Again, with the Iditarod! Can't get enough!

On February 27th, I talked about the Ceremonial Start of the Iditarod in Anchorage, and on March 3, I talked about the Official Restart of the Iditarod in Willow, but I have more to say! (Big surprise, I know.)

We had so many random experiences and had so much fun, even though (as I mentioned), it was the coldest I'd ever been in my entire life!! Technically, the temperature at the hotel said -10° Celsius (14° Fahrenheit), which doesn't sound that cold, but it was like the frozen ocean air and the frozen glacier air came swirling down and wrapped itself around me!! But, it's not just not my imagination - it actually froze my battery in my camera! (A local coffee shop let me recharge my battery, though, thank goodness! Could you imagine if I couldn't take pictures!!?? Nightmare!)
 

 The Ceremonial Start is very festive - the mushers take off in order, and they stay in order (not really racing yet - the real race starts the next day at the Official Restart). Some (most?) of the mushers have guests who ride in their sled (called Iditariders) - the Iditariders bid for the exciting adventure of riding along.

 

I've never seen anything like the dog teams! 16 dogs, raring to go! They are so anxious to run, they have anchors on the sleds, handlers for almost every other dog, and often people piled on the sled, just to hold them in one place! They yip and yap and bounce around! BUT, when it's time for the countdown, they are sooooo quiet!! No sounds at all, once the countdown hits about 8!

The 16 dogs all have jobs - leading the pack are the Lead Dogs. They listen to the musher's commands, and guide the team. Swing dogs come right behind the Lead Dogs, and they are responsible for helping turn the team (which means they also have to listen to the musher's command). Wheel Dogs come right in front of the sled, and are the muscle - they pull the sled around turns and obstacles. And Team Dogs- all the rest of the dogs in the middle - their job is to help pull the sled, and not get tangled up. This works like clockwork (unless someone buries a reindeer hotdog (IT WASN'T ME) somewhere near the track...)

We've been to the Iditarod twice, so my memories are getting mixed up - which experiences belong with which visit. 

For example: there's the guy who made me pay him $1.25 to take a picture of his duct tape splint.
 

We met Mrs. Alaska. And, speaking of beauty queens, we did get to visit a tiny bit with the (then) governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin (we didn't really actually meet her, because she already knew one of the people we were with). (Also, not going to talk about anything political, here, but Sarah seemed very nice!)

Then, we met Leo! When Daisy & Coco (our two little miniature dachshunds) can't come with us, we (well, I) bring their little counterparts: Daisy Deux and Coco Two (gifts from friends from once upon a time when I was sad to leave the actual Daisy & Coco behind). So, I had Daisy Deux and Coco Two out for a picture and someone came over to introduce "Leo", her lion mascot, and set him into the picture I was taking.. Apparently, Leo has been everywhere - including into Outer Space!
 

The teams are all brought out in trucks and you just can't believe the noise of the excited dogs!! (I don't know how to include a video of my own, but here's one from youtube for 2010, one of the years we were there...be prepared, if you watch it, that there's some icky pictures of someone carrying a pelt...but, it really is what you see when you are there...)
 

The BIG event, though, is the Official Restart! The festivities from the Ceremonial Start follow to Willow - less carnival-y, but the media comes out, the fur kiosks, and tons of spectators.
 

The greatest highlight was that, after deciding to root! root! root! for Lance Mackey - our fleet of snowmobiles ended up parked within the general vicinity of "Mackey's Maniacs"...
 

Lance and the other mushers and teams were all on the other side of the fence with the media, and we couldn't go over there, but before long, the media came out to meet the Maniacs, and Lance came shortly after! (AND, the Maniacs were nice enough to let us elbow our way in to their visit.)
 

Speaking of nice! Lance, and his wife, Tonya, were so nice and friendly - and, even though they were so busy, they stayed around for photos and autographs and more photos. Forever solidified as my favorite!!

So, the first time we went, Lance was one of the first teams to start, so, right away, we headed out down the trail about a mile, to find a spot on Long Lake, so we could watch the teams go by. It was amazing!! With all the noise and excitement at the start, it was a surprise to see the silent determination from the teams as the shwooshed by - all you could hear was the "shhhhhhhhhh" from the sled skis going by. (And, then, after Lance went by, we went back to the start to watch the other mushers take off.)
 

