New Leaders

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Boone and Lefty leading the charge.

As I've mentioned in prior posts, several of the dogs have matured immensely over the summer and are stepping into leadership roles. I've been thrilled to see all the new "leaders in training" including Lefty, Niagra, Fez, Derby, Perm, Coot, Eider, Boone, Sally, Amy, Rucu, and a new surprise- Belle! Watch the video to see this little spitfire dominate. In the video, Rucu is also shining in his first leader run of the season. For all the fans of the trail-hardened leaders, not to worry, the regulars like Fire, Ham, Cartel, and Katy are getting plenty of time up front too.

The 2015-2016 Race Schedule

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We have officially signed up for all our races for the 2015-2016 race season!

Why is this a big deal?

Signing up for mid-distance races has become extremely competitive. Races like the Copper Basin 300 and Knik 200 filled up within minutes with an extensive waitlist, creating a "mushing cyber-race." How quickly can you type in your information and click a submit button? Luckily, we have access to high-speed internet (by Alaska standards), and my accounting experience has given me ample time to practice my speed typing. Joking aside, overcrowded races is a great problem to have since it means the sport of mushing is as strong as ever!

To alleviate the stress of signing up, some races have revamped the sign up process. For the 2016 Copper Basin, top ten finishers from the 2015 Copper Basin had the opportunity to sign up early. The remaining slots were filled on a first come, first serve basis starting at 10 AM. I was allowed to sign up early, but we got an adrenaline rush signing up the Ryno Kennel Team #2 run by Maliko. The huge surge of mushers attempting to click the Submit button overwhelmed the server, causing the CB website to crash. A few emails and phone calls later, and Maliko made the list! Thanks to all the CB volunteers who worked hard to fix the problem and document sign ups.

The Tustumena 200 tried a different technique, allowing the top 15 Iditarod finishers from 2015 to sign up first, then everyone else signed up between 8 AM and 5 PM last Friday. A drawing was held on Saturday night for the starting order. Spoiler alert- Ryno Kennel will be starting #28! I've never raced the Tustumena before due to its proximity to the Yukon Quest (it starts the weekend before), and the race has been cancelled the last two years due to lack of snow on the Kenai Peninsula. Fingers crossed it will run this year!

So what is the 2015-2016 Race Schedule?

December 5th- Alpine Creek Excursion Race (55 miles): Ryne and Maliko

January 9th- Copper Basin 300: Ryne and Maliko

January 23rd- Two Rivers 100: Maliko

January 30th- Tustumena 200: Ryne

February 6th- Quest 300: Ryne and Maliko

March 5th- Iditarod Sled Dog Race: Ryne

**The race schedule is subject to change based on weather, trail, and above all, the well-being of the athletes.

 

 

 

Fall is Back

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We enjoyed a week of "pre-winter," but after a couple sloppy days of rain, the sun is out and it's back to fall. Here are a few shots from our gorgeous run this morning! Click on the pictures to see the names of the athletes in the photos.

Narnia?

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As predicted, Interior Alaska was blanketed with snow over the course of the past day and a half. For mushers and snow enthusiasts, this was cause for celebration! Significant snow in September- how exciting!

This is a picture of my driveway this morning. The thick, wet snow caused the brush and trees to topple and bend, blocking roadways and bringing down power lines. Currently, over 15,000 citizens in the Fairbanks area are without power, but you won't hear any complaining from Ryno Kennel!
 

Sleds in September

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We received over 5 inches of snow on Friday, which is just enough to take Earl, Chagga, and Frosty on a mail run to Pleasant Valley Store! Derek is going to have so much fun with this little team on his trapline. Looking forward to the Winter Storm headed our way TONIGHT! A forecast of 5-8 inches!

*Given the very small amount of snow, the rest of the dogs are still training with an ATV. Fingers crossed for more snow!
 

Iron Creek Turnaround

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This is a short video of one of the turnaround sections of trail in the Two Rivers trail system that I really enjoy. Even though the trail is only maybe 1/4 of a mile long, I love how it winds through dense brush, then large white spruce, then magically pops out in Iron Creek (a creek which each musher calls by their own invented name). On warm days, we take a long break in the creek. Most dogs tromp around in the water and take a drink, but there's a few who totally submerge themselves (Supai, Derby, and Charley). I can imagine how refreshing it must be!

All the dogs are still training together, and the yearlings and oldies haven't been separated just yet. To run every dog in the kennel, I take out two large teams of 15 dogs. I typically prefer to take slightly smaller teams, but with the warmer weather, it's advantageous to have all the dogs run by 10 AM in the morning. As mentioned in prior posts, there have been a few new leaders emerging in the mix- Eider, Coot, and...Lefty! Lefty has recently been taking his turn in lead and DOMINATING. Lead Dog Lefty does have a nice ring to it.

Colors and Puppies

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Fall has lasted longer than expected this September with the golden leaves hanging on for over three weeks. The past week has been a reminder of the two years I spent in Seattle with drizzly, wet, grey weather socking in Two Rivers; however, when the clouds break, it is beautiful!

Below are a couple pictures of the new boys joining the Card Games to complete the 2015 Puppy Class- Wingman and Crunch. These two boys are out of Neptune (sister to Ham and Niagra and daughter to Fire) and Koyuk (one of Matt Hall's core dogs with siblings in both Matt's and Martin Buser's Team). We're very excited to have these two joining the ranks of Ryno Kennel! More pictures and info to come!

Wingman

From top to bottom- Wingman, Crunch