SPK Dog Log

The Dawson Dog Camp is one of my favourite places on earth. It is a peaceful place even though there are multiple dogs teams coming and going and handlers setting about their work. To know that our athletes are being pampered with all the care and attention we can give them and that they are enjoying their cozy rest before setting out again just makes me smile.

When the team first got in last night they had two serious tasks, eat and sleep. As the hours have ticked by their needs are changing – this afternoon they were ready to get up and have a good stretch-out walk or jog up and down the driveway and be a bit more sociable with their team mates and us. Very soon they will be wanting to get moving properly; they’re feeling great and are starting to get restless to be back out on the trail.

Molly Rettig from KUAC interviews Aliy; Amber rests

Dutch and Mismo are roomies; Mark walks Mismo and Commando

I heart Kodiak; Rodney enjoys and ear scratch

Champ and Spark out for a stretch-out; Champ snuggles

We are about half way through the rest break. Shortly the dogs get another meal and Bridgett will sleep over at camp with the them tonight. In the morning we will all head over the river; Allen will pack his sled with essential and contingency supplies for the 150 miles ahead to Eagle checkpoint and we’ll dress the dogs for the forecast frigid temperatures and set them their way at 10.18am.

No video yet, I’ll do some catch ups as soon as internet connectivity will allow.

The whole team did fantastic! There was no MVP and no one has a really big ego on that team. Actually I was concerned at the lack of egos when I started simply because in many races you have a couple of dogs that you can point to as your “ace in the hole”.

Red Team into Carmacks – Photo Julien Schroder

I did have some experience on that team as well as extreme youth so I guess I’ll start with the experience.

Schmoe and Scooter are dogs I can count on 100% of the time through thick or thin, cold temperatures, camp outs, jumble ice, checkpoint stops. They are without a doubt some of the happiest and most enthusiastic sled dogs SP Kennel has ever had. They will wake up and start wagging their tails howling and soon get themselves so worked up that they’re barking to go. I really find a lot of personal motivation from these two dogs. I’ll find myself thinking, geez if they are that excited to go on a -40F river bed I’d better be at least half that excited. I never did put Schmoe or Scooter in lead but I always felt like that was something I would do if I had to and I never got, at any point, near a “have to” situation. I think those two dogs are wonderful additions to any team.

The next most experienced dog I would have to say is Outlaw. He was on Allen’s YQ team in 2015 headed this direction. He’s an odd dog in that our harness system doesn’t necessarily benefit him. He is a dog who is insistent about dipping snow for his hydration but he dips so much it is actually to his team mates and, at times, his detriment so I ran him with a neckline most of this race. That seemed to help because whenever he dipped he wouldn’t stray too far off the trail which at times can end up with a mis-step and anchoring the rest of the team to a rather quick stop. But, as far as working, eating and positive team energy, Outlaw did fantastic. He is a strong animal and he used a lot of his muscles in the last 70 miles in the hills and I thank him for that.

Hotshot and Outlaw – Photo Whitney McLaren

The next group is the golf litter and I had the three brothers: the two big boys aptly named Driver and Woody and their smaller more sleek brother Iron. I’ll start with Woody as he ran up front most of the time. Woody’s just downright a sweetheart. He is completely a non-squeaky wheel, he never asks for anything. He somewhat can get lost in the hustle and bustle of things just because of that. So I focussed on him this race because I don’t feel like he’s been the main focus ever. I learned that he is a lot like his dad Biscuit, that he always wants to keep going down the trail even when he doesn’t know the correct direction. He is very good with commands and he is the most high stepping dog I have ever met. When I passed Ryne at one of her camping spots she even giggled out loud that Woody looked like a Tennessee Walker going down the trail. Needless to say I am really pleased with Woody’s performance.

I have seen what Driver can do in previous races and he did not falter from my expectations. He is steady, steady, steady. He has never been the smartest dog but he’s very good natured. He came into the race with a bootie rub on his hind foot so that took a bit of effort tending to that every time we stopped as well as stopping several more times just to check it’s status or apply ointment or a fresh bootie. He’s got this cute habit of quietly whining when he wants my attention but you can barely hear it so you just have to listen. He’s really cute for being a big lug.

