SPK Dog Log

By now you will have caught up with many of the the changes to the race trail this year. Instead of mushing from Willow to Nome, the teams will race what has been dubbed “The Gold Trail Loop”. Here are some essentials:

• The race will start and finish as Deshka Landing, approximately 7.5 road miles from Willow Lake.
• Teams will follow the traditional southern route trail up until the Iditarod checkpoint then travel out to the mining ghost town of Flat before looping back to southern route trail.
• From there, teams retrace their steps and return to Deshka Landing on the same trail, navigating the Alaska Range, the Happy River Steps and the notorious Dalzell Gorge in the opposite direction

As in every year’s race, 2021 Iditarod mushers will still take three mandatory layovers that add up to 40 hours — a 24-hour layover and two eight-hour layovers:

• the 24-hour stop can come at any checkpoint up to and including Iditarod.
• the first eight-hour layover — replacing the traditional eight-hour rest required on the Yukon River — can be taken at any checkpoint on the Rohn-to-Rohn part of the loop.
• the final eight-hour layover will be at Skwentna.

When asked what section of trail she is most looking forward to running in the opposite direction, Aliy said:

Probably going up Rainy Pass from Rohn on the return is where I’m thinking will be the most special – and probably be the toughest section too. Seeing the mountain range from the absolute “other side” will be remarkable. I have often ‘looked behind me’ as I summit Rainy Pass from the south… I’m sure that I’ve even shown my rear view in some of the Aliy Cams over the years.

Covid-19 Protocols

As with every event around the world this past year, COVID-19 protocols have to be considered. Up until this year, mushers in the Iditarod did not need to undergo any specific fitness testing or health checks, other than completing qualifying races to show they are capable of caring for a team on the race, and a urine drug test at White Mountain checkpoint. This year, of course, everything is different.

The Iditarod has an extensive COVID-19 Prevention Plan – you can read about that here (click link). The Core Tenants of Iditarod prevention plan are to be “Proactive, strategic and anticipatory”, have a “Negative bubble with minimal interaction with community” and that “This year, The Last Great Race will be different.”

As such, all the festivities were been cancelled for this year including the start banquet, musher meet-and-greet and the Ceremonial start in downtown Anchorage. The teams will start from Deshka Landing rather than the Willow Community Centre, and each musher is allowed only four handlers/supporters in the staging area pre-race. Aliy’s support crew will be Allen, Doug, Kaz and Sam and they have all been in a Covid-free family bubble and following good COVID precautions during the lead up to the race.

Pre-race, all mushers must undergo several COVID tests to prove they are virus-free. This is necessary to help ensure the safety of the villages along the route as well as their fellow competitors, veterinarians, volunteers and officials out on the trail. Compulsory testing happened 14 days out, two days out, will happen the morning of the race. All mushers will then be tested at the McGrath checkpoint on their first stop there.

Allen has been tested alongside Aliy in a show of solidarity and also an extra precaution.

Thursday afternoon, Aliy had her two-day-out test, which came back negative. This is what she said:

It doesn’t really bother me to get tested so much. I realize how much effort has gone into the organization of this race and I will do my part. 

We wish all mushers, volunteers, veterinarians, officials and supporters a safe and COVID free race.

Link to an ADN article that gives some more information.

It’s the final countdown… do do do dooooo, do do do do do… (is that song in your head now? Sorry)

Just a few more days until the teams head off down the trail, and then back again, in the 49th Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Here’s what happening in the next few days… Because of COVID-19, there is no mushers’ banquet, meet and greet, on-site mushers’ meeting or Ceremonial start so things look a little different this year.

It’s a small, skeleton crew in Anchorage this year so only Aliy and Allen will attend to the dogs needs while down there so as to stay in their ‘bubble’.

Thursday morning, Aliy and Allen will drive 16 dogs down to Anchorage and that afternoon, Aliy will mask up and go to Iditarod HQ for another (of many) pre-race COVID test and to complete some paperwork. Allen and Doug will take Aliy’s spare sled to be shipped out onto the trail. It is most likely to be waiting at McGrath checkpoint, although hopefully it’s not needed!

For us fans, the Iditarod has a live pre-race show starting 4pm AK time on iditarod.com.

Friday Aliy will attend the mushers’ meeting via Zoom to get the latest info on the trail and logistics surrounding the race.

Again, for the fans, two panel discussions are being screened on Iditarod Insider. At 4pm there’s a Rookie Musher Panel and at 5pm is a Women in Mushing panel with Aliy, DeeDee and Libby. Check out the Broadcast Schedule for more info.

Saturday morning the team will go out for a final stretch out in lieu of the Ceremonial Start then, in the afternoon and evening is final packing and preparation. Aliy will try for an early night to get her last full night’s rest for a while.

