Races
March 23, 2018 by

Overnight Jeff and his nine team mates “did Eagle”.

They arrived at 11:38pm and saw out their mandatory six hour rest plus time differential, where they make up for the staggered start and everyone is back on even ground.

Jeff’s checkpoint routine will likely have been to snack the dogs immediately as they arrived then give them straw to make beds. He’ll then have taken booties off, put sleeping jackets on then set to making water for their big meal later.

Mushers carried fuel with them for melting snow into warm water. The water is used to soak kibble and meat snacks then just before feeding Jeff will have added a second type of kibble for crunch and calories before dishing it out after their nap. Hopefully Jeff got some food and sleep himself during the rest.

His checkpoint leaving routine starts about 1.5 hours before leaving time when he would have fed the team their meal, packed his sled back up then bootied and dressed the dogs. He timed it just right as they left exactly on time.

There are no “drop bags” sent ahead of the team for resupply, nor “return bags” to send equipment and food home, so they have carried everything with them from the start line. The trip home should be a little quicker with a bit less weight in their sled.

At 5:54am they took off again to retrace their steps back to Fortymile then Dawson. The trail from Eagle to Dawson is a little over 100 miles so, even though there is no mandatory stop at Fortymile, it is possible he will stop the team for a rest there before continuing on to the finish.

They are still holding steady in 9th position.

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8 Responses

  • Sounds like Jeff is having a good race. Go SPK Red and Black Team. Safe travels back to Dawson.

  • Thanks so much for the posts–haven’t been able to keep in touch today. Sure that
    technology sometimes has it’s problems. Go Jeff & SP Dogs!

  • Go Jeff and R&B dogs! It looks like they are in 6th position at this moment. What a great race to end the season.

  • Cool they have to carry all their supplies…adds a note of independence in the wilderness that is very fitting! Jeff and the Team are doing GREAT!

  • GO SPK! It still looks like he is in 9th, according to the Percy de Wolfe website. He should be finishing ‘soon.’ ‘Soon’ being relative, of course, because of the space/time dimensions of long distance dog racing… but at any rate, he’s keeping up. Hope he and dogs are healthy and happy. That is the winning combination. This is exciting. Can’t wait to hear about his experiences during the race – and the Red and Black Teams’ doggie re-caps for the Iditarod. It is such a nice thing and I am so grateful that the SPK Dog Log keeps us all up to date on all the excitement and activities. Maybe I’m going to have to figure out a way to support the Dog Log, too! Thanks, SPK.

  • Go Jeff and the Red and Black Team!! This is a great race!! I, too, am thankful that SPK informs us fans on all the events happening at the kennel and all the races. Next season, I plan to be a dog fan of Dutch or Clyde!

    Go Jeff!!! Finish the race well!

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