It’s 5.45am Friday morning.
RED TEAM UPDATE
Aliy and the Red Team continues to rest in Galena as they have chosen to take their mandatory 24 hour stop there. The earliest they can leave the checkpoint is 2.37pm this afternoon.
Although Galena was one of the potential 24 hour checkpoints we packed drop bags for, it wasn’t Aliy’s Plan A. The dogs are still battling a gastro bug so she has altered her race plan to give them time to get over it. She’ll be working with the vets to ensure they get what they need during this break in the confidence and belief that they will get their spark back and get back on the trail this afternoon with renewed vigour.
She will be concerned they are not feeling well and will do what it takes to help them.
BLACK TEAM UPDATE
Allen and the Black Team pulled in to Galena at 10.41 last night last night. It appears Allen may have also declared their 24 hour stop there and, if so, the earliest they can leave is 11.55pm Saturday evening.
Padee caught the moment they pulled in last night and said all 16 dogs were moving quickly and she could see happiness and some lunging!
CREW UPDATE
The first wave of crew is heading to Nome today. Mickey, Doug, Chris and I will lead the advance party and get on the ground later tonight. I will be incommunicado for much of the day so continue keeping an eye on the GPS Trackers and Insider videos for updates.
To give you something to watch other than the tracker, I have finally edited up the Ceremonial Start videos. They are scheduled to post throughout the day and I hope you enjoy them.
I will update again late tonight.
Safe travels everyone. Hard to believe it's time to think about Nome. Darn gastro bug. Hopefully the 24 hour mandatory will help them get over it.
Yes, safe travels to ALL the team.
Glad there was a "Plan B" – but of course there was – awesome planners those SP Kennel mushers!!!
And it is fortunate that the rules on Iditarod allow mushers to select when and where to take longest layover and sectionally limited (we assume for doggie wellness) shorter layover (except for White Mountain – down the trail).
Snowing here in Weston CT and even more may come in a few days. I take this as a good sign – FWIW – our snow thrower went to the shop the other day and was returned…today!
Timing is everything – may this thought as well as lots and lots of really good luck be passed on to the Red Team as well as the Black Team!!!
WOOF WOOF WOOF!!!
Fingers crossed that bug will be kicked once and for all with some TLC from Aliy during the 24 hour rest!
Nice to know the Black Team was lively pulling into Galena! They must have liked Allens singing and dancing and of course appreciated his ski poling too!
Safe Travels SPK Crew!
DON"T READ if I actually published my last post – it's that login then hit the publish button thing.
My daughter, Teresa, and I were laughing when recalling Allen's Black team Wrap Up for the YQ. He said they could only wish that all the dogs had Rodney's appetite. Teresa said maybe they should breed dobermans into the kennel line. They ate ANYTHING!
Very true, but they can have sensitive stomachs. We are lucky in the sense that our dogs are not interacting with lots of others, where bugs can be passed around freely. So when a gastric issue occurs, I can usually deal with it in one day with metronitazole. If it persists, I think about what I may have varied in their diet and remove it from the list of acceptable.
If it is just one of my small pack and it persists, I begin to look at kibble. Recently Cutter, our SPK retiree, developed a persistent cough. We assumed allergies and have been trying treatments in cooperation with our vet, but I just changed his food formula, and it seems to be decreasing – a good sign.
At one time, both Teresa and I had dogs that could not stomach chicken based kibble, hers a sled dog, mine a doberman. The symptoms were identical. Roxie developed bumps on her ears and Aria developed them on her chin. We never had any poultry based kibble in the house while Aria was alive. How could that be? Chicken seems to be the most benign of all foods, but not for them.
So, this walk down memory lane got me thinking. SPK pays complete attention to each of their dog's needs. How do they manage individual dietary needs during a race? Once the race is done and all is quiet again, a blog on the topic would be very educational for me.
Godspeed to health,dog athletes, of SPK Red Team!
Thanks for all the updates. Wishing everyone a great race and good (better) health. Allen: Beemer and Viper say "woof" (howl-ooo) to Scout and Olivia.
Cheering for Moore Zirkle always ! And all those support people on the move to Nome. And as they say WOOF ! So proud! Eyes to the moon ~ 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