A Soft Pillow

I arrived in White Mountain today to be greeted by a warm sun with temperatures in the upper 30’s.  The dogs were soaking up the sun as they relaxed on their straw beds.  I was interested in hearing what the mushers had to say about the warmer weather and how it might affect their strategy for completing the race.

Trent Herbst

There were 3 mushers at the checkpoint when I got there; Trent Herbst, Scott White, and Chris Adkins.  Trent has only dropped 4 dogs from his team of yearlings.  He said his team is doing great, however on warm days, such as today, he doesn’t run them hard and tries to run more at night.  Warm temperatures are hard on the dogs because they can overheat.  Trent said he will wait until the sun goes down before he leaves White Mountain.

Chris Talks With Some Fans

Chris Adkins is the son of one of the first Iditarod veterinarians.  He came to compete in the Iditarod because he heard his father describe the things he saw and this motivated Chris’s desire to see the same thing.  Chris has been mushing with 8 dogs since Galena. He feels the 8 dogs he has are race hardened and will be able to finish the race without a problem.  Chris also said the warm weather takes a lot out of the dogs and that he will not push them hard.  Chris is enjoying his trip up the Iditarod Trail and is taking a lot of pictures as he goes.

Scott Enjoying the Sun

Scott White is another back of the pack musher who is enjoying his trip.  Scott is from the state of Washington and runs a construction company.  Scott has 7 dogs still running out of his original 16 and feels his dogs are up to the challenge of finishing the race.  He said he doesn’t really feel any pressure to beat anyone but just wants to finish. 

I think these 3 back of the pack racers should be commended for the great attitude they have about the task before them.  They are not worried about what anyone else is doing or has done in the past.  They are concentrating on doing the best job they can personally do and focusing on good dog care. 

A College Degree is a Tool    

 This is Nancy Persons the 3^rd grade teacher from Unalakleet. Nancy has had an interesting teaching career.  She hasn’t spent her time teaching in one place, but rather has used her teaching degree as a tool to experience life in a variety of locations world wide. What an interesting approach to life. She hasn’t used her college degree to reach the end of her trail, but rather has used it to expand her trail. Nancy has taught in Peru, Bolivia, Oman, and Morocco.  Since coming to Unalakleet, Nancy has rejuvenated the ski program. She has her team practicing skiing for 6 months out of the year!!! I’m jealous Nancy. I wish our skiing season in Pennsylvania was 6 months. Her team will be going to the Arctic Winter Games, which every country that touches the Arctic Circle can compete.  They even have dog mushing and biathlon, which is skiing and shooting, at the Winter Games.

Preserving the Traditional Ways

 Meet Donna.  Donna works at PennAir in Unalakleet.  Donna was raised in Barrow, Alaska. Barrow is north of the Arctic Circle. When Donna was in 6 through 12 grades, she had classes in Arctic Survival.  She learned things such as navigation by the stars, building snow shelters, and building fire using a certain kind of rock with gold specks. I thought that was great, but I had to wonder what they used for fuel. I look across the landscape and all I see is snow, and snow doesn’t burn well at all. So, I had to ask her what they used for fuel.  She said there is a certain kind of moss that will burn.  She learned how to build 2 different kinds of snow shelters.  One was the traditional igloo type; the other was the cave type, which was built if time was limited. She also learned how to hunt polar bear, seal.  To this very day, the fishermen bring her seals because they know that she has the skill to process them the old way. She uses every part of the seal.  For example, the intestines are dried and can be used for making raincoats and the bladder can be used for making a bag.  Donna also teaches a community coarse on making Heart Sole Mukluks. This is the traditional boot with a seal skin sole. 

Donna is interested in preserving the old ways which were taught by the elders and have been passed down from generation to generation. The value in learning the old ways gives us “a sense of who we are,” Donna said. 

Wow Donna!!! That is a profound statement.  I agree with you 100%.  As a matter of fact, that is exactly what the Trail to Every Classroom program from the National Park Service is all about. This program, if you read in an earlier post on my blog, is being adopted by the United States Forest Service for the Iditarod Trail. I hope Donna will get involved with this program and hopefully get some support for educating students in traditional Alaskan ways.