Race start is 2pm on Sunday afternoon so the crew will head up to Deshka Landing on Sunday morning. Aliy will wear bib 32 so it will be closer to 3pm that they leave the start chute. Iditarod Insider will start live broadcasting at 1.30pm.

From there, Aliy and team head west along the trail and the crew head back to Two Rivers to watch the tracker obsessively.

Thanks to Padee who is staying at the kennel while the crew is in Anchorage.

Note: We’ll announce the team line-up on Sunday morning, once Aliy has made her final decision on the 14 athletes to join her on the trail. This is the hardest decision Aliy has to make each year!

Veteran mushers have sled packing down to a fine art – everything they need and nothing they don’t. Each musher figures out their own ‘essentials’ and some may carry more than others.

Aliy will pack supplies for the dogs and herself plus safety and mandatory equipment. For the dogs there is dog food, both kibble and frozen meat snacks, jackets, booties, spare harnesses and T-shirts plus any vet supplies that might be needed along the way. For the sled there are spare sled runners and tools. For Aliy there is human food, water and snacks, spare clothing, headlights, sleeping bag and mat, and personal medical supplies. She’ll also carry other survival items like matches, hand warmers and space blanket. The drop bags that go ahead of the team to the checkpoints allows the mushers to replenish their supplies as they go.

There are also a number of mandatory items that must go in the sled and down the trail with mushers and that gets checked at checkpoints; a penalty may be given if a musher is missing any of it. Mandatory items vary from race to race but they are always safety and dog welfare items. For the Iditarod all mushers must have with them:

• Proper cold weather sleeping bag weighing a minimum of 5lbs
• Ax, head to weigh a minimum of 1-3/4 lbs, handle to be at least 22” long
• One operational pair of snowshoes with bindings, each snowshoe to be at least 252 square inches in size
• Any promotional material provided by the ITC
• Eight booties for each dog in the sled or in use
• One operational cooker and pot capable of boiling at least three gallons of water at one time.
• Veterinarian notebook, to be presented to the veterinarian at each checkpoint
• An adequate amount of fuel to bring three gallons of water to a boil
• Functional non-chafing harness for each dog in team and a functional neckline
• An insulated dog coat for each dog in the team that can be used while running and or resting
• When leaving a checkpoint adequate emergency dog food must be on the sled. (This will be carried in addition to what you carry for routine feeding and snacking.)

Check out the 2021 Rules document for more information.

Aliy did a trial run to pack her sled earlier this week and put together a video to talk you through what’s the team is taking with them down the trail.

For one final time you can follow along the Iditarod Trail with us and get SPK-centric coverage right here!

We are unashamedly focused on Aliy and her team and will give you some behind the scenes info as well as current race updates at least twice a day during the race. I (Moira) will cover the race from here in New Zealand using the Iditarod’s Insider coverage and other local Alaska news sources, including Iditarod’s partner broadcast media outlet, KTUU.

You can follow us on Facebook if that’s your jam, and we occasionally update our Instagram page with new and different images.

In terms of information about returned dogs (dogs that have been returned to Anchorage from Aliy’s team during the race) I will bring you that information as soon as it is confirmed to me; I don’t like to speculate so will wait until I have confirmation to post here. Often we will learn that a dog has been returned but we may not find out who it is for a while. It can take time for them to catch a flight (sometimes two flights depending on what checkpoint they are at) and be checked out by the vet team in Anchorage before they are released to our SPK-Anchorage Coordinators Linda and Midnight. We appreciate your patience as we will try to bring you this information as quickly as we can.

If you would like to follow other kennels and racers, their websites, Facebook and Twitter are good places to go for information. We won’t really be commenting too much on other teams here.

We also don’t really go for speculating on strategic decisions and trying to predict outcomes here. There are many better-qualified people to do that so take a look for them, some on Facebook or on their kennel websites. Find a commentator or group you like and follow along with them. That’s what we do!

If you are able, we really recommend purchasing an Iditarod Insider subscription. Not only will you get up to date info and videos directly from the trail, but you will also be supporting the Last Great Race. If you are not in a position to purchase a subscription they do often have free content, and their ‘Current Standings’ are available to all. The Iditarod also has active Social Media pages so check them out.

If you are an educator, the Iditarod has plenty to offer to help you bring the race to your classroom. Start at https://iditarod.com/edu/ and go from there.

It’s also a good idea to have a really good poke around the iditarod.com website – there are many hidden gems under each tab such as the Dog Care information tab and this Media Guide (click link).

We hope you enjoy following along with us again this year.

_____

For those of you asking… no, it is not possible for me to travel to Alaska this year to physically support Aliy and the team. Yes, it is heartbreaking to not be there for their last run down the trail but the world is weird and for all other reasons I’m pretty okay with being in New Zealand right now. I will follow closely and have taken the week off work so I can fully focus on bringing you SPK coverage.