In June 2003 Hoof 'N' Woof Sled Dogs moved from Emerald, Wisconsin and Hovland, Minnesota to Healy, Alaska.

We spent the summer getting dogs and people settled into our new home.  Todd worked in Wisconsin until mid-September, then did a speedy three day drive to Alaska to rejoin family and dogs.  In September we started running the dogs.  In addition, Todd drove down to the Kenai Penninsula for 3000 lbs of salmon to feed the dogs.  We also built an addition to our shop to enclose our walk-in freezer. 

A heat wave at the beginning of October delayed intense training a little.  It was in the 60s and 70s for a week.  Once the temperatures dropped we got down to serious training.  Living in a new place we also needed to learn the new trail system.  We have a wonderful set of trails available to us but early fall training can be challenging because much of the trail goes over wet ground.  Once the ground and water freezes we are faced with frozen hummocks (small mounds) that make life rough on the driver as the ATV bounces over them.  Most of the fall we ran 18-dog teams with the ATV.  During this time the yearlings ran with and learned from the experienced dogs.  In November, Todd also spent time helping put in a trail "over the ridge".  This gave us two choices for training.  We can either run along the powerlines on relatively flat terrain, or we can climb a large ridge behind our house and run in the higher country which lies at the border of taiga (forest) and tundra.

A Look at the Trails

Our trail leaves the yard	heads down the driveway of 4 families (note Todd and team toward bottom)	Todd's team rounds the corner...	and heads into the woods off the driveway.
The trail then follows the powerline,	other neighborhood driveways,	and trails through the woods.	The ridge trail climbs this hill, it is much too steep to safely go down.
On the ridge the trail goes through the edge of tundra,	with much more scattered small trees.  Todd has seen caribou tracks in this area.	The ridge trail has spectacular views,	then drops quickly back down to the flat Nenana River Valley.

THE WEATHER

In December the weather was fairly cold, commonly -10 ^oF both night and day.  We had a handful of days above 0, and a few colder days at 30 to 40 below zero.  In January, the cold temperatures continued with a couple of cold snaps at 30-40 below zero and 40-50 below zero.  While we will run in those temperature during a race if necessary, most mushers do not train in extreme cold because of the risk of frostbite to both musher and dogs.  At temperatures colder than 15 below, or on windy days, we put coats on the male dogs to help protect from frostbite.  When the temperature was colder than 30 below we did not train.

Snow arrived a week before Thanksgiving.  Immediately the area mushers began grooming the trails to ensure a good base of snow on the trails.  We continued to run with the ATV for about two weeks after the first snow and then switched to 9-dog teams on sleds.  By mid-December we had enough snow to run 12 dog teams.  In January Todd was able to run teams of 14-18 with the sled.  We had a few stressful days in the middle of February when the temperature rose to 45 degrees (above!) for a couple of days.  The snow was melting before our eyes, then when the temperature dropped the trails became hard, sharp ice.  Luckily snow came by the time we were able to run again.

With the great trail conditions at our house this year, we decided not to do any pre-races and instead focus on Iditarod.

TRAIL HAZARDS

Both Todd and Anne have had moose encounters this year.  In late January/early February Todd was generally seeing 2 moose on every run.  While most moose encounters are harmless sightings, moose can be very dangerous to dog teams (which they view as wolf packs).  In December, Todd was chased for three-quarters of a mile by a cow moose.  She ran in front of his team while they were going downhill and he was thankful not to run into her with dogs or sled.  He continued down the trail figuring the encounter was over when one of his dogs kept looking back.  When he turned around, he saw the moose was chasing him.  Animals that large should not be able to move that fast.  Luckily the dogs were excited and thus moving fast enough to leave the moose behind.  In January, Anne was running a team of yearlings and came upon a moose and calf at the top of a steep hill.  The cow moose charged Anne and her team four times before deciding they had moved far enough from her calf.  The team turned around several miles later and nervously approached the site of the encounter.  Thankfully mom and calf had moved on. 

When running dogs with the ATV or sleds, we carry firearms in case of a moose encounter.  Luckily we have not needed to use it yet (although Anne was very close).  Alaska law allows shooting of moose if life or property is in danger, however the animal must be field dressed to allow the meat to be used. 

 PREPARING FOR IDITAROD

Starting in December Todd focused on the 24 dogs that were most likely to make his Iditarod team.  The pool of dogs was very similar to his pool from last year, with only three new dogs.  Thanks to the wonderful weather we were able to put some good long runs on the dogs in late December and January.  We have had a few minor injuries and illnesses but in general the dogs have been in excellent health.  They have seen a wide variety of trail conditions and have runs in teams ranging in size from 9 to 18. 

We are optimistic that we will have a healthy, trail-ready team to start Iditarod on March 6.

Running Dogs

Jackson getting his harness on	and his booties on.	Hershey waits to be hooked to the sled
At 15 below the dogs wear protective coats..	Monty's typical pose as he waits for the rest of the team to be ready.	Thunder ready to face the elements.
Getting geared up for a cold run.	We're ready to go boss.	Moving out.
Ready to roll.	Heading out at 20 below.	Why didn't I get to go?
Checking feet after the run.	Dogs rest after a hard day on the trail.

kennel@hoofnwoof.com

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