Lengthening icicles are an experiment in color:
Our 21st year! We have enjoyed sharing the sport of dog sledding with so many people over the years, and thank you! all, so much! We are in a paring down and retirement phase. Our kennel is selling a lot of good, used equipment. If you are looking for something , let us know. Listing coming soon. We are not selling dogs, they are retiring with us.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Iditarod Fever
As always, whether we're in Alaska or on our computer at home in Wisconsin, we catch the Iditarod fever and follow it from start to finish. The ceremonial start is in Anchorage today, the mushers have riders in their sleds and travel about 12 miles to let the crowds view their teams.
Then they box up and drive to Willow for the restart (or real start) on Sunday. Then they're off across Willow lake and into the wilds of Alaska for the next nine to 17 days or so, meeting all of the challenges of the trail. If you want to watch , for sure check Aliy Zirkle's blog, www.spkenneldoglog.blogspot.com for updates and always check www.iditarod.com which has additional viewing advantages for subscribers, but some freebie info as well. Check the social media sites for various Idita-fan sites. It will be a very competitive race. Large snows in Alaska have made the trails very snow covered and I'm sure there will be challenges of many types along the 1049 (or so) miles. We give our special good wishes to Aliy Zirkle and Ryne Olson from SPKennel.
Then they box up and drive to Willow for the restart (or real start) on Sunday. Then they're off across Willow lake and into the wilds of Alaska for the next nine to 17 days or so, meeting all of the challenges of the trail. If you want to watch , for sure check Aliy Zirkle's blog, www.spkenneldoglog.blogspot.com for updates and always check www.iditarod.com which has additional viewing advantages for subscribers, but some freebie info as well. Check the social media sites for various Idita-fan sites. It will be a very competitive race. Large snows in Alaska have made the trails very snow covered and I'm sure there will be challenges of many types along the 1049 (or so) miles. We give our special good wishes to Aliy Zirkle and Ryne Olson from SPKennel.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Snow!
20 inches of wet, heavy snow, whew. Finally, it stopped. Three of us tried the Skandic on the trails and three of us buried it, almost... we got out, but it's crazy out there. At this moment it would appear that our bar trail is buried for the winter. Weather next week to be in the high 40's so that will add a new dimension to this mountain of tough to manage snow.
The good thing: all of the pens are chopped out, the houses all have fresh straw and the dogs are able to get out and about , running. They do have to make new running trails, but that they enjoy.
The good thing: all of the pens are chopped out, the houses all have fresh straw and the dogs are able to get out and about , running. They do have to make new running trails, but that they enjoy.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
New to the sport
Jim, Jennifer, Adam, David and Buffy. Jen learning to harness with Ruthie.
David takes a fast curve.
Adam negotiated the sometimes challenging loop very well.
Adam, 9, with his team, Buffy, Ruthie, Sherpa and brother, David, handler
David with his team, Buffy, Ruthie and Herman, handlers, Jim and Adam
Two young mushers hit the trails on Saturday. David, 11 and his brother, Adam, 9, took their first runs on sleds. Their runs were smooth and fast, they were adept and sleds were well controlled. Good job, David and Adam! Of course, the dogs were excited to have new drivers, as always. Their mother, Jen, did a great job at learning to harness, hookup, feed, etc. As is customary, the boys helped with the chores following the runs.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Hands ON
Visitors to SPK are asked to learn the whole 'deal' with Learn to Drive a Sled. Each trainee joins in the regular work of running a dog team, including bringing dogs out to the line, harnessing, hookup, chasing a team as a handler and giving soup to the dogs who have worked for them and the whole kennel.
It's a great sample of being a musher and guests most often ask to return for more instruction and experience. We are still offering winter camping this winter on our 80 acres, but snow has been a challenge the whole winter. It involves driving a small team to a campout site and enjoying a night under the stars with these great dogs. Contact us for pricing.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Winter
Cindy Henry with her four dog team.
Rob Likely returns for running a six dog team, ready for eight!
Ray is a returning driver and has moved from four dogs to six dogs, wow, Ray!
Dogs were very happy. In photo: Rob, Sherpa, Zoom, Kiddo, Herman, Ray, Jimmy, Julie
Mary greets Ray on his return. The hills are a bit daunting at times but he had a fast run.This is a generally warm and low snow winter, but our winter activities have been quite good for the snow limitations. We pack our trails from the 'get go' and it keeps them firm even in the meltdowns.
Some new photos of people learning or coming back for driving a sled adventures.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Yukon Quest
And they're off and racing... Allen Moore drew Bib 1 , nice start! Check out
www.spkenneldoglog.blogspot.com for more detailed info and try the Yukon Quest main site for some pretty great live tracking and reporting.... you can click on Live Tracking and down on the side, click on Race Analysis, some really great data... shows 'hills' they're climbing,
shows a graph analysis of the progress.. very helpful.
www.spkenneldoglog.blogspot.com for more detailed info and try the Yukon Quest main site for some pretty great live tracking and reporting.... you can click on Live Tracking and down on the side, click on Race Analysis, some really great data... shows 'hills' they're climbing,
shows a graph analysis of the progress.. very helpful.
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