7:00 am. 18 degrees.

Days have been reaching the 40’s and while it’s hard for the dogs to run in the heat, I’m ready for a little sunshine and an end to winter!

Had a tour with Kris where I couldn’t do anything right, but that’s par for the course, so didn’t let it get to me. I think Kris may be a little stressed about spring and the trail not lasting too much longer. A little snow the last two days will hopefully save us. The day after, I had a tour with Stu-bird where the women had been out every year for the last four years, so they knew what they were doing. They had lots of love for the dogs which was nice.

Danny, the cover dog is becoming quite the star. Tourists are taking pictures of him and he’s handling fame well.

I forgot to mention I had a save about a week ago. It was a Superman save, where you drive the snowmobile up to the runaway sled and jump, praying you catch the bar of the moving sled, which I did. You’re then in the position of having your arms on, but your body dragging behind you. The next challenge is climbing up the runners of the sled to a standing position, where hopefully you can stop the sled.

Because the father and daughter had been driving together, there was no weight in the sled, so even with both feet on the brake, pulling up as hard as I could on an uphill, we didn’t stop. The others caught up and all was well. Stu-bird suggested I jump with an anchor to help stopping. I told him I didn’t want to die.

I’m not that coordinated. Jumping and catching the sled is lucky. Jumping with a razor sharp anchor in my hand is tempting fate.

Every year we lose a few good workers at the end of February and into March. B-bear had his knee hurt and now Beagle has left us. He was offered a job in Arizona that he couldn’t turn down. It was sad to see him go, but we had a great party the night before. So now it’s E-bear, Joel, Stu-bird, Kris, Sara and me. Not a lot of people.

The sun’s been shining down at a balmy 38 degrees the last couple of days and could spell disaster for our trail. We need a bit more snow if we’re going to make it into April. It’s been a surprisingly dry, cold winter. Now that spring is here, I’m not sure I want more snow, except that it’s hard on the dogs to run in warm weather.

I revisited the site of the dog sledding fiasco last night. The hill I fell off on was really pretty steep, so I felt a bit better about that. It was a beautiful night with the sun warming me and Alma Rose on the way up and the sun set greeting us on the way down. The views from up there spread out over Routt County and stirred the adventerous part of my soul.

At the kennel, the dogs have been wreaking havoc with the full moon. I was met by three loose dogs the other day, which wasn’t a surprise as soon as I saw the cute blue-eyed female that had pulled out of her collar and was sitting demurely waiting for the gentlemen’s attentions.

I got them all put back, only to have another male run up to me with kisses. His line had caught with another and released him. The last dog ran back to his house from admist the other dogs as soon as he saw baited water coming around.

The tours have been smooth with some great guests who were enthusiastic and respectful of the dogs.

I even got a day to go through and spend some time with each of them like I normally do in the summer.

Little Turbo who had a bit of a bug is back and full of energy. I was scolded at Kris’ house when he had the holiday party that Turbo hadn’t jumped up on anyone in three days except me. We have a special bond, Turbo and I. He’s a sweet little dog!

More to report soon.

7:30 am. varying degrees between -2, 23 adn -14.

Rolex, one of our puppies loves to watch. He climbs up the fence, rests his front paws over and checks out the action in the kennel. He has no interest in jumping over, he just likes to observe.

The thirteenth started out with a warm morning and a little bit of snow. The trail was groomed nicely and the tour went well. Then the winds started to pick up. Sara left to groom and came back in just as the speech was ending. By the time we hooked up dogs and headed out on the trail (about 20 minutes) the trail was already gone.

Wind had blown snow over everything in drifts so high it felt like the snowmobile was riding on the ocean. Snow and ice were pounding down. If it wasn’t for the markers, I would have sunk off trail quickly. By the time we got to our first stop (about ten minutes) my face was covered in a sheet of ice. I wiped it off, got the sleds set and we headed back out.

We did gain some visibility as the tour went on, but the meadow was blown clean as if no one had ever passed through there. It was beautiful, and a hard workout for the dogs traveling through so much soft snow. We kept everyone really slow and bounced ahead trying to lay in a trail for them. Fortunately I’ve been over the trail so many times I have a sense of where it is even when I couldn’t see any tracks.

Heading back into the kennel was another challenge as the snow came back, visibility dropped and our tracks from two hours earlier had long been covered up. We made it in, the drivers were great and the dogs all seemed happy for a rest.

Feb 14, 2010 – I was surrounded by over a hundred of my best friends (the dogs). i had hoped to get out a little early to do some other work for another company. E-bear, Beagle and Stu-bird were on the afternoon tour while I stayed back and fed and cleaned up poop. We got a call that the one snowmobile was stuck, so I flew out to help. By the time I reached them, E-bear had gotten them out. Turns out the meadow was blown in again and E-bear took a right instead of a left at a turn and ended up by the edge of a cliff. He was able to get the snowmobile turned around and back to safety.

