SPK Dog Log

ID: Drop Bags

February 21, 2018 by SPK Crew

Right in the middle of the Yukon Quest, the Iditarod drop bags were due to be handed in so Aliy flew home from Dawson, after seeing the team onto the trail, to complete them.

We started making the bags of kibble, cutting the meat, putting human snack packs, packs of booties and vet kits together over the weeks preceding it but we had to bring some dog jackets, gloves and other supplies home from the first half of the Quest trail to complete them.

We sent out over 1,400 lb each for both teams to ensure there was plenty of food and supplies along the trail. There are several options for 24 and eight hour stops plus contingency for unplanned layovers due to weather or other issues.

For the dogs to eat we pack the following:

Kibble – three different types of dry dog food
Meat – snack sized portions of beef, poultry skins, chicken and salmon
Supplements – other supplemental foods

Dog equipment:

Jackets – wind, insulated and fleece lined jackets
Booties – packs of 16 sets of booties, all the way along the trail
Spare equipment – harnesses, T-shirts, leggings, fox tails
Fleece blankets and throws

Human food:

Freeze dried meals
Seam-sealed meals of moose lasagna, beef meatballs in tomato sauce, chicken pesto
Snack packs of protein and oatmeal bars, bacon, nuts, trail mix
Other ‘surprise’ goodies for the mushers

Human equipment and clothing:

Gloves, socks, hats, neck gators
Spare clothing
Boots and boot liners

Other stuff:

Sled runner plastics
Vet supplies kits (foot ointment, liniment, wrist wraps etc)
Hand / foot warmers, matches and tissues

It is a real logistics exercise just getting these bags completed so thanks to everyone that helped us this year, we appreciate the time and attention you took to help supply us on our race.

Edit: Anything perishable that is left over (dog food, human food) stays at the checkpoint and goes to the villages. The Mushers can pack a return bag at each checkpoint to send gloves, clothing, booties etc home for reuse.

Dogs

Yukon Quest Dog Fan Club Draw

February 19, 2018 by SPK Crew

To celebrate our Yukon Quest win we drew five dog fan club members out of the virtual hat.

Congratulations to Debra Winter who is a fan of Cayenne, Charles and Lisa Hill who are fans of Chipper, Mrs. Price’s 3rd Grade Class who are fans of Commando, Junior fan Julie Scott, and Ron and Julie LaPoint who are Sanka fans.

You each win a signed Yukon Quest race guide, a copy of the Whitehorse Star Yukon Quest supplement, a glam shot of “your dog” plus some other kennel goodies.

We will have more random Dog Fan Club coming up for the Iditarod so keep an eye out for that over the next few weeks.

Thank you all so much for your continued support of the SP Kennel Dog Fan Club. To check out more information about each athlete including race history and fan club members go to our “The Dogs” page and click on each athlete.

To join the Dog Fan Club go to the “Get Involved” page or click on the button below:

Join the Dog Fan Club

Dogs

YQ: Commando and Dutch Take Whitehorse

February 18, 2018 by SPK Crew

Our Golden Harness winners, Commando and Dutch, returned to Whitehorse with Aliy on Friday morning ready for the banquet. They experienced a few new things…

Stretching their legs and getting some cultural experience

Overlooking the Yukon. In a few of weeks they will be way down stream on the Yukon

Commando gets his Golden Harness in front of the huge crowd

Aliy tells everyone how amazing they are while Dutch climbs into Allen’s lap

Dogs | Races

YQ: Accolades

February 17, 2018 by SPK Crew

This evening at the Whitehorse Convention Centre we celebrated the 2018 Yukon Quest – the 35th running of the race.

Hearing the stories from the trail is always the best part of the evening and we heard tales of challenge, camaraderie and hospitality. The Kwanlin Dun Cultural Centre Sewing Group made each finishing musher a hand-beaded finishers patch. Each was unique and are stunning pieces of art the that all the mushers will treasure.

Allen received a standing ovation for his win and he let everyone in on the secret to his success – his “easy button”. Along with the beautiful patch, Allen also received a hand made hatchet from Alaska Rod’s, a big supporter of the race.

Being the first musher to Dawson City and to go on and finish the race, Allen was awarded with two ounces of Dawson Gold. His First to Pelly Crossing prize of wolf mitts was already awarded on the trail.

Handmade hatchet from Alaska Rod’s and some Dawson gold

Allen was thrilled to receive the Veterinarians’ Choice Award – he said it was even better than winning the race. It was the first time he has won this award and he won $1000 of vet care courtesy of Alpine Veterinary Medical Centre plus another breath taking hand-beaded patch made by Mrs Turner that tells a wonderful story of a musher and his dogs.