To get to Long Lake, we went by snowmobile, of course, and I thought it was going to be just a short trip. So, I didn't dress appropriately...in that, I didn't strap on my hat, and I didn't completely bundle my face, and I didn't latch the top of my coat... and I was COLD! I was SO COLD, I think the cold air somehow got into my goggles (or maybe I didn't have them on...I don't remember) and froze my eyes (not in a way that caused damage, but in a way that caused complaining). I can tell you right now that there was only one thing that fixed that level of cold, and it was peach schnapps. (Not sure why, but only peach schnapps works. And, thank you - whoever brought them and then shared :D You know who you are.)
 

The second time we were there, Lance was leaving later, so we stayed and watched the Restart, right at the beginning, and then went out to find our place on Long Lake after. There's so much hype and excitement with the teams, it's really worth watching the restart!! but watching the calm precision of the teams in motion is worth watching too. It's nice to have the option to do both.

 

Back at the Restart (the second time we went)... Right away, we met a girl (Michelle) who was waving a Jamaican flag, so (with the same mentality as hanging around with Mackey Maniacs), she was nice enough to let me follow her around - actually, I talked her into walking around with me... I figured that if anyone was going to get to meet the Jamaican Dog Sled team, it'd be the one and only Jamaican girl!! (Loved her -she's still one of my Facebook friends...in fact.)

So, off we went - with the goal of meeting the Jamaican Dog Sled team musher, Newton Marshall. I can't find the article now, but I did read that Newton trained on sand. I can see how that would be effective!! And then, for the cold, he came up and trained with Lance Mackey. (That was then - this year he trained with Kelley Griffin.)

Needless to say, with some determination and a little bit of a trek, we did get to meet Newton!

 

The first year we went, I searched and searched for a sled to sit in for a picture. All were being used, and no matter what, I couldn't get in. The second year, however, they had (which is a great tourist-y thing) a 1/4 mile Dogsled track. They use dogs in training, and you can do the little circuit.
 

Every year, I "watch" the Iditarod on www.iditarod.com and follow-up articles at www.adn.com. I track the progress of each musher, every day. I'm completely hooked.
 

This year, 66 teams started ~ Lance started #5. Newton started 8th. (Sebastien Schnuelle, mentioned in my previous blog, is a correspondent.) The official Restart was this past Sunday.
 

Currently, Lance is #3. (Apparently, this year, he met an onslaught of fans, at one point - not saying they slowed him down, but I did wonder why he slowed down...and also, apparently, he has camera crews making a documentary about him this year - currently being called "Lance." He really is fascinating! You should read more about him and his goals and wins! (Not to mention his antics and strategy out there on the trail!!)
 

I feel like I could go on and on and on, but there's no way I can explain the Iditarod - you just need to go and experience it for yourself!!
 

The side-effect of this blog, and the fact that the Iditarod is currently mid-race, has made me nostalgic. So, guess what! Looks like we might be planning a reunion! 2014 Iditarod!! You should come!
 

Sunday, I'll be talking out our Roadtrip of the Disposable Car... unless I write more about the Iditarod... but I THINK it'll be about the disposable car....

The Iditarod’s Official Restart

As mentioned in the previous blog (Alaska in Summer), we impulsively decided to return to Alaska in winter – Yes, WINTER!!!

 

But for good reason! To experience The Iditarod… as a spectator only, of course. I canNOT even imagine actually participating!

 

This is a race, by dogsled, deemed “the toughest race on earth”, is over 1150 miles (1851 kms) over extreme terrain, across mountain ranges, over frozen rivers, through dense forests, across desolate tundra, and along windswept coastline. (The official distance is 1049 miles (1688 km)

 

 

There are two trails – the North Trail (which has 26 checkpoints) and the South Trail (which has 27 checkpoints). (In my previous blog, I said there were 22 checkpoints, but, I’m sorry, I guess I miscounted…although, they count Anchorage AND Nome as 2, so I wasn’t out as much as it sounds….)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once upon a time, both sections were used for winter travel, but when the Iditarod race first started, the mushers only used the Northern Route, and the Iditarod website explains that “the smaller villages were being heavily impacted by the race coming through their village year after year”, so they started alternating the routes.

