North Wapiti Blog

Tales of the Trail 2012 - Kaltag to Unalakleet

2012-05-25T10:23:00.000-06:00

A few years of late Kaltag seems to have gotten in on the 'Paris Hilton', 'pocket dog' trend. Little dogs were running around EVERYWHERE. Most of them were brave to the point of stupid and were challenging the dog teams. I was concerned that this could end badly and mentioned just that to one of the locals. "I doubt the owners would care", he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. Oh......
Thankfully, no small dogs were harmed during my stay in Kaltag.

The dogs didn't actually eat well here. That was bothersome. When I offered food a bit later, they still weren't that interested but I got at least something into everyone. I treated some feet and preventatively wrapped a few wrists and shoulders.

Again I was humming and hawing over how long to stay here. The dogs weren't where I wanted them (mentally), but extra rest didn't seem to be helping and I didn't want to 'give away' time if it wasn't going to have some positive effects on the team.

In the community building that was set up for mushers, a few other mushers and I had a VERY interesting conversation with the local drug dealer. He was very upfront about his occupation. He seemed well regarded in the community and actually was donating money to a few community projects. As I've said, you really can't understand these communities till you have visited them - and really, I don't know that I 'understand' them - but I've learned not to judge.

The wind in town was picking up and the little dogs running around were not particularly conducive to my team resting well, so I decided to just get going.

The dogs actually left as well, if not better, than they have ever left Kaltag. I was very pleased and really enjoyed the winding trail through the trees after all those miles of river running!
Whenever the trail darted out into the open the wind would hit hard. I knew we were coming to a stretch of open hills, so I made sure to stop, snack and get everything 'buttoned up' before that happened. While I was doing that Hank DeBruin caught up with us. We traveled together through the hills and when the wind backed off a bit, he took the lead for awhile. Both teams were traveling very nicely at this point.
We passed by Tripod Flats cabin, where I've taken a few breaks in the past when things weren't going quite to 'plan' on this leg. It's a lovely little cabin tucked in a beautiful spot on the trail.

After we stopped to snack Hank's team seemed to lose their 'groove'. I took the lead back for a bit, but I was really tired and just couldn't stay awake, so I asked Hank if he was willing to go up front again and he did.

Old Woman Cabin is at the base of Old Woman Mountain, a very distinctive mountain. As always, the last 5 miles to the Cabin seemed to take FOREVER.
As we passed the original 'Old Woman Cabin' (known to mushers as 'Old Old Woman Cabin'), which has been GREATLY redone in the last couple years, I made sure to toss a candy bar out onto the side of the trail as an offering to the 'Old Woman'. Legend says you will face bad luck if you don't!!!

Finally, the trail popped out into the clearing at the 'New Old Woman Cabin'. I directed the team into an empty, but well strawed parking spot and set about my chores. There were over a half a dozen teams already there. Some sleeping, some with mushers in various stages of chores.

I LOVE Old Woman Cabin. I honestly can't imagine running this race without some kind of stop here. I know that some of Susan Butcher's ashes were brought out here by her family and I totally get that. It is a special place.

After the dogs were taken care of (and thankfully they ate pretty well here) I started a meal heating up in the pot of hot water on the wood stove and hung clothes to dry.
As I was crawling up the ladder to the sleeping loft Art Church reminded me how hot it got up there. I vowed to be careful. I laid out my alarm and headlamp before stripping down to my long underwear for a nap.
When my alarm went off, not only could I not figure out where I was, it was pitch dark and I couldn't figure out which way was up or down. It's not an entirely unheard sensation for an Iditarod musher, so I knew enough to just lie still until my brain caught back up with my body.
When that happened I groped around for my headlamp and managed to send a bag of gear crashing down onto the bunks on the main level. I peered over the edge of the loft praying that it hadn't hit Hank, who was sleeping there. Thankfully it missed him and the sound of it thumping next to him didn't seem to have even made him stir.
I slid back into my layers of clothing, scurried down the ladder, gathered up my outer layers and got the heck out of the cabin, which was indeed blistering hot!!!!

The dogs and I all left the cabin badly. We all seemed groggy and 'out of it'. I kept dozing off on the sled, which always means slow runs for us. I knocked back some 5-Hour Energy, but it seems that I was working outside its intended application now.

It took about 3 hours for us to all to find our groove. Wasted time I was kicking myself for.
When we dropped onto the Unalakleet River the dogs didn't pick up like I expected, but they were moving pretty steady now. On one of the portages I managed to hit a big hole in the trail and smashed down HARD onto my left hip. Well, if I hadn't been awake by then, that would have certainly snapped me to alert!! Ouch!!!

The dogs were happy to see the village of Unk appear on the horizon and traveled well the last bit into town.

Swarmed

2012-05-25T07:06:00.001-06:00

The Cramplings moved outside on Wednesday. Yes, I know I had mentioned on Facebook on Monday that they were moving out, but it rained for a few days and well....I'm a wuss and moved them back into the house.
By Wednesday morning though my backroom looked like a war zone and they had to go!

They are, of course, doing GREAT outside.

They are exploring ....

...dining...

.... and making new friends....

...all the things you should do when moving to a new neighourhood.

However, they have reached the age where they don't 'play' with visitors to their kennel so much as 'attack' them.
This was the scene when I stopped in for a second while shoveling the yard.

I barely escaped with my life.....

BTW - their Mother agrees with me.....

DO NOT be fooled by their cuteness...

It's a trap...

Oh...and for the record...Boo and the Whos are THRILLED with their new 'digs' in the house...

They're Coming - Bet

2012-05-22T17:08:00.000-06:00

Howdy ho everybodies, it's your Auntie Bet here!

I bet you're all wondering what I'm wearing. No, this isn't one of my new fashionable ensembles, although I do make it rock. This is for protection... MY protection.

No, it's not for the roving scary thingies, or bands of slathering coyotes, it's for something even more sinister and evil... something that is so scary that I dare not mention its name for fear that it will bring swarms of them upon us....

They are...

Hummingbirdus Pokeyoureyeoutus

I hate them! I really, really hate them!

They're on their way, and the Musher insists on putting food out for them! It's like she has this crazy wish to have her eyes poked out with their sharp beaks!

If you think she's crazy, check out this guy that developed a one of those evil beady eyed things feeding helmet!!!

Can you imagine having that thing so close to your eyes! Its just a matter of time before they poke one out, flitting around like that!

Those THINGS ruin everything for me! They ruin my time out on MY deck. They ruin my FUN. Not to mention that Tic hasn't been the same since they held him for ransom.

Thankfully the strange winter and the wacky weather has delayed their migration somewhat, otherwise we'd be swarmed by those dangerous flitty pests already.

I'm trying to figure out how I can keep them from invading us next year. My latest plan is to take the shedded fluff from the Pretty Curly Tails and having Tic and Bait knit together a protective bubble that we'll cover the entire North Wapiti compound in. I haven't figured out how to keep it from sagging onto us when it rains... and I can't imagine that smell.

I also had a plan B, where I made Tic drink all of the evil beady eyed thing sugar water. No sugar water, no dive bombing and missing eyes! I thought that was a brilliant secondary plan, except for one thing... apparently sugar water packs on the pounds and now Tic can't reach the feeders.

It's so hard to find good help around here.

- Bet

The Boo Who Update - Bet

2012-05-21T11:53:00.000-06:00

Howdy Ho everybodies! Since a lot of attention has been paid to the Cramplings, I thought I'd give an update on the elusive Boo Whos.

First of all, I'm getting really tired of call them Number 1, Number 2, etc. It's almost like I'm in the really oogie tv show where that guy is stuck in some village and keeps looking for Number 1 and gets chased by the really scary huge white ball. I hate that show! That ball is REALLY SCARY!!!

Anyhoo, so since there's not even a theme for names, I thought I would take it upon myself to give the Boo Whos some names, so you know who I'm talking about when I'm talking about them.

Coming up with a theme was really hard. I thought it would be really cool if we could stick with the whole Science Fiction thing, so I tried to think of a good science fiction show that maybe had the word "who" in it, and since we don't know who the daddy is, maybe it could have a lead character that nobody know who he was, and he'd be some sort of doctor of time travel and flew to wondrous and scary places in a phone booth or something and saved the world!

