After a long summer and a season without races, the dogs and I made it out to our first mushing event since, well, last year's campout. It's a fairly long trip east, through the entirety of New York and Vermont into New Hampshire. From the amount of gear I packed, you'd think we were about spend months on the road, but we were only gone for the weekend. That's just how it goes when you're camping with ten sled dogs.
We left on Friday in the late morning, since the campground wouldn't be ready for us until 3 PM. My plan was to load eight dogs in their boxes on the truck, and have Dexter and Atlas ride in the cab with me. Dexter is too old to maneuver in and out of the dog boxes, and while I did try to lure Atlas into a box, he's not quite ready for it yet. I also didn't want his first box trip to be 6+ hours. I did not anticipate Sagan going full starfish when I tried to put her into a box. She had no problem riding in the dog box all of last season, so this was a frustrating new development. I ended up piling her into the cab with Dex and Atlas, and the three of them awkwardly squished each other the whole ride.
It was over 60ºF when we arrived at Branch Brook campground, so we couldn't hit the trails right away. I used the last of the daylight to set up camp with my sleeping tent, a potty tent (the bathrooms at this campground are far), table, and chair. I cooked dinner (can o' soup) over my propane stove and fed the dogs their evening meal. The first night was relatively quiet, though a few other teams did appear. Around 9 PM, I got everyone in their boxes for the night—even Sagan, after some coaxing. I set up a crate inside the tent for Atlas (who I'm certain would blast through a tent given the opportunity) and Dex slept beside me on a thick comforter.
I woke up early Saturday morning to crisp temperatures (around 38ºF) and excited dogs. My plan for the day was similar to how we ran last year: two teams of four, practicing commands and passing with other teams. I brought my Fritz Dyck cart, since I need to get used to running it, and because it's smaller and more maneuverable than the ATV (it also can't break down, or run out of gas, etc.). My first run was with Willow and Sagan in lead, Atlas and Laika in wheel. The hardest part was taking off, as the dogs had to maneuver through the open field, past other dog trucks, to the trail. They eventually got the hang of it and they had a great time zipping around the woods—going much faster than they've been on our ATV runs. Atlas ran wonderfully even with all the distractions, and his very first passes with other dog teams were flawless. He's such a good natured guy.
While I had the first team out, Hubble managed to cause some of his usual Hubble-trouble. I had positioned him on the drop line where the trailer meets the truck; a mistake I even considered correcting but it slipped my mind in the chaos of hooking up the first team. Well, as we took off (and likely as other teams passed by), he got fired up and decided to tear into the trailer's wiring. When I got back, I saw that he had bitten clean through. It's a small trailer, and the hookup doesn't control any extra braking elements, but it's of course nice and important to have brake lights and blinkers. Especially for 6+ hour road trips. An unofficial alert went out, and other mushers stopped over to offer their support and advice. Turns out, many folks have dealt with this before (at least it wasn't my brake lines). Even better, a friend's boyfriend happened to have the knowledge and tools to completely fix the wiring for me. The mushing community really does come through. (Thanks Rachel and Chris!)
Back to the mushing. My second team was Hopper and Denali in lead, with Blitz and Hubble in wheel. They also did quite well out on the trail, with some nice passes with other teams and distractions. For the second set of runs, I swapped pairs—Willow/Sagan with Hubble/Blitz and Hopper/Denali with Atlas/Laika. After four runs (two per team) it was around noon and temperatures were a bit too hot for anything more. I ate a sandwich while the dogs were content to nap in the sunshine.
By evening, temperatures had fallen and we got a final set of runs in before dark. I went back to the original team setups (Sagan/Willow with Atlas/Laika, Denali/Hopper with Hubble/Blitz). I could tell the dogs didn't really need this final run, but I wanted to make the most of our time and knew we'd be leaving early the next morning. The first team out ran just fine, but the second team had some troubles. On the final stretch towards camp, the dogs tried to turn into the wrong field (in their defense, we did park there last year). When I got them to turn back to the trail, they had a sloppy head-on pass with a 2-dog bikejor team. No one got hurt, they just slowed down and were a bit too interested in the other dogs. During this little mishap, Denali's harness got twisted. Rather than stop and fix it, I opted to keep them moving as another bikejor team was approaching. They had another sloppy pass, and I could tell they were mentally tired at this point. Eventually, they got their shit together and made it back to our campsite. (Sorry Alison and Megan!) Five flawless runs out of six isn't bad, and even the "bad" run wasn't awful. I'll take it.
Back at camp, I took off everyone's harnesses and fed myself and the dogs by headlamp. The team was tired even though they technically didn't run all that far. Training isn't just about running; it's about traveling and sleeping in the boxes, hanging out on the drop line, watching other teams pass, and so forth. After dinner, the dogs curled up in their spots while I sat by a fire with other mushers.
Sunday morning was a blur of cleaning mud, breaking down frosty gear, and throwing some food into myself and the dogs. I also had ten bags of Inukshuk to drop off with another musher, which helped offset the cost of the pallet I ordered over the summer. Once everything was squared away, and the dogs were nestled back in their boxes (including Sagan), and Dex and Atlas were secured in the cab, we were ready to make the long trek back home.
