Hard to believe it’s been over for a month now.   My 2010 race is finished and this is the time of year where if I let myself, I can go into a slump.  Project over, dogs are home and off the trail, back to a somewhat “normal” life if there is any degree of that in our household.

That lasts for about 8 hours as we are now at the start of Iditarod 2011.

There was a clean house and organized basement for the last month that I wasn’t home.  That has drastically changed.  We are busily unpacking gear……bags of used booties, clothing, assorted gear that need to be washed, sorted, and then organized so that I can find it when I need it without tearing the house apart.  My daughter helps me unpack until she catches the whiff of liniment stained bibs or the oily parka.  I took out the fleece “buffalo suit” that I have worn for the past two races. ….straw and foot ointment still sticking to it.   Did I really smell like that?

The kennel is melting.  Equipment needs upgrading and repair.  Dog houses mended or upgraded.  Not that much different than your basic spring cleaning for a normal family….except that the family housing includes 18 houses. 

Straw raked, compost pile sorted, utility barn cleaned out.  My front yard the prior 7 months was full of dog carts, ATV’s, assorted vehicles in assorted running conditions, dogsleds, fencing, lines, dishes, training gear.  Now it looks like a hurricane came through Sun Valley as I have 2000 booties drying on lines, 50 pairs of gloves waving in the breeze, dog jackets drying on the fence, and enough clothing drying in the sun to clothe an entire team of Everest climbers.  (assorted vehicles remain in assorted running conditions.)

Plus there is all that duct tape that I have to peel off semi-repaired items and actually make all the repairs.

Picture during race from Anchorage newspaper, caption was “Trent Herbst checks MapQuest for closest barber”!