Feb 15, 2010. The skies opened up and the sun shone down with -14 degree temperatures. Kris is off in Montana racing and Sara was headed up to Three Forks for a private tour. We got our teams and sleds set up, harnesses laid out when we got the call that the one family that was on a time crunch thought the pick up was a half hour later than it was. We decided to have the dogs harnessed by the time they got there, quick speech and we sent them off on the trail.

The other three teams went out separately. I stayed back and fed, which was relaxing. Am starting to get a cold and have sore throat and fever. So it was nice to take it easy. The tours went well and guests all seemed happy. We celebrated with lunch at Double-Z downtown and then took a long, long nap!

Kris is busy sewing harnesses and organizing things for his trip to Montana. When he gets in, we re-organize harnesses for the entire kennel, a job I get. That done and we start setting up sleds for the afternoon run. There’s eight sleds and I realize I won’t get to back out with Kris and the race team, which is a blessing and a curse at the same time. If nothing, I’m stubborn and want a chance to try again. Hopefully I will get that.

The afternoon tour goes smoothly with guests that were very respectful and kept a great pace. E-bear and I got back smoothly. Finished chores and went home to relax for a while!

Keep in mind these are his race dogs that he’s heading on the road with in two days for Montana’s Race to the Sky.

I head in with a huge pot of chili for the group and we get some chores done, get the afternoon tour out on the trail, feed and pack up. It’s dark before we get up to Buff Pass. There’s no moon, so the light from our headlights and the truck are all we have.

We get the dogs out of their carriers and onto a line split into two teams. Kris takes a ten dog team and I take eight. We put sand bags in the sleds for a little added weight. First we harness the dogs, then booties for every foot. I’m a bit slow as I’ve never bootied a dog before and have been warned how important it is to make sure they are on tight and don’t fall off in order to protect the dogs.

We get the dogs on their gang lines attached to the sled. Kris takes off first and I follow. All of a sudden it’s pitch black with two headlamps, creating spotlights in the dark, our teams of dogs stretched out in front of us, panting happily as we ascend our first hill.

Kris stops occasionally to check booties. E-bear warned me that’s what we’re checking, so I get off the sled and check my dogs. Down one booty, so I get a new one one. The next stop I replace two and then we’re set for the rest of the trip.

The first part of the trail is an uber-steep uphill that has both of us off the sleds and running beside the sleds to help the dogs up. Considering how strong they are, it says a lot about the hill that we need to help them up already. The rest of the trip, they pull strong and I ride the matt brake to keep us catching up to Kris’s team.

The stars are bright, but I’m so focused on how the dogs are running and staying close to Kris that I don’t pay much attention to the snow covered trees and open meadows stretching out around us.

It’s cold out, but I have so many layers, and toasty toes on that I’m perfectly content. As we get closer to Summit lake, the wind picks up and snow swirls around us. I reach for thicker gloves to keep warm and then we’re turning the teams around. Kris get my dogs headed downhill, then his and we’re off again.

Through glimpses between the trees, I see lights from houses and everything feels beautiful and I’m finally feeling comfortable. We take a few U-turns on the road with a little speed as we’re heading down and I hang on for the ride. A few turns have me a little close to the edge of the trail and a drop-off that would send a sled and the teem careening downward, but I ride the sled to the right and stay away from that.

Then it happens. The steep downhill. We start flying. I’m whipping around ‘S’ turns hanging on for dear life with both feet on the brakes. The straight downhill that I thought wouldn’t be too much trouble crashes me off the sled. Somehow  I manage to get a snow hook in to stop the sled. And we are parked. The hook is in so tight I can’t get it back out. I’m yanking, but need to get off the sled to release it, which I can’t do or I’ll lose the sled down the hill.

Then I see a light in the dark and Kris is on his way to help me. My team wants to turn around and head back up the hill, which I wouldn’t object to, but we’d still have to come down at some point. After untangling dogs we get going again. Kris is turning around and I’m flying down the hill again, swaying and rocking as we pick up speed. I hit a bump, the sled tips sideways and I’m off on the ground and all I see is my sled disappearing outside of my spotlight.

I start running after them, hoping they’ll be stopped around each corner. Kris asks where my team is and I tell him I don’t know. He goes on ahead and I keep running. About a 1/2 mile from where I was tossed off, Kris has them stopped. They are fairly tangled, but all the dogs are there and none seem to be injured, thank heaven. I’m shaky all over, but there’s no time for panic as we have to keep going.

The downhill has lessened and I get back on for the final stretch, which isn’t so bad. I swear the dogs are looking back at me, questioning the sanity of it all. We get back to the truck and get anchored. Denali and Ranger decide they want to do it all over again and try to turn the team back up the trail. I decide they are insane and finally anchor them forward so we can water and feed them.

