SPK Dog Log

Well folks, it sure is a dog race! Allen and his team arrived into Two Rivers at 5.36am, two minutes ahead of Brent and his team. You weren’t planning on doing anything else today were you, other than watching the tracker?

Both mushers set about their arrival routines after checking in, which were very similar to each other. During an eight hour break Allen feeds the dogs twice so his routine at this checkpoint was to snack the dogs immediately, remove booties and leggings etc, put straw down, massage, then give them the first of their meals. He then set about packing his sled ready for the final leg and changing runner plastics on the sled. The veterinarians do a very thorough dog-by-dog assessment of the team at this checkpoint also to be sure everyone is in good shape to continue.

Two Rivers checkpoint, manned by many of our neighbors; Wendy, Meghan and Moira awaiting the teams

Aliy spoke to Allen briefly about his run from Central. Allen said it was the best run up Eagle Summit he has ever had, the team he has is the strongest he’s ever run up there. Schmoe, Scooter and Outlaw were barking on the way up the steepest part, cheering the rest of the team on and generally just expressing their joy!

He said they came across some gravelly patches on the trail near Mile 101 and up Rosebud due to the recent winds but they didn’t experience any of the winds on either hill.

Allen and the dogs are currently sleeping and will get a good lot of rest here. The whole team needs to rest, refuel and rehydrate ready for the 73 mile sprint to the finish. We are very excited about the prospect of these two fantastic dog teams racing to Fairbanks!

What an evening it has been. To be able to virtually watch, in real time, the team going up and over Eagle Summit is quite something. There is always a sigh of relief once they are heading down the other side. Thanks to the team at Trackleaders for the technology!

Screenshot of the moment the Black Team hit Eagle Summit

Aliy and I watched the team go over from the lounge at home, along with ChaCha, Bullet, Tig, Ranger, Tina, Charlet and Rambler. Meghan, Mark, Bridgett and Scotty were waiting it out at Mile 101 checkpoint.

Ranger helps me press refresh

The Black Team arrived in Mile 101 at 10.26pm and stayed just a few minutes for Allen to get supplies from his drop bags and snack both himself and his team. They left Mile 101 in first position with 13 dogs. They are now on the trail towards Two Rivers where they have a mandatory eight hour stop. This next section of trail goes up and over Rosebud Mountain. For more information about the trail ahead (and indeed, the trail behind) check out the Yukon Quest Mushers’ Guide to the trail.

We have a long night of tracker watching ahead of us!

At 12.59pm this afternoon Allen and the Black Team rolled into Central and they have just left, still with 13 dogs on the line. Reports said that he would “stick around for a while” and that proved to be correct with them staying a little over four hours.

Bridgett said the dogs looked good coming into the checkpoint and were still peppy but they enjoyed their break there. The Quest Facebook page has a good video of the team arriving and some great pics.

Allen took off the back part of his sled in a bid to shed weight for the climbs over Eagle Summit and Rosebud Mountain. This part of the race is when he will start to travel lighter – the checkpoints are closer together and he will carry only what is necessary and what is prudent for a trip up and over a mountain.

At the checkpoint he grabbed a bite to eat and managed some sleep himself before starting his leaving routine. Part of that routine is to ensure his hands and feet are warm (right).

Just before they left the team did a group howl! He has Quito in single lead for the climb and Izzy was loping! Let’s go!

The run from Circle to Mile 101 has a large, steep hill to go over – the famous Eagle Summit! From Central checkpoint they will climb 2,750 feet (from 935ft to 3,685) in the space of about 25 miles. Mile 101 checkpoint is about 33 miles from Central.

Refresh, refresh, refresh…

It seems that Allen stuck to his plan overnight and rested for two or three hours on Birch Creek, about half way between Circle and Central. As I write this, they are about 20-ish miles out of Central and the team looks to be about 11 miles behind Brent Sass’ team.

It’s been an interesting night watching the tracker, yelling at the tracker, refreshing the tracker, closing the tracker to get some sleep, opening the tracker again because you must know what’s going on… does that sound familiar?

