Even though it's hard to accept that the snow won't return for several months, and it's time to hang up the harnesses, summer has one saving grace- PUPPIES! Last night, Perm gave birth to six, big healthy puppies! There are three males (two black and one with Perm's coloration) and three females (two black and one white). We're so excited to welcome these little pups into Ryno Kennel, and can't wait to watch them grow! Future champions in the making!
At some point in each canine athlete's life, it comes time to retire. Sometimes it's at ten or twelve-years-old, and other times, like in the case of Amy, it's at the early age of three. Amy has left Ryno Kennel to go and live with close family friends in Arizona. You can tell from the photo- she's quite happy with her new "profession" as couch potato!
Eider is far from ready to hang up his harness, so he has joined a small kennel in Two Rivers to help our friend Tara and her daughter to accomplish all their mushing goals. Tara and family have a smaller kennel, so Eider is getting lots of special one-on-one attention as well as regular free runs this spring!
The temps are warm and all the snow is gone, but we can still hit the trails in the morning if we leave early enough! Hard to beat the big pup smiles! That's Coot and Wombat (top right), Yuker (bottom left), Wingman (bottom center), and Ewok (bottom right).
After the winter storm, all our trails had been completely obliterated by the heavy, wet snow, so on the first sunny day all week, I decided to take the snowmachine out to break open some trails before guests arrived. Snowmachines and I have a rough history given that they tend to not start, break down, or get stuck and leave me to walk back home, cursing and berating the untrustworthy iron dog. Due to this, I normally just stick to dog power. This particular day, I opted for the snowmachine, and told Maliko to come rescue me with the dogs if I’m not back in a couple hours. Sure enough, I managed to get the machine stuck in knee-deep overflow just a mile out of camp. Since I was still within sight of camp, I hollered and waved my arms until Maliko took notice and came to the rescue. She hooked up a ten dog team and slowly slogged her way through the deep snow. We attached the ten dogs to the snowmachine, but as the dogs hit their harnesses with all their strength, it didn’t budge an inch. Ok Plan B.
We mushed back to camp, and I looked at all 25 happy excited dogs, begging to have a go at pulling the snowmachine out, screaming “Pick me, pick me!” So I said to Maliko, “Let’s take everybody.” My theory- hook up 18 dogs by their necklines, 6 by their tuglines, and 1 free running because I couldn’t leave one dog at camp by themselves. That’d just be mean. Maliko was immediately skeptical (rightfully so), but I figured we could hook everyone (except for six dogs) up by their necklines until we reached the snowmachine, then attach the tuglines. This should be enough of a handicap right? Wrong. We tied off the sled to the cable drop chains screwed into the lake ice, and as we were hooking up the last dog- POP! From my vantage point in the middle of the team, I remember seeing Maliko clinging to the side of the sled, dragging as a freight train of 24 dogs bulldozed their way past me. I launched for the sled, holding the stanchion just above Maliko until I realized that not only did I not have a firm grip, but I was pulling Maliko off with me, so I let go. Leaping up from the ground, I watched Maliko boldly hold on, getting whitewashed through the fresh powder for about 1/2 mile around the lake. She righted the sled, looked back at me running as fast as I could (which was painfully slow in the deep snow), and laughed.
Side note- normally, almost losing a dog team is no laughing matter. In fact I get very angry when people joke about losing their team. Dogs can be seriously injured when no one is controlling the sled, but in this instance, had we lost the team, they would have dutifully run the one mile around the lake to the machine where they would have balled up in overflow. The snow was too deep for them to have busted out on their own across the open country.
Once I finally made it to Maliko and the 24 dog team (25 if you count Katy Canine running loose in front), we looped them around the snowmachine, tied them off, gave the signal and out came the machine. Looking back, we probably only needed 16-18 dogs to get the job done, but where’s the fun in that? And now Maliko can say she single-handedly drove, and partially was drug, by a 24 dog team. And that’s the story.
I apologize for the radio silence recently, but we’ve been out tromping around in the gorgeous Alaska Range for the past month! This spring for the first time, we offered week-long mushing trips in the heart of the Alaska Range. Not only was this a way for me to postpone going back to real life and continue to spend time in the wilderness with the dogs, but it was a great way to share the thrill of dog mushing with people who would prefer not to have 30 Alaskan Huskies living in their backyard (understandably).
