We have raced over this trail before but were not ready for what lay ahead.   This was a mud and stone fest and just walking to the start line was a mud fest.    We started off well at full pelt into the first couple of turns and then we hit the open trail of stones with mud and sand and this is where we started to lose time as Diesel didn’t like the surface and backed off to a walk which slowed down the whole team.   We carried on as best we could despite the trail being very stoney, very wet and very muddy.  At about the 2 mile point we were back to the very smooth ground and Diesel picked up his pace and again we were racing at full pelt to the finish line.  Despite the hard going we crossed the line in good spirits covering 2.9 miles in 18:36:98 at an average speed of 9.3 mph. and third in class.

Later that day I took Oska and Storm, the 2 youngsters, over the same trail and by this time it was pouring with rain and much colder than earlier.  The 2 dogs ran like rockets until we reached some small slopes but once up these they were back to full pace.  Oska and Storm  covered the 2.9 miles in 17:25:60 which is amazing for just two dogs.

Mike and the Polaris Sled Dogs Team