Christmas: Break time for dogs and people alike

After 3 long months of hard training, the dogs and I have both earned a week off to rest and think about what lays ahead for us. I head home to Minnesota on Tuesday for a week to visit family before I come back for the 2 month plunge to the big race. Training has been going spectacularly even though there is yet to be a significant snow fall this season. The ground is covered with only a few inch blanket, but this is not stopping us from getting the job done.
I just got back from a 4 day, 160 mile trip with my puppies on the Denali Highway. There are some things that a person simply cannot describe to another; it just must be experienced. Many of these happened to me on this trip, but I will try my best to describe them. We saw hundreds of caribou every day, often many of them within a hundred yards or less. We also saw dozens of moose, which on a different occasion might make us nervous, but this time only provided us with a splendor to gaze at. Northern lights danced over our heads on Thursday night in colors of purple, blue, green, and red. A fellow from Missouri joined Jeff and I on the trip, and he remarked “I know you guys are probably bored by this, but I think it’s just the coolest thing.” We don’t get bored with the northern lights… ever! I think they are just as spectacular now as when I first saw them in their full show in Alaska.
The best part of the trip, however, was the time spent with the dogs. This is where true bonding occurs between myself and my companions. I spend every second with them, for the good or the bad. I bring them in the tent with me, and they even get to sleep on the bed from time to time! We are out there together, and need each other to get back to where we are going.
This is all for now, until I get back from my week break in MN. As always, feel free to email with any comments or questions!

Today Show links

If you were interested in watching the clip about Jeff King that was shown on the Today Show and NBC Nightly News, the links are as follows:
http://dailynightly.msnbc.com/2006/12/living_like_the.html#belowfold
http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=6be6d804-

Enjoy!

Living in the tropics

It seems that the Alaska weather Gods have a hard time making up their minds. A few weeks ago the temperature was hovering well below zero for days on end; now, the mercury is having a hard time getting lower than 25 degrees. That is a temperature difference of over 60 degrees from two weeks ago! Usually warmer weather will bring precipitation in the form of snow, but this has not been the case recently. We still only have mere inches on the ground, and it doesn’t look promising anytime in the near future.
The lack of snow and the warm temperatures, however, are not influencing our training are in fact helping more than anything. These temperatures are much easier on the dogs than -30, even though overheating can become an issue when temperatures reach freezing. Furthermore, we are still running large teams in front of the truck.
I find myself out at camp on the Denali Highway at least a couple nights a week, and often times more. Camping out with the dogs is like going to deer hunting camp in the fall with all your buds. There are no distractions and you can concentrate on what the task is at hand. Out at camp I am with my 20 best friends and can concentrate on learning more about them and what they need. We have routinely been doing runs of 40 miles recently, and they are looking fantastic.
Teams that are training to win the Iditarod will train at speeds around 10-11 mph; however, since I have a young team I am running between 8-9 mph. It’s not very fast by any means, but the dogs stay happy and it allows a lot of time to look at the scenery! This means that a 40 mile run typically will take me between 5 and 6 hours.
I have two weeks until I come home for a week for Christmas, and I will be getting in as many miles as possible between then and now. I got back yesterday from camp and will be heading out tomorrow for another couple days. As always, email me with any comments or questions. My email address is fsjjw15@uaf.edu. Stay in touch and think snow!