A Call from Allen
Allen just called us from the Galena checkpoint. He sounded very upbeat and not at all tired. He says he and the dogs have been getting a lot of rest…too much rest for his competitive nature!
Allen said that his dogs have been dealing with a combination of the heat and a contagious intestinal flu for the past few days. Therefore, he has had to baby them, holding back on speed and taking long rests at the checkpoints. By this time most of the dogs have gotten over the ’48 hour bug’, but both Heeler and Dill are still in the recovery stages.
He plans on taking a 6 hour rest in Galena and heading back on the trail to Nulato in the early evening. He feels that the dogs who have recovered from the flu are super energetic and ready to run. He is waiting for a full team recovery before allowing them to pick up speed and race again.
The dog he dropped in Cripple was Roy, who simply got too hot and couldn’t pull. The reason he stayed 13 hours at that checkpoint was to cool down the entire team.
Allen says that his ‘star’ is Stormy, a two year old female. Interestingly enough, her brother, JJ, is becoming a main leader on Aliy’s team during this race. They are from AJ’s last litter, a wonderful testimony to their father, who was Aliy’s main leader for several years.
Aliy and Family News
After a short early morning rest, Aliy is now en route from Nulato to Kaltag. Our guess is that she will rest in Kaltag this afternoon and then make the trip through Old Woman Pass to the Bering Sea during the cool of the night. That trip normally takes 10 to12 hours.
Doug has returned from Ruby safely. He drives south tomorrow to pick up the dropped dogs (who have been staying near Anchorage) and transport them back to their own houses at SP Kennel. Bridgett is flying to Unalakleet tomorrow to meet with Aliy as she reaches the Bering Sea coast. Kaz, Sammy and Mickey head to Nome tomorrow from Fairbanks. Also on Monday, Allen’s mom and brother travel from Arkansas to Nome to greet the racers a the end of the trail. This is a family event!!
Yeah, family!! So very very important!
Wishing you all safe travel.
We are really missing Alaska now!!! It was bad enough when we left Nome and couldn’t be there when Aliy finished but at least we were able to see her off in Wasilla/Willow. Now that we are in SC we are realizing just how much we miss you guys! GO TEAM ZIRKLE!! You potlickers, you are the best!
D & J