SPK Dog Log

Hi folks, we’re back! Meghan and I arrived back at the kennel earlier this evening after a marathon stay at Mile 101 Checkpoint. I have video of both the Black and the Red Teams and I will edit that probably tomorrow but for now I’ll give you a quick update and share some pictures with you.

We arrived into Mile 101 checkpoint thinking we had plenty of time to spare and perhaps we might even be able to catch an hour of sleep, but as handlers our first job at the checkpoint is to “get the lay of the land” – to find out where our musher’s drop bags are, where they can get water to make the dogs’ meals, methanol for their cookers and where the musher can sleep and eat. As we were doing that one of the volunteers at the checkpoint casually remarked “So, we’re expecting Allen in about an hour…” We were NOT expecting that so we flagged the idea of a sleep and waited around up at the arrival point for him. There is nothing worse than the handler missing the arrival of his musher so we weren’t going to risk falling asleep!

L-R: Mile 101 checkpoint; trail report to Central

The team arrived looking perky. Meghan swiftly got them parked in their designated parking area and Allen set about doing his arrival chores quickly and efficiently. He had planned to take his mandatory rest plus time differential (the extra time to make up for the staggered start) plus a bit extra to have about five hours rest. By doing his chores quickly he was able to eat pretty big meal of bacon and eggs (cooked by the lovely ladies in the checkpoint kitchen Georgann and Kelly) and get a good long rest himself. By “long” I actually mean about two hours but that is long in this sense.

Allen said the trail from Two Rivers was about as expected and it got a little wet about five miles from 101. We had joked prior to the race that Allen should pick Tig (the labrador) to lead the team to 101 as it was expected there would be some open water and overflow – he said that the team must have channelled Tig through those sections as they didn’t miss a beat and ran straight through it! He remarked, yet again, how this is a team of real professionals who just “get it done”.

All the dogs were eating well, had rested well and everyone was looking good. As he was doing his “exit chores” including bootie-ing the team they were all still trying to catch some last moments of sleep – to anyone watching it might seem as if they were so very tired and not ready to go when, in fact, they all just know to take their rest time very seriously. Even Clyde who is the youngest on the team was still snuggled in to Schmoe as Allen was putting his boots on. As soon as Allen moved them off the straw, however, and lined them up ready to leave the checkpoint they put their game faces on. Schmoe has taken the mantle as the team cheerleader and was roaring his head off ready to leave. You will see this in some video I caught of the team leaving 101 – I’ll try to post that tomorrow.

Allen left the checkpoint excited to get moving and head up over Eagle Summit at sunrise. He’s still running with Quito and Scruggs in lead and all 14 dogs in harness.

L-R: Allen tucks into some bacon and eggs; the team get ready to leave under the rising sun

Moira just texted that she has safely returned to the kennel from her 24-hour, round-trip excursion to the Mile 101 Checkpoint. She was able to catch up with Allen and Aliy while she was there, and she is working on some updates to post later tonight. Sweet!

[Note: You’re probably aware that communications in the wilds of Alaska is very limited. This is especially true along the YQ route. On top of that, SPK support teams getting to/from checkpoints face staggering logistical challenges. I’ll work on a post for tomorrow in which I will try to give you a sense of it all, but for now you can be assured that all of them are performing superhuman feats!]

Now for today’s wrap-up:

Allen and the SPK Black Team are on a roll. After taking his first mandatory rest at Mile 101, he was second into Central Checkpoint behind Brent Sass. Allen was first out of Central, however, after stopping there for less than a minute while Brent did his first mandatory rest.

For most of the day, Allen remained in the lead, but rested on the trail and was passed (temporarily, we hope) by Brent Sass and Hugh Neff.

He appears to be moving again and the trio are well on their way to Circle. These three YQ veterans are showing early signs of being the race-within-a-race to watch!

Aliy and the SPK Red Team are really cruising! They are leading the YQ300 field and are right now only 13 miles behind Allen!

She is currently in a place where the trail map doesn’t match the actual trail, something that I suspect has given you the same heartburn as it has me at times throughout the day.

The remainder of Aliy’s race involves getting to Circle, taking a mandatory rest, then sprinting back to the YQ300 finish in Central!

In summary: It’s been a “slow news day” but the trackers have given us plenty to cheer about as both SPK teams continue to perform superbly in the wilds of the Alaskan wilderness!

Moira texted from Mile 101 Checkpoint. Aliy had a great rest there and is over Eagle Summit, heading for Central. Moira will give us an in-depth update when she and Meghan return to kennel.

Bridgett called in from Central. Allen and the dogs looked great as they checked in and out of the checkpoint. All of the dogs are eating well and are happily cruising down the trail. Allen said that Eagle Summit was as he expected, very difficult!  The Black Team is now on its way to the Village of Circle. 

Thanks to Brenna McConnell-Booher for putting this photo on Facebook so we finally have a glimpse of Aliy and the Red Team on the trail… Looking great!

