Tobin and Rose

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Meet the latest recruits to the Ryno team- Tobin and Rose!

These two youngsters joined us from Tagish Lake Kennel.

Rose is super friendly and playful. She’s always the first to come running when called and loves people. She’s long-legged and isn’t afraid of the big dogs.

Tobin is adventurous and little more aloof. He does enjoy attention, but he prefers running through the trees and exploring. He picked up “sit” quickly. He’s fearless and will take off sprinting down a trail even if no one else is joining him.

If you followed the World Cup this summer, you’ll probably recognize the theme! These two pups are named after Tobin Heath and Rose Lavelle who were two of my favorite players to watch. Hopefully these two will be champions like their namesakes!

Rose

Tobin

Yukon Quest!

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I just love this race so much that we’re headed back for the 2020 YUKON QUEST!!!!! Woot woot!

August 3rd was signups for the 2020 Yukon Quest. Ten mushers signed up on the first day, and we’re excited to see several friends on the list!

  1. Rob Cooke (V) - Whitehorse, YT

  2. Brent Sass (V) - Eureka, AK

  3. Lori Tweddell (R) - Whitehorse, YT

  4. Richie Beattie (V) - Two Rivers, AK

  5. Louve Tweddell (R) - Whitehorse, YT

  6. Dave Dalton (V) - Healy, AK

  7. Torsten Kohnert (V) - Lapland, Sweden

  8. Cody Strathe (V) - Ester, AK

  9. Ryne Olson (V) - Two Rivers, AK

  10. Denis Tremblay (V) - St-Michel des Saints, QC

We’ve also heard of a few mushers who intend to sign up later this fall. Cough cough…Michelle Phillips, Ed Hopkins, and Chase Tingle!

We can’t wait to share another 1000-mile race with all the Ryno fans. For this year’s Quest, I’m pumped to have our same human players- Derek, Kalyn, Saeward, Katy (mom)- plus one new addition- Tom! I’m so excited to have my little brother Tom helping out this season. As for the canine athletes, we should have an amazing crew this year! We have a really strong 3-year-old class who are poised to challenge some of the older veterans for their spots on the Quest team. Stay tuned for a pre-season athlete report to get the update on all the canine athletes.

And more exciting news- Ryno Kennel will soon have puppies! There has been a bit of radio silence this year as our planned breeding of Loretta and Coupe (Squid Acres Car Litter) didn’t result in puppies, but we will soon have FOUR pups joining us from other kennels! Arriving today from Michelle Phillips and Ed Hopkins in Canada are two pups, and later in September, two pups will be joining us from Jen Lebar (these two will be half siblings with Amelia). Photos and more info soon to come.

The mushing season is just around the corner- thank you all for continuing to be part of the Ryno Team!

Homestead Improvements

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The summer has been flying by, and temperatures have been HOT! Most days, temperatures hovered in the mid-high seventies if not eighty to eighty-five degrees. Normally, the dogs sleep through the hot days, basking in the warmth. Of course, that means when it’s finally a bit cooler around 1AM-3AM, the yard becomes alive! The dogs start barking, playing with their neighbors, and bouncing off the walls. We’re all looking forward to when the temperatures drop again and darkness returns. Our saving grace has been the Chena River. Several nights a week, a big group of pups and I head for the river to swim, fish, or cool off. Typically we meet Amanda, Janelle, Saeward, or the Borealis Peony gang for a massive dog party!

During the past two weeks, we’ve also had father-in-law (and Ryno Kennel Founder), Rick, at the kennel to help with projects. Our primary focus has been:

1- Building an uber-insulated battery shed

2-Staining and chinking the cabin

Lazy workers

Rick- with a Founders shirt that’s still in good condition!

The shed before Tyvek. We’ll then add siding and a pole barn over the top. The structure in square in an effort to decrease any wasted space (like the peak of a roof).

