Out to the Whites...

Finally got out for a quick trip to the White Mtns. Is spite of the shortened training season (New dog...2/11/15), the dogs ran great and Bill and I both had a good time. Barney and Spuds, my main leaders, are both eleven now, so this likely is their last trip. While I've had a few dogs still run in the team at twelve, they tend to age quickly and lose their desire to run when they get that old. They've been a great pair up front and I'll miss their leadership. Here's a few photos of the dogs:

Takin' a break on the way in. Bill's in the background checking on his dogs. Barney and Jabba, gettin' some leader training,  up front.

Headin' out from the cabin towards the ridge top trail. Spuds and Barney in lead.

Rest stop on the way home. Easter, in swing, ran great and was a real asset in the team.

More crazy weather...

Just like February, the weather in March has been crazy. It started off almost normal, then warmed up and snowed almost a foot, then turned cold and we had a week of -20 to -40 F. Now it's warmed up again and we've had near +40 for the past few days.

Here's a few photos of yesterdays dog run:

Crossing the pond on the way home.

Going over the bridge on Smallwood Creek.

Takin' a break on the way home.

Another warm spell...

After an up and down February, March is starting off warm, as it was near 40° F today. Here's the weather bureau's summary for February:

NWS MONTHLY WEATHER SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 2015

"Much like January, February  was a month of contrasts with periods of much below normal temperatures and periods of much above normal temperatures. The average temperature for the month was 1.0 degree which was 2.3 degrees above the normal mean temperature of -1.3 degrees.

February 2015 started off with a cold snap that continued through the 10th. The coldest temperature was 43 below which occurred on the 7th. The temperature warmed dramatically after the 10th of the month, with the warmest temperature of 37 on the 16th.

A significant ice storm, one tenth of an inch of ice or more, began on the 21st and continued on the 22nd, when  0.23 inches of rain fell at the airport. This is the 4th out of the last 5 winters with a significant ice storm.

Looking forward to March, temperatures climb sharply as the sun angle and length of day light increases; the average daily high temperature increases from 18 degrees on the 1st to 34 degrees on the 31st, the average daily low temperature increase from 9 below on the 1st to 8 above on the 31st. Temperatures have ranged from 56 above in 1994 to 56 below in 1911. March is on average the driest month in Fairbanks, precipitation iaverages 0.25 inches while normal snow fall is 4.9 inches. Possible sunshine increases by nearly 7 minutes per day during March and increases from 10 hours and 7 minutes on the 1st to 13 hours and 29 minutes on the 31st."(http://www.arh.noaa.gov/wmofcst.php?wmo=NOAK49PAFG&type=public)

Finally remembered the camera so took a few photos of the dogs:

Heading for home after crossing the bridge.

Skirting the new gully that formed this past summer.