Like any new endeavor, we had some exceptional times and some not so exceptional times. Due to a winter storm, the first group was unable to fly into base camp. For several days, Maliko and I hunkered down in our arctic oven waiting for the strong winds and heavy, wet snowfall to let up. It was as if we lived in a cloud. We were plagued by overflow and cement-like snow that kept both snowmachines and dog teams from covering much ground. We became so frustrated with the snowmachine that we wrote a children’s story about the snowgo that couldn’t go in the snow. It rhymes and everything. I’ll share it with you sometime. Combining that with the avalanches all around us, and we didn’t venture too far from base camp.
Tessa and team
Wombat trying to be a lap dog.
Luckily, our patience was rewarded and the next two weeks were INCREDIBLE. Stunning views, bright sunlight that burned my face, gorgeous sunsets and sunrises, and northern lights- it was paradise. Nearby, a family of beavers worked diligently climbing the hillside for willows then playfully sliding down with their branches. A curious fox visited the camp several times. We crossed otter tracks, wolf tracks, and bear tracks. The world was coming alive around us with the warming temperatures, and we were so privileged to be a part of it.
These incredible adventures required the help of lots of people, so a big thank you to Maliko, Tessa, Derek, Andy, Mike, Brian, Jeff, and Evan for making this an experience I’ll always remember. If you’re interested in participating in a week-long adventure next spring, send me an email at ryneolson@gmail.com.
Sunbathing pups
Fez and Brant cuddling up.
Maliko and team
With Iditarod still fresh in our minds, we're headed out for three weeks of expeditions! Following the expeditions, I'll be posting a complete recap of the Iditarod, but in the meantime, check out the Ryno Kennel Facebook Page for short Iditarod videos that are scheduled to be regularly uploaded.
Ryno Kennel Facebook Page Link
You do not need a Facebook account to view the page and watch the videos. Over the last couple days, we've uploaded a video from the coast near Shaktoolik as well as a clip from the famous Dalzell Gorge. Enjoy! And I promise to write a more complete report upon our return from the expeditions. As John Muir said, "The mountains are calling and I must go."
Good morning Ryno Kennel fans! 11 Days, 13 hours, 31 minutes, 41 seconds later and Ryne Olson and her fantastic Ryno Kennel athletes are in to Nome! Ryne came in at 4:31 AM with ten happy, waggy, sassy dogs. We are so proud of Ryne, and the Ryno Kennel athletes: Goblin, Jana, Lefty, Drummer, Coot, Fenton, Rucu, Supai, Katy and Cartel!
Ryne has many tails from the trail to tell, but I’m going to keep this post short and sweet. She’ll be back in blogging form in no time to share her amazing experiences with all of you.
Thank you Ryno Kennel fans for all your love, support and positive vibes! We count ourselves lucky to have you following us along. That’s all for now folks, tune in later for more from Ryne and her happy huskies!
Good evening Ryno Kennel fans! I know you’re all sitting at your computers and mobile devices anxiously awaiting news on your favorite musher. Ryne left White Mountain a little after 8 PM. The musher standings have not updated yet, so I’m not sure if she still has ten dogs, but judging from how well she’s been moving, I think its safe to say she’ll be coming into Nome tomorrow morning with ten happy, sassy Ryno Kennel pups!
Ryne’s run from White Mountain into Nome will take her along the coast and many of these coastal runs are notorious for being windy and difficult due to the bare sea ice. Luckily for Ryne – and Kristin, who she’s been running closely with – it looks like smooth sailing all the way into Nome.
We’re expecting Ryne to come in between 4 and 5 AM, and we’ll all be waiting to welcome her and the dogs at the burled arch here in Nome. That’s all for now Ryno Kennel fans, stay tuned for more updates from the finish line of the 2016 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race!
Good morning Ryno Kennel fans! I want to thank Katy Olson (Ryne’s mama) for doing a great post for us last night to keep us updated on Ryne’s progress down the trail, thank you Katy! I apologize for the lack of blog posts recently, but I’ve finally found some fast internet and can keep you all up to date on Ryne as she heads down the trail!
Ryne left Elim this morning at 6:18 AM and is less than twenty miles from White Mountain and her eight hour rest before the last seventy seven miles to Nome. She’s hittin’ the home stretch, and we’ve all got ants in our pants waiting for her and our Ryno Kennel athletes to make it under the burled arch!
