Is it really almost Thanksgiving?

Time is just flying by and it is just over 10 weeks to the best part of this whole adventure.  There is still so much to do before we head North and so many details to figure out.  We have had a fall full of all kinds of weather, even a skiff of snow here and there.  The dogs are ready for snow and sledding and the longer miles that those entail.  I am ready for those things but not for all the extra work that is involved when the snow comes.  Everything just takes longer.  

A few things that have been going on:

I went to Missoula on Halloween to pick up 1000 pounds of meat for the dogs.  I made it about a quarter of the way home before I had to stop due to a major oil leak in the truck.  Brooke and Sean were kind enough to come and get me, Wylie, and 40 boxes of dog meat.  My friend and fellow dog musher and diesel mechanic, Steve Riggs of Condon, MT, has been working on the truck to help get it prepped for a long trip to Alaska.  It sure helps to have friends you can count on, though I feel like my IOU list is growing...  The worst part of the whole ordeal was that I didn't get to where my Halloween costume I was so excited about.  Watch out next year.

November 5 was my 30th birthday and this was the sunrise that day.  I made it through 3 decades and have had a lot of fun.  What can I do to make the next one even better?  Well, to start with, I am going to run the Yukon Quest with my own pups.

I sold Happy to my friend, Robin Beall, of Grand Marais, MN.  Hopefully Happy will fit right in with Robin's team and help her to win lots of races.  And then I will truely regret letting her go but at least I know she has a great home.

On a sad note, I have to share that Chinaco passed away, on my birthday.  He was happy in the morning and ate breakfast and was ready to go for a run.  The time between the first sign he was not well and his passing was less than 10 minutes.  I could not even get him to the car to go to the vet in that short time.  Chinaco was born on the floor next to my bed and died in my arms exactly 17 months later.  He went quickly and with little suffering.  I miss my gentle giant very much.  I am glad that I was there for him and he knew I was there.

Patron stepped on a stick during a run that stuck over an inch into his foot.  I thought for sure we would have problems getting it to heal.  He spent one night inside with me and was raring to go the next day.  He had about 12 hours that it was sore and hasn't looked back.  These sled dogs amaze me with their toughness.

We are training about 80 miles a week now.  Seventeen of the 19 in training now are running in lead and all the dogs are now responsible members of the team.  I am very proud of how they are looking and doing.  Though this is a fairly young and inexperienced team, I feel confident that we will have a successful trip and positive experience as we run the Quest.  The next several weeks will be consumed with training dogs, planning race tactics, organizing food drop bags, gathering equipment needed, testing new gear, and, of course, working my "real job" and keeping up with the day to day necessities of eating and sleeping (though these are the first to get dropped when time gets short).

A few pictures from a run last week when my friend John Welch stopped for a visit on his way back to Fairbanks, AK.  It is hunting season in Montana and I see more deer than the hunters do!