As you will have seen from the beginning of this post, I am once again back in Georgia for a family emergency. I’m not going to go into all of that right now but this has been a hard few months for us. Hopefully, though, this is the last time I will have to be here for this reason. We encountered a hiccup but things are improving again.

Moving along to happier topics - be sure to find a copy of the March 2010 issue of Outside magazine. More specifically, check out the EXCELLENT page 72 article “It’s The Dog In You”, which has a lot of really fascinating information on how sled dogs are able to perform the way they do without burning up like a human would. The magazine also has an article about Eastern coyotes, another subject that has fascinated me. Unfortunately, that article is overly focused on aggression in said Eastern coyotes.  

In Iditarod news, Blake is in the middle of the Iditarod and doing well. Unfortunately he has had to drop four dogs but, to the best of my knowlege, not for anything serious. According to the reports (and I have been following the reports online religiously) he will be coming into the Cripple checkpoint anytime now.

Jeff King is currently leading the race, followed by Lance Mackey (are we surprised? Noooooooo!) and they have reached Ruby and the Yukon River.

Again, be sure to visit http://www.iditarod.com/ to follow Blake and the rest of the Iditarod field.

Spring has arrived with a vengence. This past week temperatures have soared into the fifties and our snow is fast disappearing. The 10-dog, 130-mile class of the Wolftrack Classic was cancelled because of this. It was 52 degrees and the trails were nearly snowless. The right decision was made in calling the race but I really feel bad for the organizers because they put so much work, effort and dedication into bringing the race about. It has to be a blow.

I mentioned earlier that we have been introducing the “puppies” to the big yard. This morning I went out into the yard to clean and discovered that one puppy, Bones, perhaps in protest of the warm weather, had somehow pulled the insulation out of the roof of his house and proceeded to shred it all around his circle. So I spent some time picking up chunks of pink foam from his circle.

 
Bones

The insulation

The snow around the yard is getting punchy and rotten. Where we have been walking all season, we are suddenly sinking with every step into an icy substance that can hardly even be considered “snow.” And our yard (not the dog yard, fortunately) has become a mud bog. All the melting snow has to go somewhere. Fortunately the dog yard is holding up.

Kim’s boyfriend, Jake, with Chime

Violet, one of the usual suspects on my team this year.

We did do some fun running since we didn’t do Wolftrack. Lori, a part-time handler, Jen and I started some of the puppies in harness and went on an 18-mile run with the usual suspects (yearlings). The sun was beating down and the trail not-so-great but it was still a fun run. Hard to believe this season is drawing to a close though. So much has happened and I have had some amazing experiences. Today was just a good day to be. To relax and enjoy the moment.

Team above is as follows:

Fiona    Susan
Violet   Bonnie
Mattie   Rose
Urbana    Inga

With the puppies being introduced to the big yard, Calypso and Susan are in a kennel run together again (right). Inga and Fiona are in the other pen.

The Wolftrack Classic starts today and I am running the 10-dog class. It’s going to be a warm race. Follow it online at http://wolftrackclassic.com/index.html

Well, as you probably know, the ceremonial start of the 2010 Iditarod is today (the real start is tomorrow). We are very excited to see how Blake’s team of Siberians is going to do this year!

Fox21 in Duluth did a very good piece on Blake, which I have included below.

From: http://www.fox21online.com/greatoutdoors/blake-freking-prepares-last-great-race-earth

Blake Freking prepares for the last great race on earth

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 9:00pm

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Submitted by Carrie Kohlmeier

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By photojournalist Carrie Kohlmeier, FOX 21 News

 

FINLAND, Minn. - Just a month after running the Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon, Blake Freking, a well–known northland musher, is in Alaska.  He’ll take off on the Iditarod in just a few days.

“The team looks great,” said Freking.  “We changed our training quite a bit this year. We’ve been training a lot slower. Much more like an iditarod type pace. We’ve got a lot of miles on this year. These guys are in great shape and really looking to see how they do.”

This will be Blake’s third time racing in the Iditarod, a race that traverses more than 1,000 miles of Alaska’s frontier from Anchorage to Nome. It takes anywhere from nine to 17 days to complete the journey.

“It’s totally different from anything else. So much varied terrain. We spend a lot of time on the Yukon River. We spend a lot of time on the Alaska range, and we spend a lot of time on the Bering Sea coast. On the Bering Sea, we get huge winds and cold temps. On the Yukon River, we’ll get some really cold temps and winds as well.”

Seventy-one teams will compete in this year’s Iditarod. Blake is the sole musher from Minnesota and one of only 13 teams that participate from the lower 48. Traveling the 3500 miles to Alaska with 20 sled dogs is a marathon in itself.