Aliy’s Red Team was first to arrive at the Mile 101 checkpoint. According to the YQ site:

“Aliy Zirkle came storming into Mile 101, not realizing she was the first of the YQ300 mushers. She’ll be taking her mandatory four hours stop and getting some rest herself after bedding the dogs.”

As always, Aliy’s focus is on the dogs and she lets the standings take care of themselves.

The team will take its mandatory rest, during which Aliy will spend most of the time pampering the dogs and maybe get a few minutes for herself to eat and rest.

Unless you’ve been there to see it, folks, it is almost impossible to understand and appreciate how much time, attention, energy and even personal sacrifice a great musher like Aliy will expend and endure on behalf of the dogs.

It’s humbling to witness what she does for the love of her dogs.

According to the tracker, Chase Tingle arrived at Mile 101 about a half-hour after Aliy, with other teams following pretty close behind. That means this is a very competitive race, and guaranteed to be very exciting — and stressful for all of us! — over the next day or so.

It’s frustrating that we don’t have any photos or video of Aliy yet, but when I explain in a future post just how impossible the logistics and communications are for both YQ races you’ll have a better sense of why that is. For now, trust me when I say it’s truly amazing that we get anything at all from “way out there”!

Overnight, Allen and the Black Team were first into the Mile 101 checkpoint, arriving 15 minutes ahead of Cody Strathe and 42 minutes ahead of Hugh Neff. I reprise my caution that it is way too early in this very long race to read much into that, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to be at the front of the pack!

Allen has elected to take his first mandatory rest at the Mile 101 checkpoint. It may seem odd to use the words “elected” and “mandatory” in the same sentence, but you can chalk that up to its being just one of the complexities of this race.

According to the race rules, each musher must take a mandatory 4-hour rest at either Mile 101 or Central, whichever they elect according to their run/rest schedules and overall race strategy. That explains why Brent Sass arrived at Mile 101 about 3-hours after Allen but blew through and went on to Central. He will take his first mandatory rest there… Got it?

Mandatory checkpoint rests are important in long-distance racing because they are when veterinarians can be assured of having time to carefully examine all the dogs. There are four mandatory checkpoint rests on the YQ, and I have noted them on the trail map:

Unlike the CB300 where top teams take only the mandatory minimum amount of checkpoint rests, they will take much, much more rest at various points along the YQ trail. They will also take different amounts of total rest, based entirely on their relative strategies, style, fitness, etc.

This is why, frankly, there’s no point in keeping a running spreadsheet on the teams. A team may take more total rest than others, but run faster in between. Or, they may take more short rests that total less overall time. In my opinion, we won’t really know much about the teams’ relative speed until the very long mandatory rest at approximately the half-way point in Dawson. (Even then it will still be a crap shoot!)

There’s a lot more to say about the mandatory 36-hour rest in Dawson, but I’ll save that — and a number of other notes/analysis — for future posts.

Meanwhile, the tracker shows Aliy and the Red Team leading the YQ300 pack as it approaches the Mile 101 checkpoint. There is a mandatory 2-hour stop for them there, and another mandatory 6-hour stop at Circle. They will take more rest along the way, obviously, and there’s just no telling who will do what.

Basically, the YQ300 is impossible to evaluate until the teams arrive in Circle and complete their long mandatory rest before sprinting back to the finish line in Central. That said, however, it’s obviously a good sign that Aliy is leading the pack!

Bottom line for your morning update: Both SPK teams are looking great!

It’s getting late where I am on the East Coast, so I’m going to take advantage of a lull in the action to offer a brief wrap-up and get a little sleep. It’s going to be a long race, so I encourage you to do the same!

First of all, I want you to know that I specifically asked not to be briefed-in about SPK’s Yukon Quest race strategies. Mostly so that I couldn’t accidentally disclose in public either team’s strategy, but partly so that — like you — I could enjoy all the mystery, drama and suspense that the YQ typically offers. Accordingly, everything I write over the next week or so is pure speculation on my part. Informed by experience, perhaps, but speculation nonetheless… Okay?

That said, here we go:

Looking at the tracker, it appears that shortly after taking the lead, Allen stopped on the trail about four miles short of the Two Rivers checkpoint.

The most likely reason is that his run/rest strategy simply called for it. There is absolutely nothing to read into the fact that he has stopped outside a checkpoint.

YQ checkpoints are relatively few and far between — compared, for example, to Iditarod — so there is an increased likelihood that run/rest schedules will not match up with checkpoint locations.

Allen and the dogs are very comfortable “camping out” and you can expect to see them spend a lot of time doing it. Frankly, Allen and Aliy prefer to avoid resting in checkpoints where there is always a lot of noise and commotion which interferes with the dogs’ rest. There’s nothing like a good night’s sleep under the stars, compared to tossing and turning while dogs bark, fans trudge around and snow machines make their awful noise!

Meanwhile, Aliy and the Red Team are cruising along the trail in what looks like fourth position. Since all the top-line dogs at SPK train in a similar run/rest routine, don’t be surprised if she stops short of the checkpoint as well. As we all know, Aliy loves to camp!

Overall on this first day, I am as impressed as always with the performance and professionalism of SPK!