Day 2 Training in Dubois

We had our 2nd day of training in Dubois today and the weather was awesome!  It made for a picture perfect day so check out the gallery of photos.  The training lot was full today with our team, Anderson’s teams, Gilbertson’s teams, Swingley’s and the Phillips.  Bruce ran both teams today as I decided the team needed to open up and I was unwilling to do that on the trail from hell.  I felt much better after I learned that other mushers were on the same page as me.  Bruce was the first one down the trail today and it was slick.  He took a spill in the hairy section, but recovered without any issues.  The 2nd team had no issues.  Both teams managed the 15 miles in about 1 1/4 hours, which is a good time for 8-9 dogs to manage this trail.  The trail has a 1/2 hour climb in the beginning to about 9000 feet and then comes out into a vast open area, which is chillingly cold and can have horrible visibilty during bad weather.   After the clearing you get to a series of very steep steps that will literally take your breath away and challenge your sled skills.  Everyone mentioned how slick the trail was today.  When it’s slick you must do everything humanly possible to slow that team down becuase the brakes and pads are useless.  Many teams drove the trail backwards preferring to climb the steps and avoid having to descend them.  This makes descending them even more interesting when there are teams on their way up.  Bruce saw the Swingley’s and the Phillips on their way up as he was coming down – thankfully there were no issues.    There was lots of excitement in the parking lot however.  First, Anna’s team broke loose and then got into a tangle as the front end tried to come back to visit some girls in heat.  Those horny boys gave her a boatload of issues as she tried to get down the trail not making for a great run.  As Charlie Laboda was waiting for JR to leave who was waiting for Anna to get things sorted out, his team broke loose and he made a dive for the sled.  His wheel dog then pulled out from his collar and got caught under the sled.  I was able to pull him out as Charlie struggled to hold the team and then they were off.  Whew……..it made for some exciting take offs!!