Over the Alaska Range

Mike and the team are resting in Nikolai.  They have made it over the Alaska Range and across the Farewell Burn.  Mike is exactly on the schedule that he created.  It has been really fun, albeit a bit nerve racking to watch him on the GPS.  I think Mike's brother Anthony said it best "its killing me, not to mention my productivity."  Despite this, I still highly recommend the Insider GPS tracker.  The information is much more current than the standings on the Iditarod page.  I expect Mike to leave Nikolai in a few hours and make the run to McGrath and Takotna.

Photo by Greg Sellentin

I have been hoping for more videos of Mike, but did not see any today.  Maybe the camera crew will have a chance to catch up with him during his 24 in Takotna.  Mike withdrew 3 dogs, Clyde, Lager, and Uber, from his team in Rainy Pass.  They have been flown back to Anchorage, are currently resting at our friend's house, and will be home in the kennel on Thursday. 

I have been having fun answering the fan mail that Mike has received from students around the country.  I appreciate the kids' enthusiasm and practicality.  The most humorous questions I have received so far are "Do you have a best friend?"  and "Where do you go to the bathroom?"  Another student told me he has a dog named Tango.  "She tears up everything. But the dog before was good."

Photo by Sarah Waterman

I am looking forward to Mike's 24 hour break, as knowing he is staying still may allow me to take a break from clicking refresh on my computer.  More updates tomorrow!


 

Iditarod Start and Restart

 

We have had a wonderful time at the start and the restart.  Mike was very relaxed the whole time.  (Much more than I was!)  The dogs look fantastic.  They are eating everything in sight and are enthusiastic and playful.  We spent the weekend at the Inlet Tower in Anchorage, which is a great place to stay with dogs.  It is very close to everything, but has a quiet parking lot for letting the dogs out of the truck.  We were joined by good friends at the musher's banquet and Mike spoke memorably as he drew his bib number (27).  He explained the mushers are not superheros and must rely on the help and support of many others.  For us this includes our handlers, Nick and Lindsay, our families and friends who have helped us in so many ways, and our fantastic sponsors:  Grainger, Ringers Gloves, Cantwell Veterinary Services, Denali Fly Fishing Guides, Ahtna, Cantwell Native Village Council, The Cantwell Lodge, Alpine Creek Lodge, Jindex, Marmot, Eddie Bower, Inlet Tower, Mix Grill, Wheeler EMS.  

The ceremonial start went well.  The dogs were relatively patient.  I managed to make it to the starting line running in front of the team.  (Believe me this is not easy.)  Lindsay made it the whole way around on Mike's second sled with a smile one her face and her feet (and runners) on the ground.  Mike enjoyed throwing hats, gloves, and earbands to the crowds from Grainger and Ringers Gloves. 

 

 

 

 

Photo thanks to Donna Quante

The restart in Willow could not have been better.  It was a perfect day.  We saw all sorts of good friends, and the sent Mike off with a bang.  Brandon, who got to ride the sled to the starting line with Mike told me they said they needed extra people to hold our team back. 

Brandon Lee popper-scooper and dog food stacker extraordinaire

 The final roster for the team is Icarus, Iowa, Hawkeye, Phoebe, Lugnut, Nestor, Oz, Patton, Clifford, Titus, Twain, Uber, Ziplock, Zazu, Clyde, and Lager.

Mike's Sled Ready for Action

  While our dogs are not known for patience they waited for their time to start.  There is a great video of Mike and Clifford, Zazu, and Oz on the Iditarod Insider.  If you do not have a subscription yet, you have to get one.  I am especially enjoying the GPS tracker which gives updates of location and speed every 15 minutes. 

Nestor in his one moment of waiting patiently

So far, the race seems to be progressing exactly as Mike planned.  He is giving the dogs lots of rest and making his way down the trail.  There was a video posted last night of him taking a break on the trail and again, he seemed cool and collected.  He is currently in Rainy Pass with 16 dogs.  This means that he has made it through the infamous steps.  There are several videos of teams crashing in the steps and, for once, I am glad we didn't make it on camera.  I am looking forward to watching his progress and sharing my insights with you, so keep checking back! 

