SPK Dog Log

The team is trucking along nicely having arrived into Meiers Lake checkpoint at 11:52pm giving them a run-time of 7 hours, 16 minutes. With a long run and big climb under their harnesses, we expect them to take a good long rest here before the push through to Sourdough checkpoint. Allen will likely get a chance to catch some sleep himself after his chores are complete.

Cell coverage is spotty so regular communications with the team are difficult right now. I’ll post an update and/or pics as and when they come through. Text messages from the team tell us that everyone is looking great, all tails are wagging and they were barking at check-in. They were all currently chowing down their snacks.

It is about around -5F now in the area with a light breeze and the forecast tells us there is a chance of snow and that “tomorrow will be much warmer than today”. During the trail report on Friday evening, Jamey Kemp, the trail manager, told teams there were some patches of overflow about 35 miles out from the checkpoint that at the time were about five inches deep but I understand Allen didn’t get his feet wet so that’s always good.

A few hours earlier, after waving the team out of Chistochina the handler crew set about doing their own chores – clearing the team’s camp spot of returned gear, trash and straw to ensure they “left no trace”. They then drove the 73 road miles back past the start point then north on the Richardson Highway to Meier’s Lake where they got a few (a couple?) hours rest before welcoming the team in.

Meiers Lake Roadhouse is a haven on a cold January night. Once the dogs are cosily tucked into their straw beds the handlers and mushers get to enjoy the hospitality of the team at the roadhouse who work tirelessly throughout the night to deliver burgers, grilled cheese sandwiches and soups to hungry, tired humans. Always worth a visit if you are ever passing that way.

After 3.5 hours rest the team disappeared down the trail at 4:36pm, headed towards the Meiers Lake Roadhouse checkpoint. All 12 dogs left with Allen.

The trail to Meiers Lake is punctuated by a rather large hill – affectionately nicknamed “The Hump”. As you see from the elevation map on the tracker – it’s a pretty big hump!

According to the trail notes on CB300 website: “From the Chistochina checkpoint, the race course follows the paved bicycle path to it’s intersection with Sinona Creek, then along the creek bed under the highway bridge and further along while paralleling the highway to the Chistochina River trailhead.

The race trail then turns northward again at the Chistochina River trailhead and follows this traditional use trail ever northwestward.  The race trail crosses Excelsior Creek about 37 miles from the Chistochina checkpoint, then up and over the “Hump” (elevation 4,085 feet) 41½ miles out of Chistochina checkpoint, followed by a crossing of the upper Gakona River about 45 miles above the Chistochina checkpoint.

Once across the upper Gakona River, the trail heads due west until it’s intersection with the Alyeska pipeline corridor.  From here, the trail follows the pipeline south for 16 miles until a point where the race course leaves the pipeline to follow an access road west approx 1½ miles toward the second checkpoint at Meier’s Lake Roadhouse.  From the upper Gakona River crossing to Meier’s Lake checkpoint is approx 22 miles.  Total distance from Chistochina checkpoint to Meier’s Lake checkpoint is 68 miles.“

Below is the current top 15 “leaderboard” after just one checkpoint – the Black Team had the fourth fastest runtime into Chisto (disclaimer: according to my maths).

Allen and the team arrived into the Chistochina checkpoint at the Red Eagle Lodge at 13:06 for a run-time of 2 hours 46 minutes. They were the first team to arrive.

As the first team, they had their pick of parking spots. It is quite a science and art in getting the best parking spot – away from other teams so the dogs rest easier, close to the amenities of the checkpoint for water to make the dog meal, close to the exit trail for easy embarkment on the next leg but not too far away from the check-out spot the mushers have to sign-out at before they leave. You can see from this screen shot of the zoomed in tracker that team #11 were in their “usual” spot away from the hustle-bustle of the other teams.

Allen said the trail was fast with one spot of ice/glaciation that could have caused some difficulty but the dogs negotiated it well. With low snow cover it was quite rough in parts but the dogs didn’t mind that one bit!

Allen’s checkpoint routine is well-honed after many years of racing. Once the team is parked he’ll start with a snack for the dogs of frozen meat or fish then get the straw down for the dogs to sleep asap. He’ll then remove booties and give them sleeping jackets/blankets if they need it – they are already wearing their cold-weather insulated coats so the might be quite comfortable in those especially as it is “the heat of the day” right now. He’ll also see to feet and muscles that need massaging so they can settle into a restful sleep as quickly as possible. Allen will then boil water in his fuel powered cooker to soak kibble and meat snacks ready for the dogs’ big meal, fed about 1-1.5 hours before they leave the checkpoint. He leaves the kibble soaking in a cooler while he repacks his sled with supplies ready for the next leg. Only after all that will he fix himself a meal – likely a freeze-dried meal or frozen seam-sealed “proper” meal and catch some rest.

