Hello all,

I'm an avid fun of mushing, and wondered if other dog-types out here are following the Yukon Quest. It's the Canadian version of the Iditarod, a 1600 km race across 3 mountain ranges, from Fairbanks to Whitehorse. It's actually harder than the Iditarod in many respects (longer distances between checkpoints and more elevation gain/loss)but a lot less glitzy (can you tell I'm a bit of a purist?!). Four previous champions and many other top contenders are racing this year--and it's shaping up to be a very interesting race.

I live with a male GSD,but a friend of mine has a small recreational team of Alaskan huskies (husky mixes bred for their working ability in harness, not their looks--sound familiar?) and so my dog has had a few opportunities to run with her team. He took to it like a rabbit to willows and the I've posted a few short clips of a recent run. In fact, when we encounter her team on a trail and he's not hooked up he'll try to put himself into his regular position (wheel) and run as though he were in harness!! It's great mental and physical exercise for the dogs, and it really is wonderful to see all the dogs enjoying it so much. Oh, and the humans have fun too...

http://picasaweb.google.com/torngat/RagamuffinMushing2010?feat=directlink

Happy winter,

Isabelle

I dont follow the yukon quest as closely as the Iditarod, to be honest. I agree with you that its harder though, none the less im a huge fan of mushing, used to do it more when i was younger, even had a couple dogs. Even ran a short sprint race lol. I miss it soooo much, cant wait to buy land and get the team I've bin wanting! Love your pics btw