Training Run

This weekend we were unable to get out to the snow (which is probably still in poor condition anyways), so we did some cart training from the house. Since we recently moved into the neighborhood, we are still scouting the best places to train. Saturday we went out along Summerdale Road to get to Soft Rock Road. It is a stressful run because of the blind hills, cars on the main road, and many horse/dog/llama distractions along the way. Once there, though, soft Rock Road is a fairly good, dirt road run with few cars but the slight incline makes it a bit challenging with only 3 dogs. Let’s just say there is a lot of running behind the cart to help keep them moving. Sunday we ran up Peppergrass to the canal road (going south). It is quite a haul to get up Peppergrass, and all (musher included) were extremely fatigued at the top. Once we got on the canal, though, was a great run! The south canal road is flat and dirt; much better for their paws than chip seal and gravel roads. There are minimal or very distant distractions, no cars to worry about, and it is so peaceful. I loved it and will be running there more often. The only down side to the south canal run, though, is that about three quarters a mile down the way the road is broken where the canal meets a small draw. I was hoping to take it all the way to Soft Rock for many more run options (running farther along the canal, running Soft Rock Road, and running on the state land recreational use trails/roads). There may be an option to run down a rudimentary road to the bottom of the draw and back up but I need to speak with the landowner first. The north canal run is an option but it will be a bit more eventful as there is a pasture of 10-15 llamas. For some reason, the dogs are more fired up about these Dog Killing Llamas than any other animal in the world. Until next time!