iditarod 2013....Dorado

it's not over until all the dogs come home and there is now one dog that won't be coming home.  paige drobny, bib 14, dropped her dog dorado at the unalakleet checkpoint on monday, it was found friday morning  buried in a mound of blowing snow.  the final result of the necropsy was asphyxiation.  it's always sad news to me when a dog passes in this race. it hasn't happened since 2009, though dogs have died in other races in alaska and this year in the yukon quest.
i love the race and i do believe those dogs are bred and born to run.  still, it always pulls at me when a dog dies.  it's hard to justify a love for a sport when faced with a dog death. i for one, still want the race to continue.
this dog died while waiting transport back to anchorage.  the weather was  bad and the dogs were no doubt checked on and fed and cared for.  one does hope that lessons are learned and changes made to help prevent this in the future.  dogs in alaska often live outside in wind and snow, but the kennels also have little boxes that the dogs can use as dens to protect themselves while tetherered outside. from what i've seen this isn't the case in the checkpoints while a dog waits.  they are tethered and have a bunch of hay to curl up in.  i've never heard of a death from this in the iditarod. it's generally a complication of the stress of the run...most often ulcers or aspiration pneumonia.  the fact is the weather here is unpredicatable.  in life no one can predict every scenario.
that doesn't mean you just write it off.  i do appreciate the fact that the iditarod people have been fairly transparent about this in their ananouncements.  they said the dogs were checked on at 0300 and in the morning this dog was found buried.  i'm sure all involved at that checkpoint were devastated and it must have been a horrible thing to have to tell drobny.
many changes have been made and will continue to be made to try and assure that this event ( a dog death) is a rarity rather than any sort of regular itidarod event.  nobody wants to see dogs die in this race.  the people who run it and volunteer for it love dogs.
maybe they will now have to think of things like making sure there is a responsible human awake and with those dropped dogs as protection.  maybe they will have to board the dogs inside in a safer location while they wait for flights out.  i'm sure there will be much discussion by the iditarod folks and the mushers that run in this race.
there are many out there who don't approve of sled dog racing.  this gives them fodder to continue their fight against dog racing.  a dogs death can't be justified, it is what it is.  very sad news for all involved.  those who battle against dog racing serve their purpose, i'm sure the pressure helps to encourage the changes that make it safer.  you still have to preserve the spirit of the race.  dogs have been used in northern climates for years and are still used in many places.  our lives as humans are bound to our canine companions.  the race brings to light all that the dogs are capable of.  it also brings to us all that the human spirit is capable of.  if something was easy it wouldn't be worth doing.  there has to be adventure and those who venture in our culture. it brings us hope and makes us all strive to be more.
only 4 teams remain on the trail, everyone else has arrived in nome.  the russian came in today as did the pet shop owner from brasil.  marques from brasil and berkowitz  both came in with 15 dogs.  that means they each only had one dog dropped.  chulpach will be the red lantern winner and the widows lamp will be turned off for another year. abbott was probably encouraged to drop out after she sat at eagle island for a long stretch of time.  the trail team went out to check on her as her gps hadn't moved for nearly 24 hours.  she scratched.
there is potential for disaster, there were a few plane crashes, humans died, it could just as easily be a plane full of dogs one day.  life is a risk.  i'm sure i put my dogs lives at risk every day.  we could be trampled by a moose, and almost have been.  we could get in a car wreck.  blossom could fall through the ice, and has. a bear could attack us. the dogs could get frostbite, and rio has gotten early stages. i say this because we all are at risk every day.  it's still better in my mind to be out there doing and living.  i'd hate to leave my pets at home each day in their protected yard.
a sled dog wants to run.  it's far more cruel to own a sled dog and live in an apartment and never walk it than to have a sled dog run.  zoo animals live longer in captivity, but i'd rather see them out in the wild.  it's not an excuse, it's just random facts to me.  those dogs are born to run and love to run and i admit i love to watch them run.  i love to hear the tales of the trials of being out on the trail dependant on a team of dogs to get you home.  it's a reminder of those who have lived before us and successfully survived the elements with the aid of dogs.  we live so cozy with all our modern conveniences and it's good to be reminded that nature is still the ruler of us all.  when one battles against nature, it is often nature that wins. this has always been true and always will be.  the majesty of alaska as seen from the runners behind a pack of dogs is both beautiful and magical and challenging.  my heart goes out to dorado and the humans who were no doubt touched by this dog, may he run in peace to the bridge.

