SPK Dog Log

The Black Team get ready to leave Dawson City…

Here’s a VERY short clip of the team leaving Dawson looking awesome!

You will see Allen moved Olivia up into lead with Quito and moved Scruggs to swing with Boondocks. Scruggs has done a fantastic job for the first 500 miles but with such a plethora of great leaders leaders in his team he decided to give Olivia a go up there. She is proven in this race and he felt she looked like she wanted the responsibility.

Allen was feeling great and was excited to get back on the trail, as was the team. They were well rested, ate several giant meals and received such good care during the last 36 hours. We are very happy with what we, as handlers, did in Dawson to help get them out looking so very good.

I have more footage and I am hoping to edit into some kind of fancy montage-thinggy but it could take some time so I thought you’d like to see them on their way first.

After completing their mandatory 36-hour rests in Dawson, Allen and Brent are back on the trail! Allen departed 2.5 hours after Brent, who now has a lead of almost 20 miles.

Both mushers are running excellent races, and Brent made a nice move on the Yukon to take the lead. You can be sure, however, that he doesn’t consider it a “comfortable” lead. There’s a lot of racing ahead and anything can happen, especially when you have very strong competitors like Allen and Hugh (who is only another 1.5 hours back) on your tail.

It’s going to be an exciting few days to Whitehorse… Stay tuned!

While I was over at the dog camp I asked Aliy and Dr Mike Davis about the reasons for the stretch out, massage and foot ointment they were giving each dog.

Aliy was working on Boondocks and Dr Mike was walking Scout.

As promised, I took the video camera over to the dog camp and got Meghan and Aliy to show you around…

We have just over four hours before Allen and his team leave Dawson City for their run to Scroggie Creek Dog Drop then Pelly Crossing checkpoint. We cannot get to Scroggie Creek ourselves so it will be a while before we see them again as it is about 200 miles to Pelly.

What is happening now is the dogs are having a final big meal and they will get some snacks and meaty water shortly before they leave. They will also have a final massage to warm up their muscles and perhaps even get a bit of a pep-talk although, to be honest, I’m not sure they need it. After such a great rest for the last 32 hours they sure look ready to get going!

Allen is making his final preparations before heading over to the camp to pack his sled and get ready to go.

Once the team leaves Dawson we need to break down the camp then we have time to come back to the hotel and get something to eat and make our plan for the rest of the race.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Dawson City during the Yukon Quest, the dog camp is over the river from the city itself and during the winter you cross over using an ice-bridge. This year the river freeze took much longer than expected and the ice-bridge meanders a bit upriver and back down to avoid open leads of water. It’s a little daunting actually.

L-R: Dawson City Checkpoint; the ice-bridge and some open water!

I am trying to upload the videos of the Dog Camp and also one of Aliy and Dr Mike Davis explaining the importance of the stretch-out and massage schedule. I am having some “bandwidth issues” (do I sound like I know what I’m talking about?) so I’m working on it!

We’re a little over 12 hours into the 36 hour layover the team is looking great. We have the dogs on an eating, resting, stretching out and massage schedule which, right at this moment has them fast asleep at their camp. Last night after the team got in Meghan, Aliy and Dr Mike Davis (a good friend of SP Kennel) spent a couple of hours with them giving them their warm kibble meal and some extra meat snacks then settling them into their jackets and fleece blankets. We set up some kennels to give the dogs a couple of options – you will see when we take you on a tour of the camp that some choose to curl up in the kennel and others prefer to stretch out a little on a straw bed. Each to his or her own.

Our challenge currently is the temperature. It’s around 30F below which means the dogs are not able to fully stretch themselves out to sleep (they curl up more in the cold, just like we do and therefore don’t fully relax all the muscles while sleeping). We’re trying to combat that with extra straw and blankets and fortunately the temperature is forecast to warm a little so they’ll get the chance to ease any tired muscles.

Meghan stayed at the campsite overnight to keep watch over them, she was in the Arctic Oven tent in her big down sleeping bag listening for any commotion and getting up every now and again to check everyone still had their blankets on and were comfortable. She said the only thing she heard all night was one dog get up to reposition themselves. I had said this before but this team really knows how to make the most of their rest time!

