Good Day

We have more snow!!!!! I don't know if it is enough to set a trail on our training ground. If it is I will find out today when I try with the ski-do. I have explained before, that I use two wood pallets that are fastened together by 2x4's fourteen feet long. I hook it to our ski-do(snow tractor) We pull it very slowly over the snow. IT fills in any low spots in the trail. We pull it after snow falls until the entire trial is level. As level as can be. Sharp dips in the trail are rounded or flat. This also makes the trail set up hard. Once someone wrecks the trail by driving on it I also have a steel drag with a cutting blade this will fill in any gouges out of the trail or tire ruts.
This is one of the biggest difference between sprint and long distance racing and training. Could you imagine only running on a trail like this if you are running a 1000 mile race. No way. Your dogs would not know what to do on a messed up trail like the Quest trail. U should train on trails you will race on. Our kennel will only race on trails that are hard packed and flat! Why? because the people that put on the race make their race trails this way so The kids can race at high speeds. Which is the whole purpose of sprint mushing. IF you trained your sprint dogs on really rough and tough trails they would hurt themselves. The constant training on this type of trail would also slow down their pace. if you asked them to run fast on a perfect hard packed trail after getting use to the rough and slow trail they would also get injured. Their Top speed would be way slower as well, just because they were trained slower on a tougher slower trail. So to race fast you have to train fast. To race long distance you have to train long distance runs.
The beauty of trail making is I can do it because I can only go slow in order to do a good job. This speed make it comfortable enough that it doesn't bother my back. It gets me out and in the bush and really makes a person feel good being out there. We are currently fixing seats. I always am experimenting with seating options so I can be as comfortable as possible.

Lots of snow is not necessary a good thing either. Then you are never finished grooming the trail. Last year we used over 100 gallons of fuel. Not just for grooming purposes but someone also goes ahead of the team when we train the team to make sure there is no trail obstacles for Rachels dog team when she is flying down the trial. We also use a GPS at this time in training. This way I know how fast she has run. Her average speed. Her Top speed. Also I can see where the team slowed down and where it ran the fastest and alter training to suit. It is a very good tool and I enjoy using it to help Rachel with her training.

Here's to getting the tral set and get the sleds out. Ya hooo !!!!!