We are very excited to see them arrive into Central – there’s quite a crowd up there waiting for them with Meghan and Mark as well as Spencer, Bridgett and Scotty. We’ll get some info and maybe photos to you as soon as possible.

In the meantime, Meghan has just fed Scout and taken him for a bit of a walk around. He is doing great! She said “Scout had a nice long snooze. Walked around to stretch out this morning, had a big breakfast and took some snacks with him back to bed. Getting lots of love and he’s pretty happy in his straw bed.”

Scout enjoys breakfast in Central

Back to bed with some snacks

Allen and the Black Team pulled into Circle at 3.17pm this afternoon.

We’ve just had news from Meghan and Mark who are in Circle. They said the team looked great coming in; very strong. Check out the Yukon Quest Facebook page for some FANTASTIC pictures of the team coming into the checkpoint.

You will see in those pictures he had 13 dogs on the line with Chica and Quito in lead. He was carrying Scout in the bag – he became dehydrated and was not feeling 100% so Allen carried him for the last 30 miles. He has already spoken with the vets and completed the paperwork to officially drop him from the team.

As we saw from Lydia and Wedgy in the YQ300, Scout should bounce back fairly quickly once he is rehydrated and had some sleep. Meghan said poor Scout was so confused about why he was leaving the team as she led him away but he is now cozy in the truck.

Allen completes his checkpoint arrival routine

The rest of the dogs all “ate like monsters” according to Meghan. So did Allen!

Allen tucks into his dinner – is it just me or does that look like a steak to you too?

Right now Allen is down for a nap. At this stage we don’t know if he is taking his mandatory six hour stop here, we’ll wait and see.

For the Yukon Quest 300 Aliy specifically chose younger, lesser experienced dogs to give them some exposure to a competitively paced race. She said overall she was even more happy about this 300 than last year (if you remember last year she was excited and surprised just how good the “latinos” were). On the road trip home from Dawson I asked her about each of her team mates.

BEEMER and OLIVIA – were both exactly what she thought they would be. There were perfect ‘veteran’ dogs and she knew she could count on them for everything. They know what to do and were there if she needed them. She didn’t want to count on them, she really wanted to give the youngsters the responsibility but it was nice to have them there! Olivia was in “4X4 Low”, working hard the entire time.

MISMO was “large and in charge” – he is a BIG dog. ‘Mis’ was by far was the strongest throughout the entire race. At the beginning of the race Aliy could tell that he was almost cocky, which is unlike him, and shows he’s starting to come into himself. When he was partnered with someone he talked himself up: “Did you see what I did? Watch this”. For most of the race she ran him in middle of the team but for the last eight hours of the race she put him in SINGLE LEAD, at first just to shake things up. Aliy said “I told him he needed to do well so I gave him the opportunity. It took a little coaching for the first 10 mins because he started drifting into the deep snow but he soon figured it out and ran, straight as an arrow with a tight tug line.” He definitely took his coaching to heart and from then on he was the man! For a while before that he ran in lead with Chipper but Mis is such a big dog that when he dipped for snow he bulldozed little Chippy into the snow so Aliy moved her back.

WEDGY was behind in miles compared to all her team mates and was the most inexperienced of the team at the start line. Wedgy missed out last year so this season is her learning season and Aliy was glad she got to go on the race. Wedgy learned a lot such as how to pace herself more than she used to. Aliy is excited to see her progress from here.

LYDIA almost puts too much effort into her work. Aliy was hoping this 300 mile race would teach her to pace herself more. There is certainly no lack of confidence in her ability – she really does take after her Momma Olivia.

CHIPPER really surprised Aliy. She is a biscuit pup through-and-through and she couldn’t help herself to lunge in harness, even one hour from finish line! Chipper might not be the biggest, toughest bruiser in the pack – but she works so hard and puts so much effort in. Aliy kept telling her that during the run: “Chipper, a small dog working hard is more valueable that a big dog that doesn’t work all the time.” As mentioned above, Chipper did run in lead for a time during the last leg but Mismo is no gentle giant so she got put back to swing for for a few hours, only put back about two horus from finish. Aliy was really happy with her Chipper’s first 300 mile race.

