After a spectacular drive down the Richardson Highway our convoy of three trucks with our very precious cargo arrived safely in Glennallen.
Our first stop was to check-in all our drop bags (the bags that hold the kibble, snacks, human supplies and other equipment that will go ahead of the mushers to the checkpoints). A great team of volunteers made it simple and quick, thanks!
Next was musher registration and veterinary checks. There’s an excellent team of veterinarians and vet-techs here for the race, many of whom have been on this race many times! All our dogs got a clean bill of health and are ready to race.
L-R: CB300 volunteer, Joel, checks in the drop bags; Rambler, Beemer and Waylon await their vet check
We stopped by the Prince William Sound Community College for some great meatballs and a chance to mingle with other mushers, supporters and fans. Thanks to the team at PWSCC for their hospitality! The musher and handler meeting was also held at the College where we heard about the trail, checkpoints, veterinary support and race start logistics. Evidently Jamey Kemp and his crew have put a tremendous amount of effort into trail breaking and getting a great trail for the mushers and dogs so we’re all excited about that. The mushers also get to see a section of trail that has not been on the CB300 before (the loop from Tolsona to Crosswind Lake and back). The checkpoints and race start logistics sound very well organised and user-friendly.
We’re now all settled in to the Caribou Hotel. The dogs have been fed, are taking an evening nap and we’ve sent the mushers to bed. We will drop the dogs one more time, give them a snack, a walk around and check everyone is happy before settling them to bed for the night.
It’s an early start in the morning to have dogs and people fed and ready at the race start carpark by 8am. Allen will leave at 10.48am with Aliy immediately behind him at 10.50am. Meghan will follow at 11.08am.
The first checkpoint is Chistochina and although I will try to get photos and video of the start and at Chisto of all three teams, we won’t have internet access until Meiers Lake checkpoint so it could be a while before you hear from me. We will, however, endeavour to get pics and updates on how the teams are faring in the first part of the race to Aliy’s sister Kaz and/or to Macgellan to update you.
Remember to check the Copper Basin website and their Facebook page for more “real-time” updates.
– Moira
Great work Moira, to get this post online among your other chores.
Thanks to Kaz and Macgellan to keep the communication moving through the race too.
Woof, woof, woof – just came to check the teams again so I can go back to sleep – counting dogs by teams – so delighted to find a new post!
Thanks so much for your efforts to communicate, Moira!
–Margaret
Ditto…..you folks have done an excellent job thus far and it's much appreciated by us Dog Loggers! I'm glad to see they got live GPS tracking for the race…..gotta love technology! I'll settle down into my mushing armchair bout 3 pm EST and will quite likely spend the night there…lol!
Best of luck to all 3 SP Kennel teams! And an early thanks to Moira for a job well done. The kennel is lucky to have such a great support crew!
Keep well!
Very much enjoying all updates and photos… cheering everyone on, we'll be watching. Cheers for all of you!
Julie
Will be eagerly checking for the race updates throughout the race from the Philippines. Good Luck Teams!
wendy brightman
As an SP Kennel and sled dog race fan I give my hearty thanks to the CB300 organization for all they've done to put on this race. It's clear that it takes a ton of hard work and dedicated volunteers to make it happen. Much appreciated by this fan who can cheer for their favorite kennel!
SP Kennel crew, thanks so much for the updates posted so far and I look forward to more.
Thanks for all the race information and updates. I'll be glue to my IPad as the checkpoint info gets posted. Go teams!
Jeanne
Thanks Moira for your updating information. Keep up the good work as "our" reporter & videographer.
Good luck to all the SP Kennel teams. Cheering you on from Maryland. And thanks for the great updates.
Have I mentioned how much I really love that Moira brings non-American English to the postings. Love seeing "carpark" and endeavour with the "u" in it. Makes SPK doglog even more classy than it already is! Thanks so much for all you do Moira.
Go SP kennels. Have a good clean runs and be safe!