iditarod 2013...mitch seavey into nome

 timing was right so i watched mitch seavey come into nome.  also saw aliy zirkle come in second.  a great race to watch this year.  congratulations to mitch and his team.  he looked worked over when he got to nome. he's in his 50's and probably knew he had better take this opportunity while he had it.  aliy definitely looked better coming in, but she's a bit younger.  seavey just had the lead dog to end all lead dogs.  he had great praise for his lead dog.  when all the pieces come together with a team you have to go with it.

 aliy has been in second place two years running,  this year to mitch seavey, last year to mitch seaveys son, dallas.  her team did outstanding though.  i hate to say clique things like mitch wanted it more. i think really he just has wanted it and saw the opportunity and held on with all he had.

 above is that rookie from california and these will be pictures of her attempting to get her brake out of the snow. directly below is that team of seavey's though that got him to nome in first place!

 aliy's dog team just won the yukon quest before running the iditarod..could that be a factor?  could that have been just enough to keep her from first this year.  hell, in this race, especially this year, second is nothing to cry over and she certainly wasn't crying.  she did have her trademark smile and good attitude.  she said something like, "i tried to catch that slippery sucker".  seavey came out to greet her after she crossed under the arch in nome.  he was gracious and kind and congratulated her on her well run race and echo'd what he'd said after he won.  she will win this race, probably more than one time.

 i was hoping aliy would win this year, but there were so many who were up there in the front that i would have been happy winning. it was an exciting race til the end and they all are to be congratulated for their efforts despite extremely difficult trail conditions and warm weather.

 this is matt failor who was running with busers team of dogs.  he was in on the plan to zip to rohn and take a 24 hour rest.  some are saying this is proving to have been a bad move on busers part.  i'm not sure if that is the case or not.  martin just got hit by the yukon hard. will have to see what his end interviews are like...he may not say..probably already planning for next year.  buser, king, seavey..they all have been hitting this trail for many years and so it seems fitting that one of them pull one off and win it. i'm sure they are all itching to add one more before they contemplate retiring. seems this race gets in the blood though and people keep returning no matter how painful each trip to nome seems to be.  seavey really did look beat up.

 martin is in the 16th spot and failor is in the 28th spot.  so clearly, the strategy didn't completely succeed i guess...may need some tweaking. failor makes his first pass on long lake.

 as the rookie continues to fight her brake.

 she hasn't scratched yet, but she is falling further and further behind it seems.  she actually isn't in last place anymore.  chulpach has been at the rear with her all along.  it's the rookies dogs i worry the most about.  they just don't have the experience with dogs, 9 days turns into 10 days turns into 11 days..and so on. that wears on the dogs.  will stubborness and determination mean they don't pick up on issues and exhaustion in their dogs?

 there were 4 scratches today.  lance mackey's brother (half?), jason,  dropped out.  bundtzen, a local physician scratched.  jan steves also scratched.  there was some blip at some point today that there was concern that her gps was shown as not moving and crew was sent to check on her.  nothing more was said about that except, she'd scratched.  they always say, for the sake of the dogs, but little details really come out.  jason mackey was sick with a flu of sorts which helped him make his decision. demoski, the 67 year old from wasilla also scratched today.

 another team heads out as abbot continues to battle her hook, which she finally got up before this team passed her.

 i think at first she was pushing it in further, probably just nerves.

