After last weeks TQ I have not had the chance to run the dogs. Lotta is doing as much training and dog work as possible to prepare for Finnmarkslopet, and this weekend they did another 160 km. The Troms Quest went fine for the team. They did not perform extraordinary good, but they did a good job, and none of them seemed to tired after the race. They had the same speed on both legs, which is also a good sign.
It is strange not spending more time with the dogs, but it will be better. In a couple of weeks I will take them for a week in the mountains again. But first I will join Femundsløpet as handler for Olav om the 600km. I really look forward to that happening, first time to Femund and actually first time as race handler...
Even with a warm start of August we have managed to get started at the training and is almost on our schedule... The thing that I am most happy with is that the culture in the dogyard seems relaxed and good. All dogs behave well when they are running loose and the new, chaos style, line system is working good. The 17 dogs run on a line that is as long as a normal 10 dog string, without neck lines and with shorter pulling lines. This gives good control of the team and the dogs must learn to behave in the harnessing/starting situation. 
I think I have never seen so few Ptarmigan or tracks before, saw three birds and hardly no tracks, but a lot of reindeer in the area and more wolverine tracks than ever before. The dogs did a good job also, I had one adult lead dog in my team and the rest was youngsters. Pelle and Bård both got valuable lead dog training, braking trail in new terrain and keeping a straight course in the white mountains together with Momba. Kafka that i borrowed from Magne and Ragnhild also did a grate job, not bad doing this trip when in front of a sled for the second time and normally living life as a pet dog... Thanks to the team for a good week.
