What an awful day on the trail today!
It has taken me hours to figure out todays misadventures but after posting a brief complaint about it on Facebook today a REAL musher posted this:
It's always the weather.
1. "the dogs looked flat" = sticky snow
2. "the wheels fell off" = too warm
3. "leaders were distracted" = too sunny
4. "this sport sucks" = 4th day in a row of rain/mud
5. "dogs flew down the trail" = nice and cold
Well... today the wheels definitely fell off and the lead dogs were not just distracted but they had totally lost their minds. Perhaps their brains fell out.
We hooked up like a dream today, it almost went WAY too smoothly.
First command out of the driveway was our traditional "hike" and Elmo took off like a bolt of lightning until he tightened up the lines on the TM's then we slowed right down as usual.
Our first corner down past the horses is always a haw followed by a slight gee and heading towards the trail is a sharp haw. This has been our route for weeks now.
HOWEVER, today this is NOT what they had in mind. Apparently Elmo felt that haw meant take a sharp gee and make our own trails. I stopped the sled when he figured he would go his own way, got us straitened out and set up down the trail.
As we were on our way into the wooded area I said hike again and just as I was going to follow with a "good" to let them know they were on the right track they ALL decided hike now meant lets hit the bush and start bush whacking through the trees and up hill doing a 90 degree haw. I got us out of the trees and back on the trail.
At this point I was wondering WTF are they thinking???
Clearly they just weren't.
As we made it through the wooded part of the trail we usually take a haw to head down the trail that is more downhill, today I wanted them to go straight. As we hit the "option" they actually went straight. I was pleased with this and thought that todays problems were now over.
I WAS WRONG, so very wrong.
Not even 30 seconds into the oval "backwards" I asked for a haw which really is just following the trail but for some reason I can NOT figure out Elmo and Tibby figured this meant go straight into a part of the field we have NEVER sled on.
Again I straightened the team out and made it all the way around the oval.
We went around twice, quite smoothly but I noticed that Marv was doing ALL the work. Elmo had slacked right off and Karma was floating around spaced out on the line.
We went back up to the house and I removed Tibby and Marv from the line, took the line apart and hooked up 2 dogs. Elmo and Karma.
I don't know why I thought this would be a good idea, my PLAN was to just get the two of them back involved with pulling down the wooded part and back. Thats all I wanted.
Well, apparently they had a little hissy fit about being a 2 dog team and decided to go stupid on me.
Before I even asked for the haw to head towards the bush trail, Karma decided she was taking a hard gee and heading towards the road. At this point I was quite annoyed with them and thought, FINE... lets do it your way but you're going to regret it.
Off we went, through pretty much virgin snow which had them swimming to move. I got off the sled as even though I was upset with our day thus far I wasn't going to make them swim and pull, I do have a heart.
From their swimming trail to the road they decided that they were going into the bottom end of the field where we did have a trail at one time but it has long since drifted over.
They worked their fool asses off just getting through the snow, as did I. It was waist deep at some points but I just kept quiet and let them get this crap of free thinking out of their minds.
It took forever for us to find the skidoo tracks again but we did, and we were tired. All of us.
As soon as we got on the easy trail again I stopped them to give them a little break, I needed one too, badly.
So now that I had refreshed my mind, let go of the mess I let the dogs take me through and everyone had their breath back. I straightened them up and walked back to the sled and gave the hike command. I wont lie, I was fearing what they were going to pull on me this time. I guess they were just a bit too tired to object any more and ran the trail properly.
Now we were running it backwards again and by running, I mean walking.
We went down the slight hill and they let loose a bit, we were up to a nice pace, no one really working too hard but both dogs were working together which is all I wanted them to do in the first place.
We went around once, head back out the wooded area and sure as shit as soon as we hit the part of the trail where we could either go home up to the house with a gee, they thought they would try that suicide trail they just went down!
I wasn't letting them get away with that again. Admittedly I was really annoyed now that they were going to ignore another command.
I stopped them and gave them both a little piece of my mind and demanded the gee with some fancy arm gesture to remind them what the heck that meant.
Karma decided to comply with my request and moved Elmo with her a few steps and then decided to zig zag and try for the deep snow again.
I was furious at this point but kept my cool about it. Got them pointed back to the bush and ran them back down the trail towards the oval again. I didn't make them go around though, I stopped them at the Y and looped them to head back out to the house.
When we were approaching the mess of a right turn they just bombed a few minutes ago I was dreading the shit they were going to pull, but, I think they gave up on the challenge part and complied with my request for a gee.
We went up to the house at a nice slow walk, I got off the sled and just walked behind it as I was drained, and I'm quite sure they were both mentally drained as well, they should also have been physically drained but not sure.
I called it a day when we got back. There was no way I was going to introduce the skidoo trail to them today.
They are going to get a few days off now, unless I have the guts to get them out early in the morning before work tomorrow... Actually, I think it would be best to do just that.
I'll be sure to let you all know how tomorrow morning goes. *sigh
I have to let today go, hopefully they have as well.
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