It appears our pattern will remain active through the weekend, but without any big organized systems. The result will be a mixed bag of conditions with partly to mostly cloudy on Friday giving way to more snow for the weekend. Expect snow (ie. higher humidity) to continue through today but moisture is limited and the result will be just a couple inches at most. With this in mind here’s my wax call….

Expected Race Day Snow Temp at 10AM Start: 18 - 22F with higher humidity due to the newly fallen snow.

Expected Race Day Snow Temp at ~Noon to 1:30PM PM Finish: 23F - 26F

Structure: Universal (nothing too aggressive but not ultra fine either)

Flex: Medium – even with the few new inches of snow, the Nordic Center cat will be out grooming and packing it down on the firm & wide trails!

Wax: If you’re doing the 42k distance, durability is always an issue. Therefore (to clean the ski) start with a base prep (Purple Fast Wax), hot scrape, let ski cool and brush it out well with stiff Nylon brush! Apply two layers of Fast Wax HSF-20 Tan (a High Fluoro wax with temp range 12F - 28F), brushing between each layer after scraping. Finish the ski with a smooth/high polish (horse hair brush).

An lower-cost alternative is Fast Wax HS-LF-20 Blue (a Low Fluoro wax with the same temperature range 12F - 28F…just less Fluoro for the budget conscious skier).

Ski Fast!

Bryan Wickenhauser

We wish all competitors a good race. Have fun!

Duke on a ride just before Thanksgiving at Waterfall Creek bridge, Cement Creek Road.

First, to allay your concerns, Duke is doing well. In fact Duke's monetary value has skyrocketed based on the cost of his new medication! We send many thanks to everyone who emailed, called or otherwise inquired about Duke's health. Your kindness and compassion are appreciated. And now back to the story...

Initial Treatment - October 24, 2009

When we last left Duke, he had taken the definitive test for Addisons and received his positive diagnosis. The prognosis was good: we caught it early, admitted him to the Tomichi Pet Care Center ICU and quickly had him on medication. His first dose of Addison-specific treatment medications included Percoten and Prednisone. Two days later Duke felt so much better he upgraded to the regular kennel area. He was happy to see Everest (boarding there also) and we were overjoyed to hear Duke was feeling frisky once again.

Duke and Everest remained at the Tomichi Pet Care kennel while we attended my 31st high school reunion in California. We stayed with Julie Persse and her charming family and their wonderful dogs Fergus and Annie, who assured us Duke would be fine.

Fergus says, "Duke, look into my eyes... you'll be OK soon!" Annie says, "Come to Danville and play with me!"

Post-Treatment Day 7

Upon our return to Gunnison we picked up Duke just before the vet closed. One comment from Rhonda got our attention, "He sure does drink and pee a lot!" We had never seen this behavior from Duke before. His medical treatment consisted of one tablet of Prednisone twice a day, and a shot of Percorten once a month or so.

The staff instructed us to keep Duke calm for a week: easy walks around the neighborhood, playing in the backyard only, no bike rides, no crazy excitement. Duke wasn't too happy with that regimen, but managed to make it through a week without tearing a pillow to shreds. However, he was eating and drinking like crazy. Peeing every hour. Begging to go out... every... single... hour. Maintaining focus on my work was nearly impossible.

Post-Treatment Day 12

Mrs. Flyingcracker had seen enough firehose peeing and stopped giving Duke Prednisone. Soon afterwards he began eating and drinking less, and thankfully could stay inside for longer periods.

Duke has either mastered advanced yoga or is making great strides in his recovery.

Post-Treatment Day 14

Duke returned to Tomichi Pet Care Center for a checkup. After we explained Duke's eating/drinking/peeing behavior and informed Dr. Jacobson that we had taken Duke off Prednisone she said, "Fine, just put him back on it at a reduced dose when he starts feeling lethargic or not wanting to eat as much." This never happens. In fact he is still drinking and eating a bit more than before getting Addisons. Dr. Jacobson also warned us to monitor his "stress" level, mentioning that Duke may need a bit of Prednisone in high stress situations. The staff took another blood sample to check Duke's mineral levels. The sodium/potassium (NA/K) mineral ratio looked good at 151/4.1 = 37. As we mentioned in the previous story, the desired range is 27 - 40, so everyone was happy with this status.

