A handler's quest

Update - Monday 1:53 PM (the next week....)

After Clint left Pelly, Sarah and I began the drive up to Dawson City.  It was night, and we were so tired, having only accumulated 7 or so hours of sleep during the week until that point.  We wanted to get to Dawson before Hugh Neff got in, so we could drive our truck to our camp and unload all of our gear.  Talking with the race manager, Greg Shaffer, he recommended to get up there by 9 am, they were expecting Hugh possibly as early as noon, and as soon as the siren goes off indiciating that he is in Dawson, we wouldn't be allowed to drive in.  So, mustering all of our energy, we began the drive.  For the first hour, we were able to chat and keep ourselves up, but then Sarah was no longer able to stay awake.  And, I knew I wouldn't be able to continue driving if she fell asleep.  We pulled over in a rest stop, and slept hard for a few hours, waking up and continuing the drive with the rising sun, which made it infitinitely easier to stay awake.

Once in Dawson, we pulled into the checkpoint on Front St., and retrieved all 11 of Clint's drop bags, and 4 bales of straw.  The ice road across the Yukon hadn't been salted or graveled, and was a luge when we got there.  Fortunately, Hugh wasn't in, and we still had time to wait.  After

Update - Monday 5:34 PM

We’ve been following the trail of Clint and Paige for the past two days.  Clint left Braeburn yesterday morning around 5:30.  After he left, Sarah and I cleaned up his camping spot.  The feeling at the races was been pretty strict the first part of the race, and we made sure to do a really nice job ☺  We checked with the race official just to make sure that it was up to par.  They haven’t been handing out time penalties that I know of, but I didn’t want Clint to be the first.  That would be embarrassing…

Last night we spent at Carmacks, and it was a lower point than other checkpoints for lots of mushers, the veterinarians stayed busy, the trail to Carmacks was hard and fast, and mushers had to be sure to keep it slow so their dogs didn’t come up with injuries.  Clint dropped two dogs, both of which were question marks before the start of the race.  So, while it wasn’t fun to leave them behind, it wasn’t completely unexpected.  They were two of his older experienced dogs, and now he is running with a lot of 2 and 3 year olds.  It will be really cool to see how they prove themselves and grow during the race.  However, the dogs seem pretty happy to be back with us!  Abel has been spending time with us in the truck, getting VIP treatment ☺  And, we have been tolerating his farts, which are horrendous, though he is really cute otherwise.  Clint spent more time than he planned at Carmacks, trying to get organized and ready for the rest of the race.  He also needed some sleep. 

Paige came flying into Carmacks and was looking smoking hot!  She felt like they were running slow during the run, but they were flying!  She had a really fast run time into Carmacks.  It has been awesome to see her dogs doing well.  One of her dogs Mikey, is the brother to my pup Dylan.  He usually doesn’t work super hard for Paige (none of the dogs in the litter are super strong dogs, but they are all super sweet!) but he is been doing great!  I really hope he finishes!  I hope it will be motivating for Dyaln to work harder :)  He has tendency to conserve energies…

It was definitely emotional to be back at Carmacks this year.  Last year during the race, Terry’s main dog Bags died of a heart attack while running and doing what he loved.  It was a really tragic end to our race.  And, there was definitely a flood of emotions, thinking about the dogs last year, and the race, and the White Mountains Kennel.  Greg Shaeffer, this years race manager, was so supportive and generous helping us out last year, and it has been good to see him again this year under happy circumstances, and Patty Imus who is a friend of the kennel, was wondering where Jennifer and Terry were!  She hopes to see them on the race next year ☺ 
It was good to be here this time, and form some happier memories of the checkpoint.  

While Paige’s dogs were sleeping, teams were heading out of the checkpoint, and they kept on sleeping through them, getting a good rest.  But, when Clint’s team started to get ready to head out, their dog Velma and Elmer, in Paige’s team, started whimpering to go with!  It was so cool that they knew the sounds and barks of their brothers and sisters!   Most mushers know all the individual barks and noises of their dogs, but it was really amazing to see the dogs hear them across the dog yard.

We were soooooo tired when they left Carmacks, and grabbed a couple hours of sleep before driving to McCabe.  We missed Clint coming into McCabe, because of all the extra rest his dogs got in Carmacks they were flying down the trail!  The looked awesome, and Clint was really fired up.  Then came in Paige, and Tamara Rose.  It was a really fun checkpoint, all of them were doing good, and they checkpoint was filled with laughter, as they shared stories about the dogs and the trail.  It was a good feeling, and the rigidity of the earlier checkpoints started to loosen up, and have the awesome feel that the Quest can be. 

