We received Aliy and Allen’s return drop bags from the Iditarod the other day and here are just a few of the booties that came back off the trail.
Meghan has spent hours sorting and drying them ready for training next season. She sifted out any that have holes or are no longer usable and will package the rest up, in sets of four, for next season. Doesn’t it look festive?
Getting to the Koyukuk River Championship Race in Allakaket was not an easy task. It took two days, a dog truck, two humans, fourteen dogs, a dog sled and a snow machine to reach the starting line. Getting there was truly an Alaskan Adventure in itself.
Here is a quick video documenting only some of the adventure.
“Quesadilla”, one of Taco’s siblings, completed the Iditarod in Aliy’s sled! At the Meet and Greet at Clarion Suites in Anchorage prior to the Iditarod, Aliy introduced the crowd to Quesadilla and now is your chance to win her!
We wanted everyone who followed along to have chance to win so now that things have settled down a little we thought now was a good time.
Simply email your name and address to spkdoglog@gmail.com by midnight (Alaska time) on April 16 2013. Please write “Quesadilla competition” in the subject line.
We will draw five names, the first drawn name wins Quesadilla plus an Iditarod Race Guide signed by Aliy and Allen, the next four names drawn will win a signed Race Guide.
Good luck!
Allen and Aliy just came home from the last race of the season: The 34th Annual Koyukuk River Championship.
The race was a two day sprint race held during Spring Carnival in a village just north of the Arctic Circle. Two villages hosted the event. Allakaket, which is an Athabascan Indian village on the Koyukuk River (population 100) and Alatna, a smaller Eskimo village, on the other side of the river (population 35.)
Aliy spent many of her formative years of dog mushing in and around this area nearly 20 years ago. In fact, her first dog race ever was an Allakaket Christmas Race. Many of the dogs in the kennel today are related to a dog named “Fats” who originally came from Steven Bergman of Allakaket.
The Koyukuk River Championship or KRC is held annually in different villages along the Koyukuk River. The dog teams, race marshall, time keepers and handlers come from villages as far as 300 miles away for the event. Transportation is all by snow machine or airplane and accommodations are the cozy, friendly cabins of the locals. Hot coffee, caribou stew and beaver meat were on the stove in every home for visitors.
The KRC was in memory of three great men who passed recently. One of those men was a dear friend to Aliy and Allen. Harvey Williams. He will be missed. Aliy raced the KRC in his honor.
The KRC is a sprint race. SP Kennel has DISTANCE dogs. The two do not usually go hand in hand! The race was a two day event running an 18 mile course each day. The course was hard packed except for several miles of wind blown river trail. Aliy borrowed a sprint sled and hooked up a 14 dog team: Olivia, Quito, Nacho, Beemer, Scout, Scruggs, Chica, Mac, IV, Ranger, Willie, Sissy, Fang and Biscuit and averaged over 15 mph. Aliy and Allen were shocked at how fast they raced. The team came in 5th place out of 9 teams.
Race Times
Aliy and her “Indian Mama” 84 year old Lydia Bergman
All the race sleds were waxed!
Wall Tents set up to warm race spectators.
Steven Bergman waters his dogs before the race start.
Pollack Simon Sr has had a dog team for 61 years in this spot.
We’ve had fun this week answering some letters from school children that arrived during and since the Iditarod.
It is great to hear from a bunch of new fans of the race from all over the country and we are honored to be the recipients of so many great letters.
We are sending replies this week along with a dog trading card to introduce the children to one of our wonderful dogs. You never know; we might just inspire some future Iditarod mushers out there!
Thanks for all the letters!
Nacho Nacho Man!
Nacho is an All-Star who likes to run, run run! He really is a super star!
He has a huge heart, a happy attitude and always has a big smile on his face.
Nacho became a father earlier this year to the newest members of the SPK family: Kodiak, Dutch, Junior and Lydia so we’re hoping for big things from his offspring.
WE LOVE THIS DOG!
A few of you have been asking about the “half-harness” and line system we use here at SP Kennel so here is a video Aliy made just before the Iditarod where she explains about the system we use and why it works for us:
At this time of the season our focus shifts from racing to training puppies! It is such a fun time of year and we are always so excited to see the new generation of SP Kennel athletes take the first step to becoming “real” sled dogs.
Earlier this week we took the Golf Litter pups out in two groups with some adults to show the way. Rose and Honda led the team with Boris in Swing and Lester and Schmoe following. Behind them we ran three pups, starting with Sandy, Iron and Driver then Wedgy, Chipper and Woody. We ran them for about a mile and a half with frequent stops to “congratulate” them and tell them all, adults included, that they were doing a great job.
You will notice a more traditional harness and line set-up for the puppies, the traditional full-body harness and necklines set them up to succeed until they get the hang of it. Then they will graduate into the half harness and no-neckline system the rest of the team run in.
They all did so well! It always amazes us how they never have to be “taught” how to do this; it is inherent in their breeding and these guys were great!
