Dog Sledding

Happy Holidays to all. Here are some adventures from our Thanksgiving Fantasy Funcation. Our first excursion was going to Soldotna (on the Kenai Peninsula) to dog sled with the Seavey Iditarod kennel and sledding. The Seavey family along with Joe Redington were the founders of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race in 1973. The Iditarod initially took at least 3 weeks to complete the 1050 miles of treacherous terrain and weather conditions. Now the mushers complete the Iditarod in about 9 days. The Iditarod is the most famous dog sled known to the rest of the world, but to the Alaskans and dog mushers there is another race called the Yukon Quest. We learned from our tour of the Seavey's Kennel that a lot of mushers have 3 - 4 teams of dogs (16 is considered the typical number for a team). Some dogs are trained for just the Yukon Quest while other dogs can train for either race. So here is your short lesson on The Yukon Quest. The Yukon Quest is a 1000 mile dog sled race that goes from Fairbanks, Alaska to Whitehorse, Canada. I have been to Whitehorse and I can't figure out why anyone would want to go there. There are two hotels and a few cafes or diners. Go figure. The Yukon Quest rotates the beginning and ending sites every other year. I think they said this year The Yukon Quest will run from Fairbanks to Whitehorse where next year it will be Whitehorse to Fairbanks. You know, so no one will have an advantage. The road between these two towns is terrible, bumpy and desolate. I just can't image. The winner of this Quest wins $35,000. Not enough for me to stay out in those conditions. The mushers can not change sleds (without penalty) and they can not accept any help, they must carry all their supplies (for the musher and 16 dogs), and sleep in tents! The sled also has to carry bales of hay because that is what the dogs sleep on at night. The Quest crosses frozen rivers, climbs 4 mountain ranges, passes through desolate villages with temperatures averaging about 40 below zero with Arctic winds whirling about 100 m.p.h. Again, I have to say the Alaskan take a dare way too far!! Did I forget to say this Yukon Quest started because of two males full of too much booze and testosterone! The sleds have GPS tracking but the mushers have no information from these GPS systems to help guide their way. There are veterinarians at check points to ensure the dogs are fit to continue. These dogs are very well trained and cared for throughout the year.

Back to our tour, Sam was our tour guide along with Conway Seavey and we learned a lot. At one point one of my children asked me, "Mom, do you ever just take it in without asking a million questions?" I guess all my questions go on their nerves. Get with the learning program! I am in Alaska to learn everything I possibly can and share it with all my lower 48 family and friends. Sam is from Belgium and trains his team with the Seavey's. He has raced the Yukon Quest and last year he raced in the Iditarod. He said he finished near the back because he was with the group that was doing it to have a "good time". His words! So I asked what does that mean, he said he raises enough money for the expenses (to fly back from Nome, fly his dogs back, food for him and the team, gear for him, and gear for the dogs) and the "good time" had at the check points. He was looking forward to the 2010 Iditarod and I told him we will be at the starting line and will be watching for him! The Seavey Kennel has about 150 dogs (ranging in purchase prices from $500 - $2000 each). The "A" Iditarod team are the more mature (2 year - 5 year old) and they get the luxury of a wooden dog house. (see above). The new training dogs (a bit feistier) get a 55 gallon plastic drum as a house. (see above). Why? Well, let me tell you. It is because they are still young and frisky and they like to chew. It is so much cheaper to replace a plastic 55 gallon drum than a wooden dog house in the cold! The think of everything up here in Alaska. You will notice how subsistence these dog houses are. They get a few inches of hay and a chain that is about 7 feet from the front of the dog house. They like having their "own" space says Sam. Jenna and I are posing with Buddy. He is an Alaskan Malamute and he is the "greeter" to the Kennel. He does not race. As Sam and Conway stated, "Buddy is too fat and not willing to train so he is the greeter". Buddy is no dummy. He gets three meals a day like the other dogs, he get to run around, petted and well cared for and he doesn't have to spend 10 days in the freezing cold running to Nome! Tyler, Jenna and I are holding 5 day old Pups!!Their eyes were not even open yet. These are the future stars of the Iditarod. Sam and Conway said they would check our pockets before we left!! Remember how expensive these dogs are. I was most surprised to see how slender and almost skinny the "A" dogs are in build. I think I remember the dogs in the next picture as Sitka and Payton. You can see their "travel" truck these dogs travel in. It isn't like a professional tour bus for our singing stars or athletes. It is a pick up with 8 small kennels on each side. When the truck pulled up to the kennel area the barking and jumping from the 150 dogs was incredible. Each one was yelling, "Take me, take me". Once the selected 16 were loaded and the truck engine started you could have heard a pin drop. The dogs that were not selected went silent at the sound of the truck and just sat on top of their house or next to it. That was amazing how well they are trained to know who gets to go and who has to stay behind. According to Sam and Conway, all the dogs want to do is go and race. They don't get off any leash because they would take off. As Sam loaded the dogs he pulled them by the collar and I asked why by the collar because it looks so painful. He laughed and said, "they want to go so they stop resisting and happily get in their cubby." You can see from the picture how basic their travel needs are for these prize winners. Then we got a chance to dog sled for a while. As we were finishing our rides, it started to snow. It was like a Christmas postcard. A few flakes and as we drove back to Anchorage (3 1/2 hours) the flakes got bigger and more frequent. The trip to Seward or Homer on the Kenai Peninsula is known for it wildlife. We did not see a moose or fox but we saw plenty of American Eagles. I made David stop on the side of the road so we could get the "Kodak" moment of this beautiful eagle.
The last photo is of Mount Redoubt Volcano. It erupted last June and the soot from the plume coated my porch with about 3 inches of ash. Mt. Redoubt is a 10,200 foot glacier covered volcano. At the summit, the large glacier has a 10,000 vertical skiable are and is quite the favorite for many extreme skiers. They are dropped off by helicopter and picked up at the bottom of the volcano. Whatever floats your boat or skis?

So this was Day 1 of our Family Fantasy Funcation. We told Tyler and Jenna they are probably among a small percentage of people who can say they went dog sledding. By the way, the difference between skijoring and sled dogging is the sled. Sled dogging is the when the dogs pull a sled with a musher. Skijoring (Norwegian) is ski driving. The dogs pull a driver wearing skis. I think skijoring has a lot more risk - what if the dogs go downhill and decide to go and chase a possible meal and you are stuck heading into the next big tree. At least with a sled you have some protection.

I will probably get a few more posts (Mt McKinley and snow machining) on the blog over the holidays. I hope to get some good photos tomorrow when I try my first attempt at ICE FISHING!!! Brrrrr - it sounds cold. I will let you know.

Have a wonderful holidays! Remember, the importance of family and friends at this time of year.

Ayumiqulleq Quyangalleq Nutaghamun

(Happy Holidays in Yupik)

Sheryl the Nanuq of the North