This past year, we’ve been turning on the generator whenever we need power and shutting it off when we’re finished. That means any time we needed water (except for a brief period when our pipes froze and we had to get water from the Chena River in the middle of the winter… oops), work on the computer, use a vacuum, or do anything energy related, we had to turn on the generator. I don’t like to turn on the generator for simple tasks (like charging a computer), so I’ve mostly just done without (which I’ll blame for my lack of blogs this year). Excitingly, in the near future, we’ll have a battery bank and solar panels!! We can’t wait!! Solar panels should cover all our energy needs from March-October, but we will have to turn on the generator during the dark winter months. However, with the battery bank, we’ll be able to store any excess power generated, rather than waste the extra output when all I needed was to work on the computer. Our main energy needs will be water, lights, washer, dryer, computer, and phone charging. Our fridge is powered with propane as is our oven. Having a 10-inch thick insulated shed for our battery bank, generator, and inverter is going to be a ginormous improvement for us!! Anyways, I was explaining all this to say that our battery shed was one of Rick’s main focuses during his “vacation.” A big thank you to Rick for helping building the shed!

Once the battery shed was complete (save the siding and pole barn over the roof), Rick started chipping away on the main cabin. On the to-do list for this summer is staining and chinking the cabin. Rick scraped all the old bark that was stubbornly hanging to the logs and began staining. Wow is it looking excellent! Now just imagine chink, a big porch with a rocking chair and dog couch- it’s going to be heaven! Can you spy Kindi in her favorite sleeping spot?

Girls to Mushers

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Next year, we’re excited to be a part of a new trip offered through Last Frontier Mushing Co-op-

You can check it out on our webpage-

https://www.themushingcoop.com/girls-to-mushers

Girls to Mushers!

FREE for 14-18 year olds!

Are you between the ages of 14-18 with the dream of becoming a musher or just simply love outdoor adventures? Come learn with the best! Here at the Last Frontier, we want to provide a once in a lifetime opportunity for FOUR young dog lovers to get fully hooked on mushing. This three day, two night adventure is designed specifically for young girls to get out of their comfort zone and build self-confidence for whatever challenge they tackle next. You’ll learn to mush your own team, camp in the Arctic, and basic wilderness skills.

Expedition Details

March 8th - March 10th 2020

Maximum of 4 mushers

The trip begins at the Last Frontier Mushing Co-op in Two Rivers, Alaska. Each gal will drive her own team of 4-5 dogs and will have the same canine athletes every day to establish a bond between musher and team. No prior mushing experience is necessary, but we do ask that you are active and relatively fit. You should be prepared and able to stand on the runners for 4-5 hours each day with intermittent stops for snacks, lunch and photo op's.

Lodging

Our first night will be spent in Arctic Oven tents, while the second night, we’ll rough it and camp outdoors. Not to worry- we’ll teach everyone how to build a fire to stay toasty warm outside!

Itinerary

Day 1: Meet the crew at 11:00 AM at the Last Frontier Mushing Co-op. Partake in a Mushing School & lunch, then hit the trail and mush to our overnight camp in the Chena River Valley. Two mushers (that’s you gals!) will present a 5-10 minute presentation on a topic involving Alaska, nature, or canines.

Day 2: Mush 15-20 miles and arrive at our second campsite. Learn how to camp outside as well as wilderness survival skills. The two mushers who didn’t present the night before will give a 5-10 minute presentation on a topic involving Alaska, nature, or canines.

Day 3: Mush back to the Last Frontier Mushing Co-op, arriving at approximately 3:00 PM.


How to Sign Up

This trip is FREE. That’s right, completely free for four future mushers. To sign up, please write a 500 word letter telling us about yourself, where you’re from, prior dog experience, and how this trip could help you accomplish future goals. Be creative.

If selected, be prepared to create a 5-10 minute presentation to be given during the expedition. The presentation should be about an issue you’re passionate about involving Alaska, nature, or dogs.

Please attach the letter to an email and send it to themushingcoop@gmail.com. Include a profile picture and a short biography of where you’re from, age, school grade, sports, hobbies, etc. This will be shared publicly when we announce our winners on September 1st. Please specify if you would like for this info to remain private.

*Air fare, lodging & transportation (to and from the Mushing Co-op) NOT INCLUDED.

Be Part of LFMC’s Girls to Mushers Initiative

Our three-day trips are valued at $2,000 per person. Would you like to help us make this trip possible by sponsoring a future musher spot? Any amount is greatly appreciated, whether it’s $20 or the full $2,000. Your contribution will not influence the final musher selection.