SANDY did well. She has more experience than all the other two year olds but this was her first race with Aliy. She is a hard worker and never lets up. She’s doesn’t stand out and is not flashy but, boy, she works hard.

KODIAK had the most 300 mile experience, running in Allen’s championship winning Copper Basin 300 team last month. He and JUNIOR ran in lead for much of the race. Both were fairly inexperienced in really tough situations and in this race they learned what ‘tough’ meant. Kodiak was side-by-side with sister Junior almost the whole race, either in lead or team on last leg. He never faded.

Kodiak and Junior

JUNIOR has more of the “Yippy, skippy, I want to leave the checkpoint” attitude than her siblings. She is very happy go lucky, is full of enthusiasm and very vocal. She and Kodiak are a great team.

DUTCH definitely had the most pep when team stopped, either at checkpoints, camps, or for a snack on the trail. At the starting line he was the craziest to go! Dutch is always pretty excited to go but right now he’s in the best shape of his life and the tiredness was not getting to him. He’s come a long way since the CB300 and is learning how to use his body and muscles better. This race has taught how to ease it back a smidge and in he was in ‘4×4 LOW” by the end. He finished the race in swing with Felix. Dutch is going to get stronger and stronger and Aliy felt that pressing him a bit in the swing position was good for him and now he is a good, strong swing dog. He also showed his sensitive side when Spencer took Lydia back to the truck at Carmacks where she was dropped. Dutch and Lydia live next door to each other, play all day and often run together. When Lydia walked away Dutch tried to follow and started crying after her. Aliy had to try to distract him. Awww, bless him.

Those four siblings have very different personalities. LYDIA is confident and in your face. Kodiak is confident but much more polite about it. Dutch is emotional and Junior is the happy, driven cheerleader. All of them are incredibly talented sled dogs.

FELIX ran in swing for much of the race and he did well. He was almost picked for Allen’s team, such is the confidence in his abilities, and he was a welcome addition to Aliy’s Red Team. Felix puts a lot on the line early and he didn’t have a lot of reserve so he needs to learn to conserve himself a bit. Each race he learns that lesson a little bit more. He is definitely a Biscuit pup and works wherever you put him, whether running with Mismo in the middle of the team, in wheel or swing. He’s just a happy dog!

NELSON is a good, solid dog and Aliy was disappointed he didn’t get to finish the race. He is fine now and is definitely in the frame for an Iditarod spot.

Overall, Aliy said it was not a pleasant 300 mile race; it was more of a endurance event that you could feel good about completing because once in a while you forget you have the ability to function in a ridiculously cold arctic environment. It’s not every day that it’s 50 below – she has seen it in the Iditarod, Copper Basin and the Gin Gin but never from start to finish! This was the coldest race she has ever run, by far. At those temperatures your concern isn’t about strategy – it’s all about protecting your dogs and yourself from the cold and all energy goes there.

So, have you guessed the Most Valuable Dog? MISMO!!

Good morning! We don’t have very much in the way of updates for you as since the team left Eagle as there have been no official checkpoints to record in/out times, nor any update from the dog drop/hospitality stop at Slaven’s Roadhouse.

We have, however, been monitoring the tracker closely and from what we can tell they stopped at Slaven’s for around five hours. We hear there is a lot of jumble ice on the trail from Slaven’s to Circle so we expect his run time to be longer than originally anticipated. They are about 30 miles from Circle City currently.

The new race rules see the teams taking a mandatory six hour stop in either Circle City, Central or Mile 101, it remains to be seen where the Black Team take their rest so we’ll keep an eye on what’s going on there. They don’t need to ‘declare’ their mandatory rests so we won’t really know until they pull the hook and leave.

Meghan and Mark have been in Circle since yesterday afternoon enjoying the hospitality of the checkpoint and the comfortable seats, doubling as beds, in Hollywood (the dog truck). They will be on hand when the team comes in later today.

Allen took a GoPro with him on the Quest in the hopes of capturing a different perspective of the race. Temperatures in the early stages of the race prevented him from using it much but he did manage to get some footage and the team ran up King Solomon’s Dome, the highest point on the Yukon Quest.

Enjoy!

Thanks to the team at Verizon for supplying us with GoPros!