As far as I can tell from the tracker, the dogs must be feeling awesome! They’ve been cruising along at nine and ten mph, just eating up the trail. I’m not sure who the last dog she dropped in Shaktoolik is, and I’ve since found out that whoever it is will not come to Nome, but go all the way to Anchorage. So, as soon as I find out from the Authiers, I’ll let all you wonderful Ryno Kennel fans know.
Now, I’m not that great at math, so bear with me Ryno Kennel fans. Looking at the tracker, and how fast Ryne’s going, I expect she’ll be into White Mountain at about 12:30 PM or 1 PM. That puts her leaving her eight hour mandatory rest in White Mountain at around 9 PM. If she doesn’t stop along the trail to give the dogs a rest, she should be getting into Nome at 6 AM or 7 AM Friday morning. If she does decide to stop, she should be getting in between 10 AM and noon, depending on how long she camps on the trail. My guess is she won’t camp since it’ll be the home stretch into Nome, but it all depends on our athletes and how they’re looking.
That’s all for now folks! I’ll try and do an update tonight to give you a better sense of when Ryne will be making it into Nome, but if not, check back in the morning for more news on Ryne and her happy huskies!
Maliko and Tessa are in Nome waiting the arrival of Ryne and her amazing pups (and with poor internet service and no fast data on the phone, we won't get to enjoy the informative, exciting posts Maliko has provided,but she was able to call with a few updates.)
Ryne arrived in Koyuk at 11:20 AM today with ten pups after her continued travel with Kristen Pace of Hey Moose Kennel. Anticipated arrival into Nome is late Friday night or early Saturday
.Dropped dogs: Kindi traveled home to Two Rivers the first of the week, while Belle, CJ, Niagra, and Perm, have all arrived in Anchorage and are all enjoying lazing in the sun at the home of Brad and Erin Authier.
If dropped dogs are not picked up immediately at the Iditarod headquarters at the Millinium hotel in Anchorage, they are held at a women's prison just outside of Anchorage.
Perm with the coat on, Belle, Niagra, and CJ at the back enjoying each other's company at the Authiers.
Ryne also dropped a dog in Shatoolik, so she is running 10 dogs who seem to be averaging a pretty good pace. Into Koyuk a blistering 9.01 mph. ( Maliko is visiting the Nome yard today to see if she can find out who has been dropped the last half of this race.)
Also, we found an update posted yesterday on the insider that mentioned Ryne's use of massage therapy for the pups and talk of the incredible aurora that night: Eye on the Trail: Tuesday First Light in Unk
http://iditarod.com/eye-on-the-trail-tuesday-first-light-in-unk/
That is all for this post. Please keep sending those good vibes and help us cheer Ryne and the pups down the trail.
Good morning Ryno Kennel fans! Ryne has come and gone from Nulato, arriving at 11:30 PM last night and heading out at 7:03 AM this morning. Judging from her times in and out of checkpoints and on the trail, it looks like she’s giving the dogs a lot of rest. This could mean a couple things. She could be either opting to give her young team a lot of rest, staying longer to make sure she travels with a group or both.
Running a 1,000 mile race is not just about physical stamina, but mental as well. As I mentioned in an earlier post, as much as we’d love to, we can’t just have a chat with the dogs and let them know how many more miles they’ve got left to the finish line. This means that even though they may be physically capable of the task we put before them, mentally they may have a little more trouble. So, extra rest, lots of food and good massages will go a long way towards helping to keep a strong head on our dogs. This is also where all the miles of training we’ve put in with these guys will help as well. Our training miles aren’t just about physical stamina, but also about creating the bond between musher and team that is imbued with love and trust.
Ryne has just one more checkpoint along the Yukon River before she heads towards Unalakleet and the coast. From there she’ll have a little over 200 miles before she and her team make it to the burled arch!
That’s all for now Ryno Kennel fans. Tomorrow Tessa and I will be headed to Nome to prep for Ryne’s arrival, and Derek will follow soon after. I’m unlikely to be able to do an entire blog post until tomorrow afternoon, or evening, but will try and keep you all posted as much as I can. Keep sending those good vibes, and check back tomorrow for more news on Ryne and her happy huskies!
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.
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