Iron stepped up to the plate this race. I needed an enthusiastic happy dog in the position right behind my leaders and I picked him and that was a good choice. Whenever I walked him around before leaving a checkpoint he got very excited. I kind of see a little doggy smile on his face and I think he was pleased to be put in that position of team cheerleader. I don’t think he’ll ever make it into a lead position but stranger things have happened.

It’s exciting to see those three brothers as four year olds and to see what they’ve done and what’s ahead. Four is that great age where you are a mature dog but you have an amazing future ahead of you.

The fire litter – Tinder, Hotshot, Violet and Chena. It’s just pretty cool to have so many of one litter achieving. I find that so satisfying that we breed so few puppies each year and a large percentage of them make it.

Tinder and Violet started in lead. Tinder is a lead dog. He has drive, smarts, ambition and confidence. He’s fast but I still think he just needs to pace himself a little bit more. At the beginning of the race they really wanted to go fast and Allen and I both decided we were going to try to stay under 10 miles per hour despite the fact that trail conditions could easily have you travelling at 12 miles per hour. Anyhow it think Tinder wanted to go 15 miles per hour and it was hard to convince him to slow down. He held it together but he did get a little bit sore and I think this really has to do with his exertion level. He needs a couple more 300 mile races and I think he’ll figure it out.

Red Team into Carmacks – Photo Julien Schroder

Violet is not a leader. I left the starting line telling Moira I was going to make Violet my new leader. I did not. She did very well and she is a super sled dog but she’s concerned about the responsibility of being up there and she is always on the look out when she is up there. She’ll find stuff even though it might not be there, for instance, she and Scooter barked for the next 15 miles AFTER the horses chased us. She was pretty sure the horses were going to chase us all the way to Pelly. That really made me laugh. They were like this unified force of dogs against this unknown ‘enemy’. The hard trail took a bit of a toll on some of their joints and I left her at Pelly. She is 100% now; she is sassy.

Chena is one excellent lead dog. She has this demeanour of a sulky teenager, she always has had even as a puppy. She will never be the upbeat, tail wagging, enthusiastic sled dog but she will motor down the trail doing her job and getting enjoyment out of her alaskan husky genetics. She is great though and has her own personality. She’s a dog that you can count on and I really believe she will be one of our main leaders for a long time.

Hotshot – ahhh HE DID IT! I am probably more pleased about him completing this race than any other dog. My honest expectations for him were not this successful. He surprised me and that doesn’t happen very often. He is a DEDICATED worker: he doesn’t do it for me, he doesn’t do it for all the “good boy” treat in the world – he does it because he wants to pull that sled. Hotshot continues to put too much effort into his job but, in saying that he just finished a very challenging 300 mile race. Good boy.

Ginger and Ernie. I was excited to take these two year olds. I wasn’t sure whether they were completely ready for a challenging YQ300 but when you start any race you never know what conditions are going to be for the next three days. Of course, they would have done a little better with easier trail contiditons but the reality is what it is. Both dogs have run a 100 mile race and ran much of the CB300 but they are not educated race dogs yet.

We need to take it slow with Ernie. He is a sensitive dog who is a good sled dog but needs to build up his endurance, his confidence and his whole sled dog skill set. He is a fun, happy-to-be-there dog but when he gets tired it is not fun for him anymore. He gets excited about the moment and then he gets distracted easily so he just needs to focus on himself but when there is so much going on, how is a youngster going to do that? That will come with time. He tried hard but is just very youthful.

Ginger tries too hard, it doesn’t not surprise me I carried her in the end. I told her for 250 miles that she should cut back her intensity level to 85% instead of 100% but it didn’t happen. I did, however, see her trot once so that surprised me. Most of the time her gait is a complete full-time gallop. She must have trotted at least 10 steps in this race! Basically, she did really well but she did not rest well – she sat up in checkpoints and looked around most of the time – and her exertion level was too high. In saying that she did well. It did not bother me or any of the team to carry that little girl. It was not a negative experience for anyone.

