Next Winter Plans

Last weekend was the Iditarod Volunteer Picnic and Sign Ups! You might have noticed that Ryno Kennel isn’t on the roster for the 2023 Iditarod. We were excited to see 21 mushers planning to travel the trail to Nome, but we will not be one of them this year.

For the last eight years, we have conditioned and trained for a 1000-mile race every winter. Some of my most cherished mushing memories have been during my races or training trips. However, prepping for a 1000-mile race is all-consuming, and this winter, we’re excited to try something a little different. My foundational drive for having a sled dog team has always been bonding with the dogs and traveling in the magical, remote places of the North. The races provide the opportunity to do just that; however, they also have a pretty rigid framework. All that is to say- we still plan to do an adventure this winter, it just won’t be the Iditarod Trail.

We haven’t nailed down our exact plans just yet, and the final decision will probably depend on conditions and weather, but we’ve had a blast brainstorming ideas! One of my favorite so far is traveling from Circle to Dawson, spending time at all the remote cabins along the way. There is so much history in that part of Alaska, that I’d say this trip is near the top of the list. Or maybe venturing from Derek’s old trapline cabin in Big River and traveling home. Or maybe explore the Upper Salcha. There are SO MANY amazing places in Alaska it might be hard to pick! I’ll be filming the trip so that we can share the experience with everyone. We’ll also carry along a tracker for RK followers to keep track of our progress.

But for you racing fanatics, don’t worry, we’ll still make an appearance in the race circuit! We have 10 two-year-olds who have yet to race, so we hope to get them on their first 200 or 300 mile race. We haven’t decided which race to participate in just yet- any ideas?

Tucker will also be returning for his second season at Ryno Kennel and with a little prodding, we’ll hopefully get to read some of his colorful blog posts again. Mandy and Simon are moving to Switzerland. While we’re sad to see them go, I have a feeling they’ll be back to Alaska some day! Kalyn recently purchased a house just a mile or so from the kennel, so they will continue helping with Chena Outdoor Collective and developing our reindeer tours. The house has a bit of…..let’s call it character. Kalyn is documenting the remodel on their Tiktok account- @crotchetyoptimist The videos are hilarious. Check them out!

Derek's Adventure

For as long as I've known Derek, we've been on separate seasons. My winters are packed full of sled dogs and races and tours, and if I have a free day once a month, it's a good month. For Derek, his summers were his "go" time. For over 24 years, Derek has been a wildland firefighter with the last 22 years spent flying all over Alaska and seeing places that many people will never see. Sometimes I'll point at a spot on a map and look at its remoteness and say- we should explore there! To which he'll reply, "nah, that's just a bunch of black spruce and mosquitos but just right here, now that's country that I can't wait to get back and explore." While smokejumping allowed Derek to travel all over the state, it also completely consumed his life from about mid-February to early October. He'd get time off for his annual sheep hunt in early August, but otherwise he was tied to his job. Until this summer.

In April, Derek retired from smokejumping. In classic Derek form, he asked for no party or big celebration. Instead, he wanted to go explore the north slope of the Brooks Range. So that's what he did. For the last 10 days, Derek flew around the North Slope of the Brooks Range, getting the lay of the land and finding remote airstrips. He of course had his "little buddies" Jezzy and Sasha. They saw lots of wildlife- muskox, caribou, ptarmigan, porcupine, and grizzlies. They even had one encounter with a sow and older cubs that was a little too close for comfort. Luckily Jezzy and Sasha rely on their noses and not their eyesight, so they never spotted the trio, and Derek was able to back away without causing a scene. With a couple mornings of snow and a constant 10-15 mph wind, it wasn't exactly a beach vacation, but that's never been Derek's style anyway. I can't wait to join him on the next adventure!

Summer with Dogs & Deer

The summer so far has been glorious! LOTS of sunshine. Warm temperatures. The animals sleep most of the day then get rowdy in the evenings when temperatures cool down. I try to take one to two groups of dogs on a walk each morning. While everyone gets along for the most part, there are a lot of different personalities, and so I do put some thought into which dogs will play best together. Dogs like Yoshi, Faff, Tobin, and Bowser are social butterflies and can romp with anyone. Otis, Maple, and Beesly get along with most anyone, but they like to sprint back to the kennel at the top of the driveway. While they normally don’t get into mischief upon their return to the kennel, I prefer everyone to stick close and arrive as a group. Oryx can be hot-tempered with other females, but her recall is the best in the kennel, so as long as other sassy females aren’t in her face, she does well. Etta is probably one of the most challenging. She behaves like an angel on the walks, but if she gets back before me, there’s a 90% chance that she’ll just run back to her house and a 10% chance that she’ll skip her way over to Oryx’s house (seriously…if dogs can gleefully skip with a sinister air, that’s what she’s doing) and try to pick a fight. Most of the dogs run immediately back to their spots and patiently wait for me to clip them into their tethers. Faff, however, thinks this is the time for zoomies and likes to sprint around the platforms, play bowing with anyone who will engage in her antics. After a few laps she normally comes to her house to signal she’s ready to be clipped in. So many personalities!

I tried my best to upload a video, but I couldn’t get it to be embedded in the post. Here’s the Youtube link should you be interested!

https://youtube.com/shorts/yCDe4qvFcCY

We also took Sailor and Pilot on their first ever camp out! The reindeer were AMAZING. We did stop a lot for snacks along the way, but when the world is literally covered in delicious treats, how can you blame them?