Busy Summer

/

Cartel and Crunch in harness.

And just like that, it's July 31st. Tomorrow begins another August in Alaska where the nights start to have darkness, the air seems a little more breezy, and the cold chill on a rainy morning smells of the coming winter.  I'm getting jittery just thinking about it. Even though the summer has flown by, winter can't come fast enough. The dogs have enjoyed a long relaxing summer and are starting to get antsy (and slightly destructive by digging holes and chewing on their houses).  We're ready.

When the temperatures permit, we've taken teams out on short runs, trying new dogs in lead and teaching manners. Some of the upcoming yearlings are already showing leader potential including Wingman, Crunch, Ewok, Yuker, and Gringa. Gringa was dynamite up in lead, and she's only 10 months old! Several of the newly turned three-year-olds look stronger than ever. I have a feeling it will be a real challenge to pick the "A" Team this year! 

Yuker, Crunch and Cartel playing in the Chena River.

The puppies have been growing so fast, there is a noticeable change every day! "Flash" Flood joined the African Litter from Jeff King's Husky Homestead to make up a total puppy class of six. There are a couple more puppy recruits in the works, so I'll be sure to keep everyone posted.

Nessie- Nessie is very affectionate and confident. She's happy playing with her siblings, resting in your lap, exploring by herself, or doing just about anything. She looks just like Perm except white.

Nile- Nile is a handsome, leggy pup who reminds me of his older brother Yuker. They have a similar coloration and sweet, but cocky, attitude. He devours food faster than his siblings, so it's not uncommon to see him with a potbelly.

Badger- Badger has a very distinct face and coloration, so he's often picked as a favorite by visitors. He instinctively heels on puppy walks and rushes up to any new friendly face. He's quite the social butterfly.

King Louie- Although Louie is one of the biggest, he's the most reserved and occasionally timid. He does love people but prefers that his siblings check out the situation first. Some might call him smart.

Nala- Nala is in-your-face crazy. She's always jumping up for extra attention and is the first to come running whenever I call "pup, pup, pup." She has boundless non-stop energy.

Flash- Flash looks houndy like her mom, Zig. She has one blue eye and one 1/2 blue 1/2 brown eye giving her a very unique look. She loves to play in water and spends the most time in the kiddy pool out of all the puppies. She's playful and sassy.

Nessie relaxing in the woods.

Puppies helping me pick blueberries.

While unrelated to dog mushing and Ryno Kennel, I have to share a picture of my very first King Salmon. Allen has gone down to the Kenai River for the past 25 years to fish for Red and King Salmon, and this year, I got to tag along. I'm told King is not quite as tasty as the smaller Reds, but the 15+ hours we put in to catch this one 40 lb King was totally worth it. Allen's record is a 74 lbs King. Can you imagine?!

First ever King Salmon!

It's Getting Darker!

/

And just like that, Solstice came and went, which means....it's getting darker! Granted, it has yet to actually be dark, but since the solstice, we have lost two minutes of day length! This time of year, it never gets dark in Fairbanks, but the sun does drop below the horizon for a couple hours. The length of day on the solstice was 21 hours 51 minutes and 1 second. Today it's only 21 hours 49 minutes and 1 second. We're getting closer to winter!

Of course, we can't just sit around waiting for snow and darkness. We might as well enjoy the glorious Alaskan summers. Here are a few pictures from our outings.

Teamwork!

Nessie

King Louie and Nala

Rainy Day Runs

/

Nile, King Louie, Nala, Badger, and Nessa

"I know it is wet and the sun is not sunny, but we can have lots of good fun that is funny." - Dr. Seuss

Most of the summer, the athletes at Ryno Kennel lounge the days away, soaking up the sun and enjoying the occasional free run. However, some days when the rain pours and the temperatures drop to the 40s and 50s (when any normal person curses summers in Alaska), we rejoice! It's time to RUN!! Last weekend, we had incredible weather of heavy rains and brisk morning temperatures, so everyone had a chance to stretch their legs. As you can see from the videos, they were pretty excited about it. The only adults that didn't run were Perm (she has puppies) and Boone (we're just being extra careful about her wrist from this winter- tendons take a looong time to heal). Chagga and Earl are down at summer camp in Juneau with Maliko. They will be back to start training in early September.

Can you spot your favorite dog?

Team 1- Ham and Lefty, Coot and Derby, Niagra, Ewok and Supai, Fish, Wingman and Crunch.