 the iditarod stories will keep coming as teams come in.  king is next to arrive according to the gps.  he just has 3 miles to go...so pretty soon.  he was booking it at close to 12 mph..just wanting to get to nome.  often the teams also have been before and dogs are smart, they know the end is coming up and they will be done. dallas has slowed up a bit.

 was a cloud free day here in anchorage.  amy and miss lucy joined us for a walk.  lucy was an angel the enitre walk.  we did the campbell airstrip and then came back along the side trails.  lots of folks out enjoying the snow and warm weather.  it's feeling more and more like spring.  iditarod...spring.  that is how that goes.

 at least 3 miles, probably closer to 3.5 miles so not bad for that little one.  rio was plodding along, i kept forgetting she was there almost.

 saw a few moose today, one on trail and one on drive home.  the moose numbers always increase in town about this time of year.

 62 is brent sass. he's in the 20th spot, behind lance and ahead of baker.  not bad company to be keeping.

 i can tell by these dogs that this next one is the russian.  telpin.

 he's down in the 52nd spot so not doing quite as well as his beringa partner from norway.

 his team is russian sled dogs.  a bit more husky and also thicker fur.  this could have been a disadvantage in this years heat.  i do say heat as the temperatures were in the 30's and 40's F at times.  for sled dogs that is hot.  the last part of the trail dropped back down to 0 and 10 below.  aliy and seavey came in coated with frost.  they were poling those last many miles.  aliy has blistered hands from it.

 they sure look like a handsome bunch though. not sure if ulsom brought his own dogs over here like telpin did?

 they are a cool bunch of dogs, obviously i was snapping away trying to get pictures of them

 went in to work for a few hours to learn more about the emergency room charting. i'm back there for the next 3 nights for orientation starting thursday.  i also managed a swim today. 5pm..the pool was all lanes for swimming. not sure if that is just because of spring break.  it was nice though. the water is still warm and clear.

 people are so strange.  there was the live stream for the ending and you have a running comments section.  there were these people claiming to be from anchorage making these ridiculous comments, just to be annoying.  do people really have nothing better to do than that?  so strange.

 i have again,not accomplished anything from my to do list.  where do my days off go...?  how do other people actually get stuff done?

 king is in. sound like he looked more tired than seavey, but his team looked pumped up.

 matt giblin above and richie deihl.  i'm sure i spelled those wrong. one is in 39th spot and the other in 40th spot. they won't be in for awhile.  dallas is up next.

 i guess you can pop in close to when a team comes in and watch it.  i shall  be turning in.  tomorrow the video clips of their arrivals through night will  be posted at the iditarod site. i think i can hold out til then.

 always nice to see the first few in though. i like to watch them all and get some idea of how their trek went.

 liked the green booties on these..

 nice long tongue

 was thinking of fair weather friends this week.  there are those who only want to be around when life is good, this is true.  there are also people who only really show up when their lives are not so good and then once they feel better or life is better, you are brushed aside.  i just find it annoying sometimes.  yet, i'm the type of friend that  can't brush people off when they come to you in need.  it's just annoying when people only come to you for their needs.  you get sucked in and then you remember, oh right, that is why i haven't heard from them for awhile.  they are feeling good or they have a new boyfriend or whatever the case may  be.

 james volek...also works with buser and also has buser dogs.  he's in third from last place with a young buser team.

 lindner.  i remember this dog from last year.  so cute...i think i took loads of this one at last years race. how could you not?

 i have loads of pictures storing up from walks this past week of my favorite pups, blossom and rio catalina.  blossom was hilarious yesterday with all her snowballs.

 i like a dog with a little fur!!

 i'm reading a book written by a woman and her family.  she was born in russia, they were initially a well to do family.  stalin took over and things got worse.  then hitler came along.  most of her family was killed, she was taken to germany as slave labor.  she kept journals of all this time and hid them in her pillow. they were not jewish, but saw what was happening and lived in fear.  she wrote in many different languages as she spoke 6-7 of them.  she eventually ended up in the united states and married, had kids.  she would never speak of her time in germany or of her childhood and relatives really at all.  she would sneak up to the attic from time to time. her husband just figured when she was ready she would talk.  one day she took him up to the attic and showed him she'd been working on translating all her old diaries so that her story would one day be known.  so i'm reading it.  interesting so far.

