Arctis at the races

Here's a video of our carts at last weekend's Spring Fling dryland races in Roslyn WA

We're baaack!

We're back home in southern California after an almost 2400 mile roundtrip journey to NWSDA's Spring Fling in Roslyn WA.
What a blast it was to meet the NW mushers and participate in their event. Two of our carts were entered in the races and finished 1st in 6-dog sprint, 2nd in 6-dog mid distance, as well as 2nd and 3rd in 4-dog sprint! A million thanks to the successful mushers for running our carts and putting them to the test.
"Team Arctis" finished 7th in the 2-dog scooter race. Our SoCal Siberians Gaia & Silver tried their best to keep up with the "pro's"...good puppies they are!
Thanks to the good people at Alpine Outfitters, we now have custom made sledbags available for our carts, too. More information on those in the next few days.

For more pictures from the event, please click here

Up Next: NWSDA's Spring Fling, Roslyn, WA

After finishing the OC Pet Expo last weekend, we're putting the final touches on the cart we're going to bring to this weekend's Spring Fling in Roslyn WA.
North West Sled Dog Association is hosting, and Alpine Outfitters is sponsoring this dryland race.
Word on the trail is, that a team from Tumnatki Siberians is going to enter the race with one of our carts. We keep our fingers crossed, that it'll be a winning combination!
Just a reminder: if you're in the market for one of our carts and roughly live along I-5 or US-97, between Los Angeles and Seattle, please let us know, and we'll drop one off while we're on our way. That'll save you the shipping/crating expense.

Check out pictures from last year's event here.

Orange County Pet Expo This Weekend!

America's Family Pet Expo is on this weekend (Friday - Sunday) at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa CA.
We'll be part of the "Working Dog" display on the lawn near the amphitheatre and will do dog sledding demonstrations at 2pm and 5pm.
Thanks to Southern California Alaskan Malamute Rescue for letting us share their booth.
For more information, please see the pet expo's website here
Pictures of all three days are here

California Mushing Pictures

Finally getting around to upload some recent pictures of our local mushing events:
Fun runs at Fairview Park in Costa Mesa and at Aliso Creek Trail in Laguna Niguel, 3rd annual Mushing Clinic at Fairview Park and carting in the Angeles National Forest near Wrightwood.
Click here to see the slideshow.

Spring Mush 2009, Wrightwood CA

Announcing "Spring Mush 2009" at Harmony Pines in Wrightwood CA, May 1st - 3rd.
We went to see our friend Robert Stradley last Tuesday at his camp in the Angeles National Forest and took the dogs out for a couple of runs on the trails around his property. We had such a blast up there, that we're going to participate in this event all three days.

For more information, schedule of events, housing, meals and fees, please click here (.pdf file).

Here's a message from Robert:

"Pack up your furry friends and come to Harmony Pines Christian Camp for a weekend of mountain mushing fun from May 1st to May 3rd! Harmony Pines is located 6,000' up in the Angeles National Forest near Wrightwood, CA. Space is limited so don't miss out on the fresh air and good times to be had with those who share your love for those lovable canine athletes."

Robert Stradley has been the resident director of Harmony Pines Christian Camp for the past thirteen years. He lives at the Wrightwood camp with his two sons, Talon (11), and Trent (9). Robert and his boys have been training and racing sled dogs for over eleven years. He also established Adventure Quest Institute, Inc. in 2003 as an educational non-profit corporation to teach, motivate, and inspire people of all ages through the exciting sport of dog sledding.

Taiga 300, Urban Mushing Clinic & Carting

Whew! What a way to start the month...
Alaska's Taiga 300 started on April 1st and came to an end on the 4th. We kept our fingers crossed for Jillian Rogers and her Spitfire Kennels team. It sounds like they had a great time out there and accomplished their goals, congratulations! Jillian wrote about the race on her blog. Take it easy for a while and get ready for next season, it'll be a big one!

Our local "Urban Mushing" group held its annual mushing clinic last weekend at Fairview Park in Costa Mesa. Once again, we had Carmen Rasmussen of Alpine Outfitters as our guest speaker to share her knowledge with us. Thank you so much for making the trip down the coast! Dr Rod Block, an animal chiropractor also took the time to share information about dog's muscular and orthopedic care and treatment, thank you!
Saturday night, a good sized group got together for a BBQ at "Arctis headquarters", where we welcomed another special guest, Canada's "mushing mum", Susan Evenden. We hope, you had a great time with us SoCal mushers.
For a more detailed write-up of the mushing clinic, check out the Urban Mushing Blog, and for more pictures, click here.

Tuesday, "Team Arctis" took the 90 minute drive to the Angeles National Forest to go on a dryland adventure with our friend Robert Stradley of "Adventure Quest Institute".
We tried and tested our carts and scoped out the challenging mountain trails for the upcoming "Spring Mush" which Robert is hosting at Harmony Pines in May (stay tuned for more information).

Now, we really need to get back in the habit of building carts!

Next up: Orange County Pet Expo, April 17 - 19, Costa Mesa CA
NWSDA Spring Fling, April 25 - 26, Roslyn WA
Wag-A-Thon, April 25, Dana Point CA

Taiga 300 underway!

Alaska's Taiga 300 started today out of Wolverene Lodge at Lake Louise. For race information, please click here.
We're keeping our fingers crossed for Spitfire Kennel's team! Good luck!