Now, a few words about stress. Your first thoughts about "stress" might include holidays and/or relatives or being late to an appointment. Our problem was determining what gives dogs stress. Human stress is quite different from canine stress. The vet mentioned having people over for dinner or a party as a possible dog stress inducer. At first we thought that doesn't make sense, Duke loves dinner guests! But on further reflection we realized that whenever Duke gets excited he is getting stressed. And that stress requires energy, provided in part by adrenal gland function to cope with the increased demands of the body. So we entered a cautious period of evaluation, continually monitoring Duke for signs of "stress".

Does this look like a stressed dog?

Post-Treatment Day 26

Diary notes from November 18th:

"We haven't changed a thing. Duke's appetite remains healthy. His energy seems undiminished. Adrenal supplements combined with his rugged mixed breed parentage have made him stronger. Most Addison sufferers need both Percorten and Prednisone. Duke seems to not need cortisol replacement (Prednisone), and that's a blessing. Recently he's ridden with me on the following rides: November 6th (day 14) after the vet appointment we ride 3.2 miles up Cement Creek Road. Duke is fine during and afterwards. November 8th we ride portions of the Woods Walk and Lower Loop, about five miles. No problem. November 11th we do Walrod Gulch and Walrod Cutoff, just over six miles. Again Duke is fine. We put in another twenty miles over the course of several days during Thanksgiving holiday and Duke seems fine."

It has been nearly a month since Duke was first treated for Addisons. He's back at Tomichi Pet Care to see how the initial Percorten dosage has worked over time. A twelve hour fast is a long time for Duke, so I feed him at 1:15 AM before a 1:30 PM checkup. The vet takes a blood sample which shows great results; however his Addison-indicating mineral levels have begun changing for the worse. Sodium is 141, Potassium is 5.5 and the ratio has dropped to 25.6 (desired range = 27 - 40). Nevertheless, the initial dose (1.5 ml of a 25 mg/ml solution) of Percorten lasted around 26 days. Dr. Jacobson decides Duke will get the same dose this time. We're instructed to continue monitoring Duke for issues.

The first day or two after the Percorten shot Duke is sleepy, but quickly regains form. We continue monitoring Duke; all the ins and outs seem normal. He's a bit more clingy than previously and that's OK.

Light reading with Big Bob during Thanksgiving holiday.

Post-Treatment Day 54

Duke returned to the vet for another Percorten shot. This appointment is 28 days after his previous shot (which was 26 days after the first one), and Duke is feeling poorly. Apparently part of the excitement for owners is determining exactly when to give your pet his next shot. In Duke's case twenty-eight days is too long. A day or two earlier he began noticeably slowing down, eating a bit less and walking a bit wobbily. The night before his appointment (no fasting necessary, no blood test needed this time) he threw up bile once again. So we have an answer of sorts: for now, a Percorten shot every 25 days seems to be the ticket for our buddy Duke

Here he comes...

There he goes!

To the Future, and Beyond!

Each Percorten shot cost $117. Every twenty-five days. For the rest of Duke's life. Ouch. However, Duke's a happy and somewhat calmer pooch and we just have to figure out how to keep the costs down.

We're very grateful to Dr. Jacobson and the professional staff at Tomichi Pet Care Center for their superb care and support.

And finally we're especially thankful that Duke is still with us.

Happy New Year!

Five weeks ago today I picked up Duke from the kennel. He boarded at Critter Sitters with his buddy Everest while I rode mountain bikes in Moab with Steve, Jim, Mike and Mat. Our dogs have stayed at Critter Sitters numerous times in the past so they're used to the mayhem. Upon their return home Monday evening both dogs slept a lot, no doubt catching up on their Zs after all that kennel excitement. Tuesday was much the same, lots of snoozing. However Tuesday night I noticed Duke had not eaten much dinner. Often after he cleans out a neighbor's trash can or eviscerates a ground squirrel or plunders our last loaf of bread he'll skip a meal. This was different.

