Well, I am going to recap our sled dog season. Overall, I, Carlleen made it to 4 races total. Two dryland races and 2 snow races. Katie made it to 1 dryland race and 3 snow races. After mixing teams up, we found the perfect combinations to finish out the season. I am mighty proud of all we have done, and hope that Katie and her siblings can continue it next year. Now, I say Katie and her siblings because next year I am heading off to Boise State to continue my education. I graduate this year, and will be leaving WI in August to head out west. I wish all musher's here a farewell and I hope to continue mushing in college but that may be tough to do. I know my cousins have big dreams and goals, and I hope they can follow through and make them happen! So, good-bye 2014 season. I will be posting results, catching everyone up on each races (sorry about not finishing Kalkaska yet, I am slacking) and showing off what the dogs can do once season is done. Please enjoy the recap pictures of us from this season!! “Beginnings are usually scary and endings are usually sad, but it’s the middle that counts. You have to remember this when you find yourself at the beginning.” ~ Sandra Bullock
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So, in school I had to make a magazine cover for a magazine. I chose to make one related to sled dogs, because you had to incorporate a picture that you had taken. Now, I had taken my own photos at Kalkaska, and this project took place right after I can came back, so I thought it would be a perfect opportunity. Here is what I came up with. I thought I would just give everyone a rest from reading my posts about Kalkaska, and let you guys look at the pictures that my mom and I took when we went to MI. These are not all the photos, some where left out. I think you get what we where up too, and how much fun we had on the trip too.
Friday, day 1 one the races. Kalkaska was a 3 day race, meaning we would have to run 3 days with the same dogs. Now, my dogs and the team have never ran in a 3 day race before, and we hadn't practice much for a 3 day race. I wasn't expecting my dogs to win. No, rather I was expecting them to get along, do the best they could, and try their hardest. For the skijor race, I was focused on getting Cinnamon to do her best, and I to work on my form. For the 6 dog class, the main goal was for all the dogs to get along without any tension and to try to place in the top 5 if possible. So we started off with the skijor class. I was the last one to go out, at 10:07 am. It was a hour later than I was scheduled to go out because the trail help went out to groom the trails so we had a hard pack trail while we were running, instead of soft fluffy stuff. So, at our scheduled time, with the help of 2 Trailblazer members, I went out. Cinnamon and Chipmunk did awesome that day!! Chipmunk kept trucking along even though Cinnamon wasn't doing all that well. We stopped 5 times for Cinnamon to use the bathroom and twice because of me, the musher. Our overall time was 00:53:17.16, so even though we almost took a hour, I was very proud of them. I knew there was room for improvement the next 2 days, so I wasn't too worried about them at all. The next event was 6 dog sport. Now, I wasn't too sure how the trail was going to be or what it looked like, so I had to have a reliable leader. The order of my team was Panda and Cloud in lead, Sam and Rocket in Point and Racer and Dingo in wheel position. The whole time we were on the trail, we had a fast trot going. The only time we weren't trotting was on the hills and I had about 5-6 of them to go down on. I didn't expect us to go at a fast pace or flat out sprinting, Panda, Cloud, and Sam all came from a mid-distance kennel. It would be a long time before they would convert into sprint racers. Our time for 6 dog was 00:46:09.44, and I was proud of that too. So, while the first day I was sitting in dead last for both events, I was mighty proud of my team. They worked hard and we had room for improvements the next 2 days. The trail was beautiful, I couldn't have asked for a better race. Now that I am actually back from Kalkaska Winterfest (I was gone for 5 days, left Thursday morning and came back Monday night) I am able to blog and write about it. I will tell you about each day by day, for the race was actually a 3 day race. This was my first 3 day race ever, and my first winter race of the season. I was entered in 2 classes, 2 dog ski and 6 dog sport. I wasn't expecting a win from the dogs, rather more of time improvements instead. I had personal goals though, to try to place in the top 5 for 6 dog sport and to have Cinnamon improve and feel comfortable racing. We left Thursday morning around 8:30 am. I went to my first hour class because that was not a class I wanted to miss more than 2 days for. We hit the road with 8 dogs in the back of a suburban and a sled on top. The drive was going to be about 6 hours plus a little more because we had bathroom breaks to take and stop for. By the time we actually got to Kalkaska, Mi it was about 15 minutes before the driver's meeting. My mom and I dropped dogs really quick, and then I ran inside so I didn't miss the driver's meeting. During the driver's meeting, I caught up with my mushing family and received my race bibs. I was going to go out 2nd to last in both classes. I was glad, because I wasn't going to have to be passed by the faster mushers, and that was good. I also found out the race was to start at 10 Friday instead of 9 because of all the snow they had been receiving and the trail needed to be re groomed. The way it was snowing, they had that continuously for about 52 days. Can you believe that? I don't think there was a day it didn't snow while I was up there. A After the driver's meeting, my mom and I went to go find a hotel. Our hotel was 3 blocks away from where we were staying, so that was good. It meant we could sleep in a bit more and not have to waste gas getting to the race site. After feeding the dogs (it was about 10 or so) my mom and I hit the bed and fell asleep. We were good until 6 am the next morning. More on Friday, day 2 of the trip tomorrow... |
AuthorA young women attempting to navigate the world. She is guided by her love and passion for dogs. Archives
April 2020
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