It’s 11pm Tuesday evening.
RETURNED DOG UPDATE:
I have had confirmation that the team mate Aliy left in Nikolai was Felix. He developed sore shoulder on the run over to Nikolai and although we don’t believe it to be a serious injury, she would not have wanted to risk further injury by taking him onwards. He works really hard in that wheel position, right in front of the sled and probably just tweaked it in the snow. It’s possible Aliy may move Scooby back into the wheel position but we’ll keep an eye out for some video to see what configuration she is running.
I still do not have confirmation on the dog that Allen left in Rohn. As mentioned in a previous post, he or she will have been flown forwards to McGrath awaiting further transportation back to Anchorage. I have seen news reports that the weather has closed the airport there so it could be a while before we see them back here. Both Felix and our unidentified mate will be taken care of in the checkpoint by a small army of volunteers and vets.
Ginger is doing well. We set up a lovely portable dog house with fresh straw and a drop line in Barbara’s fenced back yard but she has spent almost the entire time since we’ve had her inside, either on the dog bed, on the couch or on my bed. She’s quite content. We went for a walk around the local trails with Molly and Scruggs this morning which perked her up a lot.
RED TEAM UPDATE
Aliy and her 15 team mates pulled into McGrath at 10:53pm with a run time from Nikolai of 7 hrs, 45 mins. They stopped for just two minutes before heading onwards for another 18 miles to Takotna. Running in the cooler nighttime temperatures may, hopefully, mean the trail “sets up”, i.e. hardens up a bit from the slushy mess it seems to have been during the day.
It is about now that mushers will be thinking about taking their mandatory 24 hour rest. Teams must make three compulsory stops: one 24 hours stop at any checkpoint of their choosing, an eight hour stop on the Yukon River at either Shageluk, Anvik, Grayling, Eagle Island or Kaltag, then a final mandatory eight hour stop at White Mountain, 77 miles from the finish line in Nome.
I know that Aliy sent resupply bags for a 24 hour stop to several different checkpoints so that she would have options on where to stay. This means that if Plan A is not possible due to weather or trail or team health she knows she has other options.
When mushers start taking their long stop you will notice the leaderboard changing rapidly. As some mushers take their rest early and other teams wait till further down the trail it can look like the front runners have fallen behind. Once everyone has the green “24 hour” tick next to them on the leaderboard things start to get back to rights. This will happen again when they take their eight hour breaks on the river also, so really it is not until everyone has “two ticks” that we get a good picture of where teams stand.
A major difference between the Iditarod and the Yukon Quest is that, unlike the Quest where handlers can take over the care of the team, the mushers are on their own in this race. Therefore they will figure out a rest / eat / stretch schedule for their team and manage their own naps in between.
I captured a screen shot of our team in the latest Insider “Run Dogs Run” video as they ran through Rainy Pass.
The faces you can see clearly are Commando (L) and Spark (R) in lead, Cayenne behind Commando, Kodiak (L) and Dutch (R), half of Clyde’s blonde face and Chipper’s big smile.
BLACK TEAM UPDATE
Allen and his team travelled at a good speed on the trail to Nikolai and pulled in there for a rest at 8:18pm. We believe he will stay there at least four hours, maybe more. It is unfortunate that we don’t get to see much coverage of mushers in the middle / back of the pack as we are missing those sweet faces!
I found an “Aliy Cam” from 2011 of the team coming into Nikolai. The weather conditions will have been vastly different today for Allen but it will give you an idea of the terrain in the area.
We took a look at Allen’s run/rest stats using the analytics function of the GPS tracker and up until Nikolai he has rested the team around 23 hours, with a total elapsed time of approx 52 hours. If he were to rest the team four hours, as we expect, he would have a 0.48 run/rest ratio, meaning he is resting almost as much as he is running.
For those of you who love to delve into the detail, the analytics can tell you all sorts of interesting things!
Thank you Moira!
I remember the section through the farewell burn being very difficult for wheels dogs, lots of ups and downs, quick bumps, that can be very challenging directly in front of the sled. Felix is amazing, and honestly I’m surprised Aliy didn’t need to drop Violet too. Maybe youth is helping her. Felix looked great in the II video “Aliy Zirkle Moving Into Nikolai.” I hope he recovers quickly.
I’m so happy Scruggs has adapted to his new home, and is keeping the dropped dogs company. Awesome Scruggs! The SPK connections are amazing.