Often times in my life, my race teams are very strong and educated and true “race caliber” teams going for the win. Now, I would have loved to win this one and don’t get me wrong, if Michelle had slipped up in any way I would have gone for it, but this team was not a team I expected to win with. Going into a race with that kind of team means I have to have a different mindset. But, that was probably good for me. I found myself singing a lot and looking at the scenery. Brian Wilsmhurst, who is racing 1000 mile race asked me in Carmacks “Hey, are you having a good time?” and I think I must have thought about it for too long and he got a bit worried, and I answered “Yeah I am having a good time”. Every time he saw me from then on he asked me and every time I said “yes”.

I did see two snow machines on this race, which is a common experience on a sled dog race. That is obviously an uncomfortable situation for me now but it went better than I had anticipated so things are looking up.

It was so good to see everyone again! They have seen so much on their trails since we last caught a glimpse of them leaving Pelly Crossing. They’ve climbed summits, travelled on the river and through the historic Klondike gold mining regions. If only those trails could talk, the stories they would tell.

The Black Team was fourth into Dawson at 10.18pm tonight. The dogs looked fantastic, I know I say that all the time but they truly did. Bridgett almost lost fingers giving them their fish snacks and they were ready to continue down the trail to camp. It was exciting to see them looking so good.

Once they arrived into the chute Aliy mushed the team over the river while Allen followed in the truck so he could be present during the vet checks. Aliy said it is great to have the vet team do an exam right away so they can listen to hearts and lungs and go through each dog thoroughly. Everyone looks great!

Allen talked about the beautiful scenery today especially up on King Solomon’s Dome where they were above the clouds and all you could see was blue sky and the peaks of the highest mountains. He was really pleased with the team, they are all eating everything and that is great to see!

Black team arrives to Dawson; interviews

The plan now for every one of the team is to sleep. Aliy is with the dogs and the rest of us in town. Will give you more details and stories tomorrow, in the meantime: nigh-night!

BLACK TEAM UPDATE

Since leaving Pelly Crossing, Allen and the Black Team rested at the Stepping Stone Hospitality stop, approximately 35 miles from Pelly. They spent about three hours there then travelled on to Scroggie Creek Dog Drop where they spent another three hours. Allen always enjoys these stops in the remote hospitality stops.

At these “short” rests the dogs will get almost the entire time to rest and eat but Allen will be “taking one for the team” as he prepares a meal for them and sees to all their needs before he can rest. The shorter the stop basically means the shorter the musher sleeps as the chores take the same amount of time whether you stop for two hours or six. He will be running on next to no sleep by now but will get to replenish in Dawson City.

After Scroggie Creek the teams climb through the Black Hills before another big climb up King Solomon’s Dome. Allen and his team are currently camped between the two ‘summits’ with around 50 miles till Dawson City. This elevation map shows the summits clearly and you will see the Black Team’s dot at their current camp spot.

For more information about this run from Pelly to Dawson City check out Kristen Knight-Pace’s excellent piece (click on red link) that give you a vivid account into the mindset of mushers on the trail from Pelly to Dawson.

For more details about the trail itself, the Quest Website has a “Mushers Guide to the Yukon Quest Trail“.

Once the team arrives into Dawson City later tonight the plan is for Aliy to take the team from Allen and mush over to the camp spot where she and Bridgett will tend to them. They remove booties, harnesses and jackets; rub them down, give them a big, hot meal then dress them in their dry fleece jackets. As they settle down to sleep in the cosy straw they will be covered in a fleece blanket. The warmer we get them in their shelter the more they can stretch-out in their sleep, easing sore muscles and relaxing their whole body. We don’t expect to hear much from them for a while before their stomachs wake them up and we start the cycle of feed, massage and stretch out until 36 hours is up.

Allen will come to the hotel where he will sleep, shower, eat, sleep, maybe sleep, eat and sleep some more.

RED TEAM FINAL UPDATE

As you know, Aliy and her Red Team of Driver, Chena, Ernie, Ginger, Hotshot, Scooter, Iron, Outlaw, Tinder, Schmoe and Woody finished in 2nd position in the Quest 300 behind Michelle Phillips and her phenomenal team.

