SPK Dog Log

Mushing is an odd sport. Your closes rival can also be your best friend and certainly your ally. As we saw earlier on the Yukon Quest, mushers work together to over come the obstacles that nature throws at them. Although they may want to beat the “other guy”, they would never leave them in a dangerous situation to fend for themselves. Of course, everyone’s view on what a “dangerous situation” is different!

There are also times during the race when it is easier and safer to work together with another musher, breaking trail for instance. One team will take the lead and then the other team will switch out for the lead, rotating back and forth. It keeps both teams from getting exhausted. At any given time, mushers will be working together. This breeds a camaraderie unequalled in any other sport.

The Cafe at the Takotna Community Center.

Groups of mushers ate piles of food while they discussed trail conditions, laughed at mishaps and joked with each other. Most of them were goofy from lack of sleep. A big meal, a few laughs and they were off to the bunkhouse to snooze.

Here Aliy and Dee Dee Jonrowe share a sleepy smile.

Aliy & Dee Dee in Takotna

Video from the Aliy Cam

Aliy rested between Iditarod and Shageluk last night and is now on the move again. She dropped another dog when she went through Iditarod last night. Aliy is running with 11 dogs now.

Allen is having an excellent run. He left Iditarod this morning at 6:49 am with all 13 dogs.

The kennel is full of action right now. Doug and Mickey helped move around 52 dogs in Anchorage last night. A large group came back from McGrath and needed to be moved to the Millenium so the vet staff could examine them. Rose and Tug arrived back in Anchorage with this group.

Rose & Doug in Anchorage

Ryne and the dogs at the kennel are getting ready for the Chatinika 100. The race begins this after noon and run right down the trail next to the kennel. Fun!! She should finish about 4 am.

As I am making this last post of the day, Aliy just went through Iditarod. They are not showing her out yet on the standings, but she is out on the GPS. I am sure Aliy will run as much as she can tonight, out of the heat of the day. Allen is approaching Iditarod. Looks like he had a great run.

As I said earlier today, Mickey brought a photo card back with her from McGrath. This is the first footage from the 2011 Aliy Cam. Enjoy.

A conversation Aliy had in Takotna with a pilot friend of ours, Mike Litzen.

Mickey filed this report as she was waiting for her flight back to Anchorage. I hope to get the card from the “Aliy Cam” tonight or tomorrow. Will get video up as soon as possible.

Waiting for my delayed flight from McGrath to Anchorage gave me an opportunity to think. My time in McGrath, Nikolai and Takotna is my first experience in real bush Alaska. McGrath is the area hub and, as I explained earlier, has about 350 residents. Nikolai, about 25 minutes east in a 6 seat air taxi, is a native village of about 70 full time residents. The plowed airstrip, where we landed on skis, is a short walk to the village center, anchored by a modern school building. Here the mushers were treated to home made food and rested on wrestling mats in the gym or in closets and classrooms behind closed doors. I was amazed to see some mushers crashed about 20 feet from where everyone ate spaghetti, obviously tired enough to block out noises. Some mushers slept in the sun with their dogs.

A few hundred feet toward the river from the school is the checkpoint. It is a 12 x 12 pole tent with buckets and cut logs strewn about for seats. It overlooks the Iditarod Trail winding along the river. A plowed field on the bank provides a broad and flat place for the dog teams to rest. When I arrived there were about 15 teams basking in the sun and many of Takotna’s citizens working checkpoint duties. When a team appears on the river, the checkers and other volunteers form a welcoming committee on the bank.
This was filed by Mickey this morning as she waited for her plane back to Anchorage.

What gracious, hardworking folks! When they discovered I was Aliy’s mom, I was treated like royalty. I got food, use of a school computer and an offer to spend the night. A young man named Damien ran the checkpoint diligently while I was there. It appeared to me that the village loves their role of checkpoint. And the mushers are so grateful for the hospitality and a chance to rest.

Normal life activities in the bush are very different than many of our ‘lower 48’ lives. The family car is a snowmobile, many times with a hauling sled attached. Food, fuel and supplies are flown in by small plane. Water is often from a hole in the 4 foot thick river ice, hauled home by snowmobile. In a few weeks families begin serious ice fishing to supplement the larder.

I know that one checkpoint is voted ‘checkpoint of the year’ by the mushers after each Iditarod. If all the checkpoint villages are as gracious as Nikolai, it will be so difficult to choose the best!!

Bridgett Talked to Allen from Takotna early this morning. This is what she sent to me about that conversation.

“So, I talked to dad at 0300. He sounded refreshed, but still a little tired. He said it was hard to get to a phone because everyone was trying to use it and he or Aliy didn’t want to wait to call when they could be sleeping. He spoke of Aliy’s team. He said they had just left and were VERY peppy! Even barking! That’s huge for our team! He was not sure as to her plan for running over to Iditarod. He said that her team was eating amazingly. All of them! He also said that she was dropping Rose in Tak for a sore swollen shoulder. The swelling would not go down until she quit running. Her other “question mark” was Tug. She was going to leave with her and see if she could work through her issues and if not, she would drop her in Ophir. No real injury to note, just something going on for the last 100 miles that Aliy can’t pinpoint. And as I write this I see she dropped a dog in Ophir-so I’m sure it was her. Dad said, after those two dogs, she has a really rock solid core! So we shall see. If you want my guess I believe she will stop at Don’s cabin, halfway, and then go onto Iditarod. But if she is going to start pushing a little, she will do it in one! Those that are in it to win it, will more than likely run this section in one run. I hope her team is able. If not, they will have more rest and she can “save” that push until the river or coast.

Aliy, Biscuit & Willie in Takotna

Dad’s team-

He was very pleased. Strong, steady and slow. Those were the words he repetitively used to describe them. I asked him if he had any difficulties up to this point and he said no….The steps were fine, gorge no problem, burn-ok. But then again, let’s remember what he just went through 3 weeks ago! Anything will be “easy” compared to that! He said the camera crew was just setting up as he went through the steps. He reported the weather as, “exceptionally good for the mushers, but a little too warm during the day for the dogs.” He said he hasn’t been traveling with anyone at this time and he’s kind of flip flopping around. Ok now on to dogs. His team is eating “pretty well”! The only one not eating is Stormy. She’s not even eating many snacks, but he thinks that maybe after the 24 she might get her appetite back. Leaders for him thus far, JJ the whole way and Dingle and Stormy. He is taking Dingle out of lead because he has sore wrists and is going to give him a break. Spicy has had a tricept for most of the way that he keeps messaging and she is working out of it each time. Those were his only two “worries”. He said Ranger is eating everything! I asked who his all stars were,……can you guess…….
Cha, Bullet, and JJ! He said he might put Cha in lead on the next run. I asked how she was and he said great, her normal self, no problems. His plan is to do the run to Iditarod in 2 runs, camp mid-day. He was going to take a short nap and then get ready to go.”