Kris can tell how badly I’m beating myself up over the whole incident, so he tries to cheer me up, which isn’t working that well. We get the dogs put away. As I get back to my car, I look up and see the stars are still shining.

6:30 am. 25 degrees.

Balmy morning that barely required gloves. I love it. The race team was heading out as we got in. E-bear and Kris were narrowing down his top picks for the upcoming ‘Race to the Sky’ in Montana. Last year Kris had walking pneumonia so had to miss it. This year he’s looking good and so are the dogs. Wishing him the best. Have to admit, I was a bit jealous of E-bear getting to go on the training which consisted of six hours of running, six hours of sleep and another six hours on the trail. I think it would be tough to control the dogs and stay on the sled, but what an amazing opportunity!

The tours were easy today as Sara took the first sled with a guest, so I didn’t have to worry about pacing, I just had to make sure everyone stayed standing, which they all did!

The afternoon, Beagle went out and I stayed back and fed the dogs. It’s nice to be able to go through and see every dog and give them a few quick seconds of love. It’s amazing how quickly the winter goes by.

Forgot to mention that yesterday we had a family come out that had been out the year before and remembered our pups who are now full grown dogs and running on the team. Benny was on their team and he’s close to being one of the tallest dogs in the kennel.

6:30 am. – 3 degrees.

The days have been warming up quickly and I’ve been loving it, although we could use a bunch more snow and a little less heat. The trail had patches of large flakes of ice which made it sparkle as the sun hit and we went around.

My first tour of the day had a college kid who didn’t quite get the message of ‘SLOW DOWN!’ Our dogs are like marathon runners. If you sprint them, you wear them out quickly. Some days I’d like to have a guest get out of the sled and run top speed for half an hour and then be expected to jog/run the rest of a 12 mile loop. We have dogs of all ages, from just over a year to sixteen years old and it’s important to respect that while this is a ride and fun for guests, we are putting the care of these amazing dogs in their hands. Please listen when we tell you to slow down. Dog sledding is an experience of patience, of letting things go and enjoying the ride, not trying to rush through it as fast as you can. Relax. The world will be waiting when the ride’s over.

The afternoon was much better with a group of five. Beagle, Stubird and I all went out on the trail together. I got to sit watching the teams as Beagle drove. A stress free day for me. We made it around with only one person falling off. The trail was getting pretty grooved out, but all in all it was an easy ride.

6:30 am. -12 degrees.

Fingers and toes were burning as I forgot toasty toes and hand warmers today. Sara lent me a pair of toasty toes, so that helped a bit. Warmed up quickly and was soon in the 30’s and I was peeling off hat, gloves and jacket. The tour went well. We ended up with more people than we expected, so Joel got to drive a sled in the morning and head out on his first tour in the afternoon. He did a great job with both.

Seemed like a hectic day, but all ended up smoothly and there were no casualties.

6:30 am. 23 degrees.

Headed back to the kennel for some bad news. Sara had called yesterday to see if I wanted to come in and I declined, as I had other work for another company to take care of. B-bear was left to do the tour. A man fell off his sled and as it raced towards B-bear, he hopped off his sled to catch it, but instead post holed into fresh snow. As the sled went around the corner, it swung wide and nailed B-bear in the knee, taking him out most likely for the rest of the season. Although his leg isn’t broken, it’s stiff, swollen and in lots of pain.

On today’s tour, a man fell of his sled and it was headed my way. I radioed E-bear calling for help. As the sled went by on it’s side, I caught it. I was dragged with it for about ten feet before it stopped. As I started to tip it up, the dogs began pulling strong so back on it’s side we went. I angled towards the snowmobile, hoping to be able to stop it or wedge against it. It did and we stopped right before a huge downhill. E-bear caught up to me and helped me tip the sled upright. He laughed at my offer to hold the breaks, because I’m light, I can slow them, but on the edge of a downhill there’s no way I could fully stop them. I did get my finger slammed between the snowmobile and the sled, so ended up with some broken blood vessels and a good bruise, but everything is working dandy. On to another day!

Headed to Aspen at 2:45 am to attempt the Guinness World Record for Most Hugs in 24 hours. I went down with two witnesses, Chris and Mike. We hit Aspen around 6:45 am.

We initially met with a bit of resistance as no one wanted to approve something that wasn’t organized by X Games and ESPN. We were twice given the wrong number for a marketing contact, but was able to track him down through his company in New York and send an email. The response was ‘It’s a free event to the public,’ which we took to mean we could go ahead with hugfest.

The day was beautiful with sunny skies and lots of smiles and hugs. Although I didn’t break the record (I ended up with 2,352 hugs instead of 5,001), I had one of the most amazing days of my life. I was hugged by young people, old people, teenagers and little kids. I couldn’t believe how open and generous everyone was.

I will definitely being trying again in the future and hopefully back in Aspen. I can’t think of a better place to be!