Aliy and Dr Mike went back over to camp early this morning taking a caramel latte for Meghan with them. They fed and massaged the team and also completed the mandatory veterinarian check. At Dawson the vets do a comprehensive check on every dog and note any recommendations or concerns in the “vet book” which travels with Allen down the trail. We’re very happy to report there were no major concerns with the team, just a few sore muscles which, considering what they have all just done, is fantastic news.

Dr Mike watches on as Schmoe is checked out; Dr Mike and Biscuit

Meghan watches on as Mac gets his vet check

Aliy is delighted and excited – she said that the team looks super-good and in her opinion it is the best looking team Allen has ever brought into Dawson. The one thing she noticed is that they are well hydrated which shows what great care Allen took of the team in the first 500 miles. The meal Allen prepared them when they stopped at Forty Mile was really important to them.

We’re giving the dogs some space now to rest and we will all go back over to camp in a few hours for the next round of stretch-out, massage and meal.

As for Allen; Ray sent him to bed around 2.30am and he had a good long sleep and woke up to a steak-and-eggs-with-omelette-on-the-side breakfast. Ray has been checked through Allen’s sled and has dried all his clothing and gear and has the sled ready to continue down the trail. We just all caught up for a quick chat and some trail stories and now we will all take a couple of hours rest before Allen attends the Mushers Meeting. At this meeting the mushers will receive a trail update for the trail onward from here and other important information from the Race Marshall and officials.

During our drive to Dawson Aliy took the time to tell us about her race and each of her team.

She said it was the cleanest 300 mile race she’s run in a long time which surprised her as the YQ300, especially run from Fairbanks can be horrid with Rosebud and Eagle Summit to climb and Birch Creek to negotiate, twice, which can be especially cold and windy. The trail was incredibly hard and fast for the first 100 miles so she worked hard to slow the team down so that they had enough left to go fast for the next 200 miles and especially for the last leg as she was nervous about Chase Tingle behind her.

The team on Eagle Summit

Her team could be divided into two: All the dogs were either sons or granddaughters of the legendary ChaCha or they were Quito/Biscuit pups. She is especially excited about how the four latino siblings raced. She concedes, of course, you can’t do a race without a front end but for her to see these four young dogs really step up and compete was thrilling.

NELSON didn’t run the CB300 so she was curious how he would race an ultra-competitive 300 mile race (remember he did run the Sheep Mountain 300 at the end of the season last year so he’s gone the distance before). Turns out he was perfect! He ate well, he ate all his snacks along the trail, rested MOST of the time except for one occasion when Aliy stopped short of the Two Rivers checkpoint to camp for four hours. She had set her sleeping bag on top of the mainline by the leaders but Nelson was circling and not settling down to rest so she could feel every time he did it. He figured it out by the end of the race. He had a strong tug-line from start to finish and he never slacked off. He a really athletic dog and reminds her of her Uncle Tatfish in his being. He does need to work a little on his “dipping” technique (when the dogs dip their heads into the snow to grab a mouthful) as a couple of times he face-planted into some deep snow. She feels he is proud of himself now and so he should be!

Nelson ran with MISMO, our Shetland pony. Mismo is a big dog who wants to run; he’s powerful and yet very sweet. He was super excited and Aliy was really happy with the way he performed in Meghan’s CB300 team and felt it was a really good stepping stone for him. He was banging on the line at the finish line wanting more.

Felix, Nelson and Rambler await the start

IZZY is the most vocal of the four. Even though she physically resembles her Dad Biscuit, Izzy is starting to remind Aliy more and more of Quito and to see her gaining confidence each race is exciting. She has a steady energy and likes to run fast, like Quito. Her one flaw is she doesn’t quite have her eating down: she doesn’t dive into her meals but she did snack on the trail which is just like her Mom.