 lindner was last musher out that day.  he's actually running in the top ten and should be in by morning i'm guessing.

 here is a repeat picture of the second place winner.  she was so close to first that i shall just give her her due.

 denali seems to always be out there on long lake with us.

off to read and crash for the night.  all the best for a safe run to nome for all those still out on the trail.  been fun posting about this great race for another year....thanks for stopping by and reading.

iditarod 2013...not quite to white mountain, but close

 not sure the leggings have caught on yet, but they have begun to turn up on sled dogs these past few years.  i  think they look kinda cute. still a fan of the muscle shirts and cute jackets and booties.  sled dog couture! can't go wrong there.

 this is the back end of the ellis husky team.

 cym smiths' crew.

 mackey and martin continue the slide downwards.  i think that run on the yukon took whatever they and their dogs had left in them.  now it's just a slow run with a lot of stops to get the team successfully to nome.  it's how it goes out there.  there is no predicting how a long distance race like this will turn out.  there just are so many factors involved.  you can plan it out and still come out in a different place.  buser probably would have done great had he not had to deal with that awful night on the yukon river...but coulda, shoulda, woulda doesn't count here.  sadly, it's been the deal breaker for him.

 jeff king rode on through koyuk this morning in hopes of securing the lead...and he did temporarily.  his team looked good and he figured if he could get a wee bit ahead he could stay ahead of the pack.  perhaps his team felt differently.  mitch seavey had taken back the lead last i checked with aliy zirkle about an hour behind him.  they were both out of elim and headed for golovin.  it will just come down to who can hold out, who'd team can run faster.

 it's been pretty exciting with the teams being pretty bunched up.  the hot weather has been the big factor.  it has cooled down though along the coast finally.

 warm here as well.  should cool.  this morning it was cloudy and the forecast was for clear skies...i took the dogs for the monday walk, just us today, and while we walked around the various paths the sun came shining through.

 took the gasline trail to the powerline trail.  anchorage was socked in but there was a strip of clear across anchorage that allowed me to get a peek a boo glimpse of denali ( a 5 hour drive north).

 by the time i got down into the meadows off of the tank trail the skies had totally cleared.

 blossom was coated in huge snowballs, always so funny.  the snowballs coating her fur are so huge that you can hear them clump together as she walks.  i was tossing her yellow frisbee...a favorite of hers and mine.  at one point i decided to make a video of her.  at the time i didn't notice that after she set down her frisbee it disappeared.  there is one hole in the ice that drops down to the creek about 3 feet under.  by some twist of toy fate, that was the exact place she dropped the dang thing.  never to be seen again. it drives me nuts to lose good money this way.  blossom could care less, several hundred feet down the trail by the stumphenge area, a tennis ball was found.  it looks awful similar to one i lost out there a few weeks back.  i'd rather lose a tennis ball and save the frisbee though.

 stopped at petsmart, but they didn't have another frisbee of the sort i like..thank you amazon.com for having anything one could need or just want very badly.  also bought a rad dog collar to test out with blossom.  it's a collar with a retractable lead right in it.  so great for trails where she's off leash, i can just catch her collar and she is now on leash. sounds fabulous!!

 that california musher is still in.  her pictures should be in tomorrows post.  i'm running out of pictures as they run out of trail.  it's not over til the last musher comes in though.  i'll still give updates even though i'll be catching up on the pictures from my walks and such these past weeks.

 the last of them are on the yukon river.  not sure if conditions have improved there at all.  the twins were headed out of kaltag and i don't remember hearing any horror stories from them like those that seemed to come from the mushers towards the front.  #60 abbot is from irvine, california.  she summitted everest in 2010 and wanted to try her hand and the big race next so here she is.  she's the one we thought would scratch as she was having a hell of a time getting her brake out of the snow on long lake.  it was pretty pathetic looking.  that back pack are all out of grayling.  she was 2 hours behind the rest.