 Going at the Shak

 The toilet at Shaktoolik is not the traditional toilet, or maybe it is. I guess it depends on who you are and where you live.  Going at the Shak requires climbing skills.  In order to sit upon the throne you have go up several steps.  This is required because it is a composting toilet which has a mechanical devise for stirring.  The stirring devise needs room in order to operate properly, therefore, the raised platform.  When the contents have sufficiently decomposed, they can then be removed.  There are several types of composting toilets.  Check them out online.  If you want to really find out something interesting, go to the NASA sight and find out how they treat waste in space. 

The last 48hours has been a whirlwind tour for me.  I started in Takotna and have visited Galena,Nulato and Kaltag.  At each location, the most interesting part of my trip has been the trail crossings that I have experienced with the wonderful people I have met. The people in the villages have been very friendly and welcoming.  The children in the villages have caused me to miss the children at my school at the Southern Fulton Elementary back in Pennsylvania.  And the volunteers for the Iditarod, which come from all over the world, are interesting, friendly, and fun.  Some of these people are a long way from home, but they have come for the dogs, for the people, and to work together as an international team to make this race a success. 

Volunteer (Picture later) This is Tracey.  She is from New Zealand.  She was a volunteer at the Iditarod last year and got hooked on dog mushing.  She corresponded with some Iditarod mushers and ended up at Jeff King’s kennel as a handler.  She wants to see the world so she is taking some time off and traveling the world.  She is certified in Canine Behavior, and has a diploma in veterinary nursing. She wants to do further studies in the field of Canine Behavior in order to become a specialist.  We want to wish Tracey lots of luck in her endeavors and thank her for working as a volunteer.  Question of the day: In what hemisphere is New Zealand?

(picture later)  This is Ruth.  Ruth is a veterinarian from Germany.  Ruth volunteered with the Iditarod because a fellow veterinarian had visited Seavey’s kennel and talked her into applying. Ruth has enjoyed her visit to Alaska and loves working with the dogs.  Danke schoen Ruth.  We appreciate your efforts.

Connections With People

Tom Jarding from Pennsylvania is walking the a Trail from Knik to Nome.  Tom lives about an hour from where I live back  in Pennsylvania.  He walks about 50-60 miles per day.  Tom pulls a sled behind him with food, a sleeping bag, and white gas for his stove. He doesn’t have a tent, but has devised a system by which he sleeps on his sled and uses the tarp as a tent.  Tom is on pace to break the record of 22 days and 6 hours to walk the trail. I saw Tom from the airplane as we were flying from Galena to Nulato. We buzzed him a couple times and waved the wings at him.  He was really trucking. Go Tom go!!!  We’re pulling for you!!! (Don’t forget to duck next time Tom.)

(picture later) This beautiful family is Keith Ramos, his wife Tabitha, and their son Kaden.  They moved to Alaska from sunny Florida.  Keith works for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.  Tabitha is studying to be a physical education teacher.  Tabitha and Keith love Alaska and feel that it is a healthy place to live and raise a family.  I actually have 2 connections with Keith.  The first one is we both have had training at the National Conservation Training Center in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, which is a great place to study and eat, and eat, and eat. . . . The second connection is that we both have taken classes in Missoula, Montana. Keith has mule packed in the Bob Marshal Wilderness. (Check the Bob Marshal Wilderness out online, and then go there.) As some of my readers know, I mule packed for the United States Forest Service and mule pack recreationally.  We wish Keith, Tabitha, and Kaden well and hope our trails cross again.

(picture later) This is Monica from Dillsburg, Pennsylvania. She is a volunteer at the Nulato checkpoint. Dillsburg is about an hour from where I live. Monica and I both know Urtha Lenharr, an Iditarod finisher from Pennsylvania.  See you back in PA Monica!!!

(picture later) This is Melanie Hans.  I ran into Melanie last year at the National Conservation Training Center.  She is a biologist for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in Galena, Alaska. It was wonderful to be able to go so far away from home and see a familiar face.  Melanie was one of the followers of our NCTC band.  Many a day was spent studying, and many a night was spent playing music at the social center. Stay warm Melanie!!!!

This is George Nyce.  George has been a resident of Alaska all of his adult life, but he was actually born in the same town in Pennsylvania where I was born.  The connection doesn’t stop there though. His father owned a planning mill in Doylestown, PA where we used to buy lumber 40 years ago.  It’s a small world!!!  What are the chances of occurrences such as this happening.  I traveled thousands of miles to walk on a snow covered road in Alaska’s interior(a place with no roads to or from) to meet this man.  George, it was great meeting you.  We’ll have to do it again sometime. 

