In 2015 / 2016 I was privileged to work with Scott Smith of Red Dog Racing Kennel. I trained intently and ran two races with the team. That year Scott took 10th in Iditarod. I’m proud of the work I put into helping train that team, and I’m grateful I got to work with Red Dog Racing. I also cut my teeth on running things on my own to a degree, since the way Scott and I operated was that we took turns being at the kennel. That meant I was alone working at the kennel for two weeks at a time. It was a good test of myself and what I was capable of.
Watching a tracker is a horrible thing. I’d rather do almost anything else, and I’d especially rather be mushing. Nevertheless, a deal is a deal, and this year isn’t my year. In one year, that will be me, and all … Read More
Every year I mush, I learn something. I learn a lot of things. I have mushed for fifteen years, and this year is no different. I have learned things about dogs, techniques about mushing, about feeding, about pacing. I have … Read More
I’ve been listening to Radical Face a lot lately. I haven’t been writing a lot. Sorry about that. Lots of things have been going on, and not a lot of time to describe them. Although, that’s not really the reason … Read More
The Copper Basin 300 is coming up! The race starts on January 9th. I am (currently!) listed as musher # 41. (If anyone drops, that number may change, a couple days ago I was #43!) There are a couple of … Read More
I only have a few minutes before hooking up for my next run. This hitch has been the one to get the miles on before the race season official begins for us, and since the last hitch my run lengths … Read More
Hitch on! We started the weekend with a bang. When I go on hitch is the one time a month that Scott and I see each other and work together, most often (there is sometimes a weekend where I’m off … Read More
It’s the night before my next hitch. My first hitch, in October, was deceptively un-busy… Or much less busy than I thought i would be. I managed to make it busy, fitting in the many other projects that can fill … Read More
I foolishly called Apocalypse Design about a week ago with full intentions to order myself a set of custom bibs. Apocalypse Design is this pretty amazing company in Fairbanks that makes fantastic mushing gear. I’ve seen this in action, and … Read More
Red Dog Racing has been a quiet presence for over fifteen years in Alaska. Scott has the helm and has done really well with his line of dogs. This year, obviously, I’m joining the works. After a long several weeks … Read More
Well… Things have been so crazy since I started this hitch, I haven’t had the chance to write any of it down. I’ve been thinking blog posts a lot. This happens when I mush– I have a lot of time … Read More
On Sunday, I took a break from “reality” and headed to Red Dog Racing. We had decided it would be a good time to do our first camping run with the team. Early in the season, “camp outs” are … Read More
Monday was my first day back to “reality.” I’m not sure “reality” is a great term for the non-dog world. One of the best parts about the dog world is how present and gritty it is. However, let’s just call … Read More
On Wednesday, my college roommate from ten years ago arrived in Alaska, and jumped with both feet into several days of mushing. I met her at the Willow Community Center (which I kept forgetting to tell her is where … Read More
It is raining right now in Willow. That isn’t entirely unusual, for this time of year. And really, for the first week of my first Hitch, it’s been pretty dry. But the wet has rolled in the last two … Read More
On Saturday, Hooch and I headed to Red Dog Racing for our first “hitch.” Because Scott works an oil job with two weeks on and two weeks off, I’ll be complimenting his schedule– so when he’s away at work, I’ll … Read More
Oops! I was a little suspicious that we might not actually make it in when the initial list had us as #50 (last position) in the Copper Basin 300. Unfortunately, after they sorted things out, ATAO is actually 3rd on … Read More
Yesterday, Scott and I made it into the Northern Lights 300. I’m in slot #18, and he’s in #21. I was a little nervous about making it into the mid distance races this year, because last year they filled up … Read More