Walks Walks Walks!

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Not too much to report from Team Ryno. We’ve just been walking! The yard is split up into 8-10 dog walking groups. We load the groups into the ATV trailer dog box, drive about 1/2 mile down the driveway, then let ‘em rip! The first few minutes are normally pure craziness as the dogs sprint around, yipping, and peeing on shrubs. Eventually, the group settles in for the walk and only the most high energy of the group continue to zoom around. Here are few videos from recent walks of the pups enjoying their summer outings.

Nick, Tom, Ryne

The dogs aren’t the only ones walking. My little brother walked at his graduation from Birmingham Southern College! YIP WOO!! Ok, it’s not really dog related, but we’re very excited for Tom, especially since that frees him up to come be a part of team Ryno next winter! That’s right! Tom is going to spend ALL winter at the kennel! We can’t wait.


Stormy's Cabin

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Every kennel has a story of a dog who started it all, and for Ryno Kennel, that’s Stormy. I fell in love with Stormy at SP Kennel. After leading my first Iditarod in 2012, Stormy retired to my couch and was the nanny to all the pups at Ryno Kennel. Stormy taught kindness, calm confidence, and manners. I’m not sure her hackles even worked, or if they did, she never used them. Stormy passed away last summer, but her calm presence is still felt at the kennel in the actions of all the pups who grew up under her guidance. The first cabin we built on the property has been named “Stormy’s Cabin.” She oversaw the entire building process as well as ensured that the wood stove was warm enough and functioned properly. Thanks for the sign, Cody!

2012 Iditarod

Husky Hikes

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Last week, Kalyn, 17 canine athletes, and I headed down Chena Hot Springs Road for a day hike. There’s a beautiful trail that isn’t on any recreation maps, so (knock on wood), every time we’ve headed there for a hike, we’ve had the place to ourselves! Most of the time we stick to trails close to home for our summer walks, but every now and then it’s fun to take the pack and get up into the high country. And this trail goes up and up and up and up and up, so in a short period of time, we’ve climbed from the Chena River Valley bottom to the very top of the surrounding peaks. The views are spectacular! Some day I’ll try to take photos with Kalyn in them, but for now, she’s the primary photographer and snapped some magnificent photos.

New Recruits

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We’re pretty excited to welcome FIVE new recruits to the Ryno Team! These five are special for a couple different reasons-

1) They’re from our friends at Hey Moose! Kennel. Kristin and I have traveled many miles together, including an entire Iditarod and Yukon Quest! I’ve always loved the spunk and happiness of her dog team and am excited to add these five to the roster.

2) They’re all relatives to our current Ryno all-stars!

Smoky and Otis

These two powerhouse boys are direct brothers to our rockstar- Cooke! They’ll be turning three this summer. Smoky and Otis are inseparable, hence why we don’t have a single photo of them individually. Otis is outgoing, boisterous, and the loudest dog in the yard. He does best running near the back of the team. Smoky is playful, yet more of an introvert. He can be a bit hesitant meeting new people, but he quickly warms up and seems to stare into your soul. This spring, he ran in team, swing, and wheel. I’m hoping with a bit of confidence, he might be a leader like Cooke!

Otis (L) & Smoky (R)

Oryx

Oryx is part of the African litter, meaning she’s siblings with King Louie, Vanessa, Nile, and Badger! She has their INSANE energy and spunk. This past winter, she finished the Yukon Quest with Andy. Good job Oryx!

Oryx

Loretta

Loretta and Dolly are Cooke’s older sisters. They have the same parents but were born a few years earlier. Loretta has quite a resume including Yukon Quest (3 times) and Iditarod. Her personality reminds me of Katy- super affectionate with a calm, confident demeanor. She’s been around the block (aka 1000-miles) just a few times.

Loretta

Dolly

Talk about adorable. Dolly is Cooke’s older sister, and like Loretta, she has finished multiple 1000-mile races. Dolly led the majority portion of Andy’s Yukon Quest this year. She’s very loving until it’s go-time, then she’s harness banging to run!

Dolly

We’re so excited to welcome these athletes to our team!

Puppy Runs!