 

Along with protecting the little villages from an annual onslaught of outsiders, one interesting benefit to changing the route to include the southern route is that the southern route includes the ghost town, Iditarod! (That seems like an important detail ~ a “roadside” attraction.) (This year, the teams will be taking the Southern Route, but both of the years we went, they were taking the Northern Route.)

We arrived on Friday, the day before the Ceremonial start (which I talked about in my February 27th blog), and were whisked off to The Double Musky Inn, in Girdwood, about 40 miles (64 kms) southeast of the Anchorage airport.

 

The Double Musky is about 2.5 miles from the Alyeska Ski Resort, and was opened in 1962 as an after-ski bar. At that time, “cooked their own steaks over a fire in the front dining room”. That was then – now, they are a world-famous restaurant (featured on the FoodNetwork, and reviewed by Bon Appetit, Fodors Travel Guide, the Chicago Tribune and New York Times and a bunch of other periodicals), and are especially famous for their pepper steak.

 

I always order Alaskan King Crab (if available) and Peter always orders prime rib (if available), but since The Double Musky is famous for their pepper steak, Peter ordered it and LOVED IT!!! (And, by the way, this was the first pepper steak he’s liked…it’s ruined him for all future pepper steaks…)

 

 

On the way to the restaurant, we drove along the Turnagain Arm, Beluga Bay. FIRST of all, and I know how ridiculous this sounds, based on the Arctic… but, I was SHOCKED to see the Ocean FROZEN! so shocked! And, it’s so interesting to see where the tide was in, froze, tide went out, and then back in later, and froze again, so it builds ice walls.

 

 

 

 

 

I’m ALSO shocked to find out that there is a Tidal Bore there. Now I want to go back, just to watch the Tidal Bore. After my last blog, Shannan suggested we go back for another Iditarod, and that does stir up a bit of my adventurous spirit (if you count “spectating” as “adventurous”, but I do! and you might too, if you go to Alaska in the winter, for the Iditarod!) BUT, this desire to go is further enhanced by this promise of the Tidal Bore.

 

Wikipedia describes a Tidal Bore as “A tidal phenomenon in which the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave (or waves) of water that travels up a river or narrow bay against the direction of the river or bay’s current.”

 

If you haven’t seen one in person, that might sound…boring (?), but we watched the Tidal Bore come in, in Truro, Nova Scotia (definitely an upcoming blog), and that tide came in so fast and furious, I was a little breathless and just a little bit freaked out!

 

The Truro Tidal Bore (one of the fastest in the world) can travel up to 30 miles (48 kms) an hour and can reach up to 20 foot (6 meter) waves! The Turnagain Arm, Alaska Tidal Bore travels about 10 miles (16 kms) per hour and up to almost 10 feet (3 meters). (The speed and height difference is because the Truro bore is coming into a much more narrow riverbed, and Turnagain Arm is coming into a Bay.)

You have to YouTube Turnagain Arm Tidal Bore. This is one of the sites. (Surfing on the wave.)

 

We stayed at the Millennium Hotel, the Iditarod Race Headquarters, in downtown Anchorage…a pretty good location – we were one block away from the Ceremonial Start. (I told all about the Ceremonial Start in my February 27 blog.)

 

After Saturday’s festivities, we went for dinner at Garcia’s Cantina, and then on to Willow, to prepare for the Official Restart on Sunday.

 

We had a house that Richard and Shannan rented (or were house sitting…I don’t remember) right on a beautiful (frozen) lake – so we could watch families of moose strolling along – and after the Restart, people going home on their snowmobiles.

 

But, to enjoy the Restart, we went to Shannan’s parents (Dale & Ruby) and her sister, Stacey & her husband, Terry’s house, to organize and to gather up the snow machines for the journey to the Restart… which, I don’t know how far away it is – maybe 3 miles?

