SPK Dog Log

Allen left Circle at 7:48 pm AST with 11 dogs. Bridgett was very pleased with the attitude of the dogs and the musher as they pulled out. Nothing like 8 hours of rest, some good food and a place to warm up to lift the spirits. Allen is planning to stop on his way to Central, probably arriving some time mid-morning.

Allen & Black Team At Circle
By the Yukon Quest
From Official Yukon Quest Flickr Page

The report on the dogs is that Biscuit is STILL in lead and is as crazy as ever. Nacho had great energy leaving, wagging his tail and just ready to go. Quito and Meg are 100 percent there. A very nice looking team leaving Circle.

Allen & Black Team At Circle
By the Yukon Quest
From Official Yukon Quest Flickr Page

Allen had dropped Rambler at Slavens for a bicep problem. Rambler flew in earlier today and is now with Bridgett. Allen also dropped Beemer before leaving Circle, but not for any major issue. He was just tired. Both dogs are eating well and are currently curled up in the dog boxes.

Allen & Black Team At Circle
By the Yukon Quest
From Official Yukon Quest Flickr Page

Tonight will be very cold for Allen. It is currently 42 below here and colder in Circle and colder still on the rivers. The most amazing comment to me that Allen made was that he was “warm.” He is a tough man!

Allen & Black Team At Circle
By the Yukon Quest
From Official Yukon Quest Flickr Page

On the home front, Ryne, Aliy and I just finished closing up the Iditarod Food Drop Bags. Everything is ready to be dropped off at the shipping company tomorrow morning. We will let you know how many pound both Aliy and Allen are sending out on the trail. Anyone want to guess?

Allen & Black Team At Circle
By the Yukon Quest
From Official Yukon Quest Flickr Page

There are so many great pictures of Allen and the dogs on the Yukon Quest YouTube Page. You can see them at http://www.flickr.com/photos/yukonquest/.

Bridgett sent us some photos from Circle.

Bridgett and Bob Waiting for Allen at Circle


Check Point Line

Bridgett Overlooking The Yukon River

Allen & Black Team Arriving in Circle

A Very Cold Allen

Just talked to Bridgett. It has been VERY rough going, but Allen and the dogs are safely in Circle. They ate and all are now sleeping. Biscuit and Boonedocks are his super stars.

Bridgett is out in Circle waiting for Allen to arrive. It was 53 below with a lot of ice fog when she and Bob arrived this morning. Most likely it was colder on the trail.

Between packing bags for Iditarod, Aliy somehow managed to carve out time to get this video ready. Hope to get more footage from the trail up soon.

Allen leaving Dawson
By SP Kennel, Doug Zirkle

Allen arrived at Circle at 11:15 am with 12 dogs. We got a brief call from Bridgett. She said he was safe and looked VERY cold. We will get more information out as soon as we get a call back.

Circle City was once the largest gold mining town on the Yukon River. Gold was found in near by Preacher Creek in 1893. In 1896, they had saloons, an opera house, a library, a school and a hospital. By the end of the winter, the news of the gold strike in Dawson turned Circle into a near ghost town.

Circle City is now a quiet town of about 80 and most of the residents are Athabascan Indians. There is still mining in the area. Circle is located at the end of the Steese Highway and is tourism destination to see the old gold rush cabins, channel shacks and pioneer cemetery.

Allen has been resting at Slavens Cabin and Dog Drop since 7 pm. It took him 10 hour to reach there, a testament to the trail conditions. It must have been a slog!! Dallas Seavey has made a move, camping before Slavens and going through. He is now in the 2nd position. Hans Gatt and Sebastian Schnuelle left Slavens around 11pm. Ken Anderson, Allen, Brent Sass and Dan Kaduce are all resting there now. I expect Allen will leave around 1 am.

It took Hugh Neff 10 hours to run from Slavens to Circle, a 60 mile run. That is a long time. He must have been breaking trail most of the way.

Allen has moved ahead of Brent Sass and has closed in on Ken Anderson. It will be wonderful to hear what’s going on when Bridgett and Bob meet him in Circle.

The SP Kennel crew spent the day, and the night, working on Iditarod food drops. Aliy and Ryne are still cutting fish snacks as we speak. We spent the day packing food for the dogs and mushers, equipment, clothes and vet supplies. It’s been a long day. I had a picture of the drops, but I’m a bit too tired and can’t figure out how to get it off my phone. Sorry. Tomorrow we will pack everything into the check point bags. They are due Monday.

We received an Email from a friend in Eagle who talked to Allen. This is what it said:

Allen “… and several other had a terrible time coming over American Summit. There were high winds and snow and blizzard conditions that knocked out the trail and replaced it with large drifts. Hans Gatt was in a bad way and almost hypothermic from sweating so bad trying to break trail for his team. David Helmer and Mike went out with snow machines to help show the way and had a terrible time getting through with the snow machines. Quite the adventure. But Allen said he is fine.”

Currently, Allen is resting at Trout Cabin with several other mushers on his way to Circle.

This is a link to the KUAC morning report from Eagle. If you ever wondered what it is like out there, this is it!

KUAC: Yukon Quest: 2/12/11 (8:30 am) (2011-02-12)

This footage was taken last year on a flight from Circle to Eagle. For this year, picture it in reverse in near whiteout conditions. It’s a spectacular part of the world!

This footage was shot in 2010 and shows a fly-over of the trail starting in Circle and ending in Eagle.
Video by Peter Kamper
By The Yukon Quest
From Official Yukon Quest YouTube Channel