Congratulations Allen, Mismo, Izzy, Commando, Junior, Spark, Dutch, Kodiak, Amber, Rodney, Champ, Felix, Chipper, Daisy and Nomex.
They have finished the 2017 Yukon Quest third position with a total time of 10 days, 11 hours, 44 minutes.
Izzy and Mismo led the team across the line; congrats for Champ Matt Hall
Everyone is now in bed except me so I’m off now too. Thanks for following along! We’ll have more tomorrow, in the meantime – goodnight!
SO EXCITING!
We are about to leave the kennel to head to the finish line to greet Allen, Mismo, Izzy, Commando, Junior, Spark, Dutch, Kodiak, Amber, Rodney, Champ, Felix and Chipper. We’re so excited to have them cross the line and have seven Quest rookies become veterans and add one more 1000 mile race to the resumes of the others.
Earlier today we caught them as they mushed past the Pleasant Valley Store.
Passing by Pleasant Valley Store
And friends (and Dog Sponsors) Mary-Beth and Lynne caught up with them at the well-manned road crossing of Chena Hot Springs Road and further down the trail.
Chena Hot Springs Road Crossing – Photo Mary-Beth Schreck
Chena Hot Springs Road – Photo Mary-Beth Schreck
We didn’t need a tracker to know when they passed through the neighbourhood as we could hear all the dog teams in the area systematically start barking and howling as they went by. I like to think they were cheering them on to the finish.
Valley of Champions
Our trigger point for leaving the kennel tonight is when the team crosses under Nordale Bridge. We know from our training runs that gives us enough time to get to town and get situated before the team arrives.
Keep an eye on our Instagram and Facebook pages as we may post directly to them from the finish chute. As usual the amazing visual content team have been keeping the Yukon Quest Facebook Page and website current so make sure to bookmark those sites also.
Once the team crosses the line they will get some yummy thawed salmon and beef then we’ll get them to the truck for a nice hot meal, rub down and into their boxes for the ride home. We’ve spruced up the barn with fresh straw and they will get to chill out in there for a week or so while enjoying short stretch-out runs.
While I was looking back at last year I found this excellent post from Macgellan where he talks about the youngsters in last year’s team. I thought it was just as relevant today as it was this time last year. We are definitely still in a transition phase of the kennel and the team did incredibly well, guided expertly by Allen. He has a particular skill in working with young dogs and it really pays off when we now have so many experienced and race educated two and three year olds.
I will post a more detailed update when we get back to the kennel.
Firstly, CONGRATULATIONS to Matt Hall and Amanda and the whole crew at Smokin’ Ace Kennel. You have an amazing dog team and you ran a well executed race. We’re very happy for you! Two Rivers really is the “Valley of Champions”.
Just to ensure the teams experienced the whole gamut of weather conditions: this morning we enjoyed some freezing rain and +20F temperatures. It’s the Quest… what do you expect?
Allen got up from his nap a couple hours before leaving time and gave the dogs another meal and packed his sled. Each dog got to stretch his or her legs then went back to nap for a wee bit as Allen ate more eggs and made final preparations. As the temperature was ‘warm’ he took off their puff jackets and cold weather gear.
Allen readies to leave as Paige Drobny goes about her chores
At 10.05am he and and all 12 Black Team athletes pulled out of the checkpoint ready to run the final leg to the finish. We were so excited to see them trot out of the chute – they’ve run this route many times this winter in anticipation of just this moment.
Let’s go!
Mismo and Izzy led the team out with Commando and Junior in swing, Spark and Dutch, Kodiak and Amber, Rodney and Champ with Felix and Chipper in wheel. We will watch the tracker all day and maybe try to catch sight of them as they go by Pleasant Valley Store and through the neighbourhood.
Family and crew sending them on their way; Stephanie and the “pee stick”
Another important thing that happened at Two Rivers (as well as Dawson and other checkpoints along the way) was the urine testing of the dogs. Stephanie expertly manoeuvred the “pee stick” to gather samples from random dogs, recorded the microchip numbers of the sampled dog and the urine will be sent away for testing. They are checking for banned substances including pain killers and caffeine among other things. It’s really important for the integrity of the race to ensure no athlete has anything illegal in their system, but mostly it’s in the best interests of the dogs.
Allen and his 12 Black Team team mates arrived into Two Rivers checkpoint at 2:04am this morning in third position behind Matt Hall and Hugh Neff. The earliest they can leave on the final leg is 10.04am. He pulled in with Mismo and Izzy in lead, he said Izzy was pulling the most up the hills before the summits so he put her up there to motivate all the others to pull just as hard.
Allen talked about the trail between Mile 101 and about five miles from the checkpoint. He said it was the worst trail snow conditions he’d ever encountered. It was a really unique sensation of being “raspy”, as he described it. He said coming down Rosebud he had to ski-pole. DOWN. Allen did also say, of the team going over Eagle Summit and Rosebud, that he thought it was the best team he’d ever driven up there. He had no issues and they just put their heads down and pulled.
