Yes, this area has been silent for some tieme but I have been busy behind the scenes. I just did not have enough firmed up to share for awhile. It was not real easy to manage but I now have a place to go --a real live kennel so I can get that boots in the snow feel for this whole adventure. I will be flying to Fairbanks on September 17!
Most of the major mushers want young, active, wanna-be racers to come aboard for helpers and handlers. I totally understand that and did not ever try for many of the help wanted ads posted on the "Sled Dog Central Help/Handlers Wanted" site. But I did try a few; many did not even deign to reply but one called me shortly after she got the email--it was about 1:30 NM time--that is the o-dark 1:30!
And she called again before I got the call returned the next morning. We talked for thirty or forty minutes and she agreed to have me com up. She has two regular helpers, one there I guess full time and the other due in October. We will be sharing a couple of cabins and worring hard but I think having fun as well.
I will be staying at Slow Rush Kennel and will be a kind of working guest. The owner, Kyia Bouchard, has also run a mushing museum in Fairbanks which she has just closed as of the end of August. For some reason, attendance was very poor and not enough income to pay the rent on the building. I find this both sad and perplexing. I do have a few ideas to pitch to her while I am there and have slight hopes of getting things back up and going by next summer with this. We'll see. The museum in Knik with a large amount of iditarod stuff is barely hanging on as well; what we need is to get some deep pocketed folks whoa re serious musher fans to step up and help with this to perhaps create a central one-stop place for visitors to learn and observe "all about sled dogs" and the history of mushing around the world.
Kyia has done many things in her life and was a late arrival to Alaska and dog sledding--she's put in about ten years there now. No, she has no big race wins and not even too many small race finishes but she does have a kennel of about 45 dogs and makes a point to have many different kinds from the current speedy "Alaskan Husky" mixed breed dogs (some retirees from well known kennels) to the Siberians and a few of the big, heavy Malamute type freight hauler dogs, the "Percherons/ lydesdales" of the sled dogs.
The kennel is off the grid and I think they use solar in some weather and generators for power. I expect it to be rustic and can deal with that. I am not sure how much internet time and access I will have but intend to keep up both this blog and my FB posts as best I can. No promises except to try! If I don't get much done, expect a barrage when I get home. I may try to get an extra car for my camera so as to be able to save a gazillion shots! But can also download them to my trusty little Acer travel netbook.
At present, my return date is set for 13 December--I had to set one when I made my flight reservations--but that is subject to change. Since I am not the only helper or even a regular one, I won't feel bad and like I am letting my hostess down if I find I have real issues dealing with the lack of sun and the cold. I'm just going to give it my best shot. I've acquired quite a bit of cold weather attire and can borrow a few things and maybe buy a few more locally before real winter sets in.
I feel that ninety days is the most I can fairly be away from home since I have my fiction work to continue with, other duties and activities, and my brother will be keeping my two dogs--one of whom is now on special eye drops just like I am. Turns out Ginger has extreme dry and irritated eyes just like her mom does! So that is probably the latest possible return home--before the holidays. It could be sooner but I want to learn as much as I can and get as much experience and understanding of the back-of-the scenes stuff that all the mushers have to do. It doesn't matter if they are long distance racers. sprint racers, expedition folks or simply hobbyists--the care and training of the dogs is very much the same with only a few minor adjustments for what you expect them to do.. I may get to see a few of the major mushers in the local region while I am there--a number of kennels are scattered around the Fairbanks area. SPK, Page and Cody's Squid Acres, Lance Mackey, Jody Bailey etc.
Anyway, next Saturday or Saturday week will see me arriving about 9:00 p.m. local and being picked up by Kyia and taken out ten miles or so to the kennel. In time there will be lots of pictures and reports, so check back every few days and see what is going on!
Friday, September 9, 2016
Friday, July 8, 2016
Saved the Best for Last?
In a lot of ways, second to the meeting with Deedee and Aliy, Tuesday, June 28 was the highlight of my trip. That morning I picked Helen up at her sons' auto shop on the north side of Wasilla, actually not far from the Big Lake turnoff. The previous evening I had called Jan Steves and arranged to come visit, arriving about 10:30. It was a good thing Helen was familiar with the area around Willow. She had actually lived there for awhile and since we were early, we drove out aso she could show me where she had lived. The neat little house is vacant and although I could not afford it, I felt a tug--what a nice place to live. However when winter rolled around I would probably feel differently!
We continued on up the Parks Highway a few miles and came to the area where the 2015 fire had been. Black matchsticks that had once been spruce and deciduous trees stood stark over ground still bare and dry. It was not pretty. We took a side road and drove to the west, into the heart of the burned area. Soon we saw where many of the mushers who lived out there were busily rebuilding, The ground is still raw and barren. Dogs are staked by their neat little houses with no shade so they dig deep holes and tunnels to find coolness when the sun shines,.It was overcast and sprinkling off and on that day. Unfinished houses, barns and other buildings stand, some just frames and trusses, others with siding in place but unpainted. It was not pretty but there was something affirming about the spirit and determination expressed in every bit of work. Phoenix-like, the community rises again and most of those people will continue to raise, train and run their dogs because that is their life.
We passed the Jonrowe place. At the ITC on Saturday Deedee had been joking about her deep tan. "There is no shade," she said. "Whatever I do outside is out in the sun. There's no shade." A short ways farther, we came to Jan Steves and Bob Chlupach's place. The house is nearing completion and a shed, also with raw outer walls, stands between the two dog yards. "His" are on one side and "hers" on the other. Although Bob apparently does not race now, he still trains and runs dogs and works with aspiring mushers of which Jan was one when they met a few years back. She was cleaning up the dog yard when we arrived and that was when I took the one picture. I then got too involved in talking and listening to take more. Maybe next time.
It was very encouraging to me to hear some of what Bob had to say. He raced back in the first two decades and although he did not win he is still well respected in the mushing community and served for thirty years on the ITC rules committee. He cannot get back on now; perhaps some deem him too reactionary! However he is in full agreement on the 'carrying' issue and chided me for backing down on the Idita-Support page. I explained I did not want to alienate too many folks and was not sure for awhile that I was actually right.
Jan simply lights up when she talks about her dogs, about the feeling of racing through a snowy landscape, all alone except for your team and the beauty of the night. It has been a dream brought to life for her to come to Alaska and get involved with it. She's had a lot of personal issues besides being burned out --and they did not have insurance although they do now--but she is not about to give up racing and has entered for the 2017 Iditarod, did so on the 25th. Even after the very serious injuries she received in the accident early in the 2016 race, she is determined to musher up and go at it again. She's finished once and wants very much to do so again and start improving her record. You can bet I am rooting for her! She's now one of my heroines too.
They both agreed that I should not have any trouble finding a place to work for however long I can commit to doing so this fall. Kennels always need help and the middle and lower tier mushers cannot afford to pay much but are grateful for any support and help they can get. Running the qualifying and either of the two big races is hugely expensive and even if you win, until you amass some strong sponsors to help sustain you, you cannot exist on the prizes paid. For most if not almost all, the whole project truly is a labor of love.
Normally I am not at all in favor of dogs on chains. However this is pretty standard with the sled dogs. Each one has its own little house lined with straw for warmth and cushioning. They have their own food and water dishes and each is staked to a post a few feet from the house but with plenty of length to go in, romp around and dig! In every bunch there will be some that do not get along and others that share close bonds. If all were not restrained, there would be fights, sometimes serious.And if they were allowed to run loose some would be lost, chasing game or getting into other harm. About the only alternative, a separate chain link pen for each dog, would be terribly expensive. Anyway most dogs run daily for exercise and conditioning, are taken for a walk, or let out with a few friends while the musher watches and voice-controls them. They are not neglected or ignored! Many pets should be so fortunate.. Mother dogs with puppies are usually kept in a pen until weaning time and young puppies are often kept together for several months too.