Wednesday morning I realized Duke's gait was a bit "funny". His hindquarters seemed weak and floppy. He hardly wanted to run around the neighborhood with me on the townie. Usually Duke is out in front pulling me (and the bike!) along to find all the fantastic new scents in C.B. South, so this behavior was alarming. During our Wednesday jaunt he held back, walking and trotting slowly, obviously not feeling good. That night he vomited several times in the house, a yellow-green liquid bile with no real solid content.

Mrs. Flyingcracker returned from visiting her parents on Thursday and checked out Duke's spine. After a few adjustments Duke seemed a bit better but he still wouldn't eat more than a few spoonfuls of delicious PetGuard Lamb & Brown Rice canned food. Duke's condition deteriorated over the weekend, including more vomiting, tremors, hardly any pooping and some unusual behavior like hiding in the far corner of a storage closet. Fearing another situation like what happened to Toby, we made an appointment for Duke with Dr. Steffanie Jacobson at Tomichi Pet Care Center.

Duke got a thorough exam from Dr. Jacobson. Nothing particular caught her attention except for a low body temperature and some stronger than normal reflex response. (Reflex testing on dogs is similar to when a doctor taps your knee with a rubber hammer and your leg jerks up involuntarily.) Given the lack of obvious indicators Dr. Jacobson recommended a comprehensive blood test. Duke gamely offered his leg and the technician drew a sample.

Two days later a call from the vet told us the blood test results had arrived, showing a strong possibility of Addison's Disease. Among other readings, Duke's potassium (K) was 8 (high) and his sodium (NA) was 125 (low). A normal ratio for NA/K is in the range 27 - 40. Duke's ratio was 15.4, way too low. Even more disturbing was his elevated potassium level. The adrenal gland has two main functions: 1) providing cortisol function for handling stress, and 2) regulating the electrolyte balance in the body. If the adrenal gland is not functioning correctly and the potassium level gets too high (~12) a dog (or human for that matter) can die within days. We hurriedly got Duke admitted to the Pet Care Center ICU where he received a definitive test for Addisons Disease. Friday morning we learned that the test results were positive, that Duke has Addisonian Hypoadrenocorticism commonly known as Addison's Disease.

From our perspective a positive Addisons diagnosis was a good result because most animals respond well to treatment and can live a normal life.

(Coming soon: "Treatment for Addisons and Duke's Response")

And to start the season, join us in welcoming back the Crested Butte Avalanche Center crack forecasting team for another exciting season of weather-guessing fun! Alan, Steve, Billy, Jayson and John will do their best to bring you accurate local micro-climate forecasts and backcountry reports all winter long.

Last night at flyingcracker headquarters we saw temps dip down to -4 F, brrrr! As Noah Wight (of local CBTV-10 forecasting fame) often says, "layer up as you head outdoors".

The back yard leaves were raked up, but not the front. Firewood was stacked, split and filled in the wood ring, but lawn chairs and summer umbrellas are still outside hoping for action. One snow shovel was ready, but the other three were stored away. Driveway snow stakes? Who needs stinkin' snow stakes in October?!

Summer furniture wondering just what happened!

Firewood and one shovel, always ready for service at flyingcracker headquarters.

On another topic, the lack of blog-like output from flyingcracker lately is entirely my fault. You know it's getting bad when your mother writes a sarcastic email wondering about the poor girl who lost her helmet. We wrote many trail karma articles in our head this summer, scintillating titles such as "Early Season Trail Karma", "Mid Season Trail Karma" and the ever-popular "Late Season Trail Karma". Unfortunately none of these made it to the keyboard. The painful and awkward web site management system currently used for flyingcracker is partly to blame, as is my all-consuming current job and occasional work on our super-secret test site, http://www.cracklyfinger.com. Nevertheless we'll try harder in the future to write stories more regularly.