For the past five years we have been focused on bringing a young dog team to Nome and this year we have done just that. As those of you who have been following our progress over the past few years know we have been paying our dues and establishing our kennel with the Iditarod as our ultimate focus. We have had moments of bliss and moments of what seemed to be countless challenges but in the end we persevered.
A truly awesome experience. Challenges far beyond what we had imagined. Rewards too great to describe, but let me try. As I began to write this year’s newsletter words just started to flow. I ended up with almost 30 pages of single-spaced typing. Obviously too much to put in a newsletter. I have included a few of the highlights and hope to organize the rest into a short story about my experience. Please enjoy and if you would be interested in reading more let me know.
Highlights Of Iditarod 2009
The festivities begin in downtown Anchorage. The Ceremonial start brings us right through the heart of the city and spectators line both sides of the streets for 10 miles. I would like to thank all the locals who traveled to Anchorage to cheer us on, especially our Oak Creek fans!
The next day we headed up to Willow for the official start. This is when the race really begins. Again, spectators line up on both sides of the trail. It was amazing how many folks came out to cheer us on. There were fans with fire pits, BBQ’s and tents the first 35 miles until we reached Yentna Station. The challenges of preparing for this awesome event were over and the race was on.
After making our way up the rivers we arrived at the Finger Lake checkpoint and were now entering the Alaska Range. This is a notorious section of trail. The Happy River Steps are lurking out there waiting to just destroy you and your sled. This is four sheer vertical drops that has tight trees and a relentlessly winding trail. The dogs absolutely love these conditions. They look at it like an amusement park for sled dogs. I had been training all winter to keep my dogs steady and under control just for this section of trail. All of a sudden my team was gone. It was the first step. So steep that you completely loose sight of the dog team. Jump from the right runner to the left runner, stand on the break, the right, oh no my feet slipped off of the runners, start running, jump back on and finally the bottom of the first drop. After 3 more successful navigations we were on the Happy River. But only for a mile and then all the elevation we had just lost was now ours to gain again. It starts with a hill of sheer ice, the dogs charged right up it and I was just holding on. This brought us through the tightest trees I have ever traveled through with a dog team. The climb was long but we trained for power. The dogs just ran right up and through those trees and we made it to Rainy Pass without any incidence. This next section of trail is considered the most technically challenging part of the whole race. We loose 2,000 vertical feet in just three miles. The Dalzel Gorge. Filled with vertical drops onto frozen rivers and across ice bridges as you zig zag down stream trying to avoid open water, tree roots and large granite boulders. After a successful run we arrived at the Rohn checkpoint.
We left Rohn and made our way into the interior of Alaska and took our 24-hour mandatory rest in McGrath. I consumed seven full meals personally. The dogs ate at least five times and we all got plenty of rest. By now the early race jitters were gone and we were operating like a well-oiled machine. When we pulled the snow hook and continued on the dogs were full of steam. I think they had more power at that point then they did at the start. The team was actually getting stronger. You see, up until McGrath, these young dogs were not sure what to make of this. They were starting to feel sorry for themselves as if to ask are we going to run forever? But after a nice 24 + hour break they were obviously ready.