“We always say we’ve run several Iditarods before we get to the Iditarod starting line.  We’ve got a truck and trailer and everybody has their own box and they have their own bunk that they stay in throughout the trip and it’s quite comfortable for them.  During the trip, we stop every four hours and let the dogs out to exercise, loosen up, get a little snack.”

The logistics involved in preparing for the iditarod are extensive.

“It’s a big commitment, yeah, i had to take six weeks off of work to go up there and run it all, between travel and the logistics.  We have drop bags that we put together prior to the race and that’s a huge logistical step, getting all our gear supplied and bagged and from there it goes out to the check points on the race.  That has to take place down here and then it goes by truck up to Tacoma, Washington, and it goes by barge up to Anchorage, and then it goes by bush plane from anchorage to the individual check points,”

Blake relies on a team of people year-round to help him and the dogs get ready for the challenging race.

“I’m pretty fortunate that I’m the one on the runners, but there’s so many people that help out. My wife jennifer is just instrumental in everything, especially dog care. We have handlers here, we have Kim, Alice,  and Phil who have been here since the summer and have been a huge help to us,”

The Iditarod is known to many as the last great race on earth… A prestigious pursuit that Blake Freking and his elite athletes can’t wait to be a part of.

“The biggest thing for me is just getting out on the trail with 16 of my buddies and just spending some great time, traveling through some fascinating country.  Alaska really is the last frontier, as far as america is concerned. It’s hard to imagine going over 1,000 miles and never crossing a road. It’s just fascinating country to travel to and see and what better way to do it than with a dog team,”

Be sure to visit the link (http://www.fox21online.com/greatoutdoors/blake-freking-prepares-last-great-race-earth) which includes a video with footage of the team bounding around the free-run yard (and there’s even a very short clip of me saying hello to Khan).

Also - http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/161924/

Follow the Iditarod on http://www.iditarod.com/

Follow Blake on http://www.racingsiberians.com/

LITTLE BOAT
By Daniel Rogers

Lying in your boat

You started floating away

On dancing through the rapids

Your body tossed and swayed

Out to the open sea you sailed

Your tiny sail in the wind unveiled

You and your little boat

You met the world today

Fast forward cities and carnival lights

And shipyard docks and the Isle Of Wight
You and your little boat

You saw the world today

Watching the sea

Contemplating

Waiting for a revelation

Waiting

Waiting and then

Waking one quiet day

Your boat in drift and ashore

At the base of a hill

You’d never seen before

You climbed the slope that stretched on upward

But your feet sunk into the ground

And you stepped hard

And you fell

And you fell

The clouds blow

The ships sail

Do you stay the same?

The waves splash

The birds wail

Do you feel the same?

The shore moves

The lights change

Is it all the same?

The planes fly

The sky rains

Does life look the same?

Above picture from http://www.flickr.com/photos/tscherer/4397049050/in/set-72157623405751751/ It shows my team coming into the finish of the Red River Dog Derby. Yes, I am wearing the Mask.

The Red River race was awesome! We had an absolute blast and it was truly a rush blasting out of the starting chute with twelve dogs. Quite a change from running the usual suspects (my 8-dog BG150 flower power team). I remember the first time I ever drove a 3-dog team and I thought THAT was insane. Not so much now!

I let this team go faster than I have before in any race (with this particular team that was not a problem!). Running on the river was a lot of fun. Gonzo had a fun time deciding which side of the river we should run on! He led the entire way and was a goofball but did a good job, especially since he was not used to me as his musher.

The Red River is seriously windy. It curves around something crazy and sometimes it does turns that almost have us heading back in the opposite direction. A lot of fun. The dogs often sped up nearing the curves, excited to see what might be around the next bend. Sometimes we would catch another team, sometimes another team would catch us.

The night run was perfect. It was clear with a full moon to light our way and the temperature hovered around zero and the dogs were rocking! We couldn’t have asked for better running conditions. The air was cool enough for ice crystals to form in the air and they caught the light of my headlamp and glittered as we ran along.

When the sun came out the next morning, the dogs all turned back into pumkins. They still ran nicely but it was warmer and nobody runs as well when the temperature is going up and up and the sun is beating down. I used a ski pole for the first time in the Red River, to help the dogs. I liked using it and I’m sure the dogs appreciated it!

We finished in 6th place and I had all twelve dogs finish with me. I was really, really pleased. This race was just a lot of fun and I can see myself coming back to do it again sometime in the future. Jen and Sarah of course did a great job of having everything ready when I came into checkpoints. I think they had a little too much fun though! But seriously, BIG THANK-YOU to Jen and Sarah!

Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/tscherer/4394164236/in/set-72157623523592702/

Find more pictures, links and results on http://www.redriversleddogderby.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1

Sorry, no pictures for today. I took some good ones today as Jen, Sarah and I made the roadtrip over to Fargo with my Red River dog team but I am currently using someone else’s computer because mine doesn’t have an internet connection at this particular location.

I am actually not sure of our exact location right now. We are a little ways north of Fargo, staying with friends in a quiet place out in the country. It’s soooo much nicer than staying at a motel would have been, especially for the dogs. They are MUCH more relaxed here than they were at the motel parking lot where we had the Red River vet check today.

The terrain over here is very flat and open, broken by a few patches of trees. Just after dusk, as we were driving, it felt strangely like driving along the Florida panhandle coast. The snow-covered fields became bays and the dark patches of trees barrier islands. Just a strange thought that occurred to me this evening.

But getting back to the race that I am here for, I drew the number 8 starting position. There are 10 teams all together. Jen has been teasing me that I will definitely finish in the top ten (come to think of it, Jen has been teasing me ALL DAY). Sarah is here with us too and we are glad of her help, as always.

My Red River Sled Dog Derby team is very different from my Beargrease 150 team. With the exception of Hjordis and Mattie, and a couple of dogs that didn’t make Blake’s Iditarod team, all of these dogs were running on Phil’s team this year. But since Phil is currently in Alaska with Blake, I have been working with his crew as well.

My Red River team is as follows:

  Trekkie     Slug
     Gonzo    Frog
Champaign    Mattie
  Kyat        Hjordis
  Woody        Doc
Jazz     Racket

You can follow the Red River Sled Dog Derby on http://www.redriversleddogderby.com/

I’ll write again after the race…!

Well, I am VERY excited to report that I have another race coming up! This weekend I will be running the Red River Sled Dog Derby, an approximately 164-mile race that begins in Halstad, MN and runs on the Red River along the border of Minnesota and North Dakota. This is a 12-dog race and should be an absolute blast! I am really looking forward to it. Read more about the race here - http://www.redriversleddogderby.com/

In other news…

Blake, Phil, Forrest and a large number of dogs are currently on their way to Alaska. They left last Saturday and I took a few photos.

Rocket (left) and Peso (right) check out Phil, who is…I don’t know. Probably grinning about the fact that he won’t have to worry about me throwing snowballs at him for  the next six weeks.

Tuuli peeks out of his box in the trailer where the dogs are riding.

Blake prepares to leave. Jen tries to delay him.

The crew heads off for Alaska, leaving MCK in the hands of Jen, myself, Kim and friends.

Well, as some of you may know, I wore the mask pictured above at the start of the Beargrease 150. I got more comments on the thing from other racers and (especially) spectators, who were all very enthusiastic about it. I think I said a couple of times “Well, I was going to a masquerade but I ended up running a sled dog race.”

So I thought I’d give a little background. The mask doesn’t have any particularly *huge* significance. It was something my Aunt brought me years back when I was ten or twelve. I don’t remember where she got it but I had a blast running around with it on. Over the years, my friends and I had waaaay to much fun with the mask and there are pictures and videos of us wearing it. Then I put it under my mattress (in GA) and there it sat for the past few years.

Fast forward to last December when certain members of the MCK crew (myself included, of course) decided to look up as many versions of “The Twelve Days Of Christmas” as we could find. There was one version in particular - the “Phantom Of The Opera” version - that we got a kick out of (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7RgDMce840). We ended up ending anything that remotely resembled a list with “AND A MASK!!!!”

As you may remember, I went to Georgia-home for Christmas. While I was there, I remembered the Mask and went searching for it. I found it right where I had left it under the matress. So, when I flew back to Minnesota-home, I carefully packed it in my suitcase. At New Year I whipped it on and said “AND A MASK!” and then “Who thinks I should wear this at the Beargrease start?”

And the rest is history.

Photo by Kris Saari

Above are pictures from the race start from http://f-go.smugmug.com/Sports/Dog-Sledding/John-Beargrease-Dog-Sled/11120447_nch65#779094221_QRbNm Go to the link to see better quality images.

Photos from left to right:

• Chime (with Inga in the background)
• Me unloading one of the flowers from the dog truck. They were a little reluctant to leave their boxes.
• Hjordis

I want to thank Blake and Jen once again for allowing me to do this race with their puppies. You have no idea how much I appreciate that opportunity.  

Blake finished 6th in the marathon. I was not at the finish but I hear his dogs were leaping and barking at the finish line and looked great! Unfortunately, Phil had to scratch but I am confident he made the right decision in the interest of his puppies. If you want to decipher the race results yourself, go to http://www.beargrease.com/mushers-results.php