Remember in this race, right up until the last checkpoint, it is the cumulative run times that will indicate the leader, not necessarily the first into a checkpoint. Once I get more data about other teams’ run times I can share a ‘leaderboard’ with you.

Karolyn caught this video from the start line as the team left, looking fantastic! You can see Allen’s left foot on the brake as they leave, this is to help ease the dogs into the run and warm up without going full tilt from the get-go.

A few pics from the starting line…

Right on time at 10:20am Allen and his Black Team left the start chute at Gakona headed for the Red Eagle Lodge at Chistochina. They will be following the green marked trail on the map below.

It is a crisp, calm morning at around -20F and snow conditions are low, as seems to be the case in many parts of Alaska. Allen expects the trail to be fast, compared to last year when there was lots of snow making the trails hard going! The forecast for the area is to “warm up” today.

Leading the team out this morning was Commando and Junior, with Amber and Dutch in swing followed by Spark and Kodiak, Chevie and Nomex, Five and Rodney with Violet and Champ in swing.

In an interview with KCAM radio Allen told how much he enjoys this race and the fact you get a little bit of everything on the trail – snow, water, wind… He believes it should be a mandatory qualifier for the 1000 mile races as rookies would gain invaluable experience running this race. His advice to rookies was to expect everything and plan for it then, if it doesn’t happen – great, if it does happen then they are prepared.

The start line, although not the regular location in Glennallen, was still expertly organised and well run, getting the teams’ support vehicles parked efficiently and the dog teams to the start line in a orderly fashion.

Now the teams are on the trail you can now follow along using the free GPS tracker by clicking this link.

The trail notes over to Chistochina from the CB300 website say: “The race trail will parallel the Tok Cut-Off Highway for less than one mile and then turn left and gain 360 feet of elevation when following the historic Valdez to Eagle Trail up and out of Gakona.

The race trail parallels the Tok Cut-Off Highway for many miles northward.  At approximately MP 33 of the Tok Cut-Off Highway, the race trail crosses the road at a high visibility light tower (provided by Alyeska) and is manned by volunteers to ensure safe passage for sled dog teams to the east side of the highway.  The Chistochina checkpoint is then approximately half a mile further on across the airfield at the Red Eagle Lodge, where warm shelter is available to race participants, officials and spectators.  Total distance from the Race Start to the first checkpoint is approximately 32 miles.”

Expect the trail to be fast with the first teams likely making it to the checkpoint in around three hours.

Remember to keep an eye on the CB300 website and Facebook page for updates and our own Facebook page in case we are able to get some pics directly from the handler team on the trail. A reminder that the race is a wilderness race so cell coverage won’t be reliable. We may not hear from the teams regularly with updates.

Pics from Karolyn

Allen drew bib 11 this evening so he and the Black Team will leave the start chute at Gakona at 10:20am local time.

Allen will be pleased with a relatively low bib number as it means they can get on the trail early and get to have a longer rest when they make up their “time differential”. The time differential is the extra time teams take during their mandatory six-hour break to even the playing field after the staggered start i.e. the last team to leave the start line has a time differential of zero, second-last has to stay an extra two minutes, third-last takes four minutes and so on, and so on.

Teams must take at least 18 hours plus differential spread over all checkpoints – they can decide where and when to take their rest but it must be in half hour increments with one stop being six hours long (plus differential). Different mushers employ vastly different strategies for their rest breaks depending on their team and conditions. For this reason it is very difficult to know who is actually in the lead of the race as mushers that take less rest at the start have to make up that rest at the end. I will explain more about that as we go along…

Here are a few pics from earlier in the day as the dogs had a potty break and waited for their vet checks

While waiting for her vet exam, talkative Junior had something to say!

This evening the dogs will get a hearty meal, a final stretch of the legs, have an all over body massage and “pink ointment” applied to their feet. It is essential for a racing dog to have their feet in tip-top conditions, free of any splits or abrasions that might cause them any discomfort and so we use a medicated foot salve to pre-treat their feet before a race. It is the same salve Allen will use at the checkpoints to keep them soothed during the race.

After a late night pee break and hopefully a good and restful sleep the handler squad will be up early to give them a light, hydrating meal and start their final preparations before the drive back up the road to Gakona for the start.