Crazy weather

This photo of Hugh's Quest team on the Wheaton River road was taken last week after we'd just had a new snowfall. At that time we had colder than normal temps (-20C) but a decent amount of snow as well. We've been on a sled for a few weeks now and always those first few times out are a bit precarious. The cut across Hugh's nose and below his eye is almost healed (the story of his adventures with barbed wire he'll have to tell you himself). I think Hugh and Laura (our handler) have lost more teams this month than in all other years combined. I think this due to a combination of over-excited teams, stronger dogs, and light fluffy snow that doesn't hold a snow hook. Even the brake has little effect on these guys.

We're now in the depths of a cold weather system that has decided to set in. Since last Thursday we've been hovering between -30C and -40C. They're expecting it to break later this week. Because of the cold all training is on hold for a bit. We feed the dogs three times a day and give them new straw every couple of days. We also let them loose to run around and play so they can stretch and have fun. I haven't heard yet but I'm sure this must be one of the coldest Novembers in the Yukon. All of the rivers, creeks, lakes are frozen - some of these usually aren't passable until January.

In other news we just got Riley back from the vet (another $1,000 bill). She took a turn for the worse last Sunday for no apparent reason, and after a bunch of tests and no recurring symptoms we were allowed to bring her home on Wednesday. We and the vets are still baffled but she is eating and drinking and looking normal. On the otherhand her blood tests suggest she should be in complete liver failure. The only change is that it seems like she doesn't know who we are anymore. It's possible that the slight seizure-like symptoms might have resulted in some slight memory loss. I guess we'll just have to win her over again with some quality recovery time on the couch!

Tamra