FELIX is a tough dog, he wasn’t quite 100% but he stuck to it and Aliy is predicting he is going to be a main dog at the kennel. She likes to run him in wheel as he can balance being a hard-pulling dog with the ability to negotiate the main line which, for wheel dogs, can be tougher to do than for those further up the line because the line is anchored in place more by the sled. That is one of his dad Biscuit’s strengths and he is going to be just like him.

The “ChaCha front end” is strong!

The oldest of the bunch is PUD. Twice Aliy looked up at him in the shadows and she saw Pingo, his dad and one of the best dogs Aliy has run. He had his head down and was pulling hard the entire time. He did super well in lead but she pulled him back on the last leg and put Waylon up front as he could drive the team a little faster. Pud’s having a stellar season so far!

RAMBLER was perfect and back to his best after a mediocre CB300. He wanted to to it and wanted to be the boss. He even pushed Waylon around which was the opposite way around to the CB300. He ate well during this race which has been an issue in the past and why he was able to perform so well this time. There’s not much more to be said about Ramble-dog, he was awesome!

WAYLON is always excited to go and cheers the team on with his unique frog-like bark. This race was a little hard on him but he got through it well. He really is a good dog!

Scooter and Sissy are ChaCha’s granddaughters. SCOOTER (right) is back to 100% after missing the CB300. She is the team cheerleader and is happy to go. She wags her entire body to let you know she’s ready and she is just simply pleasant to be around. She has some of her dad Ranger’s sensitivity to what’s going on around her, noticing unusual things in the trail or picking up on how Aliy was feeling. She’s a great dog!

SISSY is also a cheerleader but after a few cups of coffee to wake her up (much like Aliy!). She’s not really a “morning person” like Scooter, she’s more of a night-owl. She, like Nelson, just needs refine her dipping technique as she also face-planted a few times. This is not something we can teach them, they just have to figure it out for themselves. Her funny quirk is that she doesn’t really like to eat out of a bowl, she prefers her kibble straight off the ground. She’s a really good dog and coming in to her own this season – she’s a serious contender for the main Iditarod team this year.

WILLIE was perfect. He always wags his tail and not just an indiscriminate wag, he is really sincere about it and looks right at you. He’s a happy, good natured dog. He’s also a FAST dog, one of the fastest in the kennel and likes to lope. Aliy feels she could and perhaps should have run him in lead but the others were doing such a good job too. Willie is good at everything: camping, eating, he wakes up quickly and he consciously watches the trail and does his best to avoid stepping in holes and falling off the trail into deep snow. He’s a dog she does’t need to think or worry about out there but she sure does notice him.

VIPER was 100% team dog during this race which is a different role for him; he is usually in lead. Viper can be a little too smart for his own good, for example on the return leg from Circle to Central he started looking for their campsite they had used on the previous leg.

You may remember Meghan talking about how much of a “south paw” Viper is and Aliy said he still thinks every left turn is his moment to shine! It’s like he’s saying “don’t worry, I’ve got this!” He’s smart like him Mom ChaCha but what he thinks is right is not always, necessarily, what Aliy wants. Most of the time they are hand-in-paw in their decision making but sometimes not. He ran well with Pud (left).

HONDA: when Aliy picked the team she didn’t realise how talented the four “kids” were and how there were able to kick the team up a notch speed wise so Honda was just simply out-paced. She picked him specifically to keep the speed down and he tried 110% like always and pulled hard up Rosebud but going so fast down the other side proved to be just too much for him. He struggled a little during the next two legs to Circle where she left him with Wes and Bridgett. He is a great dog but he is not a fast dog.

L-R: Aliy with Honda and Pud at the start line; the team leaves Circle City checkpoint

Aliy wants to thank the YQ300 officials, volunteers and fellow competitors for a great race. She enjoys running the YQ300 and the camaraderie of other mushers and handler teams make it special. She also thanks very much all her family an friends that got her off at the start-line and Meghan, Moira, Wes and Bridgett for handling during the race. It was a hugely successful team effort!

L-R: Aliy’s start team; Bib #56

All photos by Jen Nelson and used with permission – thanks Jen!