Aliy crossed the line with Woody and Chena in lead and Ginger hitched a lift in the bag for the last few miles. She got tired and asked Aliy to carry her. She hadn’t slept well in the checkpoints and simply got tired, but that is something that the youngsters (hopefully) figure out quickly.

Here are a few pics from Pelly:

Leaving for the final leg of the YQ300 with Woody in single lead

Finish Line dog pile; Outlaw: “Was I the Good Boy?”

A little ginger passenger hitched a lift for the last few miles; frosted musher

We will get you a dog-by-dog Red Team Wrap-Up soon.

Thanks Eddie and his team of volunteers at Pelly Crossing. You rock!

The handler crew of Aliy, Bridgett (Allen’s daughter), Mark and I have checked in to Dawson City. It’s still pretty cool out; last I looked at the gauge on the truck it said -28F.

It is beautiful though, clear blue sky, frosted trees and open, running water in the river. What… what??? The camp ground for the dogs is over the Yukon River from Dawson City, in West Dawson. The city builds an ice bridge over the river in the winter for vehicles to get across (they use vehicle ferry during the summer months). This year the ice bridge has had to be diverted around a large open lead so we have to drive much further upstream, almost to the Klondike River to get to the other side. Right is an “artists impression” (mine) of the bridge this year. The red line is where we would normally drive, the green is very roughly this year’s route.

I always find it pretty mind bending to drive over the river at the best of times but to spend 15 minutes on a frozen river is a little nerve wracking! It is safe though and there is great science and some art to creating an ice bridge.

After driving from Pelly and a sleep in the truck, we set up the camp for the dogs under an enormous tarp. There is plenty of fresh warm straw for them to curl up in and we also set up an ‘arctic oven’ tent for the human contingent – at least one of us will be over there with the dogs once they arrive.

We’ve laid out all their dry fleece coats and blankets, got their first meal prepared and thawed some yummy fish and beef snacks for the Dawson arrival chute. We’re ready! Now we hurry up and wait for the team to arrive later tonight.

Aliy surveys the campspot; Moira shovels (that’ll get you warm!); Mark puts the frame together

Et voilà

Dawson City 36 hour layover is the only time handlers can be hands on with the dogs. We let Allen rest and recuperate while Aliy and Bridgett, with help from Mark and I, will pamper the dogs from nose to tail with as much cosy sleep as they want, full body and foot massages, lots great food and walks to stretch out – all to get them prepared for the 2nd Act of this story – the 500 miles from Dawson to Fairbanks.

We’ll let you know more about that later and show you around the camp.

Congratulations to Aliy, Driver, Chena, Ernie, Ginger, Hotshot, Scooter, Iron, Outlaw, Tinder, Schmoe and Woody!  They crossed the finish line of the 2017 Yukon Quest 300 at 11:18 PST with tails wagging, but certainly ready for a nice hot meal and a rest in the truck. 

Aliy left Violet with the crew in Pelly during her loop to the finish line.  She was nursing a sore wrist so Aliy made the last minute decision to leave her in the crews’ capable hands.  Violet had been doing so well.  Aliy was disappointed not to take her to the finish!

What’s next? 

Allen is currently on his way to Dawson, about 115 miles out as of this post.  He is about 20 miles out of the Scroggie Creek Hospitality Stop.

Wendy will take all of the Quest 300 athletes plus Daisy home to Two Rivers where Chris and Ruth will pamper them.  They will get to sleep in the dog barn and enjoy a few days off before getting back into training for the Iditarod.

Aliy joins Mark and Moira in the other truck to head to Dawson City.  They will set up the dog camp and wait for the black team to arrive sometime tomorrow.

SP Kennel sends out a huge congratulations to Michelle Phillips and her phenomenal dog team for winning the Quest 300!!

Wow, a lot has happened over night for us! The whole handler crew is in Pelly Crossing checkpoint now enjoying the hospitality and gymnasium floor! The moon shone brightly again tonight, lighting up the landscape and giving the hills and mountains an eerie glow. It was cold overnight, even colder than Carmacks, at -30F.