Alas, there's nothing like that, and this is why television just isn't interesting anymore... they really need to get with creating cool things like that.

So, I'm going with names from the great rock band "The Who". The only problem with that is that "The Who" are all blokes (as Richard would say), and the Boo Whos have 2 girls, so I had to massage the names a bit to get them to fit.

So, temporarily I'm calling the Boo Whos:
Roger and Pete (the boys)
Moon and Entwistle (the girls)

Yes, I'm totally ignoring their replacement drummer, because I'm a purist when it comes to The Who, and I pity poor Entwistle, because that's a really sucky name for a girl, but I'm sure she'll overcome the stigma later in life.

So, here are some pictures of the Boo Whos with mama Boo

Pete, Entwistle, Moon, and Roger

Did you bring me the laptop? I have a video conference with my marketing distributor in 10 minutes!

Now little Moon, we'll get you your own line of shampoo all in good time

Get a good picture Musher, I heard Jessica Simpson got zillions for selling her baby pictures

Ok, you do realize that this isn't what I had in mind to sell to the tabloids, right?

A pile of Whos

Roger, why are you so messy, I told you we had a photo shoot today

Ok, Ok, I'll tell you the story of how you can leverage capital to invest long term again

Pete already teasing Entwistle about her name

- Bet

Battle for the Blood 2012

2012-05-20T19:28:00.002-06:00

At approximately 6:20 pm this evening - May 20, 2012 - a mosquito drew first blood in the 2012 'Battle for the Blood'.
I struck back hard with some hand to wing combat which resulted in some serious losses to the bugs. Quickly afterwards I followed up with some chemical warfare.

These two tactics seem to have stopped the frontline for now, but I expect more aggressive attacks with large numbers of troops being called up.

Wish me luck. It will be a long and hard fought war.

Karen

The Crampling Milestones- Bet

2012-05-20T11:13:00.000-06:00

Howdy Ho everybodies! I wanted to give you an update on the oodles of milestones that the Cramplings achieved this week and honestly its been a bit frazzling around here, what with my Auntie duties and all. I'm still running back and forth between whelping pens trying to make sure the Cramplings aren't escaping and stealing things (an endearing little thing they've inherited from their mom), and putting up with Boo's temper tantrums, and babysitting the Boo Whos for her while she juggles work-life issues.

The Cramplings had a few major milestones this past week (or so... can't keep track).

First milestone was the first real food stuffs... and things! The Musher smooshed up some of that tasty Eagle Pack Natural Pet Food (the official sponsor of North Wapiti and tasty treat for yours truly) with some warm water and plopped a big plate of it in the pool. Needless to say, the Cramplings gave it 4 paws up in tastiness, and it even makes a wonderful poultice on the fur for that shiny healthy Pretty Curly Tail glow.

mmmm, tasty and good for us!

Hey look! Not only is it tasty but it feels good squishing between my toes!

Of course, the good momma Tramp had to come in and do the dishes after the Cramplings had eaten their fill. She's a neat freak. Sometimes it gets annoying because she'll tell me that I have a hair sticking out somewhere and pull it, but IT'S STILL ATTACHED TO ME!

Sigh, a mother's work is never done

The next milestone was the first out of the pool! The Musher was going to have a contest, but Darth Hellmann's... I mean Vader beat her to it and flung himself out of the pool to go nab a spot on the cloud.

You are unwise to lower your defenses against my cuteness

The final milestone was the Cramplings went on a field trip to the outside pen! The Musher spent hours sanitizing, cleaning, making it all pretty, then moved the Cam outside so everyone could watch them frolic and play and get to see the outdoors for the very first time.... and they ran straight into the dog house and stayed there because outdoors is very loud and scary. I would post a picture of it... but all you would see is a dog house and that's not very... fun.

The Cramplings are spending more and more time on the cloud and its up to me to make sure they stay out of trouble. For example, I caught Trooper trying on some of my fabulous ensembles and modeling them in the mirror. Um... I don't think so.

Here I am explaining that my ensembles are totally off limits, and so are my snacks that I hide between the couch cushions, and while we're at it, don't be scoping out my waffles.

Boop!

I apologize for my horrible manicure. I just haven't had any time to soak and exfoliate, let alone paint my nails a fabulous color.

- Bet

How I Saved the Whole Kennel - Bet

2012-05-18T09:18:00.000-06:00

Howdy Ho everybodies, it's Auntie Bet here!

I'm sure you've seen the Musher's blog postings about her game camera, and the icky scary animals it has captured lurking near the house at night. For this reason I'm not allowed outside at night without a security detail because small dogs like me make for a tasty snack to some of these icky scary animals. I've told the Musher that I can handle myself, what with my trained Border Collie ninja skills and all, but she insists, so I allow it just to make her feel better.

Wolfius BorderCollieeatus

During the day I take over guard duty for Cricket, who works the night shift. The icky scary animals usually stay away during the day (probably because of my fierceness) so about the only thing I need to be concerned about are those horrible poke an eye out beady eyed evil hummingbirds.

Does anyone hear that humming sound?

I keep my enemies guessing all the time by switching guard positions once in a while. If they know where I'm going to be all the time, then they can breach the perimeter and attack.

Go ahead... make my day

I also lull them into a false sense of security by appearing not to be on guard duty so that they'll say "Hey, Bet isn't on guard duty so we can just stroll right in and take some waffles".

While I look relaxed and sleeping, I'm actually a spring loaded ninja warrior

But it's all a ruse to lure them in for what is sure to be an easy victory for me.

So, the other night I was escorting the Musher outside for the nightly Boo walk. Boo is still bitter about being relegated to the garage with her pups and no Boo Who cam. I heard her on the phone with her agent complaining about her lack of screen time, and she was telling the Musher her list of demands as they walked, so they didn't notice that some icky wild things had ventured very close to the Kennels!!!!

I immediately leaped into action and ordered my bodyguard (Cricket) to take the forward leading edge of battle while I ran back and warned the Musher and Boo! The evil Coyote things were brazen enough to come near the dog truck and were working their way into a pincer tactic to surround the Musher and Boo!

While Cricket distracted them, I was able to fight my way through their forward lines, get to the Musher and Boo, then scare them all off with my ferocious growl and mighty raised hackles!

They scattered like scared baa baa sheepie things and ran for the hills. Who could blame them? Thirty pounds of pure fury and fur will scare just about anyone away!

um... well... ok, Cricket helped a bit too, and don't believe the Musher if she tries to tell you that I ran away to get back into the house and nearly knocked her off her feet in my rush to escape... it's not true! I also don't appreciate her description of my fierce growl as being pathetic, it's not cute or funny, it's scary and intimidating but not when she's standing there laughing at me!

Eesh, I get no respect.

- Bet

Tales of the Trail 2012 - Nulato to Kaltag

2012-05-17T06:10:00.000-06:00

The folks in Nulato have turned this checkpoint into a little oasis in the last few years. Located in the very nice school mushers have showers, flushing toilets, cots, a drying room, and great food available!! Sweet!!

The dogs were keen to sleep, I know they sensed my frustration in the last 11 miles of our run and I think we were all keen to put it behind us. Thankfully, they ate really well before snuggling down into their straw and drifting off.

I was very amused by the fact that on the door to the furnace room, which is where we were to hang our clothes to dry, was a sign that said "Warning: Possible Asbestos Risk" and not one of us even hesitated about going in. There are dangers and then there are dangers ....freezing to death by going out in the cold with damp clothes was the most imminent danger!

I was really enjoying the company of a lot of mushers I was traveling with on this race and had a very comfortable and enjoyable time as we 'sniff tested' the 'potluck' meals left out for the mushers, leftovers from other mushers and sorted through our own food.

A tiny bit of sleep, that I could have easily stretched into HOURS and HOURS of rest on that cot, another meal for the pups and it was time to hit the trail again.

The dogs didn't leave well and this time didn't really pick up at all. It was FREEZING, FREEZING cold to begin with, but as the morning wore on the sun was beating down on us and I was stripping off layers of clothing. The dogs seemed to be wishing they could do the same.
By this point river traveling is getting pretty darn old. There just isn't much of interest at all to 'distract' dogs or human. There was one giant flock of ptarmigan perched in the trees on the river bank at one point, but that was about the extent of 'excitement' for this leg.

