SPK Dog Log

In between running YQ200, caring for dogs in Dawson then being glued to the tracker, Aliy has been finishing her Iditarod food drop bags that were due Monday. Most of the dog meat and kibble was already measured and bagged, thanks to Sheila, but all the dog jackets, booties, human supplies, vet kits etc etc needed to be completed.

The Iditarod Trail Committee requires mushers to send at least 50lb out to every checkpoint, even if they are not going to be staying so Aliy ended up sending over 1,400lb in total to 22 checkpoints, including supplies for Nome. The bags will then get shipped to Anchorage where the “Iditarod Airforce” will take them out to checkpoints ready for teams as they arrive.

Packing drop bags takes a lot of thought, especially in the Iditarod with so many checkpoints because you can’t just send everything to everywhere (unless you are a multi-millionaire) so you have to have in mind your strategy and plans for rest stops plus contingencies when you pack them. Mushers also pack an empty “return bag” that they can pack unused non-perishables – gloves, booties, clothing etc – except dog food, and it will be returned to them after the race.

Thanks to everyone who helped get the bags ready. Every little bit helped!

The crew is off to town to greet the team! We are so excited to see them and give each a hug and kiss. At this moment in time they are running in third position as Hans passed them before the road crossing of Chena Hot Springs Road.

We’ve watched on the tracker the team go past all our usual turn-around spots and they appear to have sailed through okay so now they embark on the final run on the river home.

As soon as they cross the line we will have some delicious snacks waiting for canines and human then we’ll get them to the truck asap to give the dogs a watery, meaty, nutritious meal and undress harnesses, booties and jackets. The vet crew will give them another exam then we will get them into their cozy straw lined boxes to sleep for the journey home. Once home they get to luxuriate in the dog barn for a week or so with indoor/outdoor living options, room service, massages and stretch out runs as part of the service.

It may take a while before I am back in a place I can update you so keep an eye on our Facebook and/or Instagram as I may be able to post directly there.

Thanks for watching along. We have felt your good wishes right from the start and appreciate knowing you are following along with us.

Right on time, Allen and his 13 team mates left Two Rivers on the final leg to the finish line. He left with Commando and Dutch in lead, Chipper and Nomex in swing. The last leg is 70 miles so we expect them to finish late this afternoon. Allen was excited to get back on the trail as were the dogs.

It is warm here, around 18F right now and snowed for the last couple hours before they left then stopped as he was leaving, so there is about an inch or so of fresh snow on the trail.

The trail is familiar to the team, they train on these trails and the they will need to mush nearby the kennel. Allen has practiced going right by regularly.

Regardless of what happens now and what position they finish in we are super proud of Allen and all the dogs – Commando, Dutch, Nomex, Chipper, Spark, Amber, Clyde, Junior, Rodney, Champ, Bruno, Felix, Violet and Iron. It was an unusual race to start with being in and out of the truck in Braeburn, Carmacks and again in Dawson, Adding team members in Carmacks and Pelly, enduring the cold of the Yukon and the warmth of Interior Alaska… they have taken whatever has come their way and literally run with it. We couldn’t ask any more and we love them all so much. We look forward to being able to greet them and pamper them.

There is nothing more we can do but watch, or not watch.

Refresh, refresh, refresh…

Tune in to the Yukon Quest Facebook page as they will be live streaming the finish.

The team pulled in to Two Rivers checkpoint at 8:32pm having blown through Mile 101 checkpoint.

Allen and the team have their tails up and are absolutely in race mode. They ran up and over Rosebud and into Dos Rios with a run time of 6 hours, 40 minutes. The earliest they can leave is 4:32am.

Two Rivers checkpoint is the final rest before the last leg into the finish line in Fairbanks. Here, teams must stop for eight hours and there is one more mandatory vet exam, an opportunity to give the dogs a huge calorific meal and have the dogs rest hard for the next leg to town.

