A Rookies Journey
December 15, 2005

I just have a very short note this week as I get ready for the Sheep Mountain Lodge 150 (http://www.sheepmountain.com/alaska-sled-dog-race.shtml ) this weekend. Due to the lack of snow in Eagle River last weekend I drove to Sheep Mountain Lodge and trained on the race trail Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. A map of the area can be found at the Eureka Lodge web site (http://www.eurekalodge.com/eurekamap.html ). The race starts at Sheep Mountain lodge and proceeds along the Glenn Hwy to the east side of Gunsight Mountain and works it’s way behind Gunsight lodge to Martin Road (not named on the map, but shown as the first trail going northwest from the Glenn Hwy after Gunsight Mountain. The trail then goes west on Squaw Creek and clockwise around Syncline Mountain and over Balinger Pass, then down to Eureka Lodge. The 50 mile loop from Eureka lodge (the second loop of the race) starts by going east along the Glenn Hwy and then cuts to the Northwest. Despite having run this loop twice I still cannot trace it on the map. The third 50 mile loop is the same as the first 50 but runs counterclockwise around Syncline Mountain. This is beautiful country and it is a shame we will be running much of it at night. I have some great mental pictures of the mountains illuminated by moonlight against the dark black sky.

This isn’t a really tough trail, but it is early in the season before most teams are really in condition and that makes it more challenging. Most of the trail was hard and fast, but some areas on top of the second loop were blown in and the dogs just buckled down and broke through. It wasn’t more than 6 inches of fresh snowdrift, but I was still pleased.
The real order of business is picking the 12 dog race team. They are (in no particular order)

• Bass
• Platinum
• Lycos
• Keiko
• Basil
• Picard
• Rom
• Dukat
• Sisco
• Jewels
• Dash
• Mocha

The dogs that are not making the team are

• 7 of 9
• Balu
• Java
• Dijon
• Belle
• Worf
• Quark

When I started in the fall I assumed that all 19 dogs were making the team and that as time went on I would have to find a reason to drop a dog, rather than justify a dog making the team. In that line let me explain why the 7 dogs are not on the race team. 7 of 9 is one of my favorites and the grandmother of my pups, but she is 8 years old and starting to feel it. As we get longer and faster she is having trouble keeping up and will be retired this year. Actually she will visit Bonnie Foster and join her recreational team this winter so she can continue to run and come back to live in my house when the snow melts (I made Bonnie promise I get her back). Balu has been a backup leader to Bass for 4 years, but is just a little off right now. He could easily make the team, but leaving him off gives Mocha and Dash a chance. The same is true of Belle. Java has been fighting a cold with sinus drainage. He ran the first 60 mile loop on Monday just fine, but threw up 4 times on the second 50 mile loop on Tuesday. He needs to get over his cold and learn not to stress so much. (It’s a darn good thing the dogs don’t get to pick the musher or they would be making the same stress remarks about me). Poor Dijon caught hookworms and really had a tough time the last couple of runs. His is much better now, but needs time to get in shape for a race like this. Finally as we move from 7 or 8 mph speeds on the 4-wheeler to 8 to 12 mph speeds on the sled there are always a few dogs that take more time to make the transition. That is where Worf and Quark are. Worf is a great hard working wheel dog, but right now is having trouble finding a gait that is comfortable and keeps up with the team. Quark is perfectly capable, but mentally lacks the drive to work hard at the faster pace. I fully expect both dogs to get over that as the season progresses.

Well it is after 11 PM Thursday night and we leave for Sheep Mountain Friday by 1PM. I havn’t finished packing yet so I will sign off. Tune in next week to see how we did.
Keep ‘em Northbound
Eric
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