I saw first waves of migratory birds heading south when I walked dogs out this morning. 

An hour weight session followed a two-hour run, always nasty. Time to strengthen myself for times ahead.

I got what I wanted this morning. You could smell autumn. Cold follows that smell. I think of crinkly russet leaves down south burning on UK bonfires. Weather records here started in 1957. Apparently this July was the coldest on record, with an average high of only 15ºC. The US National Snow and Ice Data Centre reported Arctic sea ice melted to a record high this summer. That I suppose accounts for all the rain we’ve had. I’m glad it was a cold summer and bug days are numbered.

Out walking and running I’ve found RAB’s Vapour-Rse range to be mosquito proof and comfortable even at 20ºC.

Blitz celebrated his first birthday with a fight. Everyone piled into him. Up until now fighting hasn’t been on the agenda much this summer, except for poor Beef’s scrotum injury, although Saxon always keeps the desire to fight ritual going at feed time.

Today it poured and poured with rain. Walking the dogs out and into Inuvik I saw or felt no bugs. It’s getting colder. 

Inuvik has a nice little library that includes a privately donated collection of books about the north. There are some absolute gems there to read including Amundsen, Peary, Nansen, Franklin and Stefansson first editions. I make time to read and study the old photographs. I always come away with scraps of paper scribbled with pencil diagrams and notes.

It’s rained every day this week. Today my dogs happily chased and raced each other through puddles. Bunched together there were plenty of exchanges of dirty dabbing paws. They stopped to stare at me once enthusiasm for the game waned.  It shows character to entertain oneself. Piston and Cream have been digging holes in the now soft tundra top. It looks like the Somme out there.

Vet John Overell is up here on one of his quarterly visits. His schedule is always busy. I’d love to do a journey with packhorses and dogs. I asked John about horses in the Yukon. He has a Dawson City outfitter on his books that own seventy packhorses. I was interested hearing this.  

John administered my dogs’ with annual shot distemper, adenovirus, parvovirus, parainfluenza boosters and rabies shots. Rabies shots were made into the shoulder, annual boosters go into the dogs’ bums. John does this in case there’s a reaction. Where the reaction takes place determines how he deals with it. John’s hand was clenched over as he injected the syringe contents. If a shot freezes it’s rendered useless. His technique is habitual since he does so much work in the cold.

I walked over fresh bear crap this morning and kept an eye out for the owner.