Allen will also catch some rest – he will be poling and running hard – it’s not over yet! There’s one team in front and two coming up fast behind so there’s some work to do.

Mile 101 / Eagle Summit

Now the handler crew are back in signal range we have a few pics from Mile 101. FYI NOMEX led the team over Eagle Summit!

Allen stopped the team at Mile 101 long enough to snack them and grab some supplies then they went on their way. Check out this pic from the Quest Facebook page – what do you think Chipper and Dutch are saying in swing?

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What happens next is the crew and family will go back out to the checkpoint (those that didn’t stay over) to wave them goodbye then we try to find something else to do other than obsessively watch the tracker all the way to Fairbanks.

No matter how good your dog team or your musher, the Eagle Summit ascent is always a tense time for loved ones and handlers. It’s a challenge even for the best of the best so to see the team up and over is always a relief. Even Quito was up and pacing the room!

This is how Aliy left her tracker for me before she took a team out for a four hour run.

We’ve had more details from the handler crew in Central – evidently Allen got wet on Birch Creek! The creek was cooler than expected but warmer than usual – if that makes sense. There was significant overflow and shelf ice. Allen tested an area of ice before taking the team over, he put crampons on but fell through the shelf and got wet, but the dogs were just fine! When Allen got to the checkpoint he had to break his boots off as they had so much ice but his feet inside were warm. He always sends extra clothes in drop bags to the ‘after’ side of Birch Creek since his very first Quest experience so he had new boots to change into once he got the wet ones off.

They left Central read to “kick that mountain’s a**”! Allen loves the challenge and evidently Chipper was agreeing with him, jumping and yelling to get going. The team was led out of the checkpoint by Commando and Dutch with Chipper and Nomex in swing. He will have been running and ski-poling and doing all he could to help the team out.

Onwards to Mile 101 checkpoint followed by Rosebud. An innocuous name for a massive climb.

After a long night on Birch Creek, Allen and his mates pulled in to Central at 5:35am in third position. Their run time from Circle was 15 hours, 4 minutes and they took a 2.5 hour rest on the trail, just after half-way through the run. They will rest here a while before hitting the trail for the infamous Eagle Summit climb.

There to greet him was is 80-something year old Mom Donnie who made the trip up from Arkansas!

The Black Team rested at Circle for nearly five hours and Allen still had 13 team mates with him as he left the checkpoint at 2.31pm. He rested just under one hour more than Brent, who left at 1:34pm. The next leg of the journey is 70 miles mostly along Birch Creek. This stretch is notorious for cold and overflow yet today it is above 0F in the area with fresh snow. It remains to be seen what shape the trail is in.

Allen said the dogs are doing great. They had some difficulty finding the trail to Slaven’s as it was blown-in so his lead was cut a bit because of that. But, the dogs are moving nicely, eating really well and have great attitudes. He was looking forward to getting back on the trail, through the creek then over those last two hills.

Scotty, Allen’s son-in-law captured some incredible pics and video of the team arriving into Circle at sunrise!

Karolyn sent through these pics from the checkpoint. The first is the team as they arrived and the poster was drawn by one of the local art students and the dogs are modelled off Commando and Dutch. Nice job!

As teams head toward Birch Creek here’s my usual reminder/disclaimer about watching the tracker over this area. You can see from the screenshot from the tracker that it is very twisty. The tracker updates every five minutes or so and while the teams may have moved nicely along the trail, the “as the crow flies” measurement from the last tracker ping can be much shorter. It could looks like teams are going a bit slower than they actually are so don’t be alarmed.

Here’s a couple of pics from the truck overnight. There were a bunch of other crews there including Wild and Free, Squid Acres, Hans Gatt and some trail breakers and once the wind died down they all worked together to dig each other out and get back on the road. The handler convoy is special like that. Our mushers might be fiercely competitive but the crews help each other out regardless.

Next stop Central Corner!