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Howdy all. I don’t have a lot of time, but here’s
some ramblings from a very tired musher…
The team got me in here yesterday after a very long
last leg of the race. Of the hundred last miles,
most are uphill. The timing of the last run also put
me running in the middle of the day under a blazing
sun. The team slowed to a crawl and we came down the
highest mountain on the trail, King Solomon’s Dome,
no faster than we’d gone up. That brought me in to
town much later than I had hoped, but didn’t really
seem to take much out of the dogs. They
self-regulate on speed in those conditions and
simply won’t go faster than what they can maintain.
It just takes patience to relax, accept the slower
pace, and not let the dogs know you are bothered.
Other than that last run, the team has been keeping
up a very steady pace. My longer runs, between
Carmacks and Pelly and then again from Steeping
Stone to Scroggie, were done straight thru, but with
lots of little stops. My team knows the command
“take a break,” and they will all jump in to the
snow on the right side of the trail to roll around
and relax for a few minutes. I take the stopped time
to walk up and down the line, scratching ears,
checking for loose or iced booties, talking to the
dogs, and getting to see their eyes and faces, (they
speak more than the part of the dog I’m usually
looking at!) Anyway, I’ve mixed in some short runs
as well, including from Mandanna Lake to Carmacks
and from Pelly to Stepping Stone. The miles ahead
will trend towards evening things out with most runs
right around 50 miles although I’ll continue to
adjust run and rest to accommodate running in the
dark and variances of trail and weather.
Back to my time here in Dawson, it’s been great!
Last year I was so sick, I did not get to enjoy this
36 hours of catching up on eating, sleeping, and
being in a really cool place with a lot of cool
people who share a bond through the experience of
this race. It’s an amazing thing to be a part of.
After taking care of the team and getting through
the vet check, the dogs were bedded down and quickly
feel asleep. I got over to town, had a shower,
spread my gear to dry in the hotel room, and had
dinner with Sue. After dinner I went to the big log
cabin visitors’ center that is used for the
checkpoint for the trail report meeting. It’s a big
deal to be at this meeting for me, as silly as that
may sound. Last year I was too far behind the
leaders and had to watch a tape of the trail report.
This year I was sitting with just 9 other mushers,
many of them among the very best and most
experienced distance dog mushers in the world. Media
far outweighed dog drivers in the room and
microphones were stuffed in front of the race
marshall and trail bosses. The report for the next
150 miles is very good. After that, leaving Eagle,
things are not so cheery. Very rough ice and some
generous sections of glare ice with no snow lay
ahead on the Yukon River. Ohh, and did I mention
that much of Alaska is under a winter storm warning.
The “easy” part is over. It’s a long way to
Fairbanks.
Today, after a very solid 8 hours of sleep, I spent
most of the day out with the dogs and Sue and Moe.
We walked them, fed them, rubbed them, and loved
them. Then put them back to sleep in under the tarp
in their mountains of straw. I’m glad to report that
they are doing great and eating well. As we walked
each dog, we could really tell how they are feeling.
Well, some nearly pulled our arms out of socket. The
one issue is that Wilson will be having to stay with
Sue, when I leave. The shoulder he hurt crossing
some overflow before Scroggie has not loosened up.
It’s another big blow to the team and I’m trying
hard to not let it get me down. The facts are that I
have now had to drop the 2, 3, and 4 best leaders I
have. Stump is still number one on the depth chart,
but Mugs, Reba and Wilson are all great and could
lead with anyone else. While I still have Eliza,
Trip, Merlin, and Lotus who have done extensive
leading, none of them measure up to the three I’ve
had to drop, especially when things get tough or
they get tired. So Stump is going to be called upon
again to be a superstar. Luckily for me, he is
healthy, happy, and loves the responsibility of
being in charge. He’ll be more important than ever
from here on out. I am kind of nervous about being
so down in numbers, but his race is very much about
dealing with what is in front of you right now, the
best you can. Things change quickly and bad luck is
common. Overcoming the negatives and staying
positive is the only way to keep moving forward. I
hope that the nine who remain to pull for me can
avoid the freak slips and out of the blue problems
that have sent Curly, Jim, Mugs, Reba and now Wilson
to the truck. It’s over three hundred trail miles to
get to Circle City where I next see Sue and the
dogtruck. I’m confident we can make it, if bad luck
leaves us alone for a while. There are some very
good teams behind me that have more dogs and have
been moving faster on the trail, at least at times.
I’ll need some good luck to hold the position I’m
in, but I’ve definitely shifted my expectations from
racing to finishing and I’ll need some good luck to
just do that…
So, thanks for all the support you’ve given us. I
feel the love of all the folks rooting for us and it
often sustains me on the trail. I’m not sure how the
rest of the race is going to work out for us, but
I’m going to do the very best I can with the nine
dogs I’ll be harnessing back up in about 12 hours.
Between now and then, I’ve got to get some more food
and sleep and let Moe and Sue provide the same for
the dogs. Take care and I’ll have more from
Fairbanks one way or the other…
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