At any rate, time flew by as we talked and drank coffee and I left feeling like I had more new friends. It was a very good experience and helpful as well. Bob has already made some suggestions that will improve my book and I think I can count on them for a recommendation when I start seeking a position for fall.
Helen and I took the afternoon to drive down below Palmer and Wasilla to the Eklutna area. It is a native settlement which also included Russians in the 1800s. Quite picturesque. However we drove up to Eklutna Lake, which supplies water for Anchorage. It is fed by a glacier which can no longer be reached by car since the road was closed and removed some years back. It was a beautiful place, very peaceful and quiet despite there being some people up boating, fishing and playing along the edges of the lake. I continue to be in awe of the natural beauty of Alaska, its astounding mountains which dwarf even our Rockies and so much water! You could almost be in New England, around the Great Lakes or in the northwestern states of the lower 48 but everything is just bigger and more, on the grandest scale!
Coming back to Palmer, we took the back road to avoid a traffic jam due to construction and rush hour traffic and Helen pointed out a few more things to me as we went along. I would have hated even more to see it end and say goodbye but there is no question that I will be back. Unless I pass away or become incapacitated much sooner than I expect there will be many more trips. I look forward to them all.
We continued on up the Parks Highway a few miles and came to the area where the 2015 fire had been. Black matchsticks that had once been spruce and deciduous trees stood stark over ground still bare and dry. It was not pretty. We took a side road and drove to the west, into the heart of the burned area. Soon we saw where many of the mushers who lived out there were busily rebuilding, The ground is still raw and barren. Dogs are staked by their neat little houses with no shade so they dig deep holes and tunnels to find coolness when the sun shines,.It was overcast and sprinkling off and on that day. Unfinished houses, barns and other buildings stand, some just frames and trusses, others with siding in place but unpainted. It was not pretty but there was something affirming about the spirit and determination expressed in every bit of work. Phoenix-like, the community rises again and most of those people will continue to raise, train and run their dogs because that is their life.
We passed the Jonrowe place. At the ITC on Saturday Deedee had been joking about her deep tan. "There is no shade," she said. "Whatever I do outside is out in the sun. There's no shade." A short ways farther, we came to Jan Steves and Bob Chlupach's place. The house is nearing completion and a shed, also with raw outer walls, stands between the two dog yards. "His" are on one side and "hers" on the other. Although Bob apparently does not race now, he still trains and runs dogs and works with aspiring mushers of which Jan was one when they met a few years back. She was cleaning up the dog yard when we arrived and that was when I took the one picture. I then got too involved in talking and listening to take more. Maybe next time.
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| Jan Steves in her dog yard |
It was very encouraging to me to hear some of what Bob had to say. He raced back in the first two decades and although he did not win he is still well respected in the mushing community and served for thirty years on the ITC rules committee. He cannot get back on now; perhaps some deem him too reactionary! However he is in full agreement on the 'carrying' issue and chided me for backing down on the Idita-Support page. I explained I did not want to alienate too many folks and was not sure for awhile that I was actually right.
Jan simply lights up when she talks about her dogs, about the feeling of racing through a snowy landscape, all alone except for your team and the beauty of the night. It has been a dream brought to life for her to come to Alaska and get involved with it. She's had a lot of personal issues besides being burned out --and they did not have insurance although they do now--but she is not about to give up racing and has entered for the 2017 Iditarod, did so on the 25th. Even after the very serious injuries she received in the accident early in the 2016 race, she is determined to musher up and go at it again. She's finished once and wants very much to do so again and start improving her record. You can bet I am rooting for her! She's now one of my heroines too.
They both agreed that I should not have any trouble finding a place to work for however long I can commit to doing so this fall. Kennels always need help and the middle and lower tier mushers cannot afford to pay much but are grateful for any support and help they can get. Running the qualifying and either of the two big races is hugely expensive and even if you win, until you amass some strong sponsors to help sustain you, you cannot exist on the prizes paid. For most if not almost all, the whole project truly is a labor of love.
Normally I am not at all in favor of dogs on chains. However this is pretty standard with the sled dogs. Each one has its own little house lined with straw for warmth and cushioning. They have their own food and water dishes and each is staked to a post a few feet from the house but with plenty of length to go in, romp around and dig! In every bunch there will be some that do not get along and others that share close bonds. If all were not restrained, there would be fights, sometimes serious.And if they were allowed to run loose some would be lost, chasing game or getting into other harm. About the only alternative, a separate chain link pen for each dog, would be terribly expensive. Anyway most dogs run daily for exercise and conditioning, are taken for a walk, or let out with a few friends while the musher watches and voice-controls them. They are not neglected or ignored! Many pets should be so fortunate.. Mother dogs with puppies are usually kept in a pen until weaning time and young puppies are often kept together for several months too.
At any rate, time flew by as we talked and drank coffee and I left feeling like I had more new friends. It was a very good experience and helpful as well. Bob has already made some suggestions that will improve my book and I think I can count on them for a recommendation when I start seeking a position for fall.
Helen and I took the afternoon to drive down below Palmer and Wasilla to the Eklutna area. It is a native settlement which also included Russians in the 1800s. Quite picturesque. However we drove up to Eklutna Lake, which supplies water for Anchorage. It is fed by a glacier which can no longer be reached by car since the road was closed and removed some years back. It was a beautiful place, very peaceful and quiet despite there being some people up boating, fishing and playing along the edges of the lake. I continue to be in awe of the natural beauty of Alaska, its astounding mountains which dwarf even our Rockies and so much water! You could almost be in New England, around the Great Lakes or in the northwestern states of the lower 48 but everything is just bigger and more, on the grandest scale!
Coming back to Palmer, we took the back road to avoid a traffic jam due to construction and rush hour traffic and Helen pointed out a few more things to me as we went along. I would have hated even more to see it end and say goodbye but there is no question that I will be back. Unless I pass away or become incapacitated much sooner than I expect there will be many more trips. I look forward to them all.
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| Lake Eklutna, glacier out of sight to the right. |
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| Mtns on north side of Lake Eklutna |
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
Further Trip Reports
Let's see, I took a a break for July 4 and dealing with a case of hives. Back again; today would have been my parent's 74th wedding anniversary! Yikes. Never mind--but I admit I was a honeymoon baby LOL.
First a few more impressions on meeting Helen and then our Monday travels. Some of this is probably old news and repetitious so skip what you've read before.
I tend to be very intuitive about that first face-to-face with anyone. This time totally good vibes came at once. I was so pleased to feel them! We went in and sat down in a booth to wait for another of Helen's friends who was joining us.Actually I think I joined them. Well, no matter. All three of us are booklovers so there was a lot of talk about literature, Barbara, Helen's friend whose last name slipped right out of my holey brain, is a born-Alaskan with several generations of ancestors in the area. She works in/runs a book store and several other endeavors. Another busy lady..I gave each of them a book although neither one read much genre fiction but I hope they will at least give these a try. Helen got Back to Tomorrow and Barbara received Relative Dangers.
More names cropped up, other books and it felt as if we were just three friends who had not gotten together for awhile. A bit of background on Helen. I did post earlier about the Idita-Support Facebook page/group, I know. Helen is the owner/moderator, just one of her many projects, and kind of came to my rescue when I got a lot of the mushers there on my case with my 'carrying dogs' proposal. I just stumbled onto that site as a "recommendation"from FB which clearly already knows way too much about me! Still, it has proved to be one of those amazing serendipity non-coincidences which have marked this whole project from the first and really most of my life. I was meant to get acquainted with Helen Hegener and she with me.
She has her own multimedia publishing firm, Northern Light Media, and so far it focuses on her own writing and a video done with a former husband on the great musher, Lance Mackey. Lance won both the Iditarod and the Yukon Quest four times and both in the same year twice! That is a unique and amazing accomplishment. Helen is a tireless historian and writer, researching with meticulous care and collecting old documents, photos and such to illustrate her books. Can you guess where this is probably going? Yes, I think it very likely that Women Who Run With the Dogs will be a Northern Light book in time.