Folks, these trail crossings are wonderful experiences, but they only happen if you take that first step.  It may be as simple as saying, “hey, how’s it going,”  or as simple as stopping and helping someone along the way.  One connection may be all it takes to change your life or to help someone who has lost their way along the trail of life.

Post Office

School

Takotna is a fine place to be.  I visited the school yesterday.  There are 2 elementary students, one in kindergarten, and one in sixth grade.  The high school students and the elementary students are in the same building.

This is Regan.  She is a comms person at the Takotna Checkpoint.  She remembers her 3^rd grade teacher using the Iditarod in the classroom as a teaching tool.  She also remembers reading books by the author, Jack London, who wrote stories about the north. Between her sophomore and junior years in college, she joined AmeriCorps and ended up in Anchorage.  While in Anchorage, the Iditarod Ceremonial start rekindled her interest in sled dogs and the Iditarod.  At the start of the race, she saw how excited the dogs were about pulling.  She said they tugged and barked and were having so much fun.  Last year she was an official comms person in Nome, this year in Takotna. Regan said, “I love volunteering and watching the mushers interact with their teams. Iditarod ensures that mushing skills are passed on to the next generation. The bond between mushers and dogs is neat.”

Thanks Regan!!! And, all you 3^rd graders watch out if your teacher is using the Iditarod in your classroom.  You might end up in Alaska as a volunteer at the Iditarod.

Larry is a native Alaskan.  He is a race judge.  He grew up with dogs in the north western part of Alaska.  While he was growing up, his family depended on dogs for hunting and transportation. He said the original Alaskan huskies were much bigger than dogs used in the Iditarod today.  Their hair was thicker and they weighed more. Dogs back then were bred for pulling heavy loads, not for going fast.  He started competing in dog sled races in the 1960’s and raced for several years. Unfortunately, he found it too expensive and time consuming to continue since he had to provide for his own family. He was away from dogs for many years, but dogs have always been in his blood. He is glad to be back around the dogs as a race judge.  We are glad he is here also, and love that he shares his knowledge and experience about dogs with us. Thanks Larry!!!

A team rests in Takotna.

The landing strip on the river in Takotna is marked with spruce bows.

After leaving Skwentna checkpoint yesterday, we were flown back to Anchorage for the night.  The weather had gotten too bad for us to continue up the Iditarod trail.  Today we boarded a Cessna Caravan, which is a slightly bigger aircraft than the one we had been flying in, and it can carry about 9 passengers.  It is able to fly in bad weather when there is low visibility because it has the proper instruments for the pilot.  Bush pilots fly by the seat of their pants, not by instruments for the most part. (I underlined the figurative language in this sentence. What does it mean?)

We traveled North West over the Alaska Range to a town called McGrath. The peaks in the Alaska Range were steep and covered with snow.  They were absolutely gorgeous.

It was much colder in McGrath than in Anchorage.  Can anybody explain why?

Visibility in McGrath was about 1 mile because of a snow storm. So, we were grounded again.  I checked in with the comms people and asked if there were any interesting places for me to visit while I waited for a flight to Nikolai. They told me I had about an hour and a half and to check out the museum.  About 15 minutes after finding the museum, a snow machine operator came screaming into the library parking lot looking for me.  They had found a pilot going to Nikolai. That means I needed to go immediately. We jumped onto the snow machine and darted back to the airstrip. Unfortunately, when we got to the airstrip, it was snowing and we were grounded again.

It’s back into the Iditarod Trail Cafe for another wait.  This is where I found out what trail breakers do when they get a few minutes.  Keep in mind that this is in the middle of the café in downtown McGrath. 

I was lucky enough to finally get out of McGrath and get to Nikolai before nightfall. Nikolia is a beautiful village along the Kuskokwim River.  Here’s a musher coming off the river to the checkpoint.

It’s finally race day.  I wasn’t able to make the festivities on Willow Lake for the start of the race because I had to be ready to leave from Lake Hood right outside my hotel in Anchorage.  The lake literally is 75 yards from the back door of the hotel.  So out to the plane we went and we were airborne in a matter of minutes. 

It was interesting to the pilot explain the gauges.  The altimeter is really just a barometer that is calibrated to tell how many feet above the ground we are when we are flying. Because it’s a barometer, it needs calibrated or adjusted every time the pilot flies since air pressure varies with the air mass that is present at any given time.  If you have just a simple home weather system that has a barometer and you want to see how pressure changes with altitude, put the barometer in the car and drive up a mountain or down into a valley.

