SPK Dog Log

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!

The SPK Black Team arrive in Dawson.

At 1.30 this morning (Yukon time) Allen and team arrived into Dawson! We were so excited to see them again and they looked fantastic crossing the line. Scruggs and Quito continue to lead the team.

Allen said the last part of the trail was cold (it was abut 20-25F below with a wind of perhaps 30 miles an hour) and when he came into the checkpoint he was decked out in his white Northern Outfitters wind jacket and pants and looked somewhat like the abominable snowman! It took him a few moments to find his way out of the jacket hood to speak to the checkers at the checkpoint.

I have video of the team coming in to the checkpoint which may take some time to upload but make sure you take a look at Chica still slamming her harness wanting to keep moving. It was remarkable how great they all looked, Allen included, after the big run from Eagle.

After the mandatory gear check Aliy took over the reins of the team and drove them over to the campsite that we had set up earlier in the day where Meghan was waiting with a warm meal, thick straw beds, fleece jackets and throw blankets and an Algyval massage. We’ll show you around the camp in the next day or so. Ray and I took Allen into the checkpoint, which doubles as the Dawson City Visitors Centre for the rest of the year, for two bowls of fabulous chilli, some water and a quick chat. He’s really happy to be here and looking forward to some rest then heading over to the dog camp to check on his team.

Ray catches up with Allen over two bowls of chilli

Allen told us a little about the trail… from Slaven’s Cabin to Eagle was the worst Allen had ever seen it. The area had experienced the high temperatures recently felt all over Alaska and the trail had melted and become treacherous. He said they were going over sections of glare-ice 5-10 miles at a time. There’s not much trail breakers can do about that and they had done the best job they could. He did say though that the harder the trail was the harder the dogs pulled!

The trail from Eagle to Dawson, however, was the best he’d ever seen which is why they were going along at such a good clip. He stopped for an hour at 40-mile Cabin where he fed the team a kibble meal and several snacks and they got to rest for a while. He said that was a great move as they perked up and looked even better after that.

What happens now is we handlers step in to care for the dogs, do any repairs to the sled, launder clothes, order steaks – whatever we need to to get this team ready to head back on the trail in 36 hours. This is where we can make a real contribution to the outcome of the race and we are excited and ready! Well… maybe we will try to get a little sleep first… then we’ll be ready!

Aliy, Ray, Meghan and Moira arrived in Dawson minutes ago. Allen is still about 30 miles out. The camp should be complete and comfortable when the Black Team arrives.  Probably no naps for the crew though!  Hope they slept on route in the truck!

One last tip of the hat to the YQ300 Champs… Is this picture at the finish perfect, or what?

(Photo by permission of Scott Chesney)

As our attention now shifts to focus exclusively on Allen and the SPK Black Team, the “Yukon Trio” are charging down the river toward Dawson. Brent Sass remains in the lead and the spacing looks to be about the same as it’s been since they all left Eagle.

These are obviously very well matched teams, and that bodes well for a very exciting second half of the race!

We hope to bring you some great “live” coverage soon… Stay tuned!

Although the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod are similar in their 1,000 mile length, there are a number of differences between them.

First of all, the Yukon Quest runs a month earlier than the Iditarod, so it’s generally darker and colder for the teams. It also crosses territory that is more remote than the Iditarod, and many say it is more rugged. The dogs probably don’t care about this (or even know the difference) but it can weigh heavily on the mushers’ minds to be so far from anyplace. Stress adds up in a long race, and that’s a mental factor to contend with.

As a result of its remoteness, the Yukon Quest has fewer than half the number of checkpoints on Iditarod, and many of them aren’t as well established. That makes for substantially longer runs between resupply opportunities and forces teams to carry more weight, often including bales of hay.

That explains why some of the sleds you see in YQ photos look so much bigger and bulkier than their counterparts on Iditarod. With all the excess gear that’s sometimes lashed on top of the sled bags, they can look a little bit like the Beverly Hillbillies!

Another significant difference is the YQ’s mandatory 36-hour layover in Dawson. Unlike the Iditarod in which mushers have several checkpoints to choose from for taking their mandatory 24-hour layover, all YQ teams must make their long layover in Dawson City. Although that obviously has an impact on race strategy and run/rest schedules, teams can at least plan for it well in advance.

On the plus side, the teams get an extra 12-hours of rest during their YQ layover versus their Iditarod 24-hour stop. Also an advantage, the YQ allows for virtually unrestricted assistance to be given to mushers by their support crews. Once Allen gets to Dawson, he can literally “hand over the keys” to the crew and they will take total care of his dogs for the duration of the break.

While Allen is sleeping, eating, sleeping again and eating more, the dogs will be doing the same in a very comfortable, tarp-covered and straw-lined campsite that has been fully prepared in advance by the crew. They dogs will also get frequent massages and stretch-out walks. The crew basically provide the dogs with round-the-clock room service and personal pampering!

Here are a few photos of last year’s campsite:

When the layover is complete, the crew will harness and bootie the team in time for Allen — hopefully fully rested, refreshed and refueled! — to jump on the runners and move them out. As soon as the team is out of sight, the crew will do a thorough clean-up of the campsite, load all the gear in the truck and resume their own race to stay ahead of the team to the finish line!

I’m sure an actual YQ/Iditarod musher could tell you a lot more about the differences between the races, but I hope this has at least given you the gist of it… Stay tuned!

You may think I’m talking about the race between Allen, Brent and Hugh, but NO!…
I’m talking about the race between the Black Team and the handlers!

As Allen and the dogs approach 40 Mile cabin, about 44 miles northwest of Dawson, Aliy, Ray, Meghan and Moira are zooming through the Yukon Territory in “Hollywood” (the new kennel truck) from the southeast, trying to reach Dawson and get the camp set up BEFORE the team arrives.

They are about 220 miles from Dawson. The map program says that’s about 5 1/2 hours. The Aliy “program” says about 7 for Allen and the Black Team. Yikes, that’s close!

The trail change that eliminated American Summit is making it VERY difficult for the handlers. Not only is the race time shorter by the length of the 50 mile run, but also from the lack of the necessary rest after the summit! Race safely, my family.

Allen approaching 40 Mile

Hollywood’s Route to Dawson

Here is some footage of Aliy and her Red team pulling into and leaving Mile 101 checkpoint.

When she arrives you can clearly see the official “checker” sign her in then check she is carrying all her mandatory equipment in the sled: axe, sleeping bag, snow shoes, dog food cooker and fuel and the vet book which holds all the veterinary notes about each dog in the team. If a musher is missing any equipment there are time or monetary penalties that could change the result of the race!