7:30 am. 2 degrees.

Another chilly morning. We are now getting into the rhythm of working together. Harnesses were laid out, four wheelers set up, baited water dished around and dogs ready to go. I was on the last team and had a couple of young females that were more interested in stirring up trouble than pulling. Pinto, a tiny dog with tons of spunk started quibbling with Joon. Joon tried to ignore her and I finally moved Pinto up a slot to run next to Admiral. Annie and Joon ran well together, Annie preferring to run on the right side and same with Pinto and Admiral. Everytime I would get Admiral running on the left, we had to stop for a minute and he would jump back to the right side of the line running with Pinto pushing up against him. I think he liked it, but it wasn’t that productive for the team, so had to keep getting them sorted out. Towards the end of the trip, my lead dogs, Cobra and Axel decided to stop short to scent something and so had a minimal tangle that wasn’t too terrible to sort out. I got them going again and we made it back without any further problems.

After getting the first set of teams put away, we harnassed the old timers with a few puppies for strength and set out on a short loop that isn’t as challenging. I could fell them already getting stronger and didn’t have to use the gas as much. Alma Rose and Wes ran together and are making a cute couple, although he’s old enough to be her grandfather. Got back, food was dished out, we put dogs away and I was off to my next job.