Here’s a picture of the comms room for the Iditarod.  This board shows all of the flights leaving Lake Hood, the tail number of the plane, who is on the plane or what supplies are being transported, who the pilot is, the ETD (Estimated Time of Departure), and the ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival). Can you find me on the board?

Does your local post office look like this? Skwentna is a refreshing step back in time.

The ladies are cooking up a storm!!! The Skwentna Sweethearts did an excellent job at keeping our strength up. The meals were fantastic!!!

How do you set 2 poles up on a river?  Does anyone have any ideas?

 All ready for some mushers to roll in.

Today was another amazing day at the teacher’s conference filled with surprises.    

Angie Taggart, a teacher from Ketchikan Alaska has qualified to compete in the 2011 Iditarod. She will be taking a year off of teaching in preparation for the “Last Great Race.”  Fantastic job Angie!!!!!! We will be following your progress at www.mushingadventures.blogspot.com

How would you like to meet someone who competed in the first Iditarod back in 1973? Rod Perry is just that person.  We had the wonderful opportunity to meet and talk with Rod and listen to those amazing stories of yesteryear.  Rod has written a book about the history of the Iditarod trail which is available at:  http://rodperry.com/  Rod drank milk from a mother moose on 2 different occasions, once to ward off starvation.  He has also taken weeks long trips in the subarctic on dog sled without the support of additional supplies being dropped by airplane or snow machine.  

We listened to Jeff King tell stories from the Iditarod Trail.  The story that tickled me the most was the one about camping next to a Native Alaskan musher.  Jeff got his drop bag out of his sled all lumpy and bumpy from the things that were neatly packed in plastic bags.  As Jeff removed his items from the bag, the Native Alaskan musher got his drop bag out which was perfectly cylindrical and smooth. After opening the end of the bag, the Native Alaskan slid a hard frozen seal out of the bag and commenced to chopping the seal up feeding himself and his dogs; quite a contrast in cultures.

Quote of the day:  Some people are already dead. They just haven’t been buried 

 Breaking trail for you,

 Herb Brambley

2010 Target Iditarod Teacher on the Trail

 

Today I attended the press conference for the 2010 Iditarod at the Millennium Hotel in Anchorage and learned some interesting facts.

 Since the Iditarod started in 1972, 671 people have completed the race.

 There will be 71 mushers competing this year in Iditarod XXXVIII. (That’s 38 in Roman Numerals. X=10, V=5, and I=1)

 There are 59 mushers from the United States of America.  The rest come from Canada, Scotland, Jamaica, and Belgium.

 There are 22 rookies in the race. This has been said to be the best field of rookies ever with many of them having a chance to win the Rookie of the Year Award.

 There are 49 musher competing who have completed the race.

 Out of the 71 mushers, 16 are women, and 55 are men.

 9 out of last year’s top 10 finishers are back.

 There are 3 principle partners who support the Iditarod. 1.) Anchorage Chrysler Dodge 2.) GCI  and 3.) Exxon Mobil (So buy Exxon/Mobil gas and put it in your Chrysler or Dodge as drive down the road talking on your GCI cellular phone.)

 There are 5 basic functions that IonEarth Tracking is used for; 1.) Track the mushers, 2.) Position camera people during the race so they can get good shots. 3.) Used by checkers so they know when someone is coming down the trail and can then be prepared to perform their duties. 4.) Used to show where the mushers are on the Iditarod Insider. 5.) Makes tracking of the race available on smart phones.

 The Iditarod has had a drug testing rule for the mushers since 1984, and has been testing dogs since 1994.

 There has NEVER been a positive drug test from a dog since they started testing.

 They will test every musher in the Iditarod this year for drug usage.

 $561,000 will be divided between the top 30 mushers.

 The winner will receive over $50,000 for his/her efforts.

 Trail Conditions at a Glance

 The trail should be fast since it is icy in a lot of places.

 Snow is scarce in some locations so we may see the use of dust masks for the first time.

Surprisingly, there is not much overflow.

 The trail conditions on the other side of the Alaska Range are slightly softer.