By about 9:00 a.m. on Monday, June 27, I was in Wasilla, just about ten miles over a couple of ridges from Palmer. We met in a parking lot on the main drag, familiar to me since that was where I caught the bus to go to Anchorage for my flight to Fairbanks in 2014. We went to a nearby Starbucks and chatted while trying to decide where to go, We ended up first at the ITC Headquarters. Helen knows Raymie and Barb Reddington well. They are the couple who operate the cart ride service for visitors there at ITC. He is a son of Joe Reddington and Barb is a Native Alaskan. They have a dozen or so dogs there and puppies when they have some available
.
Barb remembered me from 2014 and we three visited for a bit. I had to get a few pictures of the dogs, of course! We had thought of going to the Knik Museum but it is only open Thursday through Sunday and the main lady, Diane Williams lives up at Big Lake and was not able to come down to do a private opening for us. I had been there and Helen never had, which is like me with Tuzigoot Ruins in the Verde Valley!
We ended up just driving around while Helen pointed out various things to me and we sat for a bit above the Hay Fields slough which sank to become swampy due to the 1964 earthquake which changes a lot of topography and almost trashed Anchorage off the map. Of course there were few moments of silence as we continued to talk about a zillion things.
After I dropped Helen off at her car which we'd left to use my rental, I went to the Wasilla library and looked at all their Sled dog related collection. It was not very large and I jotted donw a few titles to seek thru Interlibrary Loan or Amazon and other venues. Though lower key that the 25th, it had been a very good day!
I did not get a photo of Helen; Like me, she is clearly more at ease behind the camera than in front of it but I've included a few shots of our travels etc.
First a few more impressions on meeting Helen and then our Monday travels. Some of this is probably old news and repetitious so skip what you've read before.
I tend to be very intuitive about that first face-to-face with anyone. This time totally good vibes came at once. I was so pleased to feel them! We went in and sat down in a booth to wait for another of Helen's friends who was joining us.Actually I think I joined them. Well, no matter. All three of us are booklovers so there was a lot of talk about literature, Barbara, Helen's friend whose last name slipped right out of my holey brain, is a born-Alaskan with several generations of ancestors in the area. She works in/runs a book store and several other endeavors. Another busy lady..I gave each of them a book although neither one read much genre fiction but I hope they will at least give these a try. Helen got Back to Tomorrow and Barbara received Relative Dangers.
More names cropped up, other books and it felt as if we were just three friends who had not gotten together for awhile. A bit of background on Helen. I did post earlier about the Idita-Support Facebook page/group, I know. Helen is the owner/moderator, just one of her many projects, and kind of came to my rescue when I got a lot of the mushers there on my case with my 'carrying dogs' proposal. I just stumbled onto that site as a "recommendation"from FB which clearly already knows way too much about me! Still, it has proved to be one of those amazing serendipity non-coincidences which have marked this whole project from the first and really most of my life. I was meant to get acquainted with Helen Hegener and she with me.
She has her own multimedia publishing firm, Northern Light Media, and so far it focuses on her own writing and a video done with a former husband on the great musher, Lance Mackey. Lance won both the Iditarod and the Yukon Quest four times and both in the same year twice! That is a unique and amazing accomplishment. Helen is a tireless historian and writer, researching with meticulous care and collecting old documents, photos and such to illustrate her books. Can you guess where this is probably going? Yes, I think it very likely that Women Who Run With the Dogs will be a Northern Light book in time.
By about 9:00 a.m. on Monday, June 27, I was in Wasilla, just about ten miles over a couple of ridges from Palmer. We met in a parking lot on the main drag, familiar to me since that was where I caught the bus to go to Anchorage for my flight to Fairbanks in 2014. We went to a nearby Starbucks and chatted while trying to decide where to go, We ended up first at the ITC Headquarters. Helen knows Raymie and Barb Reddington well. They are the couple who operate the cart ride service for visitors there at ITC. He is a son of Joe Reddington and Barb is a Native Alaskan. They have a dozen or so dogs there and puppies when they have some available
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| Barb Reddington and dogs |
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| Hayfield Flats toward Chugach Mtns |
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| Lake Lucille; Sarah Palin's home is across the lake. (FWIW!) |
Barb remembered me from 2014 and we three visited for a bit. I had to get a few pictures of the dogs, of course! We had thought of going to the Knik Museum but it is only open Thursday through Sunday and the main lady, Diane Williams lives up at Big Lake and was not able to come down to do a private opening for us. I had been there and Helen never had, which is like me with Tuzigoot Ruins in the Verde Valley!
We ended up just driving around while Helen pointed out various things to me and we sat for a bit above the Hay Fields slough which sank to become swampy due to the 1964 earthquake which changes a lot of topography and almost trashed Anchorage off the map. Of course there were few moments of silence as we continued to talk about a zillion things.
After I dropped Helen off at her car which we'd left to use my rental, I went to the Wasilla library and looked at all their Sled dog related collection. It was not very large and I jotted donw a few titles to seek thru Interlibrary Loan or Amazon and other venues. Though lower key that the 25th, it had been a very good day!
I did not get a photo of Helen; Like me, she is clearly more at ease behind the camera than in front of it but I've included a few shots of our travels etc.
Sunday, July 3, 2016
A fortuitous connection
I am pretty sure I have mentioned Helen Hegener at time or two earlier. Her FB page Idita-Support was the vehicle for us to encounter each other. I made a post--my first--which hit some of the musher folks in that group very wrong and they were not shy about telling me to shut up and take a time out.
Wow!! I wasn't wearing my asbestos undies but should have been!
Bless Helen. She came to my rescue in her gentle but also very forthright away and we began to correspond both there and on some of her other pages. This lady has more irons in the fire than the King Ranch on branding day!
She reviewed my initial book proposal and liked it, with a few suggested changes and talked a bit about her books. She has a dozen or so all true history tales about Alaska. The north 49th has been her heart's home since she moved there with her parents at age fifteen. And she has a quick, steel trap mind, a head for facts, figures and information and a way of meeting and dealing that is awesome. We had both been looking forward to a face-to-face meeting when I made my trip.
That finally happened the afternoon of Sunday, June 23 and the day after the big ITC HQ events. I drove down to the Mexican restaurant where we were to meet and arrived just a few minutes before she did. When she got out we met with a big hug and both saying how great it was to finally get together; it seemed a lot longer than the few weeks it had really been since we discovered each other's existence. And, from that beginning, we were not strangers but just long-separated friends. Her friend Barbara joined us shortly and we did a lot of book talking since Barb is a book store manager as well as wearing several other hats. She is also a native born Alaskan and descendant of a multi-generation Alaska-rooted family. And yes, Palmer does have a very decent Mexican restaurant!
By the time we left La Fiesta, Helen and I were planning to spend more time together. We did just that for the better part of two days. It was so much fun but also very educational. Helen is an excellent tour guide and has been a huge mushing fan for years, served as a volunteer and collected all kinds of stories, memorabilia and old photos and documents. She knew Joe Reddington when she was a young bride and got involved in the whole Iditarod creation project. I just got her Alaskan Sled Dog Tales book before I left and will have some more soon. She still owns a retired Husky named Chena. Next time I will have to get at least a selfie of us together since I failed to do it this trip.
I share here a couple of shots from our travels over the two days. Next post I will cover the first day and maybe into the second when we visited Jan and Bob at their kennel, lost to the fire but rebuilding better than ever as most of the Willow mushers are doing. The frontier can-do spirit is alive and well in Alaska for sure.
Wow!! I wasn't wearing my asbestos undies but should have been!
Bless Helen. She came to my rescue in her gentle but also very forthright away and we began to correspond both there and on some of her other pages. This lady has more irons in the fire than the King Ranch on branding day!
She reviewed my initial book proposal and liked it, with a few suggested changes and talked a bit about her books. She has a dozen or so all true history tales about Alaska. The north 49th has been her heart's home since she moved there with her parents at age fifteen. And she has a quick, steel trap mind, a head for facts, figures and information and a way of meeting and dealing that is awesome. We had both been looking forward to a face-to-face meeting when I made my trip.
That finally happened the afternoon of Sunday, June 23 and the day after the big ITC HQ events. I drove down to the Mexican restaurant where we were to meet and arrived just a few minutes before she did. When she got out we met with a big hug and both saying how great it was to finally get together; it seemed a lot longer than the few weeks it had really been since we discovered each other's existence. And, from that beginning, we were not strangers but just long-separated friends. Her friend Barbara joined us shortly and we did a lot of book talking since Barb is a book store manager as well as wearing several other hats. She is also a native born Alaskan and descendant of a multi-generation Alaska-rooted family. And yes, Palmer does have a very decent Mexican restaurant!
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| Lake Lucille, behind ITCHQ |
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| Lake Eklutna in Chugash Mtns glacier fed source of Anchorage water |
Saturday, July 2, 2016
More on the ITC Day
Of course they had a table set up right away for the musher registration, one of the big events going on. And I did hang around there quite a bit. I know there were some folks I wanted to meet and just missed chances. Everyone looks so different in summer clothes versus bundled up in "Eskimo" or Native style when they are racing. I did recognize and at least said hi to and in some cases snapped a photo of several.
One was Nik Petit who has run at least four Iditarods. He is one of the imports and grew up in Normandy; shoot, I should have asked if he knew of the Breton music group, Tri Yann. He had one of his leaders with him, a beautiful and gentle girl he calls Lolly who although free was never more than a few feet from him. She even likes to be a lap dog!
Anna Berrington was there, a big lanky gal with a long blonde braid, one of the "Seeing Double" twin sisters who makes the news for being the only twins who race together. Her sister Kristy was off at her summer work. She had people all around her constantly but I did say hi and got a photo. About then came lunch which was delish--the 200 pounds of salmon on the grill that Mr Seybert always has flown in from his fishing crew at Bristol Bay was to die for! I had a big chunk and could have left the hot dog, beans and such for more but it went fast.
More mushers appeared after that. I watched Cindy Abbot sign in with her mentor beside her. her hubby is off climbing to add a few more summits to his list. Anyway i shook her hand and said I was so happy for her finish in 2015. She tried several times but got the Red Lantern that year and will no longer be a rookie. As far as I know she is the only person who has scaled Everest and also completed the Iditarod. Since she has a rare disease for which she is a very active poster gal, that is very impressive. She won one of the two free entries this time also. Must have been her lucky day as she also won some donated dog gear.
Martin Buser was there--a charmer and a fun guy. I asked him about his son Nik who has made an amazing recovery from his terrible auto crash last February and is now home. They say he was dancing at their Solstice Party the previous weekend.
And then suddenly there was Deedee Jonrowe and also Aliy Z! I made a beeline for Deedee and gave her the long delayed hug. She thanked me for the small quilt I sent last year and we chatted briefly but she knows everyone and fluttered around like a hummingbird to see them all. I think this next will be her 33rd start!? So next I caught Aliy and talked briefly about her Ginger. She says they've been running her in lead a little bit in some mild summer type training runs and she is shaping up very well. I do think the Surfivers will be leaving a mark on the SPK teams in the coming years. Their mama Chica has retired but she, Quito and Olivia have whelped 3/4 of the current dogs or more! Grande dames indeed.
A bit later I saw the two of them talking and went over to get a picture. One of the teachers--the day also honors the past and next "Teacher on the Trail" women and local area teachers who come--had a friend take her photo with the two of them and I got brave enough to ask the same gal to take one for me! So there I was between two of my all time greatest heroines, as thrilled as if it were any rock or sports star or celebs you can imagine. You can bet that is one of my favorite photos ever and I even managed a decent smile LOL. I'll print an 8x10 to frame and hang for inspiration.
If you look at the lower right corner of the pic with Deedee and Aliy you will see an Aussie. He was with a guy riding a motorcycle and when they left was up in his little seat behind the driver with goggles and headphone style ear gear! I wish I had gotten that on film! I did go by and scratch his ears. Still love my Aussies even if Huskies are a current focus.
Wandering around some more I saw a woman and heard people call her "Jan." On a hunch I went up and introduced myself and asked if she was Jan Steves. Indeed she was and we had a lovely talk. She had a terrible accident this past race, about three checkpoints in and had to scratch. A rope came loose on her sled and tangled around a runner, ripped off the plastic insert and flipped the sled--and her--smash onto ice and rock. She had broken ribs, a broken collar bone, punctured lung and other injuries but went on for a bit to the next checkpoint. Trying to change booties on her dogs she realized she was one hurt puppy and ended up being med-evaced. The upshot was I was invited to come visit at the kennel she shares with her partner Bob Chlupach out at Willow. They were among those burned out but are rebuilding. He no longer races but still has about twenty dogs and mentors other younger racers, an awesome guy. More on them a later installment.
In short, it was a very good day and I felt I made some significant progress on my project and plans for a stay in Willow area when fall training time rolls around. I will also plan to be up there next March with a volunteer job to do (while I follow Aliy in a win--thinking positive!!) Hopefully I can crash with Bill, Svetla or maybe Helen--who you will meet in further reports-- if need-be. Hike, hike!! We are off to the next checkpoint, running good!
One was Nik Petit who has run at least four Iditarods. He is one of the imports and grew up in Normandy; shoot, I should have asked if he knew of the Breton music group, Tri Yann. He had one of his leaders with him, a beautiful and gentle girl he calls Lolly who although free was never more than a few feet from him. She even likes to be a lap dog!
Anna Berrington was there, a big lanky gal with a long blonde braid, one of the "Seeing Double" twin sisters who makes the news for being the only twins who race together. Her sister Kristy was off at her summer work. She had people all around her constantly but I did say hi and got a photo. About then came lunch which was delish--the 200 pounds of salmon on the grill that Mr Seybert always has flown in from his fishing crew at Bristol Bay was to die for! I had a big chunk and could have left the hot dog, beans and such for more but it went fast.More mushers appeared after that. I watched Cindy Abbot sign in with her mentor beside her. her hubby is off climbing to add a few more summits to his list. Anyway i shook her hand and said I was so happy for her finish in 2015. She tried several times but got the Red Lantern that year and will no longer be a rookie. As far as I know she is the only person who has scaled Everest and also completed the Iditarod. Since she has a rare disease for which she is a very active poster gal, that is very impressive. She won one of the two free entries this time also. Must have been her lucky day as she also won some donated dog gear.
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| Cindy Abbott-in green shirt |
Martin Buser was there--a charmer and a fun guy. I asked him about his son Nik who has made an amazing recovery from his terrible auto crash last February and is now home. They say he was dancing at their Solstice Party the previous weekend.
And then suddenly there was Deedee Jonrowe and also Aliy Z! I made a beeline for Deedee and gave her the long delayed hug. She thanked me for the small quilt I sent last year and we chatted briefly but she knows everyone and fluttered around like a hummingbird to see them all. I think this next will be her 33rd start!? So next I caught Aliy and talked briefly about her Ginger. She says they've been running her in lead a little bit in some mild summer type training runs and she is shaping up very well. I do think the Surfivers will be leaving a mark on the SPK teams in the coming years. Their mama Chica has retired but she, Quito and Olivia have whelped 3/4 of the current dogs or more! Grande dames indeed.
A bit later I saw the two of them talking and went over to get a picture. One of the teachers--the day also honors the past and next "Teacher on the Trail" women and local area teachers who come--had a friend take her photo with the two of them and I got brave enough to ask the same gal to take one for me! So there I was between two of my all time greatest heroines, as thrilled as if it were any rock or sports star or celebs you can imagine. You can bet that is one of my favorite photos ever and I even managed a decent smile LOL. I'll print an 8x10 to frame and hang for inspiration.
If you look at the lower right corner of the pic with Deedee and Aliy you will see an Aussie. He was with a guy riding a motorcycle and when they left was up in his little seat behind the driver with goggles and headphone style ear gear! I wish I had gotten that on film! I did go by and scratch his ears. Still love my Aussies even if Huskies are a current focus.
Wandering around some more I saw a woman and heard people call her "Jan." On a hunch I went up and introduced myself and asked if she was Jan Steves. Indeed she was and we had a lovely talk. She had a terrible accident this past race, about three checkpoints in and had to scratch. A rope came loose on her sled and tangled around a runner, ripped off the plastic insert and flipped the sled--and her--smash onto ice and rock. She had broken ribs, a broken collar bone, punctured lung and other injuries but went on for a bit to the next checkpoint. Trying to change booties on her dogs she realized she was one hurt puppy and ended up being med-evaced. The upshot was I was invited to come visit at the kennel she shares with her partner Bob Chlupach out at Willow. They were among those burned out but are rebuilding. He no longer races but still has about twenty dogs and mentors other younger racers, an awesome guy. More on them a later installment.
In short, it was a very good day and I felt I made some significant progress on my project and plans for a stay in Willow area when fall training time rolls around. I will also plan to be up there next March with a volunteer job to do (while I follow Aliy in a win--thinking positive!!) Hopefully I can crash with Bill, Svetla or maybe Helen--who you will meet in further reports-- if need-be. Hike, hike!! We are off to the next checkpoint, running good!
Starting the trip reports
It is true, there is no place like home, but at least this time of year, I could very happily be "home" in Alaska. That is not too likely to happen but one can dream. A fixed income, at least at the rate mine is, would not go very far up there. Unless I can convince a nice sled dog to share her den and hut with me...kind of SOL!
Okay, I left El Paso to start my trip about noon on Wednesday the 22nd and finally arrived at Anchorage about 9:30 local. Words of wisdom--do not change from American to Alaskan in Phoenix! You have to take the air-rail to a far distant place and go through security again since you have been outside the main terminal. The TSA idjits took my untouched milk shake and threw it in the trash!! I made my flight but thank goodness had two hours or I would not have. C'est la por avion! (bad French but anyway!)
Before midnight, which is barely dusky this time of year, I was delivered by one friend (thanks, Bill) to another friend's home and quickly collapsed in her lovely guest room. The drive from Anchorage to Palmer is pretty but my weary eyes did not take much in. Palmer is a neat little town with a lot of history, BTW, and I'll talk more of that later. I enjoyed my stay there very much. Also thanks to Svetla, my hostess, who cooks amazing things mixing her native Czech cuisine with US/Alaskan fare (buffalo is yum!) and allowed her dogs to give me the doggie fix I needed daily. Here is a snapshot of her sharing a banana with Sasha (Bichon) and Wally (Swedish Vallhund) And yes, that is also a very old herding breed and in the background of the Welsh Corgi and Lancashire Heeler! I wanted to stick him in a crate and bring him home but with five dogs here it would be too many. And Svetla would be devastated and mad at me. She, too, loves her fur kids! Her life story is amazing and eventually we'll work on her autobiography but there are some things she can't quite revisit yet without having nightmares. One tough, brave and strong woman and also a breast cancer survivor. Think pink!!
Another word to the wise--if you go to Alaska in June or July, do not expect to rent a car easily. After spending a long and frustrating hour on the phone Thursday, my intended recovery day, I finally got one--back in Anchorage--for about twice what I had planned to pay. :-( Svetla and I drove back down in Friday to collect it Second day slipped by but I did get to enjoy the scenery this time and came back in a flaming red Ford Fusion with 1600 miles on it when I got behind the wheel. I would not buy one but it was not a bad car.
Suddenly it was Saturday morning, the day of the Iditarod Committee's annual open meeting, the first day of musher sign-up for 2017 and the annual volunteer picnic. This was one big event on my trip calendar. I drove over to west of Wasilla and got there early which was a good thing. I felt the crowd was a bit lighter than last year and fewer mushers actually signed up. This may be from the 33% increase in the entry fee from $3000 to $4000 and some contention over various issues that have a number of people a bit upset. However there were plenty of folks around before the end of the festivities. I talked to quite a few of them and saw even more.
For what it's worth, the Board promised to revisit the entire Iditarod Race Rule Book at their October meeting so we may be seeing at least a few changes such as the so-called "gag rule" about no public negative or derogatory comments by mushers from sign-up to forty-five days after the race, the also contentious issue of mobile-phones allowed or not, and perhaps even the 'carrying dogs' business. We shall see. I sat very quietly and said almost nothing at the meeting.
Danny Seybert was reelected to the board by a very large majority of votes, mostly mailed in. Outside I walked up and said "Congratulations --and condolences." He smiled as I explained I know what being an officer in any organization entrails--lots of work, lots of flak and little credit. He agreed and then said, "I know you. You're the lady who's writing the book." I admitted I was and was quite gratified and pleased to have someone --a very busy but also astute and seemingly sharp guy--recall that. From there I talked to the new volunteer coordinator--Joanne Poole is beginning to pass along some of her many tasks at last! She was the honorary musher this past race and has been a fixture at ITC HQ from the first. And I can't actually sign up until they put the new forms on the site about October but that is in the works. I also saw some of the volunteer folks I met last year and renewed those acquaintances. And since I was wearing my Santa Fe (RR) logo ballcap, I had a number ask me if I was from NM, thinking it was for our capital city. There seems to be a really odd link between the 47th and 49th states which surprised me at first but I am getting used to. Lots of desert rat sled dog fans, it seems, and some very serious ones.
To be continued...
Okay, I left El Paso to start my trip about noon on Wednesday the 22nd and finally arrived at Anchorage about 9:30 local. Words of wisdom--do not change from American to Alaskan in Phoenix! You have to take the air-rail to a far distant place and go through security again since you have been outside the main terminal. The TSA idjits took my untouched milk shake and threw it in the trash!! I made my flight but thank goodness had two hours or I would not have. C'est la por avion! (bad French but anyway!)
Before midnight, which is barely dusky this time of year, I was delivered by one friend (thanks, Bill) to another friend's home and quickly collapsed in her lovely guest room. The drive from Anchorage to Palmer is pretty but my weary eyes did not take much in. Palmer is a neat little town with a lot of history, BTW, and I'll talk more of that later. I enjoyed my stay there very much. Also thanks to Svetla, my hostess, who cooks amazing things mixing her native Czech cuisine with US/Alaskan fare (buffalo is yum!) and allowed her dogs to give me the doggie fix I needed daily. Here is a snapshot of her sharing a banana with Sasha (Bichon) and Wally (Swedish Vallhund) And yes, that is also a very old herding breed and in the background of the Welsh Corgi and Lancashire Heeler! I wanted to stick him in a crate and bring him home but with five dogs here it would be too many. And Svetla would be devastated and mad at me. She, too, loves her fur kids! Her life story is amazing and eventually we'll work on her autobiography but there are some things she can't quite revisit yet without having nightmares. One tough, brave and strong woman and also a breast cancer survivor. Think pink!!
Suddenly it was Saturday morning, the day of the Iditarod Committee's annual open meeting, the first day of musher sign-up for 2017 and the annual volunteer picnic. This was one big event on my trip calendar. I drove over to west of Wasilla and got there early which was a good thing. I felt the crowd was a bit lighter than last year and fewer mushers actually signed up. This may be from the 33% increase in the entry fee from $3000 to $4000 and some contention over various issues that have a number of people a bit upset. However there were plenty of folks around before the end of the festivities. I talked to quite a few of them and saw even more.
For what it's worth, the Board promised to revisit the entire Iditarod Race Rule Book at their October meeting so we may be seeing at least a few changes such as the so-called "gag rule" about no public negative or derogatory comments by mushers from sign-up to forty-five days after the race, the also contentious issue of mobile-phones allowed or not, and perhaps even the 'carrying dogs' business. We shall see. I sat very quietly and said almost nothing at the meeting.
Danny Seybert was reelected to the board by a very large majority of votes, mostly mailed in. Outside I walked up and said "Congratulations --and condolences." He smiled as I explained I know what being an officer in any organization entrails--lots of work, lots of flak and little credit. He agreed and then said, "I know you. You're the lady who's writing the book." I admitted I was and was quite gratified and pleased to have someone --a very busy but also astute and seemingly sharp guy--recall that. From there I talked to the new volunteer coordinator--Joanne Poole is beginning to pass along some of her many tasks at last! She was the honorary musher this past race and has been a fixture at ITC HQ from the first. And I can't actually sign up until they put the new forms on the site about October but that is in the works. I also saw some of the volunteer folks I met last year and renewed those acquaintances. And since I was wearing my Santa Fe (RR) logo ballcap, I had a number ask me if I was from NM, thinking it was for our capital city. There seems to be a really odd link between the 47th and 49th states which surprised me at first but I am getting used to. Lots of desert rat sled dog fans, it seems, and some very serious ones.
To be continued...
Sunday, June 19, 2016
Back Up North!
I will be heading out on Wednesday for a week in the wonderful north 49th. I can hardly wait. Right now the only slight concern is some super hot weather down here which could delay flights out of Phoenix which is my first stop enroute. At midday, no less. Big jets do not do well in very hot weather since the air gets thinner and has much less lift power. But they are now saying 112 instead of 120 at Sky Harbor that day so maybe!! It was 105 here yesterday!
At any rate, I will get there and be in the Wasilla area with maybe a trip up to Willow for the week ending June 30. Willow was the site of the bad fire this time last year but they have done a lot of rebuilding and most of the mushers who were burned out are back in business with new facilities.
As you know if you read this blog much, mushers are never-say-die kind of folks and will not let a few obstacles like losing everything slow them down too much! The community is having a big celebration and get-together this weekend which had I known about ahead of time, I would have adjusted my plans to try to be there. Well, they do not need me to celebrate!
I will attend the annual meeting of the Iditarod Trail Committee next Saturday. Already sent in my ballot to vote for one new person on the board but will be very interested in hearing any new twists on the device rule and the code of conduct issues that have made a lot of news this year so far. I do not think my earlier proposals have gone anywhere; perhaps that is for the best although I am still very much in favor of bigger and more recognition for dog care by the mushers and also acts of sportsmanship. I have learned how the "carrying" issue could have unforeseen consequences so I am rethinking that to some degree although I still feel it is less than 'good mushing' to do it in a big way as was done this past race. Time will tell.
I will be posting from Alaska if I can. I am not sure how much on-line time I will be able to manage and what kind of internet connection my hostess has in Palmer but at worst I will take notes and a lot of photos and will be posting them when I get back.
I am very excited to be meeting Helen Hegener whose great new book is at my bedside right now and being enjoyed in small doses which is the prefect way to do so. Alaskan Sled Dog Tales is one awesome book. Ms Hegerner has assembled a wide spectrum of wonderful stories about the history of the sled dog and their role in growing Alaska to the modern and active place it now is. She illustrates the book with a fantastic collection of old photographs, documents, magazine covers and post cards from about as long ago as they existed to modern times. This enhances the narrative and meets Alice in Wonderland's dictum that a book without pictures is scarcely worth the bother. I would say Alaskan Sled Dogs Tales is worth 'the bother' regardless, though, and recommend it highly. I think Helen and I will hit it off very well and that will be another high point of my trip.
I will enjoy seeing Bill, my 2015 host, again and his friend Svetla Lerner, who will house me in Palmer this time. Svetla and I met last year. She is an amazing lady herself though not a musher. She grew up on Czechoslovakia and escaped before the Iron Curtain came down. She has led a varied and adventuresome life and I hope to help her put together an autobiography, which we'll at least begin this time. So, with many irons in the fire, I will be working on getting those wrinkles out or branding those critters as the case may be and especially on having a good and educational time!!
BTW, Aliy Zirkle is back on two feet and beginning the therapy efforts to regain her strength and stability before the training season in the fall. One of her older dogs, Chica, who is the mother of Ginger and the other Surfivers that I am so attached to, has retired to a pet home in Anchorage and been added to the special honor roll of SPK dogs, a short but growing list of stellar sled dogs no longer running. I won't be going that far this trip but certainly look forward to another visit to SPK in time. This time I may get to Deedee Jonrowe's and possibly another kennel or two in the proximity of Wasilla/Palmer.
Anyway, smooth trails to all and I'll catch you at the next checkpoint!
At any rate, I will get there and be in the Wasilla area with maybe a trip up to Willow for the week ending June 30. Willow was the site of the bad fire this time last year but they have done a lot of rebuilding and most of the mushers who were burned out are back in business with new facilities.
As you know if you read this blog much, mushers are never-say-die kind of folks and will not let a few obstacles like losing everything slow them down too much! The community is having a big celebration and get-together this weekend which had I known about ahead of time, I would have adjusted my plans to try to be there. Well, they do not need me to celebrate!
I will attend the annual meeting of the Iditarod Trail Committee next Saturday. Already sent in my ballot to vote for one new person on the board but will be very interested in hearing any new twists on the device rule and the code of conduct issues that have made a lot of news this year so far. I do not think my earlier proposals have gone anywhere; perhaps that is for the best although I am still very much in favor of bigger and more recognition for dog care by the mushers and also acts of sportsmanship. I have learned how the "carrying" issue could have unforeseen consequences so I am rethinking that to some degree although I still feel it is less than 'good mushing' to do it in a big way as was done this past race. Time will tell.
I will be posting from Alaska if I can. I am not sure how much on-line time I will be able to manage and what kind of internet connection my hostess has in Palmer but at worst I will take notes and a lot of photos and will be posting them when I get back.
I am very excited to be meeting Helen Hegener whose great new book is at my bedside right now and being enjoyed in small doses which is the prefect way to do so. Alaskan Sled Dog Tales is one awesome book. Ms Hegerner has assembled a wide spectrum of wonderful stories about the history of the sled dog and their role in growing Alaska to the modern and active place it now is. She illustrates the book with a fantastic collection of old photographs, documents, magazine covers and post cards from about as long ago as they existed to modern times. This enhances the narrative and meets Alice in Wonderland's dictum that a book without pictures is scarcely worth the bother. I would say Alaskan Sled Dogs Tales is worth 'the bother' regardless, though, and recommend it highly. I think Helen and I will hit it off very well and that will be another high point of my trip.
I will enjoy seeing Bill, my 2015 host, again and his friend Svetla Lerner, who will house me in Palmer this time. Svetla and I met last year. She is an amazing lady herself though not a musher. She grew up on Czechoslovakia and escaped before the Iron Curtain came down. She has led a varied and adventuresome life and I hope to help her put together an autobiography, which we'll at least begin this time. So, with many irons in the fire, I will be working on getting those wrinkles out or branding those critters as the case may be and especially on having a good and educational time!!
BTW, Aliy Zirkle is back on two feet and beginning the therapy efforts to regain her strength and stability before the training season in the fall. One of her older dogs, Chica, who is the mother of Ginger and the other Surfivers that I am so attached to, has retired to a pet home in Anchorage and been added to the special honor roll of SPK dogs, a short but growing list of stellar sled dogs no longer running. I won't be going that far this trip but certainly look forward to another visit to SPK in time. This time I may get to Deedee Jonrowe's and possibly another kennel or two in the proximity of Wasilla/Palmer.
Anyway, smooth trails to all and I'll catch you at the next checkpoint!
Friday, June 3, 2016
Update on "device" rule.
This one really seems to have upset a lot of mushers and fans, supporters etc. as well. It has the potential to change the character of the race so massively --yes, even more and faster than the concerns I shared earlier--which in view of the bigger issues in the interim have basically gone unnoticed--that hundreds are seriously up in arms about it.
Dallas Seavey has started a petition to ask the Board to change this considerably. As you know I am generally not a Seavey fan but I listened to a video clip from a presentation he did with Wade Marrs, the 2016 fourth place finisher, and what he said was very sensible and the same for Wade. I try not to ever let personal prejudices stand in the way of facts and reason! I may not like all of Seavey's attitude but I do think he is sincere in wanting the race to stay 'honest' and as close to the original intent as is possible in this day and age. His personal methods do not impinge on this, really. He is now at least talking "it's all about the dogs," Perhaps in some round-about ways he got a message of sorts.
Here is a link to the petition. Sincere fans may sign if I read it right so anyone here who wants to add their name is welcome to do so. The opportunity for "cheating" and giving some mushers a huge advantage over others through "coaching" and other assistance and advice is just too huge. The size of a support team one could field depends greatly on funds and one's kennel staff etc. So small and newbie mushers might not beneifit too much in that regard.
Musher safety was what the ITC claimed to have been trying to achieve but it was definitely one of those "unintended consequences" types of efforts and perhaps not thought out as well as it should have been. They have really been in a CYA panic button mode, or so it feels. Copy and paste the text below to see and sign if you wish.
"http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/iditarod-rule-35-reform.html"
I will be at the meeting--the big annual meeting--on June 25th and it may be very interesting!
As a fun side note, Heelers are not the only pups with oversized ears! One of the past litters at SPK was four the other day and Aliy posted some pictures. This is Chipper at age two and then age four. At two she had ears to match those of our young Heeler, Riata, when she came here at about six months of age! BTW, this girl is a daughter of Quito and now looks a lot like her mama. I think the ears are more a heritage from daddy Biscuit. Quito's are upright or "pricked" in the term the herding dog folks use but not overly large.
Dallas Seavey has started a petition to ask the Board to change this considerably. As you know I am generally not a Seavey fan but I listened to a video clip from a presentation he did with Wade Marrs, the 2016 fourth place finisher, and what he said was very sensible and the same for Wade. I try not to ever let personal prejudices stand in the way of facts and reason! I may not like all of Seavey's attitude but I do think he is sincere in wanting the race to stay 'honest' and as close to the original intent as is possible in this day and age. His personal methods do not impinge on this, really. He is now at least talking "it's all about the dogs," Perhaps in some round-about ways he got a message of sorts.
Here is a link to the petition. Sincere fans may sign if I read it right so anyone here who wants to add their name is welcome to do so. The opportunity for "cheating" and giving some mushers a huge advantage over others through "coaching" and other assistance and advice is just too huge. The size of a support team one could field depends greatly on funds and one's kennel staff etc. So small and newbie mushers might not beneifit too much in that regard.
Musher safety was what the ITC claimed to have been trying to achieve but it was definitely one of those "unintended consequences" types of efforts and perhaps not thought out as well as it should have been. They have really been in a CYA panic button mode, or so it feels. Copy and paste the text below to see and sign if you wish.
"http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/iditarod-rule-35-reform.html"
I will be at the meeting--the big annual meeting--on June 25th and it may be very interesting!
As a fun side note, Heelers are not the only pups with oversized ears! One of the past litters at SPK was four the other day and Aliy posted some pictures. This is Chipper at age two and then age four. At two she had ears to match those of our young Heeler, Riata, when she came here at about six months of age! BTW, this girl is a daughter of Quito and now looks a lot like her mama. I think the ears are more a heritage from daddy Biscuit. Quito's are upright or "pricked" in the term the herding dog folks use but not overly large.
Monday, May 30, 2016
New Rule re: cell phones etc.
This was shared on the Idita-Support FB group and I pass it on since most of my readers here will not be seeing that. Very thought provoking and a bit worrisome to me. Note it was written by Danny Seavey, older brother of Dallas and son of Mitch, and he was a commentator this year. Indeed this letter raises some very serious questions and issues. Clearly some think the ITC went overboard and did not think it through! Because of the duration in terms of time and distance, the Iditarod and the YQ are unique and create issues for which there are no comparable situations to compare or use as an analogy. In a lot of ways the Iditarod has gotten too blasted big and way too commercial; this may carry the seeds of its destruction, at least as the event many know and love. All change is not progress!!
*****
*****
Iditarod Allows Coaching (and cell/sat phones) -
Delivers Final Blow to Small Kennels.
Delivers Final Blow to Small Kennels.
The Iditarod voted last week to allow mushers to carry cell and satellite phones on their sleds. Race officials said the goal was to use technology to improve musher safety after three mushers were threatened or attacked by locals on snow mobiles between checkpoints last March. Race Marshall Mark Nordman stressed that another rule would be added soon to prevent mushers from using phones to post to social media, or talk to members of the media, as it may compete with the paid Iditarod Insider news source.
Allowing phones seems innocent enough, and many have felt it inevitable given the rise of technology. GPS was allowed after several mushers were discovered using GPS enabled wrist-watches. The race realized it couldn’t enforce a ban, and the technology could prevent mushers getting lost.
The big difference is that allowing cell phones allows coaching, and therefore is the biggest rule change the Iditarod has ever made. If this rule stands as written you won’t recognize the race in 5 years. Here’s why…
Most competitive mushers will tell you that the hardest part of the Iditarod race is dealing with sleep deprivation. Dallas Seavey (my brother) broke the Iditarod record this year with a time of 8 days and 11 hours, and slept only 15 hours during the whole race. Just keeping their eyes open is difficult, dragging themselves out of a checkpoint on 45 minutes of sleep takes determination that would inspire Sisyphus, and making intelligent, competitive decisions is nearly impossible. There are only three mandatory rests in the Iditarod. The mushers get to choose when, where, and how long to take another 14-15 rest breaks. Mushers often have to make these decisions with a brain that can hardly function, and very little information about their competitors, the trail ahead, or the weather. Further, as I’ve written about in depth before, sleep deprivation leads to a negative outlook. Mushers often see the problems or weakness in their own teams, but not others. Dallas Seavey’s main strength - and one of the main reasons he’s won four of the last 5 races - is his ability to remain positive and competitive even when things aren’t going his way.
If mushers are allowed to communicate with their home bases, they will receive coaching. Mitch Seavey (my dad) and I mastered the art of coaching in other races that allow handlers at checkpoints. We won the $100,000 All Alaska Sweepstakes and several other major races by providing information, and having a well-rested coach making decisions. Mushers routinely complain about the Norwegian ‘media’ teams having hour-long chats in Norwegian with their teams in checkpoints. Had Noah Burmeister placed better this year, he could have been penalized for his brother Aaron coaching in the checkpoints. So it happens, but Nordman usually tries to keep it in check.
If unrestricted, both Mitch and Dallas Seavey will have snow machine crews running in advance of their teams by 12 and 72 hours. Those crews will call Dallas’ wife Jen and I, and we will know every bump in the trail, and what the weather is going to do. We will have people monitoring the GPS and time sheets, and know exactly where every competitor is, and how fast they’re moving. We’ll have unbiased assessments of how their teams compare to others. Both mushers will call home a few minutes before arriving in each checkpoint, and get a competition rundown, and we will help them decide where and how long to stop. They’ll call again halfway through each stop, and we’ll discuss dogs and the trail ahead, which dogs to drop, and what to do for dogs needing care.
A great example would be the Koyuk checkpoint in 2016. Most advanced fans knew Dallas would go right through the checkpoint and rest further down the trail. Mitch would have known if he’d slept in the past week, but instead was caught off guard when Dallas went through. Mitch went from right with Dallas to several minutes behind, and would never see him again.
Similarly Aliy Zirkle would have known Dallas was coming into Safety in 2014, and have been ready to go when he arrived. As it was, she left Safety 19 minutes behind him, and arrived in Nome 2 minutes behind. A satellite phone there almost certainly would have given us another woman champion.
If you think I’m exaggerating, consider this. Dallas himself rode a snow machine from Nenana to Huslia days before the 2015 Iditarod just for the scouting report. A 1000 mile snow mobile trek a few days before the race takes a toll on a person, but it paid off when Dallas and Aaron Burmesiter were the only two teams confident enough in the trail to push to Huslia to take their mandatory 24 hour breaks. Brent Sass was disqualified from that same race for talking on an iPhone, because he could have been receiving assistance.
What if a musher drops an item of mandatory gear, or loses a boot? It's a lot easier to replace if you can call your team and have one waiting at the next checkpoint. Support crew are already allowed to ship items ahead, but by the time a musher makes it to the next stop, messages home via the judge, and waits for the post office to deliver to the next checkpoint, it's not something you can count on.
Five minutes after he heard about the rule change, my dad texted and asked if I would be his coach. He continued, “I don’t like this, but I intend to take full advantage of it.” How far can it be taken? Should Mitch have a guy on a snow machine tailing Dallas at all times? Those two are already discussing a truce to prevent from going too far.
Finances already play a big role in the Iditarod. Well-funded teams have a major advantage, and given the meager prize and sponsor money Iditarod mushers receive, being able to earn upwards of a quarter million a year is essential to building a winning kennel. This rule will drive that number even higher, necessitating a team of people and machines during the race. Handlers may not be able to actually feed and bootie the dogs, but it’ll be a pit crew in every other sense. This rule spells the end for small kennels, the Nick Petits and Wade Marrs’ of the world. The guy and their dog team racing to Nome because they like the wilderness and dogs better than people.
Further, there is no way to prevent the mushers from posting on social media. Maybe they can't upload a photo, but they can talk. Will my dad be penalized if I post something he says over the phone? What if a handler overhears something and posts to their own page, can he be penalized for that? Clearly it will be an unenforceable rule.
I wish the Iditarod would do more planning and research before making these types of decisions. Paul Gebhardt, the musher representative to the board had previously proposed only emergency communication with race officials through the spot trackers. That seems like a sensible suggestion. Gebhardt was unable to attend the meeting, and didn’t know what the rule said until after it passed. No one contacted Mitch or Dallas, and unfortunately this looks like another knee-jerk reaction without a lot of input. When MLB makes a rule change, they try it in the minor leagues and see what happens before they implement a major change. I hope the Iditarod at least asks the current champions and their own analysts (Yours Truly) what this will mean.
Danny Seavey
Sunday, May 29, 2016
Quick Update
From what I have learned via the Facebook Idita-Support group and a few other places, things are in quite a fluid and changeable time with the Big Race. They have just repealed the rule about mushers not carrying cell phones or other comm devices. The rule had resulted in Brent Sass being disqualified early in the 2014 race. There have been rumors others did carry things and were not found out but that is just hear-say. At any rate, it will not be legal,
I can see both pros and cons to this. Certainly family and friends can keep mushers apprised of where other mushers are in the race and what is going on; that can be both an advantage and at times possibly a hindrance. In the long run, it probably dies not matter because each musher and his or her team must run their own race in their own best way. Paying too much attention to what others may be doing seems to have proved the opposite of an aid in the case of Brent Sass in this last race when his dogs went on strike at White Mountain after he pushed to try to keep up with the flying Seaveys. I guess time will tell.
As for me, I am on schedule to fly out of El Paso on June 22 and arrive in Anchorage that evening, before sundown since it will be one day past the summer solstice. I will again be met by my frieind Bill and perhaps spend the night at his home in Anchorage--if he has not completed a planned move to Palmer by then, in which case we'd go on up there. I will rent a car this time and will attend the ITC annual meeting on June 25th. I do not intend to try to speak there and will basically keep a low profile officially. However, I will meet Helen Hegener and also try to catch up with Deedee Jonrowe and some other mushers. Since the same day is also when sign ups for the 2017 race start, quite a few from the Wasilla/Willow region do show up. If possible I will try to set in motion a plan to go up in the fall and stay at one or more kennels and work for the privilege of listening and learning in the early parts of the fall training season.
Jody Bailey, another female musher I am following and somewhat in contact with, posted on her FB page a link to a new list where people seeking handler and helper jobs with kennels can get connected with kennels needing help. While I do not think I can commit to a six month stint right now, I am not ruling out that possibility and will certainly be checking this list a lot! Mostly they are looking for young people who hope to parley this experience into becoming mushers themselves but some might be willing to take on an aging aficionado who is not afraid of work! I can hope.
Anyway that is where we're at as of today. Keeping on keeping on and watching Aliy's progress via her SPK blog as she recovers from her foot surgery. I can imagine what a pain it has been to her to be partly immobilized and "foot-decapped" for close to two months but it was necessary to be able to continue her career. She has kept her wonderful humor and shared some fun things to include pictures of the two 2015 fall litters as they grow past the six month stage and start to look like big dogs. They are going to be awesome and amazing!! Of course Ginger and her Surfiver brothers are going to be really starting to work this fall, no doubt running in some of the shorter preliminary races and perhaps one or more even making the YQ or the Iditarod next year!
Here is Ginger with Aliy a few weeks ago. Love that dog and of course Aliy!! Isn't that a sweet picture? Aliy has sucha great bond and rapport with all the dogs but some are more affectionate than others. Seems Ginger is a love bug.
I can see both pros and cons to this. Certainly family and friends can keep mushers apprised of where other mushers are in the race and what is going on; that can be both an advantage and at times possibly a hindrance. In the long run, it probably dies not matter because each musher and his or her team must run their own race in their own best way. Paying too much attention to what others may be doing seems to have proved the opposite of an aid in the case of Brent Sass in this last race when his dogs went on strike at White Mountain after he pushed to try to keep up with the flying Seaveys. I guess time will tell.
As for me, I am on schedule to fly out of El Paso on June 22 and arrive in Anchorage that evening, before sundown since it will be one day past the summer solstice. I will again be met by my frieind Bill and perhaps spend the night at his home in Anchorage--if he has not completed a planned move to Palmer by then, in which case we'd go on up there. I will rent a car this time and will attend the ITC annual meeting on June 25th. I do not intend to try to speak there and will basically keep a low profile officially. However, I will meet Helen Hegener and also try to catch up with Deedee Jonrowe and some other mushers. Since the same day is also when sign ups for the 2017 race start, quite a few from the Wasilla/Willow region do show up. If possible I will try to set in motion a plan to go up in the fall and stay at one or more kennels and work for the privilege of listening and learning in the early parts of the fall training season.
Jody Bailey, another female musher I am following and somewhat in contact with, posted on her FB page a link to a new list where people seeking handler and helper jobs with kennels can get connected with kennels needing help. While I do not think I can commit to a six month stint right now, I am not ruling out that possibility and will certainly be checking this list a lot! Mostly they are looking for young people who hope to parley this experience into becoming mushers themselves but some might be willing to take on an aging aficionado who is not afraid of work! I can hope.
Anyway that is where we're at as of today. Keeping on keeping on and watching Aliy's progress via her SPK blog as she recovers from her foot surgery. I can imagine what a pain it has been to her to be partly immobilized and "foot-decapped" for close to two months but it was necessary to be able to continue her career. She has kept her wonderful humor and shared some fun things to include pictures of the two 2015 fall litters as they grow past the six month stage and start to look like big dogs. They are going to be awesome and amazing!! Of course Ginger and her Surfiver brothers are going to be really starting to work this fall, no doubt running in some of the shorter preliminary races and perhaps one or more even making the YQ or the Iditarod next year!
Here is Ginger with Aliy a few weeks ago. Love that dog and of course Aliy!! Isn't that a sweet picture? Aliy has sucha great bond and rapport with all the dogs but some are more affectionate than others. Seems Ginger is a love bug.
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