Photo thanks to Rick Wise

Iditarod Start in Willow, AK

Ready for Anchorage

Our first trip to the kenai

Half of the gang the morning after the race.  Pheobe, Haweye, Oz, Me, Icarus, Zazu,  Patton,  and Lugnut

 

  
    If you are a Sports Center fan the concept that on any given Sunday anything can happen is probably something you accept as a part of professional sport.  Sure there is always a chance that a dark horse can come out of the stable on fire, but nine times out of ten talent will best chance.  If you prefer Disney to Sports Center, this is probably something that isn't easy to accept.  After all the Bad News Bears have to win otherwise no one leaves the theater with an uplifting experience.  If this was Disney, my money would be on Colleen Robertia.  Local gal, big smile, all heart, and dedicated.  (If you weren't rooting for her shame on you.)  If you'd rather the dark horse on fire, I guess you'd be stuck rooting for me to pull off an upset.   
   
    Interested in the opinion of a dark horse who was out on the runners during the race?  (I hope you realize that if you continue reading you're going to get it whether or not you want it.)  The boys in Vegas who make a living taking bets on this kind of stuff would be really happy with the results of the T 200, because what statistically happens happened.  The best team won, the second best team took second and the third best team took third.  http://www.tustumena200.com/ for results. 

    Those of you who bet on Colleen take solace in the fact that the human heart is what separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom.  (Which by the way is what the boys in Vegas count on.) For those of you who bet on me, you need therapy.

    Stevie Wonder could have seen that Dee Dee had the team to beat.  Awesome!!!

Icarus knows what check points are all about.

As for Cim, I'm really getting tired of following this guy around just to have him disappear at the end.  I hope he's just as sick of me keeping up with him until the end.  (FYI, Cim's got my vote for best dog in the race.)

    As for our journey, yeah there are plenty of hills on the Kenai, but we live in the mountains, hills are not a problem for us.  The tropical heat is really what killed our chances of an upset.

    On the lighter side;  At the half, the Clam Gulch Lodge donated rooms for the mushers to sleep in.  Three per room.  Confession.  I have a reputation of snoring like a grizzly in January. I opened the door to room number one to find Dee Dee curled up as peaceful as an angel, and just couldn't bring myself to disturb Dee Dee's sleep.
So I quietly shut the door and went on to room number two, only to find ex-professional fashion model, Zoya DeNure sound asleep.  I hesitated just long enough to witness Anna and Kristy Berington enter room number three.  What's a fella supposed to do.  Well, Zoya lives in Paxon which is on the opposite side of the Denali Highway from Cantwell 134 miles away, which in Alaska makes us neighbors, so I went on in.  I had a hell of a time falling asleep worried that I would definitely lose any chance I might have at the sportsmanship award if I woke up went to the john or in this scenario jane and left the toilet seat up.  Conclusion.  Alaskan girls absolutely do kick _ _ _!!!

    As for our very own Alaskan gal who is kicking butt, we are very proud of Lindsay's performance in the T 100.   She finished right where we were expecting her to just behind all of the accomplished Jr Iditaroders and Paul,  and just in front of the rest of the first time racers.  It was a real thrill watching her nervous excitement.  Lindsay had a lot of fun and I know she learned a ton. 

    As for the race itself, I cannot say enough about the quality of the event.  A beautiful trail, groomed and marked exceptionally well.  Officials, checkers and vets always right where you needed them and pleasant.  In fact, from the moment we arrived in Soldotna, until the banquet was over, everyone we met was excited that we were there.  This kind of mushing enthusiasm speaks greatly of the quality of the mushing community on the Kenai.  It's obvious to me that the mushers who call this area home have over the years conducted themselves in a manner which has created this passion in the non mushing community for the sport.  Awesome, Awesome, Awesome!  Kudos all.

    A special thank you to Mindee and Kelly Morning for their generous hospitality, Sal's Diner in Soldotna for all of the great breakfasts, and to Jayne Heampstead for convincing us to make the trip.