 Final Comments

With trail conditions as they are and the weather being much warmer than normal, this could turn out to be an interesting year.  What strategies should the mushers use? Should they hold the dogs back at the beginning on the hard fast trail, or should they use this part of the trail to get a jump on the competition by letting the dogs run? Would it be better to save the dogs energy for the softer part of the trail? Whose dogs run better in warmer weather? If the weather stays warm, what is the trail going to look like after the first 40 mushers? In the warmer weather, do you change your run rest strategy to longer slower runs, faster shorter runs, or do you keep it the same?

 It is shaping up to be an interesting race this year.  Get those computers fired up and the Iditarod Insider so you can follow the race as it happens. 

 See you on down the trail.

Herb

Target® 2010 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail

Have you ever been to a motel you can only get to by bush plane, snow machine, boat, or dog sled?  I have!!! The Yetna Station Roadhouse is just that.  After seeing the Jr. Iditarod mushers off the starting line at Willow Lake, we were flown over to Yentna Station.  The flight alone is an experience.  We came banking in as we lowered our altitude, and gently dropped down onto the ice covered Yentna river for a slightly bumpy landing by our ski plane.

Yentna station was a wonderful place to stay.  The proprietors were very nice and the accommodations were out of this world.  They even have an inside bathroom that you don’t need to worry about flushing.

Need running water? No problem! Run out to the river and get it.  No, not really.  They do have running water, and even hot running water thanks to the on demand propane water heater.

Where did the electricity for the lights come from?  (Since I teach environmental education, and one of my lessons is about this very thing, I found this most interesting.) The answer is solar panels and an electric generator. There are no power lines running to Yetna Station.

 Want heat? No problem.  Stoke the fire.  And if you’re still not warm, go split some wood. 

Need lumber to build something, including your house? They make that right here at Yentna Station too; with their own sawmill.

After exploring all of these wonderful adaptations and having an absolutely delicious meal rustled up by Mamma and Pappa Gabryszak, we sat down and entertained ourselves by playing guitars as we waited for the junior Iditarod mushers to come in off the river.  That’s right no need to turn the radio on or play video games.

The junior mushers were a great group of young adults.  They handled themselves in a responsible manner that would have made any parent proud.  After arriving they got right to their chores of taking care of their dogs. (The dogs will take care of you, if you take care of them.) After chores, they did have time to socialize with a game of Duck, Duck, Goose as they waited for the last musher to come in.  It was very late at night before the last musher got there, but not one of the other competitors left the rivers edge until the very last of them had arrived safely.  When he did finally arrive, everyone pitched in to help him take care of his dogs by bedding them down and helping him build a fire to melt snow so that he could feed his dogs. This display of genuine concern for a fellow musher was enough to bring tears to your eyes.  You see, Jonathan is a diabetic and he has trouble with low blood sugar.  At one point during the day his blood sugar got so low that he passed out and his sled rolled over on top of him. After receiving some medical attention for his low blood sugar, he continued down the trail. What an absolutely fantastic display of courage by this 14 year old.    

Sunday morning things went smoothly as the junior mushers moved back onto the Yentna River and back toward the Start/Finish line in Willow. Merissa Osmar was the first musher across the finish line with a $5000 scholarship waiting for her.  The $3500 scholarship for second place was wrapped up by Anitra Winkler, and the $2000 third place winner was Rebekah Ruzicka. 

As the awards banquet started at 6:00, there were 3 musher still out on the trail. We had finished eating and a few door prizes were handed out when the announcement was made that there was a musher coming in.  Everyone left the community center and filed out into the crisp night air.  A light snow was falling as we walked down to the lakes edge.  We peered into the darkness as we waited for the dim light of a headlamp to appear.  Finally, way across the lake a faint light came into view.  Cheers went up from the crowd as the dog team headed down the bank onto the ice toward the waiting crowd on the opposite shore. And then, without warning, all of the junior mushers ran across the lake to greet the last mushers. The strobe lights on the lead dogs pierced the darkness as the teams honed in on the waiting crowd, first the dog teams, followed by the running group of young mushers. Cameras flashed as the mushers made their way under the finish line banner.  As Jonathan, the last musher made his way under the banner to the cheers of the waiting crowd, a huge sense of relief filled the air.  The last musher had made it safely home. 

No longer was there tension in the air, as the crowd walked back to the community center to finish the banquet proceedings’.  The celebration could finally be complete, as all were now in attendance. 

Final note:  Jonathan was unanimously voted by his fellow mushers as the Sportsmanship award recipient; deservingly so.