Finally a few miles from Kaltag the trail goes through a narrow passage between the river bank and an island. That perked the team up, which pleased me. They climbed up the steep bank and through Kaltag to the Fire Station that acts as the checkpoint.

A Trip Down Memory Lane.....

2012-05-15T13:06:00.000-06:00

When I got down to X and Neo's area today while shoveling, I found bits and pieces of a disemboweled stuffie. I don't allow soft stuffie toys in the dog yard for just such a reason, so there was a moment of puzzlement, which was quickly followed by a sweet flow of memories....

I have to go back a ways to explain....

Many, many years ago we had a dog named Breezy.

Breezy - who many of you may better know as Kara's (and the rest of the Norse God/Goddess litter) Mom.

Breezy, who was more formally known as Multi BIS Ch. Chuchinka's Dance In The Wind SDX, was a pretty big winning dog in the show ring. She was addicted to stuffed toys and used to actually steal them out of booths and from other dogs while we were at dog shows. I spent a fair amount of time returning toys and buying some that she wouldn't give up. When we arrived home from shows her crate would often have 3 or 4 stuffed toys riding in there with her.
Our yard dog at the time was a wonderful Australian Shepherd named Fly.

Fly loved balls, stuffed toys and the likes, but he was careless with his toys (I know, shocking for a dog) and therefore was not allowed stuffed toys in the dog yard. Because he was clever though he quickly sorted out that Breezy often had great stuff in her crate upon arriving home from shows and, if I left the door open while I was putting her away, would raid it.

One day he pulled a red stuffed octopus out of the crate. After tossing it in the air and playing with it for a bit he proceeded to parade through the dog yard with the toy in his mouth taunting all the Siberians. They were going crazy trying to steal it from him, so after a bit I headed over to put an end to the ruckus. He was having none of it and happily evaded me with red legs flinging out of his mouth and Siberians lunging at him.
Finally, I employed the trick that always worked with Fly. "Fly - where's the cat?" He lost interest in the toy in a heartbeat and went off hunting our then yard cat "TakeOut". Mission accomplished - except when he dropped it he dropped the toy in the run of one of my male dogs Striker.

Iditarod finisher and father to Kara and the Norse God/Goddess litter - Striker

Striker had had just enough of that octopus being waved in his face. He snatched it off the ground, promptly dug a hole and stuffed the toy in it. I was laughing so hard that couldn't get to it before it was buried. Striker was now sitting on top of the hole, proud as punch of himself. I figured I'd let him have his 'victory' and go back the next day to dig it up.
Problem was I couldn't find it the next day. In fact, I never found it..... until this morning when it showed up in a zillion pieces in X and NEO's area (yes, X now lives where Striker did all those years ago).

Breezy has been gone since 2003, Striker since 2006 and Fly since 2009. None of them ever really 'leave' here at all, but for a brief, sweet moment this morning, they were all right back here in the yard with me.

Thanks X and NEO for a great trip down Memory Lane.

Tales of the Trail 2012 - Galena to Nulato

2012-05-15T09:26:00.000-06:00

Apparently, when we checked into Galena the temperature in the checkpoint was around -38F. Temperatures on the river would have been 5 to 10 degrees colder.

There was no missing that it was brutally cold out. After the dogs were fed, I pulled out jackets and blankets for almost all of them.

Charge had spent a lot of time in the earlier checkpoints pining after the girls in season rather than sleeping and it had really caught up with him now. He was tired, rather listless and not eating well. It was time for him to go home. What a shock. He is such a powerhouse and so steady in team that I would have never expected to have to be dropping him.

Up in the checkpoint I stripped off my numerous layers of clothes and hung them in various spots to dry. Galena has nice washrooms with running water, so I did a bit of washing up and changed all my inner layers of clothes. Ahhhh....

Galena also has a phone they let mushers use if we have a calling card (THANKS Polly and Bill!), so I called and caught both Mark and Richard. Richard was actually out on the Willow Trails with the dogs I had left behind - and Trampie!!

This picture was actually taken shortly before Karen's phone call to Richard.

As I had suspected, a couple days rest had sorted little Tramp right out!!! Good to know. I told Richard to watch for Charge and chatted a bit with Mark about race strategies and the likes. Although the team had had a few good legs on the race and no real disastrous ones (save day one) I was thinking they weren't 'coming together' as I had expected and hoped, and I was a bit worried. I fretted over what do to with my race schedule.

After a bit of food for me (and some more fretting) it was back down to the dogs to get a bit more food into them. In this kind of cold keeping their 'furnaces' going is very important.

In the end I gave the dogs a decent rest here in the warm sun and pulled out of town at around 4pm for the run over to Nulato.

We had barely even cleared the checkpoint when all the dogs heads snapped to look into the trees. In there was the only moose that I ended up seeing for the whole race this year.

When the dogs got back onto the river they were moving pretty nicely and as the sun went down they continued to do so. Tess was up in front with Jinx and they were happy and focused. I was pleased with my choices regarding rest in Galena.

Bishop's Rock is a predominant landmark on the river. It is named for Hudson Stuck, who was archdeacon of the Yukon in the early 1900's. His book "Ten Thousand Miles by DogTeam" is one of my very favorites and I always think about him and his travels on this stretch. For the first time I noticed a cross high up on the bluff.

A bit past the Rock is a place with other memories for me. In 2003 when Iditarod started out of Fairbanks due to poor weather, I had taken my 24-hour layover in Galena. Leaving there in bitter cold the next morning I had had a GREAT run over to Nulato with a young dog named Orion in lead.

Orion had been so happy that morning and gave me his big snaggletoothed grin every time we stopped. The next year when he unexpectedly got sick and had to be put down in the months prior to Iditarod, there was no doubt what I wanted to do with his ashes - I spread them on the trail along this stretch. It was great to get an opportunity to 'visit' with and think about 'Pointy Teeth'. I miss him.

About 15 miles before Nulato the Koyukuk River flows into the Yukon and a few folks from the village of Koyukuk were up on the river bank cheering at the teams going by. I originally thought they were moose (as did the dogs) and that gave us all a good 'start'. I stopped quickly to put lights on the dogs. This leg is notorious for high speed, sometimes impaired, snowmachiners and scares me.

Eleven miles from the checkpoint the trail makes a 90-degree turn to the south. I figured that we had about an hour and a half to town and even though the dogs were moving well, stopped them for a quick snack. They munched their snacks down happily, but when I pulled the hook and called to them, all our speed was completely gone. I'm not sure whether it was an issue with their attitude or with the trail (likely the trail, as Hank DeBruin was traveling right behind me and experienced the same thing) but it was frustrating when everything had been going so well.

I believe it took us a good deal over 2 hours to get that final distance into Nulato.

Not So Long Ago....In a Pool Not So Far, Far Away.....

2012-05-13T19:40:00.000-06:00

Well it's time....the Cramplings were beginning to demand individual identities....names were needed!!! So after lunch today Tramp and the kids made a trip out to the Cloud where we all set down to the task of assigning names. A few were super easy, a few tougher, but in the end we settled on names that everyone was happy with.

So with no further ado, here are 'The Star Wars' litter...
First the boys -


NorthWapiti's Darth Vader - Vader

NorthWapiti's Chewbacca - Chewy

NorthWapiti's Storm Trooper - Trooper

and NorthWapiti's R2D2 - R2

....and the girls....

NorthWapiti's Ewok

NorthWapiti's Millennium Falcon - Falcon

and NorthWapiti's SkyWalker - Sky

May the Force be with all of you!!!!

*Special thanks to my Star Wars 'consultant, Hunter for his help with the Cramplings names.

How To Take a Family Portrait....

2012-05-13T19:00:00.000-06:00

Well first you......

"Come on guys, could you please pay attention.."

"Tramp, get your children under control"

"Please Tramp"

"Cramplings...."

"Come on, everyone quit chewing on each other"

.....I give up........