 joined my friend gail for dinner tonight.  mostly we just chatted for a few hours and caught up, always fun.  i'd eaten a late lunch so i could barely get down 1/2 a burger tonight.  the dogs happily got the other half.

 my snowman from last night had turned a bit frightful as the food colouring i used to make the eyes and nose and stuff had soaked in.  i changed the hats and scarves and made it a scary clown snowman this morning.

 still waiting for word of may getting captured again.  sounds like she's been chilling around rohn still. hoping to hear good news on her soon, hate to see her night after night out there.  guess one dog got loose as they were trying to put it on a plane years ago, it was loose for 3 weeks, but was finally rounded up.

 my black and white picture of "ugly" was in the paper today. i've lost track of how many reader photo's of mine they've  put in there.  i think blossom has been in 2-3 x now.  her front and her back.  i should toss in this one i took of her today. it's pretty funny.  she has loads of snowballs.

 josh cadzow.  he's only 24.  i think he fell asleep on the sled and woke up with his sled sideways and the dogs running down the steps in the dark. he'd lost his head lamp.  personally, i think they should get docked for falling asleep.  i believe if they are too tired to drive their teams of dogs they should be required to stop.  the dogs will just run, that could be the wrong direction or into some sort of dangerous situation or animals, it's up to the human to be alert enough to monitor the trail for obstacles.  just my little soapbox.  he's in the 18th spot right now.lance is in 14th, buser in 16th and baker, who won a few years ago is in 17th.  so the kid is doing pretty good for his rookie year.

 katie made her tasty bean soup.  i haven't been able to make it yet. it's tasty and i like to use it as a chip dip as well!

 56 has scratched already.  he's out of healy.

 another young musher, beals, apparently slept in his boots with sweaty feet, never a good idea.  his boots were frozen on and he was going to have to go warm up.  that is basic cold weather.  change to dry clothes before sleeping.  carry lots of socks and change them frequently.  he hasn't dropped out so hopefully that means all is well.

 the trail is said to be punchy on the run to golovin.  we shall see...

 kinda a crazy race this year.  lots of teams bunched up, who will win is still unknown. often even by this time in the race it will be clear who is ahead. can't say that this year.  seavey will have to rest his team at some point before nome and even before the 8 hour required rest in white mountain.  all mushers must stop there for 8 hours.

 white mountain is 77 miles from nome.  one checkpoint between, safety.

 wade marrs...like that pink sled, nice.

 this is aaron peck of canada.  36th place when i just looked.

 several ski planes out there on long lake that day.  they started to take off soon after these mushers went by.  probably wanting to beat the iditarod plane traffic out there.

 these guys always impress me in harness. i must say i was impressed with my blind mastiff today.  rio catalina managed to walk carefully across a log bridge over a creek.  it's only 3 logs with gaps between.  she's tired after her long walk, but she is always surprising me with how well she adapts to things.

 this is jim laniers team of dogs below.  he's the owner of the missing dog.  he'd lent it out to marshall.  he's in the 29th spot.

 they always look great. i think there is actually one non-white dog that is closer to the sled.

 there you can see the one unique dog in the pack.  several planes have disappeared in the back ground.

 these are probably mackey's dogs as abbot was training with him on her quest to mush dogs in the iditarod.

it's one and i'm starting to get hungry.  my feed clock is all off kilter.  i've got to meet with the emergency room educator tomorrow.  should help me get their computer system down better before i return to orient there for a few more nights. i think after that i'm on my own.

guess i'll wrap it up and head to bed...last look at the gps, are the mushers checking it too?  one has to wonder.  anyway.  those top three, seavey, aliy and jeff king are within 10 miles of each other and the speeds are 4.5mph, 5.5mph and 6.4mph respectively...hmm...how can i sleep knowing this is going on tonight!!!!