We are now in Pelly, and it is fun to be back here again this year.  There are a lot of loose dogs in the village, and I recognize a few of them.  Last year they were scavenging around the town, and trying to get into the mushers drop bags.  But, they are really cute ☺  One in particicular that I remember looks like Kateel, but with flopper ears, and hair on his tail.  He is so cute, I have tried luring him in with food, but he doesn’t trust me.  But, the dogs probably make out pretty well when the Quest comes through, with all the extra food left on the ground, so he didn’t need mine.  The race marshal is here in Pelly, as well as some really nice race officials, and there is a lot of good energy here.  The RCMP runs this checkpoint, and it is well done and a nice spot along the trail.  They also have some good volunteers, a woman at the grocery said most of the town likes to come out and help, in this small village of 400, she says this is the most exciting thing to happen in the winter.

Clint’s dogs came in screaming and harness banging!  Gosh I love that!  It is amazing to see these athletes perform, and come into the checkpoints excited and ready to go out. 

After Pelly, Clint will have a long run to Dawson, and we just have a couple hour drive.  We will start heading up there after he leaves, and then finally get a good nights sleep, before beginning to set up our luxurious dawson day spa 36 hour camp for the dogs.  I can’t wait to sleep.



___________________________________________________________________________________________Update - Saturday 2:45 AM

I am tired.  The morning has come quickly the past few days. 

We woke up around 7:00 this morning, after staying up a little bit to get last minute things finished.  The dogs were fed, and then we were.  French toast with sausages and tomotoes.  Again, awesome food.  I would like to move in with Ken and Liesel :) 

We then loaded the dogs up and were on our way down to the start.  With the help of Clint's father, brother and niece, as well as a few friends, we sent Clint off on his way!  The dogs were pumped and ready to go!  They were sick of spending time in the dog truck and were ready to go on the trail.  They were so loud!  Screaming and harness banging.  He has a team to be proud of.

After sending him off, Sarah and I had a few errands to run.  Intuition liners were on sale at a local shop for $50.  Sorry to my friends in Fairbanks, they only have a few sizes left, if you have a 9 or smaller, let me know, I can get you a pair.  Otherwise, apologies...  We also went to a little grocery at Riverside that carries all sorts of gluten free delicacies and chocolate.  We stocked up! 

After getting our truck and trailer all ready to go, we went down to help Paige get started on the 300!  She has awesome looking dogs, and they were pumped and ready to go!  They are soooo cute!  These are the dogs I will be running on the glacier this summer, and it is really fun to see them perform.  They will be the cutest dogs up there! In addition to their 10 dogs, there were also 2 of Sarah and Clint's dogs in the team, Velma and Elmer, also very cute.  We ran her team to the start line, and watched them take off! 

Since we are in Whitehorse, which has so many nice restraunts and goodness that we can't find in Fairbanks, Cody, Sarah and I went to this little carribean restraunt for dinner.  It was fancy.  A little fancy for bunny boots and carharts, but the propieter was happy to serve us.  Oh my gosh, we have been eating such incredible food.  We had baked and souffled brie with brown sugar and almonds, jerk pork with cou cou (similar to polenta) and plantains, lamp ribs with roasted red peppers, and halibut with fresh spinach.   It was entirely too expensive, probably spending the majority of our 'handler budget' but it was a great way to start the race. 

We finally began the drive to Braeburn around 8:45pm, with the glow of the aurora just starting to color the sky.  As we continued, it began exploding in waves and ribbons of green, and sometimes a tiny sliver of red around us.  The mushers have had a show for them on their run in.

The conditions for the mushers and dogs are good.  It was -17F when we got into tonight, and have heard reports of good trail. 

Clint got in at 1:00am, and is still out taking care of his dogs.  The rules are very strict this year, and we are not able to be out in the dog yard while he is.  And, we certainly don't want to break any rules as handlers, because they will penalize the musher.  However, if he wants us to watch the team while he sleeps, we will be able to.  So, now we are just waiting for the word and trying to stay awake.  We've no idea how his run was, but guessing from how is dogs looked it went well!  They were pretty fired up and were barking happily, hopefully they will be able to get some rest. 