On the drive up Mark and I were very lucky to see two Lynx across the road. I’d never seen one in the wild before so it was a real treat.

BLACK TEAM UPDATE

The whole team left Carmacks after completing their mandatory four hour rest plus time differential. They rested and ate well in the checkpoint and Allen got a little bit of sleep himself. They were literally howling to leave!

Allen straws the dogs

Rodney gets his vet check

The team pulled into McCabe and, right to plan, Allen stayed for a couple of hours before heading on to Pelly Crossing. He was excited to get about seven minutes sleep! Thanks to the Kruse Family and volunteers for their wonderful hospitality, a warm room, good food and sleeping space for the mushers. They are huge supporters of the Yukon Quest and we appreciated their welcome on a chilly night.

The plan for Pelly was to bed the dogs down immediately and let them rest while he packed his sled and prepared for the 200 miles ahead before Dawson. The stay was short but giving the dogs that rest on straw topped them up rather than just parking on the side while he packed his supplies as he knew it would take some time. Allen took the opportunity to give the dogs another meal and grab a quick bite to eat himself plus dry and change his clothes.

There are a couple of hospitality/dog drop stops on this leg to Dawson at Stepping Stone and Scroggie Creek but the mushers cannot send out drop bags to those stops so have to take everything with them required for their camps. It’s at Pelly you see everyone leaving with sleds fully laden and packed to the gunnels.

Another important thing that happened at Pelly was the changing of the GPS tracker batteries! Thanks to Thom who was out there in -30F doing a job that required ungloved fingers! We appreciate it!

Thom changes batteries while Felix watches on

As mentioned in the earlier post, Allen left Daisy with us as she woke up with a sore back leg. She is resting in the truck. Her 13 team mates left after about 2.5 hours ready for their trek ahead.

RED TEAM UPDATE

It is a rare treat in the Yukon Quest for your team to come in or leave during the daylight. For some reason that is just how it seems to work out that most of the action happens in darkness. It was still light, in fact gorgeous setting sunlight as Aliy and the Red Team pulled into Carmacks.

Aliy said the team was doing great although she was concerned about Ernie, that he hadn’t eaten well on this trip so was keeping a watch on him in Carmacks. As it turned out she left him with Wendy as he didn’t eat much in the checkpoint.

Wendy said Aliy was singing to her team as she bootied them which seemed to perk everyone up and got them in the mood to leave.

Woody is coming through like a rock star leader and the most dependable. Aliy said she will likely keep him in lead for rest of the race. He left the checkpoint with Chena by his side, Tinder in swing then Scooter and Schmoe, Iron and Driver, Outlaw and Hotshot then Ginger and Violet. They howled and wagged as they went out.

Red Team rests in Carmacks

The Red Team also stopped in McCabe Creek for a few hours and evidently the horses at the farm chased the team along the fence line for a while as they left.  It really got the dogs up to go faster. They came trotting in to Pelly Crossing just a few minutes ago. Frosty faces and wagging tails galore. Aliy is in great spirits and happy with her team’s position of, currently, 2nd place.

Red Team into Pelly Crossing

Hotshot and Tinder sporting frozen beards in Pelly

They had encountered a bit of overflow just outside of Pelly which froze everyones boots up. She said the jumble ice on the river was a challenge but they managed to get through unscathed. Closer to the checkpoint was mogully from snow machine use and she felt her dogs got a bit frustrated the sled banged up and down and up and down.

The team will rest here for a few hours then they have an out-and-back loop up to Stepping Stone.  They will finish back in Pelly Crossing later tonight.

I figured the first thing y’all want to know is who we have with us in the truck.

Aliy left Ernie with Wendy in Carmacks. He hadn’t been eating very well in the first two checkpoints and therefore simply didn’t have enough fuel to continue. He has been happily eating his fish snacks and broth since then and slept in the cab of the truck with Wendy as she drove to Pelly. Give him a few days and he’ll be back to his normal sweet self.

Aliy was disappointed she couldn’t take him along; we are always rooting for anyone from that “Five” litter to achieve.