If you take a look at the team rosters you will see that there are a number of dogs listed as “leaders” on both Aliy and Allen’s teams. I asked her recently about having so many good leaders in her team and in what different circumstances or situations she would put different dogs in lead:
This video was taken during the team’s final training run before the Iditarod.
Both Aliy and Allen are in to Takotna and it very much looks like Aliy elected to take her mandatory 24 hour layover there. She “declared” it as she came in to the checkpoint; we’re unsure if Allen did the same and of course, we never REALLY know for sure until they actually leave but we do know that currently they are both resting here.
It is during their 24 hour layover that the starting time differential is added so the earliest Aliy could leave is 10.55pm on Wednesday (if I’ve done my sums correctly) so the team will get a 25 hour, 20 minute rest. If Allen is here for his 24 hours the earliest he could leave is 6.09am Thursday morning after 24 hours, 38 minutes rest.
During this time they will spend a lot of time tending to the dogs: feeding several meals and snacks and giving full body massages, including every foot, with Algyval. They will walk them around on a leash every now and again to keep them moving a little but mostly ensuring they sleep to recharge their batteries. It will be important for themselves to sleep and eat also so they will be making time for that.
The video of Aliy pulling into Takotna shows a happy team and she looks and sounds great herself! It appears she still has Quito and Beemer in lead.
Note: We are aware that Allen has dropped someone in Nikolai but we have no way to know who it might be and why so we will contact the Dog Drop HQ at the Millennium Hotel this morning to check when they are likely to arrive in Anchorage. The flights are very weather dependant and we understand that there is some questionable weather on it’s way. We will let you know as soon as we find out.
Thank you everyone for entering in the draw to win Willow! We had a fantastic response with 85 entries and have drawn the lucky winner: Sue Winnie from Michigan.
Congratulations – we will send her out to you as soon as possible!
Once Allen reaches Anvik and Aliy reaches Kaltag we will let you know how to enter the draw for their namesakes. We will be asking questions about our blog posts so study up!
Thanks again for entering!
Aliy is out of Nikolai in second position, she left at 1.13pm after just over four hours rest. On the “Insider” video of her arriving she said she had a fun run from Rohn to Nikolai – she said it is great to have a team that listens to you in that section as there were a few challenges along the way such as glare ice, glaciers and the section known as “The Farewell Burn” (this was the site of Alaska’s largest forest fire, a million and a half acres in the summer of 1978)!
There is a great picture of Aliy in the Nikolai checkpoint with her down slippers (in Sebastian Schnuelle’s “checkpoint scenes” blog on idiatrod.com). I remember when she was packing to leave and she was tossing up whether to take them – she said it was a bit of a luxury and that maybe she shouldn’t. I am so pleased she decided to put them in, it must be nice to have a tiny bit of luxury out on the trail!
We do know she has dropped one dog in Nikolai and although there is some video of her and the team leaving it is just too difficult to tell for certain who the dog is so we don’t want to speculate at this stage and get it wrong. We talked with the Dog Drop HQ and from Nikolai the dogs are flown to McGrath checkpoint and will travel back in a larger plane on an, as yet, unscheduled flight so it is possible they won’t be back to Anchorage until Wednesday evening or even Thursday morning. Please be assured we will let you know as soon as we know who it is – there is no way we can know for sure until we go to pick them up.
Allen arrived into Nikolai at 3.01pm and at the time of writing is in 28th position. I’m pretty sure Allen won’t be carrying any “luxury” items in his sled. As some of you may know, Allen likes to travel light, taking only the essentials – so much so that we kid him about it often. At the start line in Willow he was deciding whether to put an extra lip balm in his bag – he chuckled, pointed out that it weighed 4.8g and threw it over his shoulder saying “that’s just too heavy!”
Footnote: We picked up Tug and she is great! She was well looked after at the Millennium by the fabulous volunteers. She is a little sore but she was really happy to see us. She and Sissy spent some time catching up and telling trail stories before having a massage, a fish and kibble snack and a sleep.
Tug (in green third from bottom) waits with other dropped dogs
Allen was easy to spot coming over Puntilla lake into Rainy Pass checkpoint this morning with both his distinctive sled and as he was ski-poling: “That’s gotta be Allen!”
