Endless Fall Training 2014

   As many of you know, the 2014-2015 season was a very bad snow year for us. But it started out pretty well...great, in fact. Due to the cool summer temperatures, we only took 6 weeks off beginning in June, and the dogs had a great base by September. Harness broken and running with the big dogs were Achilles, Nestor and Odysseus - with Achilles being the super star. They turned a year old in November.
    Because of trail closures, we are no longer able to run very far on the home trails - basically 6 miles is about all we can dog without doubling up trails and adding loops. I managed to squeeze in 10 miles by doing some roads twice, but it got a little dangerous going around the lollipop loops I made in the trees - once or twice we got quite stuck. Because we live on a mountain, it's also very steep and the Greek litter didn't do so hot on those - being young and not as strong as the older dogs.
    Next, we moved to the closest train nearby which is 14 miles. This is a really nice trail because the first 2 miles are relatively flat, and then it goes more steeply up, and then down to the turn around. Then you come back over it all - with the nice flat ending to smooth out the end of the run. The only problem are the moose which are relatively friendly...and hard to spot in all the brush along the river.
    About this time I purchased my first dog truck...at long last, no more trailer for the dogs! Unfortunately, the dog box had to be built, so for a time I had the trailer with the 4-wheeler and the dogs all in crates in the back of the truck. But it worked and, looking back on how I've hauled dogs over the years, it's a good experience for the dogs. They didn't care, so long as we ran!
    One memorable incident, early in training, was that I had just gotten off the highway to go up river to our trail head when I felt something change on the trailer. I pulled over and realized I'd lost the 4-wheeler...my tie down strap had broken and it had rolled off the back. Thankfully, there was little traffic at 5 am and nothing was broken - it stayed on its wheels. But I've been paranoid about losing it since.
    Later, the dog bowls I'd stored in the storage bag on the 4-wheeler blew out (I didn't realize it) and on the way back to run the next time I found them smashed on the road. Fortunately, the lightweight Kipmik bowls are semi-collapsible aluminum and worked just fine once I banged them back into the correct shape!
    It was a very fun season to do exploring, because we were on the 4-wheeler for so long, but I don't like doing 30 mile runs on dirt. Even when there's snow on the ground, it's a long, cold grind for the dogs. But the exploring helped morale for us all - as long as it wasn't too icy, which made for a nervous ride for me!
    The challenge of being on the dirt is the dogs feet. We racked up miles and some of the dogs, especially the hard driving dogs, got worn pads and toes. I bootied them all, but that meant going through a set or more per dog per run...lots of $$$. But it helped immensely, even if they were booted for just part of the run, and with good foot ointment and backing off on the mileage the dogs feet were in great shape again before the snow finally arrived on Christmas Eve (our first sled run).
    Along with the exploring, I also began running at night to mix things up. The dogs loved it and it gave me the opportunity to try out some different headlamps and such. That's the outline of fall training in 2014, now some photos: