The day started early to feed and water the dogs
prior to getting to the staging area at 7am. I didn’t sleep well
on Friday night, but I really didn’t expect I would as my
nervousness and anxiety increased. It was raining on and off in
the morning, but the race marshall said not to worry, the rain
would only be coming in “cells” throughout the day. If raining
in cells means, constant rain all day long, I would agree…
As we readied the sled, the dogs, and the
musher, we covered the sled with a tarp to keep it dry before
the race even started. I left in the second position and got out
of the start shoot with no problems. Many spectators were out,
even in the rain, cheering the teams on to a successful race.
The dogs were excited to be finally on the trail and I started
to calm down. Stump and
Maple would be leading us on the first
leg of the race, and they were a wonderful pair of leaders. Most
of the first leg I ran alone, except when other teams caught up
to us. The teams that passed us all went by with no problems,
only words of encouragement to the team. As the rain continued
in the 50-degree weather, the dogs seemed to enjoy the cooling
of the rain, I managed to stay fairly warm, but not dry. The
first leg seemed to go quickly and we crossed Fish River Lake
with no problems and checked in to the halfway rest.
Our checkpoint routine went very smoothly and
the dogs ate and drank well. The handlers at the checkpoint were
very helpful and eager to see the teams. Once the dogs were fed,
rubbed down, and given their straw to sleep on, I went inside to
dry out and eat. Moose Point Lodge was a great place to have a
checkpoint and the hospitality was outstanding. They even had a
well-needed dryer for some of the clothes I wanted to wear out
of the checkpoint. While in the checkpoint the rain picked up
and came down very heavy for about 3 hours! Those poor dogs were
sleeping out in the driving rain. I checked on them several
times and for the first 2 hours they slept, but after that they
really wanted to get back onto the trail. At 7:15 I went out to
ready the dogs for the trip home. Curly had been limping on the
way over and I suspected that his previously injured foot was
hurting him, so I decided to drop him at the checkpoint and
spare him the trip home. Curly was the lucky dog. John Kaleta
(Race Marshall) was offering all the teams a snowmobile escort
across the lake since the trail conditions were deteriorating
quickly and wanted all the teams to cross safely. I have had
nightmares about this lake and the crossing I had last year so I
really wanted to do this better this year. The dogs were excited
and eager to go and many handlers helped me to the bank of the
lake for the re-start. I really wanted to wait for the
snowmobile to come back from across the lake for my escort, but
that didn’t work out and before I knew it we were on the lake
with me saying, “but wait, where is the trail?” I spotted a
reflective marker through the fog about 200 yards to my left in
the light of my headlamp. So I did what I needed to do, I
stopped the team by sinking my hook into the slushy, overflowed
lake, soaking my right arm up to my elbow, and stepped off the
sled. With all the snow and 2” of rain the lake was in terrible
shape with a lot of overflow, layers of slush and ice crust with
more water under the ice crust. My first step off the sled was
very deep and water quickly poured over the top of my boot! Ahhh,
wet foot. What now? Take the second foot and do the same thing.
Well my feet are wet and my boots are full of water and I’ve got
45 miles to go. Should I turn around and go back to the
checkpoint and scratch? If only I knew what the trail conditions
were going to be like, it would have been a very good idea, but
I guess I had too much determination and stubbornness. And I
kept thinking that I was wasting time, this is a race.
Maple was
in lead, but she couldn’t find the trail so I changed
Maple out
of lead and put Kobuk in. Wayne, from Fish River Lodge, came out
with his snowmobile to help and after changing leaders on the
lake, we were back on the trail, heading for the other shore.
Finally off the lake, I needed to stop and do something about my
feet. The kind people on the shore of the lake held my team and
watched as I took my boots off, dumped water out, rang some of
the water out of my socks, put them back on, covered my wet feet
in plastic bags and put my feet back into my very wet, felt
lined boots. Ahh.. What a nice feeling. I hoped that this might
keep my feet warm, at least for a while. The dogs had just ran
across a lake that was very deep in spots and learned that going
into that much water wasn’t that much fun which caused them to
question other water crossings. The trail was very well marked
and would have been exceptionally good if the rain didn’t
happen, but there was a lot of snow and then the rain, so the
trail was extremely challenging. The dogs encountered many
puddles in the trail. At one especially large and deep puddle,
Kobuk and Stump decided that they didn’t want to continue and
tried to turn the team around half way through the puddle. Off
the sled to deal with the problem, I untangled the team in
knee-deep “quick sand” and had to be careful not to pull my
boots off each time I took a step and also not to fall down in
the puddle. I informed the dogs that we would be crossing this
puddle and every other puddle we encountered.