Once they arrived Allen gave the team a kibble meal and a few turkey skin and beef snacks then bedded them down before heading indoors himself and enjoying two fresh made breakfast burritos then a few hours sleep. Aliy stayed out at the checkpoint and the rest of us will head out there later this morning to see them off on their last run.
The team left Central checkpoint after about six hours rest, looking enthusiastic. Allen was in a great mood and ready to tackle Eagle Summit with his 12 team mates. The temperatures have turned – gone are the -40Fs and they were more like -10F in the area. The conditions over Eagle Summit appear to be relatively calm, which is a relief as it can often have howling winds and windblown trails to couple with the steep uphills.
While at Central the vet team did a thorough check on the team and they all ate really well and rested hard, as did Allen. Everyone was fighting fit to continue.
Central Corner, home of great burgers and grilled cheese sandwiches; Allen fills his water flask
Unfortunately, just at the crucial moment Two Rivers lost internet connection AND the trackers went down so we couldn’t watch the team up and over the top. Maybe it was a good thing as it can get very tense and stressful watching inch by inch, but it didn’t stop us sending good vibes telekinetically to them. Thanks to you all for doing the same! We were happy to receive word that the team has arrived into Mile 101 Checkpoint. They arrived at 5.19pm with a great run time of 5 hours, 6 minutes.
The team on arrival; sunset at Mile 101
The handler crew is also at Mile 101 checkpoint, they said Allen has fed the dogs and is quickly bolting down some g eggs. Last time he was a 101 he ate a dozen! After climbing the summit I reckon it will be at least that. We can’t wait to hear his story of how the climb went.
Allen with a musher’s breakfast! Our special correspondent on the trail (and Chipper sponsor) Padee
After Mile 101 comes Rosebud Summit – another enormous climb. Evidently the trail over Rosebud is the best in years so we will be watching intently as they tackle that one also. Once over Rosebud it is downhill to the Two Rivers checkpoint. Our local trails are experiencing some overflow so they may get that thrown into the mix.
EDIT: We just heard the team is back on the trail toward Two Rivers after a short stop at the checkpoint!
After a long cold night on the creek Allen and the Black Team pulled in to Central at 6.24am.
They will rest there for a bit before tackling Eagle Summit. Although the run from Central to Mile 101 Checkpoint is ‘only’ 28 miles there is one large obstacle in the way. Eagle Summit. It rises to 3685 feet over 8.5 miles. It’s a big climb for teams that have already run over 800 miles.
As if we weren’t watching the tracker enough already, this is the section of trail we won’t take our eyes off it, watching every inch willing them up and over.
More details as they come.
They’re off and they look great!
After six hours rest in Circle, Allen and all 12 team mates are on the trail to Central. Allen is excited to get back on the trail – the dogs are feeling much, much better and, as you can see from the short video, have their pep back! See Amber leaping to go?
The crew up there said Allen is much happier about how the dogs look now and they may have put the upset bellies behind them (haha – quite literally). They were never severely ill but just enough to sap energy and enthusiasm. They all rested and ate well and are really well hydrated.
Allen took the back-end of his sled off and has started shedding unnecessary gear from his sled. Now that the checkpoints are closer together he will be able to restock more regularly. He will take food and snacks enough for the dogs and himself to cover a few contingencies and equipment for dogs and humans in case of emergency; plus all the mandatory gear (which actually is mandatory to cover such emergencies). He’ll be carrying all the cold weather “clothing” for the dogs to wear running on Birch Creek. He will want the sled to be as light as possible for the summits ahead.
A wee note for those watching the tracker on the creek – don’t be alarmed at slow speeds. Because of all the twists and turns on the creek it looks like the speed is really low but the tracker updates maybe every 5 minutes, or so, and the distance between “pings” doesn’t take into account the twists.
The Black Team arrived into Circle at 9.18am with all 12 dogs that left Dawson. It has been exactly, to the minute, three days since we last saw them!
Allen pulled in with Mismo and Dutch in lead. Aliy was really pleased to see him up there as Dutch is often in his brothers Kodiak’s and Commando’s shadows so he has finally got his moment.
Once Allen arrived and officially checked in he immediately snacked the dogs on some high-fat turkey skins and dry kibble. He will prepare their warm meal later but he wanted to get some good calories into them straight away. They would also have been snacking all the way from Slaven’s over night.
Evidently Allen is in great spirits. He is pleased to get the team to Central. Turns out the team did pick up a bug that caused some runny bellies but he feels like the 8+ hour rest at Slaven’s and some meds has really helped them and he thinks they are on an upward swing again. They are eating really well now and seem happy again. They had lost their “pep” and he joked about the slow pace saying, in his Arkansas drawl: “You can’t push a turtle”.
Allen with daughters Jennifer and Bridgett; Handler crew posing for their debut album cover
He will give them a good rest in Circle before heading towards Central. This next leg is where they drop onto the infamous Birch Creek. It seems it is always either extremely cold or covered in overflow or both so he will be fortifying the team and himself for whatever challenge it throws at them.
After that comes Eagle Summit!
