Eye on the Trail: Wee hours of Saturday Morning

Linwood

LInwood Fiedler

The tracker foretold the story of what would happen on Front Street between race veteran Linwood Fiedler and  race rookie Ben Harper.  Through the satellite tracking device we could see the two markers a short distance apart on the screen.  The next update, the markers would be closer, the next update showed the rear marker in the lead.  Then the next update would show the front marker in the rear.  The rear marker was  Ben Harper.  The front marker was Linwood Fiedler.  There were several passes between Safety and Nome.

When the teams made Front Street, the race was really on.  Harper pulled even with Fieldler.  As Ben urged his team on by, the dogs felt the excitement of the moment and found one more gear to pass and make the finish line 20 second ahead of Linwood’s leader.  Afterward Linwood joked, “I’m too old for this stuff.  I just got beat by an 18 year old kid who hasn’t been shaving all that long.”

Fiedler started mushing in 1977 when he lived in Montana.  After he placed eighth in his second Iditarod, the Fiedlers moved to Alaska.  Fiedler has run in 21 Iditarods and has placed in the top 10 in four races.  In 2001 he claimed second with a time of 10 days 3 hours and 58 minutes.  Tonight he claimed 37th place with a time of 11 days 16 hours and 28 minutes.  During the summer Fiedler operates a glacier tour business near Juneau.  In racing to Nome, Linwood tries to do the best he can while putting the welfare of his dogs first.  Fiedler’s time from Safety to Nome was two hours and thirty minutes which tied the efforts of Wade Marrs.

BenBen Harper has earned the prized Iditarod Finisher’s belt buckle.  Figuratively, Ben has learned as much in the last eleven days as he has in the last 12 years of formal education.  Harper has done well in all the necessary qualifying races.  He’s competed in the Junior Iditarod three years running finishing 4, 3 and 2nd.  Harper received the Humanitarian Award in the 2014 Junior race.  

Ben was the youngest musher in the Iditarod field for 2015.  On sign-up day last June, his name was drawn to receive a free entry for the race.  Harper admitted that day he wasn’t sure if he should sign up for the Iditarod but winning the entry fee was certainly a good omen.  Ben met Ray Redington Jr. in 2011 and has been mushing under his tutelage ever since.  The 2015 race through a lot challenges at the mushers, veterans as well as rookies.  The severe cold in the early days of the race took its toll on Ben’s face; the blowing snow and drifted trail between Kaltag and Unalakleet; the storm that held many mushers up in Shaktoolik, it was all a challenge that Ben met head on.  His dogs came  charging down Front Street overtaking Linwood Fiedler’s team.  When it was time for Ben to leave the chute, his dogs were barking and lunging to go, they looked like they were ready for another thousand miles.  I expect to see this young man in the Yukon Quest some time soon.  By the way, Ben made the distance from Safety to Nome in 2 hours and 27 minutes.     

AllenAllen Moore rounded out the threesome of mushers that came in the wee hours of Saturday morning.  His wife and kennel partner Aliy Zirkle was waiting in the chute to great him.  Allen has once again finished the Yukon Quest with the SP Kennel “A” team and has then taken the kennel’s puppy team to Nome.  Aliy runs the “A” group in Iditarod.  Allen says, “My goal in taking the puppies to Nome is to have an educated working dog team by the end of Iditarod.  The goal is to finish the race with as many strong dogs as possible, so they will be prepared for future years of racing competitively. After a young dog crosses the finish line in Nome, it is mentally ‘unstoppable’. It’s a great thing to witness!”  With the racing success of the kennel, his plan is working well.  Moore’s young dogs came down Front Street trotting smartly although they weren’t quite sure what to do when they got to the chute – go right, go left or go straight in.  Aliy jogged down to the opening, clapped her hands and whistled.  The young leaders got the idea and followed her under the burled arch.  Moore’s time from Safety to Nome was 2 hours and 31 minutes.