Americano Blue's musher/mushing chat thread

[ShrekDawg]

And sorry about your gran :/

 

[RezChamp]

...

You can definitely post videos on here! But I think you have to upload it to YouTube first and then share the link here[/quote
K. Thank you
I'll check it out

 

[RezChamp]

And sorry about your gran :/

Thank you. It sucks for me but I don't know how she feels. I remember I asked my Pampa when he was 91 or 92,"Are you afraid of dieing Pampa?", and with out breaking a face of any kind(stolid) he says,"Well, I don't WANT to die." In a matter of factory way. So maybe Gran is the same.
My only wish is that she doesn't suffer painfully. She's earned a beautiful easy transition from this world to the next. Or, so I believe
Again thank you. That's very compassionate of you. Bless you

 

[Americano Blue]

Sorry I gota back out on my promise. No pix today.
I was sick all day. Laid around mostly. Drank some juice and water and even a cup of coffee.
But I ain't a real good patient. I can't stay still too long. Now indeed to stay in the house.
I needed fresh air. I knew I wouldn't be able to sledding so I went for a little walk 500 yards up the hill to visit my dad.

Besides, my dad ain't real healthy now. I wanna enjoy him while I still got him.
On that note my mom too. And for that matter my 99 yr old Gran has developed cancer in a bladder of some kind so.....

I am so very very lucky. I wanna honor these beautiful blessings Creator gave me.
All said I still hope she makes it to her 100th birthday party.

Anyways, I'll get pix up one day soon.
Gee, I gota remember to take my phone with me one day when I go sledding so I can get some action pix.
Can video clips be posted on here? If so how?

Geez it's 130AM and I was roughly awakened by a horrible fit of coughing. So I thought,"Hmmmmm. Awake now. May as well see what's going on in the world."
So I put Vicks on the soles of my feet and here I am.... and waiting for the Vicks to start its work.
My bridle extends only about maybe 14" beyond the sled(not the brushbow) with another 10" of shock cord(bungee) and MAYBE 2" of loop(on mainline). My mainline section are 6' and the tugs are 30" and the necklines are 8 to 12". All the tugs and necklines are looped into the end loops of the mainline sections and mainline a sections are looped to each other. My "mainstay" is 6dog but I always carry atleast 2 extra sections, each with a carabiner on the neckline end. Quick attach/detach comes in handy for sure. I also carry 3or4 extra tugs and necklines. And a couple harnesses. Never know what could happen when mushing through an area where there are any number of dogs. Maybe I may just harness them up and "voila" 2 more pullers for part of the journey.

Also I have an 8 place sectioned gangline I bought that I think must be for racing setup. The sections are 9 feet long and the tugs are dang near 5' long and 18" necklines. They ain't detachable like mine. Kinda looks weird to me but I can see the merits of such a set up for racing teams. So anyways, If I wanna go to the store quick I use the lead section and 2 team sections and use my heavy duty wheel section. That puts the tails of my wheelers a bit better than 4&1/2' from the front of the sled. It works well stringing out the dogs so they can run easier but the wheelers still have lots of control steering in tighter areas as opposed to "cutting in the corners". The only problem with that is I gota be on the ball with braking. Even I dislike having the sled bump my dogs now indeed how it must make them feel.

Ya, so if my written description didn't paint a clear enough picture I can post pix.
Maybe I will anyhow.
The Vicks started its work. As hoped I ain't coughing now so I can go back to bed.
I hope you have a good nights sleep too.
TTFN

Huh. I might look into that. I recently got lines for a scooter and was surprised how long the gang lines were.

 

[RezChamp]

Thank you. It sucks for me but I don't know how she feels. I remember I asked my Pampa when he was 91 or 92,"Are you afraid of dieing Pampa?", and with out breaking a face of any kind(stolid) he says,"Well, I don't WANT to die." In a matter of factory way. So maybe Gran is the same.
My only wish is that she doesn't suffer painfully. She's earned a beautiful easy transition from this world to the next. Or, so I believe
Again thank you. That's very compassionate of you. Bless you

Ooops. Meant "....matter of factly way." , not ."...factory....".

 

[RezChamp]

I just got in the house from feeding. What a beautiful

day here. Praise and thanks for my health slowly but surely returning.... to as much vitality as a 58(almost 59) yr old can have I guess. And thanks for the well wishes from y'all on this thread as well.
Wasn't feeling quite strong enough to go mushing but here are some pix that I said I would get up.

The racing lines(blk&free) are actually sections 9'6" long with 44" tugs and 12"necklines permanently joined.
The lines I made(blu&w & blk&w) are really good for the bush. They are sections 6' from loop end to loop end w/28" tugs and 10" necklines that are all easily detachable.
Notice that the b&r is a 6 place and a good 18" longer than my Blu&w 8 place.
My tugs can double as leashes.
I've also made my own shock cords because the ones I bought snapped easily and were too long for my application. Good for racing I suppose.
I prefer Italian bronze snaps. They are more durable and almost twice as strong as brass. I am having a hard time now locating the bronze now. Locally anyhow.
The carabiners I use are BlackDiamond & Petzal screw lock gates @ (kilonewtons[I dono what that is in pounds])23x6, 24x6, 24x8, 25x8, 25x10 & a 27x10. I also have a couple spring gate ovals rated at 17x6.
Also a cpl pix of my "just in case" things...rope, pliers, tugs & necklines.

I'll post them and then see if I need to describe more.
Ooops! Forgot to press submit. Had a visitor show up for an hour.

 

[RezChamp]

I must've lost a couple in cyberspace. Try again.

The shorter thicker "tugs"(by handle of pliers) are just "extensions" for when I want my #1 leader to be out front a bit more. It seems to "inspire" secondary leader/s and give #1 a bit of break from pulling so hard and think more instead. Energy is energy no matter what kind it is and no matter how it's applied can still wear you down.

Home made shock absorber. I used artificial sinew to secure it and wound it with nylon string for durability.
Feel free to ask for clarification
TTFN

 

[SternRose]

 Remember when I said that the mother is the one that passes on attitude?
Nala is a Siberian Husky.  = cold weather dog. Hank may not be PURE Sibe but his mother is. Thus Hank would be in his element too with snow being on the ground. It's genetics at play. We can argue that I suppose but........
However with your tenacity at training it enhances what they evolved to do.
I say again... Way to go Rosie girl  

Genetics play a huge role! Training just shapes and enhances IMO. Thank you! Sadly all the snow melted :/ and I no longer have a dry land rig to use.

 

[RezChamp]

Genetics play a huge role! Training just shapes and enhances IMO. Thank you! Sadly all the snow melted :/ and I no longer have a dry land rig to use.

Aw geez eh. That's too bad. I feel for you.
It was -26*C here at noon with a pretty stiff NW wind blowing the snow"ish" that fell over night.
The wind actualy started about 7 this morn.
I figured it would stop by 10 but it went right till a bit after lunch.

 

[RezChamp]

Genetics play a huge role! Training just shapes and enhances IMO. Thank you! Sadly all the snow melted :/ and I no longer have a dry land rig to use.

I forgot to add...
"IMO" = In My Opinion??
"Genetics" & "Training" Yes. I believe if we searched long/hard enough we would probably find someone has done a study. In my case it's just first hand observation after hearing some people say something about it.
Oh ya, dryland rig". I thought you had jimmied something up to use. What happened? Where's it?