Camp Rimini To Deerlodge, Part Two

This part of the race climbed up and over the Continental Divide. The first hill was very steep, but the dogs were fresh, so we zipped right on up. Then there were a couple short stretches of bare ground to cross followed by some stretches that had big drifts across the trail. Because I went out near the back of the pack, there were lots of teams ahead of me who had busted through the drifts, making our job relatively easy. I passed quite a few teams on the way up the mountain, and I was very pleased to see that Switch was passing like a pro although she had never been in lead in a race before.

After 15 or so miles, Switch needed to pee, and she seemed reluctant to continue leading after that. I finally gave in and moved her back in the team and put Current in lead. By that time, my old reliables - Ghost and Luna - were clearly showing that they would prefer to run slower, so I really did not want to put either of them in lead. Switch ran hard in the team, showing me that she was happy to race, just not in lead anymore. At 20 miles, the trail left the groomed snowmobile route and plunged down through a narrow, twisty route through the trees. We had been warned about this section, and one person recommended wearing a helmet. Fortunately, it was not that bad. I did not even come close to smashing into a tree. I rode the brake mainly to keep the dogs from floundering in the soft, punchy snow.

The trail crossed a creek and climbed up a steep twisty route through the trees. This seemed a little tighter than the route down but was not difficult to navigate due to our slow pace going up. Finally we popped out onto another groomed snowmobile trail. This trail was immaculately groomed, and the team was ready to really cruise along. Everyone except Ghost and Luna, that is. They were both having trouble with the speed, and Ghost, in particular, was starting to show a ragged gait. I slowed the team down to what Ghost could handle.

At about 30 miles, we got passed by another team for the first time. It was (eventual winner) John Barron, who had started four minutes behind me. I had expected him to pass me much sooner, so I was very pleased with how my team had performed so far. I continued to keep the team slowed down as I was now worried that there was something wrong with Ghost. His gait just did not look normal. His legs seemed to be flying every which way.

We went another 10 miles or so, and it started snowing. The wind picked up, and the snow was pelting me in the face. It had been a really pleasant day up until then. I was still passing teams, but I had lost count of how many at around ten or so. There were plenty of sled tracks in front of me, but the snow and wind had turned the trail soft and deep, and I was grateful that I was not in the lead and breaking trail. There was no sign of any tracks other than dog teams.