Kazzie & Magnum
Robin & Frosty
Dylan & Arrow
Well the weekend started out with a pretty leisurely pace Saturday morning. We were up at Red Mountain camping and since we rolled in quite late on Friday night we slept in a bit on Saturday morning. By the time we got the dogs out it was too warm to run them, plus I was still really tired. After napping on and off for a good portion of the morning and early afternoon I was finally awake enough and the dogs were restless and it was also finally cool enough to do a shorter run with the dogs. I decided to take out 6 dogs, so I unloaded Sean's cart and got the lines out and was getting the dogs harnessed with the help of Zach and Sharon. My team consisted of Magnum and Kazzie in lead, Robin and Frosty in team and Dylan and Arrow in wheel. I must not have really been awake since none of those dogs are even remotely tourists running. My second mistake was I unloaded Sean's cart instead of Sharon's. Sharon's has much more substantial brakes compared to the other. So here we are hooking up dogs and I getting ready to take them out for a short run. Zach was going to go with me, but more on that part later. So we are all loaded up the dogs are pumped and the ones staying behind in camp are jumping on their drops not to mention the ones hooked up are lunging into their harnesses. So I get on the cart, pull up the earth brakes (that were already moved from the dogs trying to go). Zach is stanging off to the side since usually I can slow the team down enough for him to grab on and jump on. Not this time! Sharon let go of my leaders and we were off like every dog had a rocket up their butt. I'm riding the brake and it isn't even phasing them. I started playing back all my mistakes in my head. The first, wrong cart, the second, six insane dogs, and third my sanity must have escaped me for a brief period of time. So my take off scared Sharon and Zach to the point that Zach started walking up the road that I just bolted down and was already out of site of him. About a mile out they finally settled into a nice pace, they tried to make a quick snack stop into a campground of frat boys, but I was able to right that one and get them back on the trail (probably not something they see everyday). Finally we started up this hill and by this point we're a couple miles out of camp so since it was warmer than I prefer for the dogs and the breeze was doing its job I decided to turn the team around. I decided since we were in a nice river bottom and the sand was adding some traction that it was the right time to turn them around which is exactly what I did. We started back towards camp and from my vantage point I can see a small portion of casa Kecia (aka the tent mansion), so I know I'm a good ways out. So off we go again, although nothing like when we left camp, but at a good clip no doubt. I'm coming down the trail the team does a really good on-by past the frat boys and we continue on. Then I notice I'm closing in on Zach walking my direction quite relieved to see me in what I soon find out in one piece as well. I had no clue up to this point of the scare I had given Sharon and Zach. I slow the team down and Zach climbs on to go back the last 1/2 to 3/4 mile back to camp. They rolled in to camp still pumped, but with a fraction less energy. The next day I contemplated running only 4 dogs, but since we were breaking down camp, Zach decided to run dogs off the scooter 2 at a time. His first team was Max and Frosty, then Robin and Ice, then Kazzie and Magnum and last was Dylan and Arrow. A team of 2 was much more manageable than a team of 6. Chalk it up to next time weigh down the cart with lots of stuff, and make sure I have brakes would be a good idea. Or better yet not having a lapse in sanity would be a good start.....