Commando and Dutch were the stars of the evening, winning the Golden Harness Award and getting fitted with their their fancy, hand-made golden harness from Tanzilla Harness Supply. They also enjoyed a steak dinner thanks to the chefs at the Coast High Country Inn. They were a little overwhelmed with the applause – Dutch climbed into Allen’s lap for a hug. Commando was a bit more outgoing and finished his steak on stage while Dutch ate his out in the foyer with fewer eyes on him.

Congratulations to all the Yukon Quest mushers that made it to the start line. That, in itself, is a huge deal. Congrats to all those who finished and all the prizewinners – see the Quest Website for a full list of prizes and more details from the evening.

Races

YQ: Whitehorse Met The Mushers

February 16, 2018 by SPK Crew

Thanks Whitehorse! It was a great turn out tonight at the Mount McIntyre Rec Centre this evening of the Meet the Mushers event. It was the first time some of the mushers had seen each other in days – many of them had travelled alone for long stretches so it was an opportunity to share stories and a beverage.

Tomorrow the mushers will have their post race meetings and talk in more depth about the race, trail, what went well and ideas for improvements. Tonight was a social event for them to relax and enjoy the company of their fellow mushers and the many fans who came to show their support.

Photos Padee McCrery

Races | Sponsors

YQ: Thank You

February 16, 2018 by SPK Crew

There are so many people to thank for helping us on the Yukon Quest Journey.

Thanks to our handler crew Jeff, Bridgett, Moira, Sheila and Mark. We can’t do it without a great handler crew and you made a huge difference in this race. Thanks also to Padee, Wendy, Jennifer, Scotty and Kevin for your help at the start line.

Thank you to all our individual dog sponsors, team members, dog fan club members, kennel VIPs and champions. We think of you all as family and appreciate your ongoing support for us.

Thanks to everyone who Geared Up The Team for the Yukon Quest: Marilyn Cozzens, Ann and Tom Shillington, Beemer and Viper Eckhoff, Vivian and Greg Martin, Leanna Anderson, Kathy Ferrell, Val Lycette, Beth and Mike Metcalf, Lloie Schwartz, Andrea Trzaskos, Linda Toth, Stella Rathswohl, Metta Canez, Debi Riley, Chemo and Team Adirondack, Charlene and Lisa – the Straw Ladies, Barbara Thompson, Hayden Nevill. The meat snacks, booties and straw were all well used during this race.

To everyone who read, liked, shared or commented on our posts, thank you for following along with us. We enjoy bringing you the stories and we appreciate your feedback.

To our major sponsors: Matson, Verizon Alaska, Bob Huston (who sponsored our handler dinner at the Drunken Goat in Dawson – thanks Bob!), Comfort Inn Ship’s Creek, Pleasant Valley Store, North Pole Vet, T Rose Vet, Head-lites.com, Howling Dog Alaska and their superb distance harness system and Kenai Satellite Phone Rentals – who kept the handler team in touch with the kennel on the Alaska side.

To the Quest organisation, thank you once again for putting on a great race. To the race officials, thanks for all that you do – I’m sure it is an under appreciated job! To the logistics team for getting the drop bags where they needed to be and for setting up the checkpoints for easy navigation, and for cleaning up after we had all left. To the staff of both Alaska and Yukon offices, the work you do all year round is unseen by most of us but we hope you know that we appreciate you! To the PR and Visual Content team, it was great to work with you again to bring this race to the world. To the checkpoint managers and your volunteers – a sincere thanks for making us feel welcome, cooking delicious food, waking our mushers up on time and getting them safely in and out of checkpoints and across roads.

The veterinarian team, led by Dr Nina Hansen, are amazing. Thanks for the care and attention you give to all the dogs before, during and after the race. We are lucky to have so many talented people willing to give up their time to provide advice, treatment and support to the teams. We always learn something new from you and that all helps with the overall health and wellbeing of the dogs and the race.

To the trail breakers – THANK YOU! Without you, we would not have a race. Period.

To Central Corner, The Downtown Hotel, Bonanza Gold RV Park and Braeburn Lodge for hosting us at the checkpoints. It can’t be easy to have so many dog mushers and handlers roll in and out of town wanting food, drink and sleep.

To all the race sponsors, thank you for sponsoring the race we love. We look forward to seeing you back next year!

That’s quite a large village! Thank you all.

Races

YQ: Journey to Whitehorse

February 16, 2018 by SPK Crew

Follow Allen, Commando, Dutch, Spark, Kodiak, Clyde, Champ, Rodney, Five, Driver, Nomex, Junior, Chena, Felix and Violet on their journey to become 2018 Yukon Quest Champions.