Sonya's 4-dog team had a GREAT 2nd day. They ran 4 minutes faster and solidified 11th! Good job!
For the six dog team, day 2 was very rough. Easily one of the worst runs we've ever had. Within the first 2 miles we had 3 in team tangles, 2 passing team tangles, twice turned around, and 6 "potty breaks." Not to mention 4 other less than great head on passes (we had to have passed about 10 teams on their way back in because there were so many 6 dog entries). By two miles out I was so frazzled, frustrated and demoralized and that just showed in my team as well. The final straw was being yelled at by a much faster competitor on his way in. I turned the team for home and we scratched back at the start.
From the start the team had not looked good nor excited, actually hesitant. I should have had the guts to call it from the beginning but my pride got the better of me. But on the trail I finally made the best decision for the dogs and returned to the truck.
The race was huge and busy and it intimidated my dogs. But as Sonya pointed out we had a lot of success on this trip. We trained the puppies for trailer travel, had a successful first run, and got some advice from experienced mushers. She also suggested I "get back in the saddle" Sunday morning before we leave.
That is exactly what we did! It was exactly why we do this! It was beautiful, peaceful and SO FUN! And I was glad to see that all the dogs that were nervous and not excited the day before were banging at the harness!
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