Yukon Quest '09

Hello Everybody

Thanks so much for your support I am in Dawson getting the last of my clothes that are now nice and dry at least for the next few hours!! I dont have much time but i just wanted to let everybody know that things are going well. The first half of the race has been a CHALLENGE!! I have learned so much, I have never had to carry dogs in the sled or had major dog issues this year I have carried two dogs for a total of over 90 miles and have had to deal with some diarrhea issues with a few of the dogs but through it all we have hung in there and our positive attitude has gotten us here to Dawson in fine fashion. The break in Dawson has been great the dogs have all eaten and slept very well. Up until dawson I followed my exact schedule!! this is a major breakthrough for me and I am really excited about it paying off in the end. With reports of tough trail and snow ahead I am getting even more excited. My dad made some great modifications to my sled to help get me through the jumble ice, which makes me even more confident heading into the toughest part of the trail. Unfortunately I will be dropping Madonna here, it is a real bummer but it is whats best for her and I cant afford to carry her in the sled anymore. But over the last couple seasons she has trained up some awesome young leaders and they have stepped it up. ROSIE, MOLLY, WALTER, HECKEL, BUDGET have all been extremely productive in lead and because I have so many leaders i've been using all of them, also a first for me!! I can tell that my main leaders like Silver, The Dude, Ling Ling, Rocky, are all benefiting from sharing the leader position. It was great to have Silver in front of the wheel dogs when we were carrying Madonna up King Solomans Dome. He was a total force and played a large role in keeping us moving even up the really steep sections. The Dude and Walter are providing the cheerleading and bark with, at each other and the other dogs every time we stop, it is great. I think most of the dogs in the team think they're a little weird but everybody seems to get into groove when they sound off. Ok I really have to go, a big thanks goes out to the Gunderson's, my Dad and Thom for updating the blog it looks like you guys have been getting good reports. It is going to be exciting from here on out I cant wait to get back out on the trail and focused directly on the journey ahead.