Tales of the Trail 2012 - Ruby to Galena

2012-05-12T21:31:00.000-06:00

Ruby is the first of the village checkpoints along the trail. I love the village checkpoints. Traveling through these villages gives me a glimpse of a lifestyle that I could not possible imagine without experiencing it. Nowadays they are a fascinating mix of tradition and technology. Outhouses with giant satellite dishes next to them, hides stretched and drying on porches, high tech 'snowgos' sitting out side the door.....I once asked a local from one of the villages along the Yukon if it was expensive to live there. She said it could be if you got a taste for 'exotic' things - like beef and chicken. Not so bad if you were happy with moose and ptarmigan!!!

Ruby is one of the most picturesque villages along Iditarod - nestled in the steep, rocky banks of the Yukon River. I've watched some AMAZING northern lights perched up high on the banks.

This years things were changed a little for us. Rather than sleeping in half of the community center, which was always noisy, mushers had their own building up by the church. There were no bunks or mats - just a floor - but it was pretty quiet, which was nice.

I was really happy with the way the team ate and settled down here. Tess had a bit of a scuffle with one of the other girls - I think she let all my praise about what a great job she did in single lead go to her head - but I got everyone settled and tucked in for a good rest in the last of the warm, healing afternoon sun.

The biggest drawback to Ruby is the outhouse situation. As much as I love this village, it has the dirtiest, most disgusting outhouses I have ever seen. They are rude and disturbing. *sigh*
After drenching myself in sanitizing lotion I headed into the community center to see if I could scrounge up some food.

When I walked into the building one glaring absence was immediately obvious to me. Volunteer Tony Waffen has been a staple in Ruby and many other checkpoints over the years. Unfortunately, Tony passed away suddenly last fall. I missed him.

Race judge Rich Bosella, who I ran one of my first Iditarods with and whose company I always enjoy, was offering to cook up hamburgers for the mushers. What a treat!!! They were GREAT!!! I packed away a couple of those, some pilot bread (I know...but I quite love the stuff) and peanut butter, a gallon or so of Tang and a number of cups of coffee before walking back up to the sleeping area.

Just as I walked in Bill Pinkham was abandoning the one sleeping mat in the building. I asked if he was leaving and if he minded if I stole the mat. He cleared off his gear and I greedily claimed it.
My back had been just killing me since Cripple, so before shutting my eyes I did a number of yoga stretches that my good friend Gabi had sent me out on the trail with. That helped A LOT!!!!

I didn't get much sleep, but it felt good to get some relief on my back and just be off my feet for a bit.

When I was firing up my cooker to water the dogs again I had to giggle some. The last time I was in Ruby I managed to set my pants on fire while lighting my cooker. It has become a standing joke between my fabulously creative friend Penny Blankenship and me - so I had to giggle when I thought of how proud (or maybe disappointed) Penny would be to know I didn't set myself on fire this time!

(cartoonist addendum: somewhat disappointed actually hehehe)

I got dogs fed, packed up the sled and wandered back down to the community center for some more Tang and coffee.

Before heading out I decked the team out in a bunch of flashy lights. The trails between the villages are well used by locals and one wants to make sure they are visible to them at night. No place for 'stealth mode' from now on.

The dogs did a lot of stop and go as we got going - but looking back at Ruby at night from the Yukon is one of my favorite views on Iditarod, so I didn't mind too much - and the northern lights were rallying against the bright moon to add to the picture!

It was definitely cold again and the wind was blowing a bit, but 'blowing' has a whole new 'standard' on the Yukon River - so I wasn't going to whine too much to myself about it.

Hank DeBruin and I were on again off again traveling together again. There isn't a whole lot to look at on the Yukon at night, so it was a nice distraction to keep an eye on Hank's headlamp.

The dogs were actually rolling along quite nicely - and even held it together when we got to a stretch that was blowing and seriously drifting even by Yukon River standards.

After what seems like forever the trail finally swung north into some more sheltered tributaries on its way to Galena.

This is a pretty 'moosey' stretch of trail and the dogs acted like they saw moose a few times, but I never saw anything more than some very fresh looking tracks. Often I wish I had the senses that the dogs have to know everything that was lurking out there, but it would likely make me crazy!! Probably better to stay a 'limited' human!!!

This section of trail ALWAYS seems to take longer than I think it should. Especially in the dark when you can see the lights of Galena long before you get to them. By the time the team climbed the steep bank off the Yukon and into town I think we were all practically comatose.

Boo Who Pool, Puppies, Puppies, and More Puppies - Bet

2012-05-11T19:47:00.000-06:00

Howdy Ho everybodies, its me, your Auntie non-roving non-reporting non-sheepy herdy Border Collie Bet here!

I was kinda taking a lazy day today, sorry for the long wait for the names of the Boo Who Puppy Pool.

Most of you must be thinking that the puppies are wearing me out, and yes, I do expend a lot of energy running back and forth between whelping pools making sure each batch of puppies are fine, fetching Tramp some water, getting Boo another pillow, watching the Cramplings while Tramp stretches her legs, then watching the Boo Whos while Boo gets to go out and stretch a bit.

That's bad enough, but I'm also doing what I can to be a muse to the Musher, who appears to want to go out and ride her bike, or run the Pretty Curly Tails, or plant flowers, or go out for coffee (without me... harumpf), or just about anything but sit down at the computer and finish her Tales on the Trail series.

As you may recall, when we last left off, she was here:

Sigh... she's only halfway finished telling the story. I assure you that I'll continue to herd her toward the computer and make sure she finishes the stories before it starts snowing.

Anyhoo, here are some pictures of cute little Cramplings. For the Facebooks peoples, you've already seen them, and the Musher promised to get me some new materials, but then she ran out of the door to go wax the dog houses... between you and me, I think either she's still swigging that 5 hour energy stuff, or it rewired her or something.

Aren't puppy toes adorable?

Darth Hellmann's tiny itty bitty feetsies

They all really take after mom

Leia Whip and Padme Dijonnaise

Little Jaba Vegemite snoozing

Han Gray Poupon smacking Luke Chutney

Luke Chutney doing the mosh pit thing

Han Gray Poupon chewing on Leia Whip

Darth Hellmann's is practicing mind control over JarJar Tartar Sauce

JarJar Tartar Sauce looking forlorn

Darth Hellmann's


All of the Cramplings proving that the cloud has good sleepy qualities

Anyhoo, this posting was actually suppose to be all about the Boo Who Pool and who the winners are!

Yeah, about that... you may have noticed that the Crampling Cam was a bit akimbo yesterday. I couldn't fix it because I couldn't reach all the way up where it was, and the Musher was off having coffee (um, without me again), and Musher Mark was watching the tv and apparently has never watched a single episode of Lassie or else he would have known that either Timmy had fallen in the well (again) or since there's nobody named Timmy around here, and we don't have a well, that my frantic barking would have clued him in that Crampling Cam was akimbo.

I know that a lot of people were speculating that Tramp had done something to it and was hiding something... like maybe while all of the humans were preoccupied, she had snuck into the kitchen and stole a certain container of leftover pasta and ate it all... um... YEAH that's exactly what happened, that's what happened to the pasta, and I merely got some of that pasta on me when I went to retrieve the container from Tramp and it got all on me... IT'S CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE I TELL YOU!

Oh... sorry, I digress again... it actually was nothing like that at all... apparently Boo is a tad bit upset that the Cramplings and Tramp are getting all of the cam glory. When I say upset, I mean WHOO BOY is she mad, like fashion model diva throw a tantrum mad about her lack of camera time mad. She threw a shoe at me! I have no idea where she got a shoe, but when I came in to check on everyone, she told me to fetch her makeup crew and bring the camera in, and then threw a shoe at me when I said the cam was staying on the Cramplings.

Apparently when I went into the kitchen to... um... drink some water... yeah, well, she snuck into the Crampling den and tried to drag the cam off the shelf.

Its ok, I've calmed her down by telling her that she will get to present the winners of the Boo Pool and that over 100 adoring Boo fans participated in the pool and two people actually guessed how many boys and girls there would be and so they both win, and that even the Prime Minister of Canada called to wish her well (I totally lied about that last part).

So, it is my honor to introduce the totally fabulous, talented, and 2012 Iditarod finishing (unlike that glory hogging Tramp) purebred Siberian Husky we all know and love.... BOO! (she told me to say all of that or else she'd chew on one of my fashionable ensembles)

Here's Boo!