Kobuk and
Stump
heard my message and for the next several hours went through or
went around the other puddles with no problems. Boy those dogs
really amazed me. My feet were not very warm and the puddle
incident invited more water into my boots.
About 15 miles into
the second leg, the team picked up their pace considerably and I
suspected a moose since I spotted many new moose tracks on the
trail and off to the sides. I have run in areas many times that
have moose activity so I knew the dogs had caught a fresh scent.
I was watching closely and attempting to slow the team, but then
they shot forward and I knew something was up. There she was, a
moose running away from us on the trail. Boy did the dogs want
to catch her. I did everything I could think of to stop the
team. One knee on the drag brake, one knee on the claw brake,
and attempting to sink the snow hook, but the trail was too soft
for the hook to catch on the snow. We kept on gaining on the
moose! Why isn’t she leaving the trail? Doesn’t she know that I
can’t stop the team with the soft, mushy snow conditions? We got
within 20 feet from her and I really started to panic, 15 feet
from her and we are still gaining, 10 feet from her and she
looks over her shoulder, I dump the sled over on it’s side and
instead of turning and presenting a challenge, my friendly moose
decides to jump off the trail and leave us alone. Very scary and
I needed a few minutes to realize that we are ok. Then, back
running with happy dogs dreaming of catching another moose in
the future. The trail was punched up from the moose and her
friends and Maple hurt her back falling in to one of the holes
during our moose chase. I ran her for a few more miles, but
realized that she couldn’t keep running, so I put her in the
sled. The adrenaline rush did little to warm my feet and about 2
hours into the run I was shivering and felt decision-making
starting to diminish. My feet were very cold and painful, but I
have no more dry socks, so I figure that my gloves will have to
do. I stop the team again, take my boots off, take my socks off
and put the glove liners, my big mitten liners, and new plastic
bags on my feet and back into the wet and heavy boots I have
been wearing. It will have to do since I have no other choices.
Teeth stop chattering and I feel better, even though I’ve lost
tons of time being stopped. But, the dogs are still happy and
are starting to pick up speed. Amazing. Ok, let’s go guys! The
temperature was dropping and the rain turned to freezing rain
and then into ice pellets (they hurt on the face). My clothes
are frozen, but I am actually warming up from peddling and
peddling and more peddling. Things are getting better and
considering the conditions, we are all still having fun and we
are getting closer and closer to the finish line. On one section
of trail that is hard left up a steep hill, and the trail had
turned into a waterfall. Eight feet across, deep, and flowing
fast, the dogs didn’t see that as an option. There was a trail
off to the right side of the “falls” that the dogs saw and took.
It was narrow and the drop off to the left was about 5 feet. I
felt the tears well up in my eyes as the dogs demonstrated how
dedicated and smart they really are and we pass this section
with no problems.
I see the lights of Eagle Lake and know that we are going to do
this. Maybe not with the time the team was capable of running
the trail, but the “11th dog” (me) slowed us down. I am excited
to finish and get into warm dry clothing! The dogs were sensing
the excitement and were looking forward to the finish as well.
Two miles from the finish the dogs had to take a left off an icy
road and nearly missed the turn, but they responded to my
command and took us over a large snow bank, dropping us off the
top, and the sled sunk into several feet of slushy snow. I
muscled the sled out and off down the trail again. Almost there,
what could slow us down now? Well, maybe a river crossing that
was a mile from the finish. Kobuk and
Stump didn’t think this
river crossing was a good idea so I put my snow hook down. I
needed to pull the dogs through the river. Up to my knees,
mid-thigh, then up to my waist in the river. What am I doing
this for? Since I was hooked down, I couldn’t pull the sled
across the river, I asked Kobuk and
Stump and the rest of the
team to stand in the middle of the river while I went back to
the sled. These dogs must really trust me and have faith that I
know what I am doing. The dogs stand in the river until I
un-hook and off to the finish we go.
Mike and several others are
waiting eagerly for me, and I was so happy to accomplish this
feat and proud of the dogs. My disposition at the finish was one
of a very cold, wet and tired musher. Not always a pretty sight
and I thank everyone who helped me. I want to make a special
thanks to my husband for encouraging me to try my hardest and to
never give up, taking care of the dogs, and not taking my
grumbling at the end personally, since I truly appreciate
everything he has done for me and our dogs. I feel honored to
have experienced this journey with some of my very best friends
and honest athletes. Thanks to Kobuk,
Stump, Squiggle,
Hawkeye,
Romeo, Ambler,
Jim, Gecko,
Maple, and
Curly. And Mike! I love
you guys!
Sue the Musher
Tsuga Siberians