    Until the next time I hope you are all having as much fun as I am, Mike             

The Kusko and the Tustemena

    Get ready mushing fans it's Kusko time http://www.k300.org/core/.  If there is one race which since I came to Alaska that has captivated me more then any other it is the Kusko.   As I posted on FB, I'm a little jealous of those who are there, and next year I'm determined to get The Wolf's Den team to Bethel.  Not only is the Kusko the premier mid distance race in the world, this year it's got one of the deepest fields it's had in years, and trail reports have been good.  Should be an exciting race.  I'll be glued to my laptop this weekend for sure.

    On a personal note, got one interesting Kusko related email and one phone call recently.  I sold a few dogs to John Simmon a couple of years back and John called the other night letting us know that Weasel has proven to be his star leader, "barking all the time."  He'll be running her up front in the Dash, as in Akiak.  Man that's a fast one!  The other two dogs he purchased, Trouble and Twister will be going with Jackie Larson in the 300.

    Dave Diehl, Richie's dad who I'm willing to bet is also his biggest fan, Emailed to let us know that Ajax who Richie bought from us has made the grade.  Dave's comments included the following, "his attitude is so positive, that he was added to the team."   Richie will be running the 300 hundred and It will be Ajax's racing debut.
 
    I think it's obvious who I'll be rooting for.  Go get em fellas!  I am also hoping that it's blatant that I have no qualms bragging about the dogs we've raised that are gettin'er done with other mushers.  It's truly one of the most rewarding parts of my job.

    As for our team, we'll get a chance to race on the following weekend at another world class venue.  The Tustemena 200 http://www.tustumena200.com/.  This will be our first visit to the T, and I awfully excited to finally get a chance to get down there.  I've heard nothing but stellar reports about this race for years, and I need to thank Jayne Heampstead for making our trip to the Kenai possible.

    There were doubts that the T would actually go off this year due to weather, but mother nature has again this year as she did last year blessed the T with a very timely dumping of the white stuff.  YIPPEEE!  And the T's race commitee needs to be commended for making the very smart decision to wave the late entry fee increase in order to get a bigger better field.  Many mushers where leery signing up with the bum weather reports, but now that they got snow the field is getting better every day.  Absolutely love smart decision makers.      

    The Tustemena will be full of firsts for us at The Den.  My first T, and it will also be the first time we've been able to field two teams.  Lindsay Seidenverg will running her first ever race and she'll be driving the B team as she refers to them, "she's gonna get in big trouble if she keeps calling them the B team,"  in the T 100.  Can't say enough about this young lady, she's got it all going on.
     
    "Mental note to self regarding the T," I recently saw that there is a Jonrowe team entered.  I'm really, really, really hoping it's Dee Dee driving.  Let's all keep our fingers crossed.  Two reasons why I'm psyched, one I just love Dee Dee.  Two it's a competitive thing.  I feel the need to further explain that one. I am by nature competitive only with myself, I'm the type of guy who is very self critical and am constantly striving to do what I do better then I did it before.  I have never, never, and I do mean it, thought to myself I want to beet so and so.  So what's the deal with Dee Dee?  Well, during the 09 Don Bowers 300, I pulled into the first check point well ahead of everyone else, We were really smokin that weekend.  Apparently Dee Dee must have had a good run at the Bowers the year before, because as I was signing in, all I heard from the folks standing around was, "only Dee Dee," "like Dee Dee," "Dee Dee this," "Dee Dee that," "Dee Dee," "Dee Dee," "Dee Dee."  Well, after taking care of my team, I took a short nap, readied the gang and left the first checkpoint.  The bummer is, a fella's got a lot of time to think with two hundred and twenty miles to go.  I was literally having the run of my life, It was all I could do to stop my team long enough to sign my name at the check points, and I was feeling great about the teams performance.  All of a sudden, I started wondering just how this whole darn thing would be unfolding if only Dee Dee was here.  Enough said.

    We'll be posting our take on the Kusko when it's over, as well as the Tustemena, until the next time I hope you are all having as much fun as I am, Mike

The Dog Barn