Candy and Courtney, please e-mail the Cartoonist at: penny@northwapiti.com so she can send your one of kind prizes... that means each of you get a one of a kind thing because if you both got the same thing, then that's not very one of a kind now isn't it... so you'll each get one one of a kind thing... you know what I mean, I hope, because at this point I'm not even sure.

- Bet

Welcome Boo Who Pups - Bet

2012-05-09T17:35:00.000-06:00

Whew everybodies! We're just chock full o' puppies here at North Wapiti!

On Monday at the ungodly hour of 1am (please note, I was fast asleep in bed keeping the Musher's side all warm and toasty), Boo had her first puppy! Unlike Tramp, who was all business like and shooting them out like a machine gun, Boo decided to take her sweet time with delivering.

Just when we thought she'd had all she was going to have... a few hours later PLOOP, out comes the last one. We kinda hung around and didn't say anything because who knows if she'd ploop out a few more, but apparently that was all she had, for a total of:

2 girls and 2 boys.

Who's the daddy? Not a clue, seriously... its a grab bag of puppies here, so we reached out to Jerry Sousa, whose lead dog apparently... well... you know... to find out which dog it was.

Apparently Boo's "boyfriend" was a dog named Maverick and he's from Jerry's Top Gun litter. Maverick's father is from Paul Gebhardt's Governor (please note, not Paul's actual Governor of his state... we wouldn't want to start any unseemly rumors... Governor was the name of his dog).

So, there will be DNA testing done to find out who their daddy (or daddies) are and we'll go from there... but regardless, they are adorable and don't squeak as loud as the Cramplings.

Here are all 4 of them after they'd been (urp) cleaned up a bit more. Please note the one on Boo's tail. Yes, we are actually obtaining a DNA sample from Wayward D. GPS... just in case.

Boo and the Boo Whos are in their little nesty den in the garage area, and the Cramplings are still in their back room spot with the Crampling Cam. If you are watching (the Crampling cam is at the top right hand side of this blog) you'll notice they're getting a bit more rambunctious and feisty.

The Musher and Musher Mark still haven't decided on a theme for their names, so I'm just playing it safe:

Tales of the Trail 2012 - Cripple to Ruby

2012-05-08T10:39:00.001-06:00

It was quickly getting cold in Cripple with extreme cold in the forecast for the night time, but I was warmed by having some of my favorite checkpoint folks around. I've known Jim Gallea since he was 17 years old and we were both traveling the trail following mushers. I was with friend Karen Adam following her husband, Ross Adam, and Jim was with his Dad, Iditarod finisher Bill Gallea, following his Mom, Cindy.

Since then I've traveled and camped on the trail with Jim, ran races he was a marshal on and enjoyed his company in many a checkpoint. He is now a doctor living in Maine and engaged to a Canadian woman (proof of his intelligence and fine taste!!!). He is a fine young man with a sharp mind and quick smile. Seeing him on the trail always gives me a 'pick up'.

Cripple used to be a miserable little hole of a checkpoint. Ten years ago when I first ran the race there wasn't even so much as a tree to duck behind to pee (you had to wait for dark or be shameless) - now the checkpoint has a number of little cabins for mushers and volunteers and some of the nicest outhouses on the trail.

This is a 'melt snow' checkpoint though, so chores always take a bit longer. That done I slipped up to stake out a sleeping spot in one of the toasty warm cabins, headed into the 'comms tent' to heat up a couple meals for me, drink some coffee and a lot of Tang, and do a bit of visiting. All good.

When I first went to the mushers sleeping cabin to toss in my gear, only the Berington twins were there. I'm kind of convinced they aren't really mushers, as they don't snore - it seems all mushers snore!!! When I got back to the cabin it was very definitely full of mushers and the walls were practically moving due to all the snoring. I hung gear to dry and lay down for a few hours sleep. Despite the snoring and the hard plywood bunks, I got a few good hours sleep.
From the huge gust of cold air blowing in every time someone walked in or out of the cabin, I knew the forecasted cold had arrived. Despite every inch of my tired body wanting to stay snuggled under my jacket in the warm cabin, I layered on my clothes and dragged myself out into the dark.

I needed to change runners to something better suited for the cold before I left and it turns out that even Matrix runners aren't easy to change in these temperatures. I struggled and swore for quite awhile before getting this normally 3-minute task accomplished.

The dogs left the checkpoint pretty well, although I did end up with a rather giant tangle in the first few miles as I wasn't paying attention and didn't brake fast enough when Tess stopped to go to the bathroom. Undoing tangles at -30 something is not a lot of fun, but it warms your body (but not your fingers and hands) up pretty quick!!!

Hank DeBruin and his nice team of Siberians had left right after me and we ended up traveling together for this leg of the race. When we stopped to snack, we chatted for a bit and I could hear teeth 'chattering' on both of us when we spoke. Despite that, I was pretty comfortable. My Skookumbrand anorak was a new one this year (my old one was miles too big on me and I was having issues 'cinching it down' enough to stay warm). It features Skookumbrand's new WindPro material and is significantly lighter than my old one. I was impressed with it on the Don Bower's race earlier in the season and even more so impressed this night. What an awesome piece of cold weather clothing!!!!

The team moved well through the cold and I was pleased with their performance on this long and rather challenging run. They were not as nice as they had been out of Takotna and Ophir, but still solid.

When the sun rose and began to beat on us it warmed up drastically. That seemed to take a bit of the edge off the dogs and I was messing with some foot issues with a few of the dogs, but still they were doing well.

The last 20 miles to Ruby has some big climbs and with the sun now pounding down on us I began to have some issues with leaders. Finally, I just put Tess in lead on her own and things began to 'work' again. What a good girl. I was so pleased with her.

Finally we hit the long, downhill, plowed road that indicates we are only a few miles from town. Mushers must be cautious and ride the brake hard through this section. Letting them 'rip' the last bit into Ruby, as we ALL would like to do, is a sure-fire way to injure dogs.
I rode the brake hard, safely negotiated the 90-degree turn at the end of the road that always worries me (I haven't always 'safely' negotiated it) and climbed the last hill to the checkpoint!!!

The Week or Something of the Interwebs in review - Bet

2012-05-05T12:35:00.000-06:00

Howdy ho everybodies!

You'll be pleased to know that the Musher and I had a chat last night where I made it very clear that I don't want to be shaved, dyed, poofed up, groomed, or have a bow in my furs, and she stated (for the record) that she had no intention of doing any of those things. I now feel confident enough to stop hiding and go back to my normal routine.

Which is a hugey huge relief because you wouldn't believe the size of the fluff bunnies hiding behind those curtains... the size of large elk!

Anyhoo, here is the week of the interwebs review for the week... or so... something.

The Cramplings are growing like weeds and are very strong thanks to the exercise program their mother has put them on. I hear they are going to be lifting weights (which is why you see the rawhide bone in the pool).

The Musher and Musher Mark have been debating on names again. Yes, yes, I know, the last we heard the Cramplings would be named after board games, but since yesterday was that silly Star Wars day thing (May the 4th be with you... seriously?), they were thinking of naming them after Star Wars characters. I have nothing to do with that, so send your complaints to the Musher.

For all I know, since today is some Cinco de Mayo day, they'll want to name the pups after types of sandwich spreads... Haw Miracle Whip! Gee Helman's!

Oh wait... I've just been informed that the 5th of May is not the international sandwich spread holiday, but has something to do with drinks derived in Mexico because some battle was won... Gee Dos Equis! Haw Corona... yep, I can see it all now.

ANYHOO!!!!!

The Musher saw a picture of Greta, who is Helen (who smells of cookies) Handler's dog fetching a tennis ball on a beach, and she started asking me why I don't fetch. Well... A.) We don't have a beach... duh, and B.) unless its fleecy and says baa, or is a Pretty Curly Tail puppy, I don't see the whole point of running after a drool covered, then drool and sand covered tennis ball, only to have you throw it again. I will fetch some shrimp with fettuccine, but it'll only be a one way trip into my stomach.

Then someone posted this on the Musher's Facebook page:

Then the Musher started asking me why I didn't guard her bike or ride on the back of it like this clever dog...

First of all I must insist that all of you stop sending the Musher clever dog videos because it's putting way too much pressure on me.