All of the mushers that have come in have been looking happy!  There is great food here are Braeburn, and these ridiculously huge cinnamon rolls! The mushers are enjoying their dinners before trying to sleep a couple of hours.  The first mushers should begin heading out on the trail again soon. 

That is all for tonight. 

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Late Wednesday evening, I began the long drive to Whitehorse, YT. 

Since orginially agreeing to handle on the Quest, much has changed.  The team I worked with last year decided to withdraw from the race for financial reasons, and save up and gear up again for next year.  So, basically, I was a free agent.  A couple weeks before the Quest, I got a phone call from Clint Warnke, and he was looking for someone to help Sarah with the driving and handling on the Yukon side.  One of my best friends, Kelly Scarborough, really enjoyed handling for them last year, so I agreed to help them out. 

Paige and Cody and I left late on Wednesday, and drove with their 12 dogs through the night.  The excitement of having everything finished and ready to leave kept us up for a couple hours, but then our tiredness from all the preparation began to creap in, and we had a long night of driving.  We took turns sleeping, as best as you can in a crowded dog truck, and helping eachother stay awake.  I began driving around 2:30 in the morning, and drove us past the Candian border, until we eventually pulled over at a turnout to sleep for a couple hours.  During the drive, I got the most sleep, with around 3 hours... But, as the night faded into day, the drive became easier and easier.  We drove through Kluane with the most incredible blue skies, and the brighest white snow.   We saw some wolves near the road, the closest about 15 ft away.  She ran across the road, and slowed going up the hill in the deep snow.  We stopped to watch her, and she us.  Her coat was amazing, and a full fluffy tail.  But, the dogs in the truck started whimpering, and she took off.  It was the closest I've seen a wolf in the wild.  She was so beautiful.  Another ran across the road, but quickly took off into the woods in the other direction. 

We arrived in Whitehorse around 3:00, dropped the dogs and let them stretch, and headed downtown to the Quest Banquet.  It was great to see all the mushers and handlers that have been working for this, lots of familiar faces.  The banquet was really fun, they had two projectors with slide shows of pictures from last years Quest, and it was fun to see pictures of Terry William's team, who I was with last year.  Terry, Jennifer and I had a really incredible time, but I am definitely missing them!  But, Jennifer taught me a lot about handling on this race, and I hope that knowledge will be useful for Clint and Sarah. 

Clint drew bib #25 during the banquet, and he will be heading out last on the race!  I am hoping he will get a lot of practice passing teams :)  But, he wasn't too concerned about starting in the back.  He once drew last for the Iditarod, and in that year he finished his personal best!  So, we are hoping for a good rookie year!

After the opening banquet, Sarah had lots of dog pee to collect...  And, she needed some help!  She is working on a study looking at dogs condition before and after racing long distances.  For the study, they are collecting urine and blood samples before and after the race.  She is working with 6 teams, and we had 3 teams from the SP Kennel who needed urine collected.  Armed with ladels we collected urine from 38 dogs.  It went surpisingly easy, and lots of folks came out to help volunteer.  It was a pretty exciting Friday evening.

That night, I slept soundly.  In the morning, we woke up to a big farm breakfast provided by our gracious hosts Liesle and Ken, who have a little cabin community outside of Whitehorse.  Fresh eggs from their kitches, and blueberry pancakes.  We've been eating well.  For lunch was moose chilli, and home grown chickens for dinner, with garden vegetables, peanut pumpkin soup, salad, and rice pudding with maple syrup for dessert.  It was a decadent last supper, and we felt guilty eating so much, but couldn't resit.  And compared to much of the food available on the trail, the bags of potato chips, pounds of bacon, and burgers and fries, it was heaven.

Today has been filled with last minute preparations.  We were up early to feed the dogs, and then Ken and I were put to work shortly after, fidding iron rope for neck lines, and sewing fox tails for the males.  Clint and Sarah went out for a run with the dogs, to stretch them out, and make some last minute team decisions.  It was warm day, but so beautiful out. 

Clint is still working on packing the sled, but the night is winding down, and we will hopefully get to bed soon and get our last good nights sleep for awhile.  It will be an exciting day tomorrow! 

As we go along the trail, most of the checkpoints have internet connection.  Sarah will be updating Ridgeline Kennel's website, and the progress of Clint here and I will be updating the handlers perspective here on my website. 

It is great to be here in the Yukon again.  I love this race, and love being here with the dogs.