SPK Dog Log

Well I just spent a very worried morning, trying to figure out why Allen was still in Eagle Island. My phone wasn’t picking up the GPS tracker and I didn’t know where he was. He is moving again! Yeah!!!! They still don’t have him out of Eagle Island on the standings, but he is over half way to Kaltag.

Aliy is about 30 miles out of Unalakleet, slow and steady. She still has all 11 dogs. Bridgett and Scotty are out in Unalakleet waiting for her to get there. Should get some good information later this evening.

John Baker has made his move. He is about 25 miles ahead of the rest of the pack in Unalakleet and on trails very much like home. If he continues to pull ahead, there will be a party in every village up and down the coast.

As Aliy and Allen are mushing through the night towards Kaltag and Eagle Island, I thought this was a great video to put up. Enjoy.

All of the SP Kennel dropped dogs are off the trail and in Anchorage. We hope to have them all back at the kennel in the next 2 days. It will be good to get them home.

Ryne, Mickey and Doug are all making there way to Nome. Ryne, after finishing her race at 2 am this morning, is currently at the airport in Fairbanks. Mickey and Doug, after spending the day helping with dropped dogs, are at the airport in Anchorage. Bridgett and Scotty are heading out to Unalakleet this afternoon from their home in Nome. SP Kennel is moving and shaking.

Aliy and the red team are running with 11 dogs. She has dropped Bonita, Snickers, Tug, Rose and Butterscotch. Allen and the black team have dropped Chica, Oddball and Dingle. They are all eating well and very comfortable at a friend’s kennel in Knik.

Aliy is currently just out of Eagle Island. That should be her 8 hour mandatory rest. We will have to wait to see if she dropped any dogs. There hasn’t been an update from Eagle Island since 1:22 pm. Aliy was interviewed on KNOM. Very cool. Here’s the link.

http://onthetrail.knom.org/2011/03/11/in-anvik-aliy-zirkle-running-her-own-way/

Allen is through Grayling with all 13 dogs and on his was to Eagle Island. He talked to Bridgett from Anvik twice this morning. I talked to her this afternoon. She had tried to check in earlier, but the Hospital in Nome has been very busy today. She has been saving lives!

Bridgett reported that Allen sounded wonderful, excited and fresh. She joked that he sounded better than he did at the start. He kept saying over and over. “I’m the slowest team on the trail.” We know that’s not true, but the heat of the day has been effecting his team. He is running much smoother and fasted at night. He hasn’t stopped racing though. He kept asking where people were and whether they had done their 8 hour rest yet. Always ready to go!

The trail is very hard and set up, but snow is melting during the heat of the day. He did run into 2 ft of overflow going into Iditarod. He had to stand on the seat on his sled to keep from getting wet. Cha Cha, who usually hates overflow, charged right in and dragged the team through. Cha Cha and JJ have been in the lead for the last 100 plus miles. Mother and son, rocking the lead! There is a bit of a breeze on the river right now, so maybe it is cooling the dogs off a bit.

Allen’s biggest challenge right now is not the trail or the heat though. It’s Scruggs. Every time he stops the team, even if it is just for a minute, Scruggs is taking off his booties. He takes them off. Allen puts them back on. Scruggs takes them off. Allen puts them back on. Maybe Scruggs thinks it a game!

This is Mickey, Aliy’s mom, reporting from Anchorage. I returned from the remote Alaska bush yesterday evening to be immediately thrown into the intensity of Iditarod Dog Drop activities here in town.

The Iditarod Dog Drop coordinator, and several of her volunteers, asked Doug to help pick up a load of dogs that were being flown to Anchorage from McGrath. The SP Kennel Ford F-350, 20 box, diesel dog truck was the main reason Doug was so popular. Nevertheless, he was eager to help with these race logistics.

At about 7:30 PM, Doug and I jumped in the SP truck and met 2 other dog trucks and a gaggle of volunteers at the cargo facility of Penair. It was pretty much dark by the time a Cessna 208 Caravan aircraft taxied to the ramp behind a security gate. This airplane is a single engine turboprop built for short hauls of both cargo and passengers. It typically operates with a single crew and can be configured to seat 9 to 12 passengers. Tonight the aircraft interior was a single cargo hold, probably about 9′ by 15′, lined with tarps, kraft paper and old carpeting.

As the pilot secured the aircraft we gathered the 3 dog trucks near the aft, starboard door. All volunteers gathered tightly around the plane exit. We were there to grab any bolting dropped dogs.

The pilot opened the door from inside the aircraft. The sight was amazing!! Forty-two dogs filled the cargo hold, like a heard of fuzzy headed cattle. They stared out at us perked up their ears and wagged their tails. Some started to whine or talk. They were anticipating ear scratches and belly rubs.

The dogs on this flight were each secured to some portion of the plane interior by a 12″ to 16″ wire neckline. They had flown in close quarters for about 45 minutes to get here from McGrath. The pilot methodically unclipped each dog and passed him/her out the door to a waiting volunteer who deposited the animal into a private dog box in one of the trucks. The dogs were calm and cooperative but pretty eager to disembark. It took us about 20 minutes to get them all settled in the vehicles. I was amazed to notice only 2 piles of poop or vomit on the plane floor. The pilot simply rolled up the paper, disposed of the trash and was ready for the next run today.

Thirteen of the dogs on the plane were Mitch Seavey’s withdrawn team. They went right back to their kennel. The other 29 were transported back to the Millenium Hotel where they were fed, walked and examined by veterinarians before they were released to go home. Two SP dogs, Rose and Tug, traveled on that plane. Tug still has a bit of a sore shoulder and Rose’s foot is tender. They are eating, drinking and sleeping. In general they tolerated the plane ride well.

And guess what??? Doug has been recruited again tonight. He and that F-350 did a good job. Seventy dogs are expected in from McGrath. I’ll probably have another story tomorrow.

Tug and Doug at Clarion

Years ago I asked a pilot what he did if the dogs started fighting on a flight. He said, “Dogs don’t fight at Zero G’s.” That say’s it all! – Kaz

Video from the heart of the Alaska Range.

Aliy has just gone through Grayling on her way to Eagle Island. She left Anvik will all 11 dogs. As of this point, the standings aren’t showing her in Grayling, so we don’t know if she dropped any dogs there. We have heard that the dog she dropped in Iditarod yesterday was Butterscotch, but we don’t know for sure.

If I were to guess, I would say that she will rest on the trail to Eagle Island and go through E.I. check point. Eagle Island is a set of tents and pits carved out of the snow and ice in the middle of the Yukon River. There is not, and has never been a town or camp at this spot. There are few amenities there that would entice a musher to stay.

Allen is currently doing his 8 hour mandatory rest at Shageluk. He arrived there at 3:50 pm, so he will be back on the trail at 11:50 pm. He is having a wonderful race!