Jeff and the R&Bs are home safe.
They did not finish the race; Jeff thought it best for the dogs to come straight home from Angel Creek checkpoint. The dogs were tired from the challenging trails and temperatures were dropping fast. For most of the race it hovered around -10 but overnight it got to around -30.
Everyone is fine and having a sleep-in this morning. We are really proud of Jeff and his team. They have all achieved and learned a great deal over the last couple of days.
There’s more to think about than just the physical aspects to dog mushing. Mental aspects play a huge part: keeping your dog team positive and moving forward, not just for the current race but for their future, is essential. There was one particular turn on the way home that the team struggled with on Leg 2 and that part of the trail was repeated right near the end of Leg 4. The team would be asked to turn away from the kennel and Jeff believed that would just be too mentally tough on the young team at that point in the race.
Daisy was Jeff’s rockstar. Decaf, despite his name did not run out of energy. We will get more details soon.
We are happy to have everyone home safe.
Photos by Padee McCrery
Glad everyone is home safe! Im sure Jeff did the right thing…..super important these young dogs get a good, happy experiance!
Brrr….that sounds cold! Go Daisy…..good girl! Stay warm everyone!
I am glad they are safely off the trail, tired but accomplished. Way to watch out for your teammates, Jeff! That picture of MCaw is so sweet. Rest well!!
WOOF WOOF WOOF
Good job doggies!!! Great job Jeff!!!
I can’t imagine how Allen runs his team past the kennel at the end of the 1000 mile Quest every other year. I’m thankful Jeff made it back to the kennel with a healthy crew, who will hopefully want to run many more miles.
Jeff might have visualized those muffins above Quito’s bed. Tough to mush past that!
😉
Clearly it was a tough race, with numerous scratches of seasoned teams. I’m pleased those youngsters made it as far as they did. Good work Jeff.
Way to go Jeff! The best for the overall team is the best! Thanks for your hard work.
Good dawgs!
I’m happy that mushers and dogs are home safe. Great job Jeff for keeping the team safe and doing what’s best! The team accomplished a great deal in this race!
Good dogs, Daisy and Decaf!😀
I respect Jeff’s sense of responsibility in making that call for the team. I am disappointed and as I write this, I realize my disappointment probably does not match his own, having worked hard for this race … all the more reason to respect his decision.
Good job, Jeff. Great team & one race is not as important as future of the dogs.
Healthy happy dogs is the best decision! Well done Jeff for getting so many healthy dogs so far. Trail so close to home added a dimension to this race all teams didn’t have to deal with, especially so close to the end when young dogs are already pretty tired and know their kennel is right there! Love seeing ‘my’ McCaw is building up some race experience. Great work Jeff’s rockstar Daisy. Rest well all.
Good job, Jeff! Outstanding. You care about what’s in the dogs’ heads. That’s such an important part of having a healthy and happy team. Could you have finished? Maybe. But why push it, at this point? If it wasn’t going to be a positive experience – potentially it was going to be a negative one – soooo not worth it. Bringing young and/or less experienced dogs through a challenging race is a monumental accomplishment because I’m sure you want to finish and I’m sure you want to finish well but sometimes you have to give up what you want for the good of the team. I think about Allen every year in the Iditarod. Train, cheerlead, correct, work, praise, train, cheerlead, correct, work, praise, repeat, repeat, repeat…..from Anchorage to Nome. I am in awe of the work you all do over and over trying to compete in the races with newbies and experienced dogs both….trying to always do your best and make it a happy and healthy experience for all of the dogs. All of us ‘SPK Heads’ out here are proud of you, too.
Isnt the most important part of being a musher – putting the dogs first? Jeff thank you for doing that. I am so proud of all the dogs and the humans that care for them. I look forward to watching their careers unfold one race at a time.
Good job Jeff! Thinking in the dogs head and what is best–Great Decision!
Glad everyone is home safe–cold!