Secondly, we live in the middle of nowhere, so who is going to steal your bike? I've also heard that they've invented these really handy thinks called: LOCKS

Locks don't require bathroom breaks or their own frappucinos, and locks also won't fall off the back of a bicycle and hurt themselves.

Besides, I've told you a zillion times that I'll ride on the bike with you if you just put one of those cute little baskets on the handlebars, but I would also like some stylish doggles and a scarf to blow in the breeze.

Ok, now where was I... oh yes, the week or something on the Interwebs.

The Musher got the Pretty Curly Tails out for some runs this week.

Here is the BRILLIANT Todd in lead (of course he's brilliant, he's named after my Richard).

Here is a picture of the gigantic and strong Fletch next to Irving

I went along for the ride, but decided to run next to the quad because I need to get into shape for the Cramplings.

I have to admit that during the whole (dog) years of Iditarod following and blogging, I was getting a bit out of shape and have somewhat of a spare tire to get rid of... it was all of that peanut butter. I've put myself in a rather rigorous exercise program to get back into shape. What with Tramp making sure the Cramplings can pull a sled the moment their eyes open, I have to make sure that I'm equally as fit so I can chase them down and get them back to the house when needed.

oh hey what? Ooooh, its dinner time. I heard we're having lasagna... what? A border collie needs some carbs for bulking up!

- Bet

Shhh, I'm not here - Bet

2012-05-04T18:58:00.000-06:00

Howdy ho everybodies... shhhh, I'm hiding.

I'm hoping the Musher can't find me here. I think I'm pretty camouflaged, so this may buy me some time.

You may be asking yourselfs... selfs... why is Bet trying to hide from the Musher?

I'm glad you asked... but it should be pretty obvious to everybodies...

THIS!!!

I am a fearless guard dog... stop laughing

If you look close enough, you can see me inside the house, and generally I'm thinking HOLY HANNA TRIMMER GONE MAD!!!!

I am dumbfounded that both the Musher and Musher Mark think this is an improvement. Even the Pretty Curly Tails are laughing (the Musher thinks they are barking because they don't recognize her... but they're actually calling her not so nice names and stuffs... and things).

It's just a matter of time before they get it into their heads that I need to go to the groomers, and if Cricket is any indication of what could happen. I've also seen pictures on the interwebs where peoples have dyed their pets strange colors to look like tigers, or panda bears, or just really wacky things, and then they try to entice me into the truck to "go to the store" and the next thing you know...

I come home looking like guy laundry where they throw the brand new jeans in with the white undies or something.

So, shhhhhhhh, don't tell the Musher I'm behind the curtains.

Sigh... I think we're having spaghetti tonight too

- Bet

Tales of the Trail 2012 - The Dirty Details

2012-05-04T06:48:00.000-06:00

The breeding between Ophir and Cripple was my last on the trail breeding on this Iditarod. Because of that I thought I'd bring everyone up to speed on the 'dirty details'.

So, the first trail breeding, which happened in Skwentna, was between Wifi and Tramp. It turns out that this breeding did not 'take'. We are able to determine that with complete certainty due to the timing of the birth (pups conceived on this date would not have been viable on the date her litter was born).

It was later determined that Gerry Sousa's main stud dog bred Boo in Skwentna. Gerry informed me of this when I saw him in McGrath.

The next breeding was on the trail between Finger Lake and Rainy Pass between Boo and Wifi. As I had an uneven number of girls and boys on the team, I was forced to put an extra piece of gangline in or run a male and female together. After this breeding I decided to run Wifi and Boo together, since the 'damage' had already been done.

Again Boo and Wifi, this time in some overflow between Rohn and Nikolai.

Boo and Wifi on the way to Nikolai.

And lastly, Boo and Wifi on the trail between Ophir and Cripple

Boo is very definitely pregnant. Her puppies are due in 3 days on May 7th.
DNA testing is relatively easy and 'relatively' inexpensive these days, so it will be done to determine who is actually the father of Boo's puppies. And yes, dogs can have puppies in one litter that are sired by different dogs!

Wifi reports that he REALLY enjoyed the Iditarod this year! =)

Tales of the Trail 2012 - The Stuff We Don't Use

2012-05-03T09:51:00.000-06:00

Over the years while doing presentations I am always asked about what happens to the dog food and gear from our drop bags that we don't use.

First off, let me explain that mushers each send anywhere from about 1200 - 2700 lbs of dog food and gear out along the trail for the race (my drop bags were right around 1700lbs this year). The mushers sending out the larger amounts are sending out a 'buffer' to deal with any situation that may occur along the trail. Why don't we all do that??? Well, shipping costs money (about 75 cents/lb) and the stuff you are shipping cost too. So for many it is a 'money issue'.

Now back to all the extras! Iditarod rules state that no dog food can be sent home in your drop bags. All of the meat and kibble is left in the checkpoint and put to use for the local's dogs and dog teams. Really, the very least we can do for the villages that are so gracious and allow us to descend upon their homes. In the checkpoints like Rohn and Cripple where there are no 'locals' - save some wolves - either folks from a neighboring checkpoint may come and raid the leftovers or they are left out for the wolves and other critters to enjoy.

People food is a bit of a different story. Any 'boil in bag' meals, which is what most of us eat, are generally left in the checkpoints and set upon by the volunteers, vets and other checkpoint staff. I've had a few checkpoint staff over the years tell me that they beeline for my leftovers when I leave a checkpoint, as they really enjoy my meals! I like to hear that!!!! The biggest complaint I've heard over the years is 'Can't you label your meals so we know what we are eating???'. LOL. I always try to remember to do that now!!!

Snack items like chocolate bars, granola, etc is treated differently by all. Many send back everything they don't eat. I send some of it home, but generally leave my extra snack bag stuff for volunteers and in the villages, for the local kids. In fact, in some of the checkpoints where I know there are alot of kids, I send out alittle extra just for them!
One year, in a checkpoint that will remain unnamed, my cooker went 'mysteriously' missing. There had been alot of kids mulling around when I went inside and I was fairly certain that one of them had 'borrowed' my cooker so they could get a campfire going or some such thing. I called over to one of the kids still around, held up a big bag of candy and offered it as a 'reward' to anyone that found my cooker. Within 2 minutes my cooker was back in my hands. A bit of extra candy can get alot 'done' out on the trail!!!!

Extra gear - like changes of clothes, unused runner plastic, extra dog booties, used clothing, etc - is put into a 'return bag' with our name on it that Iditarod will get back to headquarters within a few weeks of the end of the race. Not everything always makes it back, but by far the majority of stuff does.

.....And now you know!

Tales of the Trail 2012 - Takotna to Cripple

2012-05-02T21:16:00.000-06:00

My four massive dropbags were delivered next to my parking spot in Takotna and after quickly feeding the dogs, I put my head down and powered through getting everything sorted out. I looked longingly at the changes of clothes and all the little 'extras' I had sent here. No time to mess with that now - and besides, my 24 had been great even without all that stuff anyway.

I was intending to go right through Ophir and camp partway to Cripple, so I had to organize for that as well as send home my unused stuff. And of course, I had to fill out the paperwork to drop Tramp, get her ready for her trip back to Anchorage and say my goodbyes.

Everything organized and ready to go again and Tramp taken care of, I headed into the checkpoint thinking a piece of famous Takotna pie might hit the spot. The plan was changed very quickly when the kitchen staff reminded me that all mushers get a steak dinner here. Hmmm, that's right and it was going to be a bit before I got to eat again. "Sure", I said and pulled up a chair.

I was shocked to see Ryan Redington here. I asked what was up and he pulled up a chair to tell me about his scratch. One of the volunteers came by and asked if he wanted his steak dinner. "But I scratched", Ryan said. "Doesn't matter, you still are entitled to a steak dinner", she said. Ryan smiled, nodded and placed his order.

We had a nice chat while we waited for and then ate our steaks. The more time I spend around this young man, the more impressed by him I am. I think that his granddad would be so proud of the way Ryan - and Ray Redington - are carrying on the family legacy.

Stuffed from all the food in McGrath and now this wonderful steak dinner, I regretfully passed on a piece of pie and a bag lunch for the trail.

I headed back out to the team and right on schedule headed out of town.

