It has been raining, no POURING for two days straight but today we were expected to get a winter mix, supposably a nice day.. a chilly one. A perfect time to take the team out. Unfortunatly when I woke up all I heard was rain.. very VERY hard rain. Loading everything was a hassle, thank goodness I loaded the majority of my equipment on top of the crates last night after feeding. I wore my bigger winter coat but it didnt take long before it was all the way wet, and was causing it to drip on my pants, which were also all the way wet too. Cold and sticky, I went after the dogs (who were also pretty filthy themselves because the kennels have huge mudpuddles/rivers going on) who loaded up pretty good despite mud getting in every little crevice.
I live about 20 miles east of Pisgah (Nantahala) National Forest which is very nice. I never thought much about it because the majority of the trails are hiking ones, but my map (and a brochure online) pointed out several nice areas that were supposed to be wide road like trails.. definitly want to check those out. One in particular really got me.. a double loop multi-use trail right at a developed campground. Possibly a spring camping spot? Anyways, there are some really nice forest roads that dont really loop but are still excellent to run dogs on. I traveled FR 981 saturday evening and really liked it, this is where we ran today- 7 and half miles one way.
It rained (driving rain I might add) all through town but as soon as we entered Pisgah it slacked off, actually to just a mist. I sighed with relief... atleast it wouldnt be as bad for us on the trail with slight rain versus the pouring stuff. The dogs hooked up really well and we took off at a decent speed.
The first 3 miles were perfect.. not really any big hills, dogs were at a matching stride and seemed really content. The scenery was great too.. lots of iced over brooks and river branches and the occasional patch of snow with crispy, lingering fog. I'm sure I had a goofy grin from ear to ear as well as the dogs :) We then crossed about 3 larger hills, which took a little time. I tried not to peddle much so we just took breaks at each stop untill they were ready to go again. That method seemed to work pretty good, even if it did take longer... the dogs had some good hill training!
The worst part about hills is, what comes up.. must come down. The first part wasn't all that bad, but then it went straight downhill and i almost wussed out. Coming down one hill, I had to hook a leash to the rig and walk my team down for a bit because I was scared my brakes wouldn't be enough. Before this hill, I was standing on the brake with ALL my weight, using both feet. We finnaly got past this and a little bit more downhill (I just sucked it up and got used to it) and finnaly some more level ground. We took a 3 minute break and then charged on down the road. The dogs were back in high gear and everything went smoothly for the rest of the run.
Although I do have to note one thing- either I didnt see it (thinking it was a deer) or calamity wanted to take a dip in the river, It was HILARIOUS watching her pounce, tail up, perky eared looking at the riverbank. I let her get away with it for a little bit because I was chuckling, but then told her to pick it up and she flipped her ears back, obeying with little resistance. We reached 'our spot' and I took everyone individually to take a dip in the creek, Storm really liked that :)
For some reason my speedometer wasnt working (probably because the sensors were wet, will have to play around with the magnet too) so I dont know my average and max speeds, but I do know we went 7 and 1/2 miles due to my earlier recordings. After we loaded up, it immediatly started sleeting. When we reached town, snow was seriously coming down.. nice BIG flakes. By the time we got a few miles from the house, the roads were solid white and the branches of every tree was coated. It was beautiful, I think this is the most snow we have had in several years (I mean consecutive snows, this will be our third, some years we dont have any at all) and am certianly enjoying it. Tonight our forecast reads-
Snow in the evening...then snow likely after midnight. Total snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches. Brisk with lows in the mid 20s. Northwest winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph. Chance of snow near 100 percent.
yay! :D
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