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With yesterday’s cooler temperatures, we took all the dogs out for a nice, short stretch-out run! For Bert and Ernie, that meant it was their first time in harness, and they were excellent!

When putting pups in harness for the first time, we typically run each dog by themselves so that they can focus on the task at hand and not worry about playing with their neighbor. We also hook the team up slightly away from the dog yard to try and create a slightly more quiet, calm environment. Both Bert and Ernie were naturals, although Bert did try to turn around in harness a couple times, which can cause a pretty big tangle! Spinning around, excitedly barking, chewing on lines, or trying to chase squirrels are all common behaviors for a first time pup. It’s the manners part we have to train, the pulling comes naturally!

Petzl and Scarpa have also been rockstars! Scarpa can be a bit of a heathen at hook up (pouncing all over her neighbor), so for this run we had her run by herself. That being said, once we give the READY?! command, both girls are leaping forward in harness and ready to go. We’re very excited about their futures! Petzl is food motivated and loves human affection. Scarpa loves adventure and exploring and isn’t as concerned about whether or not a human is nearby, which is interesting because as a pup, she stayed right by my heels on every puppy walk. Go figure!

We’re looking forward to cooler temps over the summer and next fall so that we can really start working with this puppy class!

Bert

Ernie

Petzl

Scarpa

Spring!

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Hiking-mobile

Even though the title of this post is “Spring” it really depends on the day. Just last week, we received 6-8 inches of snow. Since then, the temperature has been reaching 65-70F each day. And Friday it’s supposed to snow again. Go figure! Spring time in Alaska.

What’s in store for the Ryno athletes this Spring and Summer?

Vacation time! We’ve just finished creating the canine hiking-mobile. In the past, I’ve let each dog loose from their spot in the yard, and then off we went on a short. By building the ATV trailer with dog boxes, we can now start farther from the kennel for new sights. Also, sometimes my canine walking companions like to beat me back to the dog yard. Typically this isn’t an issue, but a mischievous pup likes to rummage around in areas they shouldn’t (dog food tent, trash bags, steal a bone from their neighbor, etc). The ATV allows us to all return to the yard at the same time! And it’s great practice for the young dogs to ride in dog boxes, learning that normally it means we’re about to do something fun and exciting!

When not hiking, the pups are sleeping in the sunshine, playing with their neighbors, or chewing on bones. There have been a handful of generous dog fans who have mailed tasty treats and fun toys- thank you! Thick, 8+ inch long bones and Kongs (which I freeze with goodies inside) are some of their favorites, so if you have a favorite pup who you’d like to mail a treat to, these are safe bets! Let summer vacation begin!

Hiking group of Lefty, Rucu, Cooke, Bowser, Cartel, Goblin, Bull, and Amelia.

Brooks Range

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Ever since arriving in Alaska, I’ve dreamed of exploring the Brooks Range by dog team. After living in Alaska almost nine years, we finally made it a reality! Mushing with a dog team into the heart of the Brooks Range is a bucket list item for many Alaskan mushers, so when we had some free time after the end of our expeditions with Last Frontier Mushing Co-op, we jumped at the opportunity to head north.

Temporary Parking Location

Saeward (Ryno crew), May (guide on our Wild Women Retreats and yoga instructor), 21 canine athletes (K. Louie, Badger, Cooke, Nile, Vanessa, Loretta, Smoky, Otis, Yuker, Elmer, Uno, Amelia, Rucu, Supai, Lefty, Goblin, Bull, Thresher, Mario, Bowser, and Yoshi), and I loaded up in the F250 dog truck and settled in for the 10-hour drive. However, I should note one minor detail. “Loading up” isn’t our normal “load up” of pulling the truck next to the dog yard, storing the gear in the back and letting dogs loose to easily call them to their individual boxes in the dog truck. Nah, that’s just too easy! Every spring for about 1-2 months, the driveway into our little slice of paradise turns into a wicked mud pit, forcing us to park about a mile away on a gravel road and shuttle everything (gear, sleds, dog food, tents, dogs, humans) from the kennel to the truck. So the day before our departure, we loaded all the gear, and then the next morning, we ran two teams by ATV to the dog truck, at which we loaded up our expedition party and off we went! NORTH!