This time the dogs left very well. This is another leg of the race that I'm really fond of. It is all on mining roads with enough twists, turns, climbs and downhills to be fun, but nothing that wants to kill you!!! Again stories of moose were circulating among the mushers and again I saw lots of signs, but no moose (I heard later that some mushers did have encounters with them along this leg though).

After about 9 miles the trail the trail stops climbing and starts to head down towards Independence Creek. When it popped out of the trees I could see the northern lights beginning to glow despite the bright, moonlit night. Within minutes the lights had burst into a simply startling display. The place, a great, happy dog team, the moonlight making the beautiful countryside visible.....I've seen alot of northern light displays in my life.... but I will never forget this one!!

The team roared into Ophir - and I mean roared. It was a true challenge to hold them while I signed in and got my vet book signed. The checkers thought that I wanted my drop bags and I was having a hard time getting across that I was set and just wanted to get going. Finally, after some dragging and some running over of volunteers we were turned loose and loped out of the checkpoint.

The dogs continued to move beautifully and the northern lights would occasionally light up the night sky, which is VERY big in this area due to the flat landscape and small trees. It was a very wonderful evening despite the fact that the temperature had been dropping all night.

And then I stopped for a minute and this.......

....happened.

*sigh* I thought we were done with all 'that'. Apparently not.

After a 20-minute or so break we got underway again. I was worried that the standing around may have taken some spunk out of the dogs, but it didn't. They continued to travel very well.

I was carrying about a half bale of straw in my straw bag but I knew that lots of other mushers would have camped ahead of me, so was looking for a spot that already had some straw to give the dogs a really nice parking spot in this cold. Eyeballed up a few spots, but passed them all up till we dropped down onto the Innoko River where there was a PERFECT spot. The dogs happily pulled in when asked and snuggled quickly into the big straw piles. Turns out at least two other teams had parked there ahead of me, both contributing straw - so add mine and it was very luxurious!!!

I got them all fed, jacketed up and settle in when Mike Suprenant dropped onto the river. He stopped and asked if I had seen the cabin that Iditarod told us had been built in the area. I had actually forgotten all about that, but told him I hadn't. I did have the map that officials had given us and offered to pull that out, but Mike said he'd just keep his eyes open and headed off.

After he left I got thinking that just 50 ft or so back there had been a trail that had branched off to the right into the trees. "I wonder what is that way", I thought. The team was all sleeping happily, so I wandered off to explore.

I walked the short distance into the trees and discovered the brand new, spectacular BLM (Bureau Land Management) cabin nestled into the woods. There were a few straw beds around the cabin, so other mushers had obviously stopped here.

Inside the woodstove was still warm and had embers in it. I could actually see my team through the trees in the front of the cabin so I stoked up the stove and headed back to my sled to gather a few supplies (juice packs, snack bags, fresh socks, etc, etc).

The next three hours were rather delightful. I saw a couple teams roll by and scan around looking for my team's musher. If only they knew what a delightful spot they were missing. After 4 hours it was time to get going.

As I was packing up my sled Art Church dropped onto the river and stopped to say 'hi'. I asked him if he was going to stop on this leg and when he said he was, I told him about the cabin. He thanked me later and said that he really had trouble leaving, it was such a perfect spot!! I agreed!!!

As were were getting going a few other teams arrived on the scene, so I ended up traveling on and off with a group of other mushers for the long trip into Cripple. Traveling with other teams has pluses and minuses - it is nice to have the company, but I find that it keeps my dogs from finding their own 'traveling rhythm', so this leg ended up being a rather frustrating one for me. Plus the last 40 miles or so into Cripple always seems like the longest 40 miles on the planet. It just goes on and on! Add to all that the fact that it had warmed up A LOT and the sun was beating down on the dogs and all the 'magic' was gone from the team!

I was so grateful when we finally rolled into the checkpoint!

Adventures in Babysitting - Bet

2012-05-02T17:14:00.001-06:00

Howdy ho everybodies! It's your non-roving Auntie Bet here!

We've been very busy here at Crampling Central, and I hope you've been enjoying the Crampling Cam (located on the upper right hand side of the blog)

As usual, Tramp is being a very good mother, although she has confided in me that she's really REALLY bored back there in the room all by herself. She also has hugey huge aspirations for this litter, since it is a totally Iditarod batch of pups from the genes of the handsomest Iditarod stud of them all, Mr. Crunchie.

Tramp has actually set a whole work-out schedule for the Cramplings to include the Iditapool (once around the pool), the Pool Quest (the once around the pool international sled puppy race), the Puppy Cap Extreme (where the puppies have to crawl under the blankets in the pool and navigate to the other side), and the Pool Challenge (its puppy versus the mountain of baa baa sheepy blanket thingies).

I told her that I thought she was being a bit hard on them... they're only like 3 weeks old or something, but she insists that they will be the BEST Pretty Curly Tail sled dogs EVER. At least she isn't putting them in evening dresses and showing them in the ring yet... well, she did mention something about practicing "stacking" after their mid-morning meal.

I figured that I'd give her some time away from the pups, but actually I was giving the pups some time away from her, and offered to watch them for a few minutes while she stretched her legs a bit and maybe freshen up some because... well... she's a bit stained from the... urp... stuffs and things when she gave birth and...

Ok, I'm ok, no really, I'm ok.

Anyhoo, so I told her I'd watch the little squeakers for her for a little bit and all..

I figured she'd only be gone for a few minutes. It doesn't take long to freshen up a bit. I do it quickly by using the bathroom whirlpool thingie and then wiping my feets on the towels that are conveniently hanging up... or the shower curtain.

After about 5 minutes, I started to get worried. Was she eating my snack foods again? I could have swore I hid it very securely under the couch cushions.

After about 10 minutes the Cramplings were getting very agitated and wanted to know when they could start their morning calisthenics so they could eat lunch.

After 15 minutes, when the squeaking got so loud I couldn't hear myself think, I went out to see what was taking Tramp so long...

Sigh...

Well, he is dreamy, but still...

Bet

Tales of the Trail 2012 - McGrath to Takotna

2012-05-01T13:30:00.000-06:00

The team left McGrath pathetically. I was shocked. That is very unlike them after a 24-hour rest. Normally they charge out of their 24.

Photos by Janis Wells Young

I stuck a smile I didn't feel on my face and just let them work through things hoping they would come around. Thankfully 'the plan' worked and within about 3 miles they were ROCKING!! No need to fake that smile anymore!!

I had heard rumors of moose on the trail for some of the teams ahead of me and I did see a fair number of signs, but none of the big brown beasts.

I love this run short run over to Takotna - after traveling a bit down the river, the trail crosses a swamp, then winds through some forest before climbing over a mountain, dropping down the other side, back onto the river and into town - and now that the team was on track I just stood back and enjoyed it.

One of the reasons I like taking my 24 hour layover in McGrath or Takotna is that they offer a nice short run to the next checkpoint. That allows me to 'gamble' a bit with the dogs when I leave after my 24.

Occasionally, after the dogs have had a nice long break it can take them a bit to warm up and get into the rhythm again. It can be quite difficult sometimes to tell what a dog will warm out of and what they won't. With a nice short leg ahead, I can take questionable dogs and have a nice opportunity to watch them and see if they do warm up. If they don't and I'm force to bag someone, it would only be for a short distance.

Trampie had been having foot issues prior to the start of the race. So far I had had her booted virtually every step of the way, but her feet were not really improving much. That on top of the fact that although she was virtually out of heat, my males were all more distracted by her than any of the other girls - apparently she is quite the little cutie to male dogs. Although she was able to run on her own over to the checkpoint, I decided it made sense to send her home now.

I needed to stop and sort through my drop bags here anyway, so my idea was to take a 2-hour break to sort gear, drop Trampie and give the dogs a light watering.

The dogs rolled into town strong and it was nice to have to stand hard on the brake to bring them to a stop.

Ambush Makeover - GuardDog Edition

2012-04-30T17:22:00.000-06:00

In case you guys aren't familiar with The Today Show's 'Ambush Makeovers', you can get up to speed here (although really no need, just giving alittle pointless background for the blog).

I headed out onto the 'Plaza' (aka - the Driveway) this morning to get my 'ambush makeover' candidate (aka Victim). This was who I selected.