Get well Ginger, you have a long future ahead of you, it’s not couch potato time yet for you.
I love the screen shot of the SPK Red team, Commando, Spark, Cayenne, Kodiak, Dutch, Clyde and Chipper. They all look like they are smiling at the camera.
Thank you for including the video of Aliy heading into Nikolai.
I love how Allen gets every single pup he can all the way to Nome. I root for him to finish in the top 30, but he does better, he gets the maximum pups to the finish line. I love that! <3
I love SPK!
I am sorry to hear that Aliy lost some good muscle in Felix – I am sure his experience in wheel is going to be missed. It may take awhile for another team member to adjust and begin to carry the load at the same level of expertise, but SPK dogs are dedicated to their mushers – so it will all work out.
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Great of you to find that video. I forgot about it and the wonderful view of Denali and Foraker from that vantage point.
PS – Since I have been following the Iditarod and SPK (2007 or so?), other than the Fairbanks route, I do remember Aliy taking her 24 at Nikolai one year. She has a strong preference for taking her 24 at Takotna and I wonder how that affects her decision making when evaluating the dogs performance, etc. You have to be comfortable with your surroundings to get the most rest. Logically, the farther you can get before taking 24, the better. I have not analyzed winning correlated to where the 24 hour is taken. How often has a champion taken the 24 earlier than Takotna?
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I have never understood those who made the decision to go all the way to Ophir or Cripple, or even Ruby.
Okay – so I am just hanging out, waiting for Aliy to get into Takotna and one’s mind does wonder (wander?) in the wee hours of the morning. I just realized I don’t think there is any dog on this team that has traveled the southern route. Am I right about that? What a learning curve in this weather!
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and she’s in and I am going to sleep now.
Love the screen shot of the Team….they are so gorgeous looking! Felix now has the whole summer to get ready for next season….good dog….you made your Papa Biscuit proud (and all of us too)!
Scruggs is probably going to think its Home Coming Week when Felix arrives! Nice to see he is showing the company around town!
Thank you Moira. It sounds like Ginger is taking full advantage of her opportunity to rest and recover! And thanks to the ladies above for your comments. Very insightful! Cheering from Erie!
ID 2013 team members for Black Team included Schmoe and Clyde. Red Team included Willie.
GO RED!!! GO BLACK!!!
I’ve been following Iditarod and found the Red Team in 2006. And got hooked on SP Kennel around the time of ChaCha and her starring role in “Improving the List” video.
GO RED!!! GO BLACK!!!
Thank you for the detailed information on the Red and Black Teams!! I am sorry that Felix is no longer racing but I hope he get better soon! I love that screenshot of Aliy’s team! I think I might of watched that video from the Iditarod Insider. I also enjoyed the “Aliy Cam” video of Nikolai. SPK’s athletes are amazing!
Job well done Felix! The fresh, soft snow together with quickly turning trail got you this time. Rest well. Heal well!
Love the insider video screen shot. It was a fast video, not highlighting any team for very long so when I saw it yesterday, I didn’t see the team. They all look so happy. I’ve got to watch it again now.
Fun picture of Scruggs, Molly & Ginger. Thanks!
Go SPK Red & Black!
Love, love the updates as always Moira! The screen cap of those dogs on Rainy video is classic happy SPK dogs!
I never realized how much more sitting on the edge of my seat was possible until I became a dog sponsor. It’s the ONLY time I don’t want to see an email from the SPK crew. The worry is real and I’m actually a little surprised about it. And yes, wish there was more coverage of the middle and even the end of the racers. Sigh.
Refresh, refresh, refresh. The GPS signal is really aggravating on this southern route. LOL
i respect and admire the ‘dogs first ‘ commitment of both Aliy and Allen and how ,Aliy articulated how a win or a certain final place in a race is a credit to Both musher and dogs. SP kennel Red & Black teams treat their dogs as team members and not merely sentient tools! #HUZZAH SPK!!! ‘
THANK YOU SP CREW for keeping us up to date throughout this race.! … Awesome work!!! Best prayers to Aliy, Allen , and the hardest workers of all…..The beautiful four legged athletes. Be safe out there!
Thanks for the info SP Crew! Hope Felix gets back soon and the other Black team doggy. My Love &
Prayers for a safe journey! Go Allen & Aliy!!