SPK Dog Log

I caught up with the team as they went by Pleasant Valley Store and Trailside Mail, our local store and post-office, and they looked fantastic!

As for the next instalment: one truck with Wes and Bridgett will head to Two Rivers checkpoint and leap-frog up to Central and Circle City while Meghan and I will head to Mile 101 checkpoint overnight. There is limited cell or internet coverage out that way so I will leave you in Macgellan’s very capable hands until we are back on deck and can update you. As Macgellan would say… stay tuned!

Allen and the Black Team start the 2014 Yukon Quest 1000!

We are very happy to have both teams on the trail now! Phew!

The start line in Fairbanks was moved to 2nd Avenue this year due to some concerns about the river and it turned out to be an inspired idea! It was well organised and well executed and was great for the fans and supporters to get up close to the mushers and dogs while they were getting ready to go.

The SP camp was relaxed yet focussed and as the time grew closer for the Black team to leave, everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, got their game faces on… handlers, musher and every single dog. These dogs are professionals and it really showed: at the truck they were not screaming to go nor nervously circling or panting – they were calm, focussed and serious. Some of them enjoyed some quiet words, an ear scratch or a kiss on the nose and others preferred to just chill quietly. They each have their on personalities and quirks.

The Black Team’s promotional booties; Puppet-dawg shows off her promo booties

Boondocks, for example, sometimes needs baby-sitting once she is bootied. Boonie is a smart little dog and likes to keep her mind occupied and we think she finds booties a great puzzle to be solved. They don’t bother her but she has a tendency to try to remove them as soon as they are on. We asked Linda Steiner (from Clarion Suites in Anchorage) to please baby-sit to make sure she didn’t remove them!

Linda baby-sits Boondocks; Allen’s start bib

Once we started to hook the dogs up their excitement went up a notch and once at the start line they took off like they knew they have a job to do. It was exciting to watch and gives me chills thinking about it. They were ready!

I’m working on some video from the start line and I also caught the Black team mushing by the Pleasant Valley Store, just a few miles from home, so I’ll get that up as soon as possible. I’m also hoping for some pics and/or footage from Aliy’s YQ300 start so keep an eye out for that.

With current updates for all teams shown, the tracker map shows Allen’s team running in third position. That means he was not only able to get the team to run past the kennel (as I wrote about below) but also that he has passed five teams in the first few hours of the race. The usual command to pass another team is “On By!” and you can bet the dogs responded with great enthusiasm!

If you’re wondering what significance this may have, my answer is “practically none.” This early in the 1,000 mile race, relative positions are virtually meaningless. On the other hand, it’s always fun to pass other teams so why not enjoy the ride!

Why wait? Here’s a little something to start stressing about right away!

Look at the photo below. The horizontal red line near the bottom shows The Yukon Quest trail running east (left to right) along Baseline Road. Throughout the season, SPK teams finish their training runs along the very same piece of road, then go “Haw!” (left) at the little turn-off in the circle, and follow the dotted line for a very short distance before going “Haw!” again into SP Kennel for their hot meals and comfy beds.

Very soon, the teams will be trotting down Baseline and — as creatures of habit — will expect to go “Haw!” as usual. This time, however, they’ve got to keep going!

To help overcome the hard-wired urge to “head for home” you can be sure that Allen and Aliy have been working with the dogs recently to pass the usual turn-off after training runs.

You can also be sure that they — along with the entire SPK family — will be yelling “Stay Gee!” (right) at the top of their lungs as the dogs approach the turn-off.

Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ray has parked his pick-up in the chute and covered it with camouflage, just to help make the point clear.

The last thing Allen and Aliy want is for the dogs to think they’re done for the day and make a bee-line for their houses! This is just one of the “mental challenges” for the dogs on the YQ and I’ll try to point out a few others along the way… Stay tuned!

This just in from Moira at the start line:

“Oh my! They were READY to go! They all look great!”

Allen makes his final check on the team… And they’re off!

Here it is! I’m sure you’ve all be waiting to hear who is heading down the trail tomorrow with Allen and Aliy…

The Black team will be lead out of the start chute by QUITO and SCRUGGS followed by OLIVIA and BOONDOCKS, SCOUT and CHICA, NACHO and CHEMO, SCHMOE and CLYDE, MAC and PUPPET with BISCUIT and BEEMER in wheel. Check out the Race Roster Page for more details about the team members.

Quito and Scruggs

The RED team was difficult to finalise! Aliy wishes she could take a team of 18 or 20 down the trail as there are that many dogs that are willing and able to go. There are some great dogs that will unfortunately have to warm the bench at home. In the end she has decided on HONDA and PUD to lead the team from 2nd Avenue with WILLIE and RAMBLER, VIPER and WAYLON, SISSY and SCOOTER, MISMO and NELSON, FELIX and IZZY. You will notice a decided young-Latino bent to the back end of the team! Check out the Red Team Race Roster Page for more info.

Honda and Pud

We have two other SP Kennel dogs in action in the Yukon Quest 300 – Ryne Olson from Ryno Kennel is taking a team of her own youngsters and she is borrowing some experience from SP. DINGLE and LESTER will travel with her team so you can follow their progress also!

Dingle and Lester

Friday morning saw Aliy and her Red team complete the veterinarian checks at the Alpine Lodge. All her team passed the exams and are fit and ready to run! She took 14 with her for checks but she has to narrow her team down to just 12 so she will do that later this evening.

L-R: Willie gets a lift back in to the truck; Nelson gets seen by veterinarian, Dr Alan Hallman

Later in the afternoon Aliy and Wes attended the YQ300 musher/handler meeting to hear about the latest trail conditions and start line arrangements. They also drew their start positions: Aliy drew bib number 56 which means she will leave the start chute at 3.15pm on Saturday. (Note: YQ300 bibs start at 50 so she is starting sixth)

L-R: Aliy draws bib number 56; Ryne Olson, Aliy, Amanda Gecas and Chase Tingle show their bib numbers for the YQ300

One more sleep for everyone then it is all on! We can’t wait, can you?