Team 2- Katy and Jana, Brant and Drummer, Blitz and Wombat, Kindi and Uno, Gringa and Yuker, Rucu

Team 3- Fire and Cartel, Teflon, Fez and CJ, Fenton and Belle, Sally and Frosty, Drake

Ready to Run....or Waddle

/

While I have been regularly updating the Ryno Kennel Facebook page with puppy pictures, I realize I have withheld these adorable shots from puppy lovers who do not check Facebook! Here is a little video of the puppies as well as a few individual shots.

Solo

Who is the daddy?

SOLO is Kristin and Andy Pace's main leader at Hey Moose! Kennel. In both the 2015 Yukon Quest and 2016 Iditarod, I ran near Kristin and her stellar team, watching as Solo often single-led down the trail. His lineage traces back to older King lines, and interestingly, share many similarities with Fire! As part of our arrangement, one puppy will be joining Hey Moose! Kennel at about eight weeks old, but I'll be sure to keep you posted.

4 Weeks Pupdate- The pups are continually growing, maturing, and changing, but here's a little insight into their current personalities.

Nessie (white female)- She is the bravest female. She's very independent and prefers to romp around on her own than play with others.

Oryx (smaller black female)- Oryx is the smallest pup right now (not that it means anything...they're all huge!). She is sassy. She's always pouncing on her brothers and chewing on toes.

Nala (larger black female)- Nala is mellow and loves to just waddle around checking out her new surroundings. That being said, if her brothers try and show any dominance, she's quick to remind them that she's not one to mess with.

Badger (grey male)- Badger is a WHINER. He's always making noise and is currently the most timid. He's most comfortable cuddled up against you and napping in the grass.

Nile (dark grey male)- Of all the puppies in the litter, Nile is the most fearless. He's the first to come out of the house, chase after babysitters Stormy and Jezzy, or torment his siblings.

King Louie (black male)- King Louie is, at this particular moment, a fat lug. He waddles around and just body bumps his siblings, knocking them off balance. That being said, he's a big cuddle bug.

King Louie looking regal.

Nessie trying her best to wink.

Nile- can you put your foot in your mouth?

Lovely Oryx

Handsome Badger

Meet the African Litter

/

Time for introductions! Perm has been an exceptional mother to these six big chunkers: Badger, Nile, King Louie, Vanessa "Nessie," Oryx, and Nala. Each day they are becoming more and more curious and adventurous. Stay tuned for more pictures or checkout our Facebook page!

From left to right- Vanessa "Nessie", Oryx, and Nala

From left to right- Badger, Nile, and King Louie

From left to right- Vanessa "Nessie", Oryx, Badger, Nala, Nile, and King Louie.

Happy Mother's Day

/

To My Mother- who instilled within me a need for adventure and has always supported me in any crazy endeavor that comes to mind. Braving record rains, -50F temperatures, snow, dark nights, or mountains of dog poop, Katy Human has thrown herself into the mushing life even when others question my sanity. Happy Mother's Day Mom- I love you!

To Scooter- who was the first Mama at Ryno Kennel and blessed us with the goofy, fun-loving, tail-wagging Ecuadorians (Kindi, Rucu, Supai). She instilled within her pups her "go get 'em" attitude, dopey happiness, and love of food. Happy Mother's Day Scooter!

To Nutmeg- whose offspring are the sassy, friendly, hug-loving Ducks of Brant, Coot, Drake, and Eider as well as Champ and Cayenne at SP Kennel. Nutmeg passed on the "Spice Girl" love and affection traits famous of her sisters (Spicy and Rose) with a touch of her own attitude and determination. Happy Mother's Day Nutmeg!

To Puppet- whose offspring are Fenton and the Outlaws (Fenton, "Belle" Starr, Calamity Jane "CJ", and Lefty). Her pups share her stunning good looks, fast pace, and quirky attitudes that one can't help but love. Happy Mother's Day Puppet!

To Perm- who is now the mother of two litters at Ryno Kennel: the Card Games (Yuker, Blitz, Fish, and Uno) and the African Litter. Her pups share her affectionate personality as well as her high-pitched, sassy bark that can be heard throughout the state of Alaska. She's instilled in each pup a confidence that borders on arrogance. Happy Mother's Day Perm!

Puppies!

/

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!

Amy and Eider Retire

/

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 Time We Drove a 24 Dog Team

/

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.

Alaska Range Adventures

/

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