Date of Report	Trail Conditions

Place	Driver	Dogs	Time
1	Paul Pettijohn	12	1:42:52
2	Nicholai Ettyne	12	1:48:14
3	Svetlana Kazmina	12	1:52:42
4	Peter Cohrs	12	2:09:54

The first heat of the Aurora Dog Mushers mid-distance race was held on December 29, 2001. Earlier in the week, southcentral Alaska was the recipient of three days of Chinook winds. With that, rains  fell on club trails in both Anchorage and Chugiak. Trails at the Aurora Dog Mushers track near Big Lake were spared. At the Aurora track moderate temperatures in the low 20s F followed, setting up any loose snow and making for firm shoulders on the edges of the trail. Unfortunately, likely due to erroneous assumptions about the trail surface quality, only 4 drivers entered. As it turned out, the race surface was fast, with a skiff of fresh loose snow. Observing the dogs from the teams after running the first heat showed "no" barking up of feet. No one booted their dogs.

 

The trail was 21.4 miles long. The trail is flat with a few small short hills. Temperature at race time was 20F and there was a slight wind out of the North.

 Speedier weekend points races will begin next weekend, January 5, 2002, with 4 dog class going 3 miles, 6 dog class going 5 miles, and 10 dog class going 7 miles. These distances will remain the same for points race 2. Points races 3 and 4, the respective distances will be upped to;  5, 7, and 10 miles. All points races are one day and on a Saturday. The championship races, February 2nd and 3rd, are two heats the following weekend after points race 4.

Place	Driver	Dogs	Time	Total
1	Paul Pettijohn	12	1:37:23	3:20:15
2	Nicholai Ettyne	12	1:44:57	3:32:11
3	Svetlana Kazmina	12	1:50:05	3:42:47
4	Peter Cohrs	10	2:07:15	4:17:09

Day 2 of the Aurora 20/20, actually 21.4 miles each day, was held on December 30,2001. Weather and trail conditions were similar to yesterday; temperature 18 F, slight north wind, overcast, loose snow from trail traffic on a hard pack trail.

First points race next weekend, January 5. Hope we see everyone there!!!