Cricket is an approximately 5 year old Great Pyrenees cross. She works in the 'security industry' and admits she hasn't had a haircut in a year and a half.

It is important to Cricket that she has an easy to maintain look - she works long hours and many night shifts - and she was insistent that she not be made to look too 'girlie' as being tough is important to her career.

Our stylist knew just the look to go for and set about the task with glee (aka extreme trepidation).

Once again, let's look at Cricket BEFORE -

And now here is Cricket AFTER

Oh Cricket, it has taken 20lbs and 2 years off you!! You look .....ummmm...FABULOUS!!!! Yes, really!!

Cricket loves her new look. She says it is likely to keep shrubs and small trees from getting caught in her leggings and will allow her to better accomplish her job.

Our thanks to our stylist from Spruce Valley Pets for her expertise (aka bravery).

Footnote -

Last I saw Cricket, she was heading off down the trail to see what the Siberians were kicking up such a big fuss about....

.....I haven't the heart to tell her they think she is a strange dog in the yard!!!

Tales of the Trail 2012 - 24'ing in McGrath

2012-04-29T23:05:00.001-06:00

I arrived in McGrath expecting to to sign in, grab some parts off my second sled, sign out and head to Takotna - but as soon as I pulled in checker and friend Rick suggested that I stay and 24 here. I smiled, as in the weeks before Iditarod Rick had emailed and told me how nice it would be if I took my 24 hour layover in McGrath and I explained to him that I had set up my drop bags and schedule to 24 in Takotna - but I quickly realized that Rick was serious. He indicated that there were over 30 teams currently in Takotna, with more on the way.

That certainly got my attention as I realized parking and musher sleeping would be at a premium but there were a few problems with me staying in McGrath.

"But I don't have quite enough food here for 24 hours.", I said.
"We can help with that", Rick said, indicating I could raid some of the earlier mushers leftovers.
"But I mailed a second bale of straw to Takotna so the team could have a super cushy parking spot", I said.

"We can help with that", Rick said.
"Where would you park me?", I asked.

Rick took me for a walk over to look at parking and I told him I was willing to commit to a 24 hour lease on it!

I really liked the timing on this layover too as it was going to work well with the dogs' (and my) internal clocks.

Quickly and efficiently the volunteers got me turned around and parked against the snow bank. There was a pile of leftover straw there and the dogs immediately took possession of that. I worked away at adding more straw, moving dogs around and generally getting everyone settled for a long rest.

While getting drop bags and checking out where everything was I noticed that my second sled wasn't here. Not good.

I ran into the checkpoint, grabbed something to drink and left a message for Richard about the fact that I had decided to 24 in McGrath and the sled.

I went back out to the team and got a good meal into them. Then jacketed, blanketed and got them all settled again. Although 'settled' was a bit of wishful thinking. The girls in heat were definitely a distraction for all the dogs. I wished they were resting better and was worried that could come back to haunt me later in the race.

This time when I phoned I was able to catch up with Richard. He updated me on my sled (weather had prevented it leaving Anchorage - but it would be arriving before I left) and said that, weather depending, he and Donna would be out to McGrath to visit with me the next day! Very cool!! I drank and ate a bit more and headed out to the team.

A few times during the race folks would ask me if I had spoken with Gerry Sousa yet? I hadn't seen Gerry at all this race that I was aware and wondered what was up.

While I was pottering around Gerry came over to me and said that we needed to talk.

"So I hear", I replied, wondering.

"First off," he said, "I want you to know I want them."

Whaaaat?????

When he mentioned that he had been parked next to my team in Skwentna, the light went off in my head. We were going to be grandparents!!!

I think Gerry thought I was going to be mad, but really, how could I be? I had had the same problem myself a 'few' times this race!!

*For the record, the dog Gerry's male bred was Boo, who was also bred by Wifi. It is entirely possible for a dog to have a litter with multiple fathers. DNA testing, which isn't too expensive anymore, will be done to determine sires on the puppies. And during the race I was approached by a number of mushers who expressed interest in Siberian/Alaskan puppies, so I am not at all concerned about finding homes for them!

Because I was not completely prepared to take my 24 here in McGrath and because Iditarod folks had been so keen to have me do so, I was allowed to raid the 'leftover' pile from the other mushers. I beelined for DeeDee Jonrowe's bags, as I know she feeds the same fabulous Eagle MVP kibble I do and I had bought a bunch of meat off her earlier in the year, so her meat would also be familiar to the dogs. I was able to round up enough meat and kibble to nicely round off my stuff and keep the dogs happy for 24 hours.

I staked out a spot in the drying room and sleeping area, ate a lot of food, drank a lot of tang and coffee, and then headed off to grab some sleep.

I slept for a few hours IN MY SLEEPING BAG (SWEET) before getting up and feeding the dogs and myself again.

I must say that mushers always rave about the food in Takotna but the food in McGrath is something to rave about too. There was a huge variety of excellent food and the kitchen was staffed by thoughtful and attentive volunteers. I think every pound I lost on the way over to McGrath I found again in the 24 hours I was there!

I wanted to resupply myself with my 5-Hour Energy Drinks while I was here, so I inquired about a store in town and was told it was right next to the 'Internet Cafe/Coffee Shop'.........what was that???? Did they say 'Coffee Shop'?????

It was about a 15-minute walk down to the store, but I figured a chance to stretch my legs would be nice anyway.

At the store I did find my Energy drinks and a new toothbrush (I had misplaced my other one) - and sure enough next door was an Internet Cafe/Coffee shop. I would have loved to stayed for a bit, but I needed to feed dogs again, so I ordered the biggest latte they had (FULL FAT!!) and headed back to the team.

I was rifling around through my sled when I looked up and saw Richard and Donna headed my way. What a nice surprise. The weather had been cloudy with a bit of snow in the morning and I figured there was a good chance they wouldn't be able to fly up, so it was a real treat to see them.

The fact is that seeing family/good friends on the trail is a big morale booster. Especially when you have a bit of time to visit. Being able to share some of your stories, trials and tribulations with a caring ear is BIG.

The next few hours were spent visiting, eating, sorting gear and fixing my drag brake. I had managed to scrounge enough bit and bobs to do a proper job fixing it. For the first bit Richard and Checker Rick hung over top of me, talking me through the repair.....well, once Richard and I straightened out a few language 'complications'....A 'Spanner'???? What the heck is that????

Anyway, progress was slow until the checkpoint manager, Mark, walked by and said that the guys could actually finish up for me. "I thought you were just trying to prove a point by doing it yourself", he said. Trust me, I have no points I'm that desperate on proving!!! I tossed the tools at the guys and the repair was done quickly and properly. Phew!!!

There were lots of local kids poking around the checkpoint during the afternoon. They were all very good about being respectful of the dogs and letting them rest - but when the dogs were up and about I had told the kids they could say 'hi' and take a few pictures.
One young lady, who later introduced herself as Rosie, came over and said their was 'something' wrong with one of the dogs paws. I hadn't seen anything when working with the dogs a bit earlier, so I was a little doubtful, but walked up with her to the front of the team. She pointed at See and sure enough, somehow (probably caught it on a line while milling around in harness) the silly girl had managed to break one of her toenails right down to the nail bed! Ouch!! I thanked Rosie a lot for making such a good catch and headed off to find a vet.
The vets, who were great about showing and explaining to Rosie - who told them she'd like to be a vet when she grows up - what they were doing, got See all patched up in no time!

Rosie posed with Charge for a picture (picture by Richard Todd). "Thanks Rosie!!!"

Too soon it was time for Richard and Donna to leave. We said our goodbyes ('See you in Nome' to Richard), they headed back to the airport and I headed to lie down for a bit more.

After my nap I wandered back upstairs and was lucky enough to catch Dan Seavey Sr's presentation to the village of McGrath in honor of the 100 years of the Historic Iditarod Trail. Dan spoke of the early days of the race and his early days in Alaska. I was glad to catch that.

I finished packing up my sled and began readying the dogs to leave. I didn't feel the dogs had gotten a fabulous rest - the girls were too hormonal and the boys too preoccupied with the girls - but it was what it was.

At 5:48, right on schedule, we left our temporary 'home'!