TJ Squires | Chasing The Wolves

Naya and Zelda making their presence known in the form of a gorgeous sunrise.

My brother and dad came up to help handle and support me!

A strong uphill finish.

Yesterday we raced the Northern Pines sled dog race. It was also Zelda’s birthday and my first race since Naya passed. They both showed up bright and early with a gorgeous sunrise. The race was fantastic. We placed 13 out of 16, faster than I expected! The dogs looked great!

#uglydogs #sleddogs

Chasing the Wolves Sweet N Spicy Papaya ‘Naya’

January 20th 2013 - January 30th 2026

I love you my sweet girl. Its never enough time. I wish we would have had you from the start. Give Zelda hell. And watch over Teeny for me.

TJ Squires, the dog driver behind Chasing The Wolves and the human behind this account!

We’ve been racing on snow for 2 years but racing dryland almost a decade. We’re really enjoying the mid distance life!

Our race team. Please note that while Tikan is listed, she will not be racing, and will most likely be substituted with a friend’s dog.

Nashwauk, MN, home to Chasing The Wolves.

Meet our Midnight Run Race Team!

Images shared from the UP200 Facebook page.

We can’t wait to see you there!

Thank you, that means the world to me ❤️❤️

Beargrease 40 2026 is a wrap!

We placed last, red lantern. I am not surprised due to our lack of hill training, but the dogs finished, and finished looking strong! We were slow but that’s alright. I can’t wait til next year, and I can’t wait for our next race at Northern Pines!

We’ll see you all tomorrow for vet checks, and Sunday for the Beargrease! Stay warm out there, and good luck to all the other racers!

#mushersky #beargrease

Marceline and Jake in lead Beedle and Cast in swing BMO and Dovahkiinnjn wheel.

Our final team lineup for the Beargrease 40 this weekend! Can you tell who will be running? (Answer in photo description).

Lead: Marci and Jake Swing: Remus and Ollie Wheel: Grumbles and Gatlin

Who are THEY 👀

We have a few guest dogs for the next few weeks!

Just Marci divided by 2 😂

Devout brother Jake, ready to nurse Finn back to health.

Beedle and Cast in lead, BMO and Marci in swing, and Finn and Dovah in wheel. They were running so nicely, keeping a good speed. The trails were groomed a few nights ago, and with the inch of snow we got, it made for a wonderful ride before Finn tweaked his shoulder.

Finn and Jake on the couch.

Today’s run started out grand- the first 20 miles were beautiful. We branched off a new trail, the dogs were loving it!

On our way back however, Finn took a mis-step over a bridge and tweaked his shoulder. He will be on house rest for the time being. I’m bummed, but know he’ll bounce back!

Absolutely. And we didn’t lose the team!

I was able to unhook dogs and collect my hat, headlamp, and antler, massage and feed dogs, and head back home.

Every run is an adventure, but some are a little faster than others.

Once we are back on the trail, the dogs are cruising again. There’s no stopping them. They climb the (few) big hills, zipping back down as I my life flashes before my eyes, and quickly, oh so quickly, we make it back to the trailhead.

I ask her to come gee this time, and she swings the entire team around beautifully, like she’s been doing this her whole life. (I’ve never asked her to come gee before!)

Marci takes the ‘haw’ beautifully. But when I ask her to haw again, looping back on the trail we came from, she is confused. She goes back gee, insisting we aren’t done. But Marci is a good girl.

This spot is a Y shaped intersection with a sign right in the middle, so usually I have them stay right, then swing around left and back, to essentially create a ‘lollipop’.

But I keep waiting for it to appear. And I quickly realize that we must’ve passed it at some point, because all the sudden we’re coming up on the 8 mile turn around.. and then the 10… so at the 10 mile turn around, I ask Marci to turn the team around.

But the thing is Marci likes solo leading. Actually she LOVES solo leading more than anything else. So now she is going into turbo mode, attempting to whip me off the sled. I’m keeping an eye out for the 5 mile turn around so that we can keep the run short and without any other issues.

This means that Marci is going to solo lead. While I’m moving Beedle back, I also notice that BMO’s neckline is… gone?? Well, most of it. It looks like Dovah chew through it in frustration when I fell. So I use my leader neckline as a makeshift one for him, and off we go again.

Only a few miles in though, Beedle suddenly slows way down, and refuses to tighten up in lead. I stop the team, manage to dig my snow hooks into the deeper snow, and go up to look at her. I can’t find anything wrong, so I decide to move her from lead to swing, next to Jake who had been solo swing.

We get going, and the dogs are CRUISING. I’m on my drag mat to try and maintain a reasonable speed, but the team wants to go fast. Everyone has nice tight tugs, so I just maintain speed the best I can.

I am able to set the hook, stand on it, and right the sled. But there is no way it’ll hold enough for me to run back and grab my headlamp and hat, only a few feet behind me, just out of reach… so I decide I’ll have to just leave them there, and risk someone stealing them or running over them.

Well the dogs do. Or attempt to. They hit the other side of the road at a corner, and I tipped the sled. I manage to hang on, but lose my hat and headlamp in the process. I struggle with setting the snowhook in the mushy snow. The snow off to the trail was better, but I tipped into the center.

Standing on the bar brake with all my might, I just barely stop the team as the cars pass. And we cross the road, and off we go.

This trail has an immediate road crossing, which isn’t ideal, but has never been an issue in the past. Unfortunately tonight, the road was busy and I had to stop the team.

I had planned a short run, we were going to do 10 miles. I get the dogs hooked up, ready to go, and go to pull my quick release- but the rope somehow catches on itself. As I am struggling to pop it off, debating on pulling out my knife to just cut it, BAM I slam back than forward, and we’re off.

The sled dogs zooming around a corner into the unknown

The dogs were FULL OF BEANS today. Here is your story time:

TJ in front of her trailer with a few dogs, explaining the local history of sled dogs to students at a local elementary school.

Once or twice a year, we try to get out to local schools or clubs to share the love of sled dogs.

How do you share the joy of your hobbies?

#sleddogs #education

The pretty white cedar, covered in frost.

Look at how the branches dangle!

A balsam branch

Whispy Red pine

The warm weather has created a lot of fog and moisture in the air. Not great for running dogs or keeping trails. But it sure does make the trees look pretty!