We are so proud of Allen and the Black Team. He left everything he had on the trail! No one can ask for more than that.
Allen and the Black Team are on their way to Whitehorse and I know I won’t be alone wearing out the refresh key tonight. The SP Crew over in Canada are heading to different locations to cheer him along. It will be a long, exciting night.
Over in Alaska, it was Iditaord Food Drop Day. All of the dog food, people food, gear and equipment that Aliy and Ryne will need for their Iditarod runs were due today. Packed in easy to handle bags, mounded onto pallets and shrink wrapped to keep them together, everything will be trucked down to Anchorage where the Iditarod will sort them into checkpoints and send them out onto the trail.
The bags this year where not as heavy as last years. Typical Aliy, there is lots of dog food and gear, a decent amount of people food and hardly anything for Aliy. The dogs are always first in her mind.
So here are the numbers:
Aliy – 1473 lbs
Ryne – 1547 lbs
And who guessed the closest:
“My guess is:1490 for Aliy, 1610 for Ryne” – Edwin Le Doux
Congratulations Edwin!
Ryne and Bob at AirLand
Kaz and Bob at AirLand
Allen left Braeburn right on time at 4:23 pm PST. He left with 10 healthy dogs and a light sled. He dropped Puppet who had both a sore shoulder and sore wrist. She is doing well and resting in her dog box, next to Schmoe and Pud. In Carmacks, Allen began sorting through his gear and getting rid of weight. In Braeburn, he continued to lighten the load to only the barest of essentials for this last run to the finish line. 
Given his history as a sprint musher, I have no doubt he knows how to run a light sled to the finish line! Aliy and Ray kept him on schedule of eating, resting, and caring for the dogs. He was well ahead of schedule when he approached the checkout line. He rode up on the sled with several minutes to spare. A large crowd gathered to watch him take off on this leg of the race, including friends and fellow mushers. He was asked to give a speech and said “I’ll see ya’ll at the finish line,. Somebody may have to carry me off the finish line though.” When asked by the media what his race strategy was he answered “Run fast, Long time”. As you can see, he still has his sense of humor and is in good spirits. Hugh is taking off at his appointed time, and running with the 9 dogs he has left. Lance will leave a little over three hours later. We’ll be leaving Braeburn with a few cinnamon rolls for the road, to start the vigil at the finish line.
Allen crested a hill overlooking the small community of Braeburn just as people were turning their headlamps off. Hint of some sun coming up now. His arrival time is 8:23 which gives him a departure time of 4:23pm. Hugh Neff arrived 13 minutes behind Allen according to my stopwatch. Due to the rounding of minutes, the official time might be a bit different. Allen is feeding and doing doggy care and will come inside for breakfast soon. He indicated that there was some tough overflow which he believed Hugh spent more time dealing with.
More soon.
Wes
As we all watch Allen and the Black Team on their amazing run in the Yukon Quest, every part of the kennel is in motion. Aliy, Ray, Wes and Wendy were at Carmacks during Allen’s 4 hour stay. On the Quest, a handlers job is never done. They get to clean up after the team leaves and then worries them to the next checkpoint. We hope they are managing to get a little sleep too!!
Allen pulled the hook at 8:01 PST after a 4 hour rest and just minutes behind Hugh Neff. The Black Team still has 11 dogs and Quito and Olivia are still in lead. They are very focused. Allen is in full race mode now. He left his sled’s seat and any spare weight he could behind at Carmacks. This run should be 10 to 12 hours to Braeburn and will be over lots of lakes and most likely overflow. There is a mandatory 8 hour rest in Braeburn before the final push into Whitehorse.
On the completely other side of the kennel’s current operations, Ryne, Derek, Kaz (me) and Sammy spent the day finishing off Food Drop Bags for Aliy and Ryne’s Iditarod runs. They are due tomorrow morning. While you are biting your nails watching Allen, give us a guess at this year’s total weights. One for Aliy’s bags and one for Ryne’s. I’ll let you know tomorrow!
Here are some pictures from the kennel today.
Ryne Packing Her Drop Bags for Takotna
Ryne and Derek Packing Drop Bags
Aliy’s Bags Ready to Go!
Ryne’s Bags Ready to Go!!
Allen arrived at 3:58 pm into Carmacks checkpoint to a waiting crowd. He was three minutes behind Hugh Neff. However, Hugh has a 30 minute penalty to take during his Braeburn layover, due to a lost ax during the last run. The dogs ran into the checkpoint looking ready to continue on their way. All the dogs seem to be running smoothly. The vets had a look at a few dogs per Allen’s request, just to be sure everything was alright. Allen quickly and efficiently fed the dogs their rest time snacks and bedded them down in the straw. He said the trail 
was smooth and the warm weather hadn’t really effected it. However, he said it is warm running on the sled. It was apparent he had shed a few layers during his run due to his ski poling. As he was coming up off the river into the checkpoint, he reported that six neighborhood pet dogs ran over to the team to check them out. The team didn’t even pause but continued on into the checkpoint. The pet dogs got snubbed. Allen is eating and resting, along with
the team. Our two dropped dogs, Schmoe and Pud, are doing well also. They have been sleeping in their boxes where it is very warm. They have slept and eaten most of the day for a fast recovery. We’ll see Allen and the team again for a mandatory 8 hour layover at Braeburn Lodge. The sweet rolls are supposed to be world famous so we’ll look forward to those as we wait for Allen to roll in.
Allen arrived at 3:09AM Yukon time. The dog team looked strong and came into the checkpoint with wagging tails. Comments in the crowd watching were “That’s a good looking team after running 700+ miles!” However, Pud was in the bag, not on the line. Allen says that soon after the Stepping Stone hospitality stop, Pud began to limp with a sore paw. Pud has been dropped at Pelly Crossing Checkpoint. He’ll be joining Schmoe, who was dropped in Scroggie Creek, and is now riding along with the SP Kennel crew in the dog truck. The rest of the dogs received their snacks, and
have healthy appetites. They will enjoy their main meal a bit later on after having some rest in their straw. Allen came into the checkpoint wearing his white wind pants due to the warm weather we’ve been having along the Quest trail. With highs right around 34-36 F, it has been downright balmy for a Yukon Quest. There is a nice breeze that does keep things cool, and running along the river also helps to lower the te
mperatures for the dogs. He says the trail is fine, and he hasn’t had any difficulties on this particular stretch which included going over King Solomon’s Dome and the Black Hills. He is in good spirits, and is happy with the way the team is running. After having a brief meal at the checkpoint, he turned in to get some much needed rest. His tracker spot seems to be working well, so we’ll be able to continue following him on the next stretch. He’ll now return back to the Yukon River and continue making his way south. We will see him again at the Carmacks checkpoint. 