While some might consider driving with dogs to be a hassle, I find traveling with the whole pack to be a fun, thrilling experience. It forces you to stop more often for pee breaks, drive a little slower, and oftentimes, a canine companion (or several ) snuggle into the cab. Plus, whenever you do stop, it’s like having a rowdy sports team, jostling with each other, bantering, and trembling with excitement for the adventure to come. It’s hard not to get caught up in all the enthusiasm.

Car Selfies

The view from the truck

So after about 10 hours of driving north, passing through Coldfoot, Wiseman, and Atigun Pass, paralleling the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, and sharing the road with dozens of truckers, we arrived at the mouth of the Atigun Gorge. Prior to leaving, we’d talked with several other mushers who had already traveled north and determined that Atigun Gorge was a must-see, assuming the overflow and glare ice wasn’t too bad. As we pulled into the parking lot, we were surprised that no other dog trucks were staged in the parking area. The Gorge is a popular place for mushers to access the Brooks Range. Glancing across the valley to Galbraith Lake, another staging area, we could see several vehicles, indicating that most mushers had chosen to mush to Brent Sass’s camp on the other side of the road. Instead of using this as an indicator of trail conditions up the Gorge, we thought, how fortuitous, we get this magnificent country to ourselves! Later, we learned why most folks had chosen the other side of the Dalton Highway.

Since we pulled into the parking lot late in the afternoon, we thought it’d be a stretch to load the sleds and mush to our planned camp that evening, so instead we went for a fun run. We each took 4-dog teams and scouted a few miles into the Gorge. We found glare ice, a few areas with deep overflow, but otherwise, we concluded it was certainly do-able and we’d embark the following morning. The trouble with traveling up the Gorge is that as temperatures rise in the spring, the runoff trickles down from the surrounding peaks and settles as a layer of water over the ice of the river (hence overflow). At sections where the walls of the Gorge are tight, there can be no escape for a dog team to get around deep overflow, so you have to be prepared to mush right through it.

The next morning, we loaded up our three sleds with hundreds of pounds of gear, hooked up seven canine athletes to each sled, and loudly clattered our way down the Gorge, scraping our claw brakes on the glare ice, pinballing our sleds off boulders, and giggling and laughing the entire way. Now THIS is an adventure. The dogs thrived. I felt like Lefty (who was leading for my team) and I were of one mind. The directional commands in mushing (Gee for right and Haw for left) don’t really articulate how far gee you’re asking your team to travel- 90 degrees? A gentle gee followed by a swooping haw to skirt rockfall? And there’s nothing more annoying than a micro-manager, so incessantly shouting commands isn’t great communication either. But miraculously, it didn’t require much. A gentle direction here or there, and Lefty was on it. Edge around that deep pool of overflow. Trace the high ridgeline of ice directly across the river to then work our way along the far bank. Lefty just knew the plan. And he was a great role model for all the yearlings in the team. For example, the correct path wasn’t always the easiest. We might have to dash through overflow to avoid being trapped in deeper overflow later on, and rather than balk, Lefty would plow ahead and the youngsters would throw themselves into their harnesses and eagerly follow, picking up on his excitement.

May, Saeward, and their teams were amped by the terrain as well. Goblin single-led for Saeward. Although driven, he’s a stubborn one, so it took the whole trip before he’d listen to Saeward’s commands. Instead of listening to Saeward’s drier path, he’d put his head down, ignore her command, and blaze through the deepest water as if to say- this is the shortest way to reach the team in front and WIN! May’s team, on the other hand, was captained by Cooke. Like Goblin, he was unfazed by the deep water, but he was at least willing to listen to May’s suggestions. Well, most of the time. May’s team was so fired up, that she had to let two dogs run loose and only have five hooked to the sled, otherwise she’d surely spend the whole time being drug down the ice on her side.

(Side note- one of the funniest sights of the trip- my team was calmly standing on the ice of the river. I look back to see May and team come launching off the bank, hockey-sliding across the ice, promptly falling onto her side, and then ever so slowly being drug past Saeward and her team. The dogs, with determined faces and haunches low, were grinding against the friction of May being drug face-first down the river and ignoring her calm requests of woooooah, woooah. Those little turds didn’t let up until they were parallel with my team, and I could reach over and grab the gangline! Haha! I can’t imagine the whole incident from Saeward’s perspective! Saeward standing on her sled, watching May get drug on her side at about 3 miles per hour, up and then around Saeward’s sled and continuing on down the river at a snail’s pace. Haha! May is such a good sport).