 

 

Getting there is kind of an adventure on its own - driving (riding?) the snow-machines down the highway (well, beside – and I rode with Peter because 1) I wanted to take pictures, and 2) I was afraid to drive my own) and arriving like an armada – everyone else is arriving on snowmobiles, little two-seater planes with skis for landing, some sort of vehicle with a giant …fan propeller sort of thing that pushed the vehicle across the ice… and a very few arrived by car or truck. They even have little trees in pots on the ice (we are on a lake) to make a runway for incoming planes.

 

Since this was my first time there, and I’d only very recently found out that the Iditarod existed, I didn’t have my fan-favorite picked out yet. However, Stacey told me this heroic story about one of the mushers, Lance Mackey, a recent cancer survivor, who was racing, who also had just won his first Iditarod the year before, so I thought that was a good starting point, and decided to cheer for him, too!

 

(This being said, if you read the biography on the mushers, you will find many heroes and survivors in the group, and, now that I’ve been watching for the past 4 years – well, this is my 5th year (today marks the FIFTH Iditarod Official Restart that I’ve watched), I have collected a top 5 favorites.

 

My absolute favorite is Lance Mackey - because he’s an amazing athlete, fierce, loves his family (of humans and dogs), and polite and friendly to fans ~ listed as #2 in Sports Illustrated’s List of Top 25 Toughest Athletes in 2008 (#1 doesn’t make sense to me so I can’t even mention it – but it you meet Lance and take a look at what any one of these Iditarod athletes can do, any one of them could beat the person ranked #1….)

 

Another favorite is Newton Marshall, who is the Jamaican Dog Sled team. (He wasn’t participating in the first Iditarod we attended, but he was at the second). The Jamaican Bob-Sled team qualified to compete in the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, depicted in the movie, Cool Runnings (1993). I am waiting for Newton’s sequel, “Cold Runnings”, to come out. (He trained for the 2010 Iditarod with Lance Mackey.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then, there’s DeeDee Jonrowe – she has the fastest finish time for women, and 14 Top-1o finishes. In 2002, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and (obviously a survivor), she started one of her Iditarod races only 4 weeks after her last chemotherapy treatment. And, you can always find her in a crowd – she always races in pink.

 

And, there’s a few I pick just because they are characters – like…Sebastian Schnuelle, who you can tell is a character, just by looking!! or Sam Deltour, who almost fell off the back of his sled, when he started dancing to our “Go Sa-am, Go Sa-am” as his team went by… Trent Herbst, who is a school teacher and his students made the booties for his team… (too bad – none of these people previously mentioned are competing this year..) Ramey Smyth (who IS competing this year) who has the BEST EVER picture of him coming in to Nome, with one of his dogs in the sled, because she was tired… Jeff King, who retired and then un-retired, but helped fund the Iditarod from his own winnings when there wasn’t enough money, plus he’s an actual icon in the Iditarod history… Kristy and Anna Berington, twins who compete together, sort of… and I get that this isn’t an image thing – but somehow, after 2 weeks of grueling hardship and freezing cold, manage to be just as pretty when they arrive in Nome as when they left Willow (I’m SORRY! I know that’s not the point, but it still is amazing!!)

 

I can see that I could go on and on (AND that I have more than 5 favorites), and would eventually name every single musher as “amazing”, “heroic”, and “the one to watch.” And, even though I picked “favorites”, you can’t help but hope for the best for each of these athletes, and cheer enthusiastically for each team as they pass! Not everyone has a goal of “winning”. MOST just have the goal of finishing… THAT IS an impressive goal! There’s a reason there’s only 66 teams this year! IT IS TOUGH! The Toughest Race on Earth!!

 

 

 

I meant to talk more about the great time we had, but I (surprise, surprise!) got sidetracked with the mushers and teams…so, I’ll talk more about the Iditarod on Wednesday.

 

By the way, you can track your favorite dog teams on GPS. (Although, when they started using GPS, one of the mushers had attached his GPS to a plane, and confused everyone when, instead of travelling at the average 8 miles per hour towards Nome, he was going really fast towards Anchorage.)