well. Elmer and Badger ran to the staging area at our new property, but I opted not to run them to the top of the mountain because I was worried I'd have too much power on the way down and find myself hurtling down the hill out of control on the return trip. As you can see from the photo and video, the view at the yurt site is incredible! This winter, the Last Frontier Mushing Co-op will be leading overnight aurora viewing trips to the yurt for a nice unobstructed view of the northern skies.

The adult teams (and myself and Liz) went on a field trip to Minto Flats to run with Paige and Cody and the other Squidos. We had a blast running on new trails and and camping with friends. The two-year-olds are all starting to figure out the camping rountine, with the exception of Yuker and Gringa. Gringa will play with anyone close by, and if they insist they won't play with her, then she chews on the line for entertainment. Because of this, she's goes to "time out" and is tied to a tree or the sled by herself with as few distractions as possible. Maybe she just never gets tired? Yuker is just an ultra-cocky teenager and likes to posture and show his toughness, even if everyone around him is sleeping. So like Gringa, Yuker had a "time out" spot to himself. A few more campouts, and I think they'll learn the routine. Ewok, Crunch, and Wingman have all been taking turns in lead. I love seeing confident youngsters running up front! Fish and Uno have non-stop energy. Even when they return home after a run, they're immediately running in circles. Blitz is a little behind in miles because he missed some training for a vet visit this fall (as the Farside comic said, "He went to get tutored!") Blitz is catching up fast though. It's looking like a great group of two-year-olds!

Louise knitted this beautiful beanie made out of soft qiviut yarn. I don't know how she did it, but the Ryno logo and huskies are all knitted into the sides. Incredible! Thank you Louise! We've also been receiving lots of delicious doggie treats from our canine sponsors. I'll be posting photos of the athletes enjoying their treats in the near future! A big thank you to all the Ryno followers- you've been so generous!

Homestead Construction Update

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Handler Cabin

The Handler Cabin shell is complete. Next up are windows, the door, and the all the internal work (roof insulation, spray foam etc). Because we didn't have a roof on the cabin during the October ice storm, there is a thick layer of ice across the floor. It'll take a few days of a wood stove cranking to dry out the inside of the shell.

Webasto Heater

We haven't worked on the handler cabin for a little over a week due to training, and Derek was installing a Webasto Heater in the diesel truck! What is a Webasto? It's a heating system that is integrated into the engine coolant circuit and brings the engine up to operating temperature before starting. Meaning that even if it's -40F, and we arrive at a frozen truck after a long training run, we don't have to fire up the generator and plug the truck in for hours. We can just start the Wabasto heater and 30 minutes to an hour later, voila! The truck fires right up. Even better, while the Wabasto is working its magic, it is heating the cab of the truck too. Can you tell I'm excited? No more lugging a generator around, building a fire to warm up the frozen generator, waiting hours with the truck plugged into the generator, or sitting in a frozen truck! Woot woot!

Main Cabin

Liz and I started leveling out the areas for the pads for our main cabin. The cabin will be constructed on "post and pad" instead of a concrete foundation. While the area was mostly level, it wasn't perfect, so we spent a day chiseling away at frozen dirt and rock to make each spot level. Here's a little video to show how ridiculous we looked....and felt.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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A winter rainbow from a couple weeks ago.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. And no, it's not just because we get to stuff ourselves full of delicious food and eat platefuls of dessert (although I do love that part), but it also is a day when we take a step back from our busy training schedule to enjoy time with family and friends. I have so much to be thankful for- inspirational and uplifting friends, supportive and wonderful family, the opportunity to build my dream homestead, and of course my incredible canine family. I'm thankful for everyone on the Ryno Kennel Team and am continually amazed at all the wonderful people I meet through mushing. Every day waking up, I can't help but look out the window and think- how did we get so lucky?

So what's on the agenda at Ryno Kennel for Thanksgiving? Call family and friends, probably run a team or two, spend time with puppies, perhaps go clear trail, and have our annual Thanksgiving Dinner with other Two Rivers mushers. It's shaping up to be a perfect day.