Anyways, long story short, the mush in was an adventure. The final couple miles before we reached the Sag Valley, the water had frozen up and the conditions were excellent. So we set up camp and then began the hunt.

Mushing Fail. Video commentated by May.

I debated about whether or not to share about our hunt. Hunting can be a polarizing topic, and even beyond that, it is often a private experience. But I’ve decided to share our experience more as a story of empowerment, because that’s exactly what it was. All three of us gals had played a support role in many hunts. May had grown up in Wyoming and helped her family harvest elk to fill the freezer. Saeward grew up bird hunting and had helped with deer hunts. I’ve tromped through the mountains with Derek on his hunting pursuits. But never before have any of us had to make all the calls, and it’s not really the norm for women to do so. Upon moving to Alaska, I’ve met many amazing women who do go out and harvest their own meat to fill their family freezer, but it’s certainly not the norm. So our hunt was a test for ourselves. From the scouting to the glassing to the harvest to the meat storage, we had to make all the calls. And on the second day when we successfully mushed back to camp with a caribou stowed away in the sled bag, we were elated. It was a group effort, and we’d all challenged ourselves and pushed ourselves out of our comfort zone. I feel fortunate to live in such an incredible place with so many natural resources and thriving wildlife, to be surrounded by fearless, driven people and courageous, incredible dogs. Alaska is a land like no other, and just when you feel like the harshness of the place has worn you down, you accomplish something that fills you with love for Arctic and sense of self-reliance. So at the risk of coming off as sappy and dramatic, I decided to write about our hunt and include it in this blog. Outwardly, I’ve tried to play it cool as if I’ve been on loads of hunts and it was no big deal, but inwardly, I’m cheering- holy smokes, we did it ladies!

Lefty leading the way up a hillside.

Ok, moving on. After our hunt, we knew we had to get out of the Gorge soon, because every day we spent in the Valley was another day for warm air to melt the snow on the hillsides and fill the Gorge with overflow. The next morning, we loaded up camp and started the trek back to the truck. Immediately, we were swimming. And this was on the section that had been good on the way out! Lefty still launched into the deep overflow and deliberately criss-crossed our way up the Gorge, but it wasn’t uncommon for the sled to get bogged down and stuck. I’d have to run to the front and heave at the brushbrow to unstick the nose of the sled from the overflow, calling up the dogs. At the next gravel bar, I stopped to wait for Saeward and May and suggested that we travel closer together in case we have to help each other’s sleds across. Putting a big smile on my face, I said, “we’ll just see how far we get, and if we don’t make it out to the truck today and have to climb to higher ground to camp, that’s no big deal, we’ll just do that.” May and Saeward, smiling wide, always optimistic, were fantastic travel companions. “Sure thing!” they said. Apparently I was the only one concerned. Fortunately, my concerns were unwarranted. As we continued up the Gorge, the spots that had been bad a few days prior were frozen, so with the exception of the first few miles, the mush out was glorious! Once we returned to the truck, we loaded up all our gear and the dogs and drove around to Galbraith Lake to start part two of our trip.

The west side of the Dalton Highway somehow had a monopoly on the snow, and wow- was it a musher’s paradise! Brent Sass operates expeditions out of a large, multi-tent base camp. He acquired a much-coveted permit that allowed him to take a snowmachine in from the Dalton Highway. In this particular area, the first five miles on either side of the Dalton Highway are closed to motorized vehicles, but by Brent having the permit, he was able to bring a snowmachine in and create trails galore! The trails ventured high into mountain passes and up expansive valleys. He was very welcoming to other mushers, so when we arrived, he gave us a general overview of the trail system and said- have fun! We set up our camp on the other side of the pond and enjoyed the premier trail access.

When it was finally time to pack up and make the long drive home, it was hard to say good bye to the North Slope. Looking over the map, we scouted out new valleys and drainages that we’d like to explore and promised ourselves that we’d be back next Spring. Until next time Brooks Range.

Heaven?