Lester and Viper led the team in behind Mike Williams’ team and they were looking enthusiastic and happy. We had a chance to speak to him as worked through his arrival routine: first he snacked the dogs with some salmon and a little dry kibble as an appetiser – we saw that in the Quest also that in the warm temperatures the dogs are enjoying the less fatty snacks, especially salmon, as it has a high water content and it is an efficient way to get both protein and water into the dogs quickly. Next he gave some of the dogs a quick rub down with some Algyval and removed all their booties. He then heated some water to soak more kibble for a couple of hours ready for their big meal prior to leaving. While waiting for the water he went through his drop-bags and his sled getting organised for the next run, picking out what snacks to take for him and the dogs, what booties, jackets and other gear he might need.
The team wait to be parked and take a look around, Allen snacks Fang while everyone else looks on!
All the while this was happening a veterinarian was doing a thorough check on each dog, checking for any soreness, hydration levels and overall health of the team. Allen’s main concern is that it is very warm for the dogs but by arriving at 11 and subsequently leaving at 6.35pm they were able to rest during the heat of the day.
Clyde gets Vet checked, Allen prepares the kibble meal
Allen and Aliy had an opportunity to speak as he was heading into the musher’s cabin for his rest just as she was coming out. They spoke quickly about strategy and dogs and it was nice for them to have a few minutes together as it will be a while until they see each other again.
Aliy and her team were sleeping when we arrived into Rainy Pass checkpoint this morning but we were able to catch up with her when she came out to prepare to leave.
Aliy’s routine was to give the dogs their large meal of kibble, snacks and water and to give them enough time to digest she then went through her drop bags and packed her sled ready for the next run. She also warmed some water for her own thermos to take along the trail to keep herself hydrated. She then made sure anyone who needed jackets or T-shirts were correctly attired and bootied the team before leaving.
The team rests then gets their meal
Aliy relaxes for a moment as she wait for the water to heat up; her team watch on as she adds tasty snacks to their meal
It was at this point also that she walked Tug around for a while and made the final decision to leave her at Rainy Pass. It was difficult for us to watch her being lead away by the vet staff and us not being able to take her there and then but they must go through the Iditarod system to make sure the correct “chain of custody” is followed. As it was starting to get dark she was not able to be flown out that afternoon so she’ll will spend the night with the vet team in Rainy Pass before being flown out as soon as possible tomorrow.
Aliy was able to spend a little time with her Mom and Dad also!
Beemer and Quito led the team out, followed by Olivia and Rambler, Boondocks and Scout, Nacho running on his own, Scruggs and Chica, Mac and Puppet, Waylon and Dingle with Biscuit and Willie who moved to wheel to replace Tug.
To Rohn and beyond!
Sorry for the “radio silence” today everyone, we got a last minute opportunity to fly into Rainy Pass with a good friend of the kennel Mike Litzen of Litzen Guide Service and we were unable to post from there.
Allen arrived into Rainy Pass at 12.22pm, soon after we landed at the checkpoint. The team was looking good and he was in really good spirits. He said he was pleased with the way the team was running and he was right where he wanted to be. He made particular mention of how well Clyde was doing! Allen dropped Sissy at Finger Lake as she had a sore right shoulder and, because the trail was “punchy” (soft) and they were heading into what is described on iditarod.com as “a tough run with some short stretches of extraordinarily difficult trail” (which includes the Happy River Steps), he decided it was best for Sissy to leave her there to be flown back to Anchorage by the Iditarod Air Force. We have just picked her up from the dog drop HQ at the Millennium Hotel and she is just fine. She’s eaten lots of fish snacks and kibble, had a good rub down and will enjoy catching up on some sleep.
Aliy was sleeping when we arrived but we were able to stay to see her leave at 3.08pm. She’s happy with the way the team are running and with her schedule so far. Mac is impressing her and she still had Beemer and Quito in lead. She dropped Tug at Rainy Pass because she was having some cramps in her right shoulder. Had the next run into Rohn been flat she may have kept her to see if she could loosen up a bit but with this part of the trail described as “some very tough trail, including the notorious Dalzell Gorge” she was worried Tug could really hurt herself so decided to leave her. Tug will be flown back to Anchorage in the morning.
I have loads of photos and video from Rainy Pass and will edit that tonight and get it to you asap!
The day before we left Two Rivers Aliy took her team on their final training run to stretch out and make sure everyone was looking good. We took several videos where she talks us through different aspects of her team and the race – in this video she talks about each of her team so you can get to know them a little better.
