A Weekend of Racing

The 2016 Mushing season is in full swing. This weekend there are 3 mid distance races throughout Alaska, the Gin Gin 200, Northern Lights 300 and Two Rivers 200. All of them are qualifying races for the Yukon Quest and Iditarod. Each race is distinct in location, the Gin Gin the most remote race along the Denali Highway on the least travelled trails. The Northern Lights 300 in close proximity to the Knik-Willow Talkeetna Mushing area and the Two Rivers 200, as the name suggest in the heart of Fairbanks Mushing country. All races take a huge amount of preplanning, countless meetings and a large number of volunteers to put on. Where in a race like the Gin Gin, the musher has to carry all food for 200 miles, the Two Rivers had 3 Checkpoints, where food drops are allowed, and being on the road system, each musher’s handlers can transport them to the checkpoint. That makes logistics easier for the organization. The Northern Lights has to snowmachine and fly the food drop to remote checkpoints, a much larger undertaking.

Even if a musher were to run all 3 races, that would accumulate 700 miles in racing, 300 less, than the 1000 Miler they try to qualify for. The same counts for the conditions they encounter. There is only so much “ bad stuff “ they can see in 200 or 300 miles. This year’s Copper Basin 300 was relatively easy. No open water. No deep snow, other than one tiny spot during the last 10 miles no overflow, next to no ice. Yes, it was a good training race to learn a checkpoint routine and to manage a team with 4 checkpoints along the route and a good amount of mandatory rest. Competitive teams took the 18 hr rest, others trying to qualify rested significantly more, breaking up the 76 mile run to Meiers or the 84 Mile run to Mendeltna into 2 runs and “ camping out “. Challenge-wise and learning curve-wise for dogs and mushers, the CB 300 this year had little to offer. The weather was gentle, temperature wise near perfect. That is the luck of the draw with races. Each year conditions differ greatly. In 2012 the snow was so deep, that the CB 300 stalled out after 90 miles, as a trail was non-existent.

Aliy Zirkle on Koyukuk River

Aliy Zirkle on Koyukuk River

The 2016 Kuskokwim 300 offered a completely different picture. Riddled with lots of polished ice and tussocks on the overland portions, the trail was a huge challenge. Now add up to 40 mile an hour wind to that. It makes for grim mushing conditions. Now while enduring it, a musher might think: “ Why on earth have I signed up for this “. That being a valid thought at the time, the true value of surviving the challenges of race like that, will pay dividends down the road. Whereas this year’s CB 300 offered conditions which most mushers can easily encounter at home, most mushers will never have a chance to train on 300 miles of ice… and most likely would not choose to do so. I think part of the reason, besides those guys being excellent mushers to begin with, that so many native and bush Alaska teams did so well in the Kusko this year, are the tough conditions. Conditions which are never encountered on a Two Rivers trail, where as Bush teams like Josh Cadzow from Fort Yukon most likely encounter just trying to make it to the starting line, having to run their dogs out to the road system. Pete Kaiser, Richie Diehl and Mike Williams Jr. were on their home trails, and had to contend with these adverse conditions all winter. Brent Sass is known to train tough and in any possible weather. This results in those teams prevailing in conditions which are anything but ideal. More so it hardened and educated their team even further, for future challenges which the Yukon Quest or Iditarod might hold. I remember the 2014 Iditarod, where I had flipped my Iron dog going down Dalzell Gorge and needed help to flip it back upright. Winching it up was not getting me any results. On by comes Mike William Jr, I think running in 3rd position at the time. There was just rock and ice, no snow to anchor a team. He calmly stopped. Not one dog was lunging. Setting a snowhook was pointless. Mike walked up to help me out of my predicament, while the whole time his team was patiently waiting. When he continued down the trail, his team proceeded calm, and with caution. At the same time the Gorge was to claim many victims that winter, whose mushing dreams were shattered and teams were battered.

Dalles Seavey near Koyuk

Dalles Seavey near Koyuk

It is a tricky job for a musher to put miles on their team, not just any miles. Quality miles and quality in this case might also mean difficult and tough miles. Each musher has to live within certain constraints, be it jobs which interfere with training schedules, finances which do not allow far away travel times or family commitments. For Mushers from the Yukon, just traveling to a mid distance race like the Two Rivers 200 is a big undertaking, as it takes at least a full day of driving each way, about 600 miles. Some of them will go all the way back home after the TR 200, just to return a bit than a week later to the Quest 300 Qualifying Race. It looks like the conditions for the TR 200 are going to be next to ideal once again. Full moon which makes for fantastic night mushing, no wind and near perfect temperatures about 0F. The Two Rivers trails have not received any significant snow in well over a month and are hard packed as a trail can be. Whereas in the past some of the race routes have been rather easy, trail Boss Abbie West and Crew have gone through great lengths to make it as challenging as the area has to offer. Some big hills leaving Chatanika, some challenging downhill sections close to Two Rivers Lodge. Then a technically very easy middle part of the race, but where good navigation skills are key. You do not want to miss a trail marker in Two Rivers, as it is trails galore. The last part of the race, instead of going the easy route home, meanders up Colorado Creek. There is some fun 180 switchbacks on that one, then it climbs some 2000 feet up the firebreak before a twisty down hill towards Jenny M Creek. The Two Rivers 200 is by no means going to be a Kusko 300, but within local constraints it will throw a good challenge at some of the Rookies looking to qualify.

The Rookies are in good company: Mushing legend and 5 Time Iditarod Champion Rick Swenson has signed up last minute. The Wildstyle Racing Kennel of Aaron Burmeister is represented as well. The team piloted by his brother and Iditarod Musher Noah Burmeister, who has traded in the Iron Dog. Aaron’s comment: “ Man I thought I was going to take this winter off, but handling is almost more work.”. Fan favourite Aliy Zirkle of SP Kennels is also running on her home trails, so is Judy Currier who runs the shorter 100 Mile version, as well as 2 time Iditarod Finisher Thomas Lesatz of Iron Pearl Kennels. Norwegian Lars Monson who was the 65th team to sign up for Iditarod 44 is also amongst the starters in the Two Rivers 200.

 

The race is run the “ old fashioned way “ with not using trackers. But we hope to do good updates on Facebook, so if you like to follow along, check it out at https://www.facebook.com/TwoRiversDogMushers/ and if you are a local reading this, come on out to Two Rivers Lodge. Today in the afternoon teams will pile in there, all night at Pleasant Valley Store at Mile 24 Chena Hot Springs Road, and further up the road at Angle Creek Lodge. If you like to follow along the Northern Lights 300, here a link to their website: http://northernlights300.org. The Gin Gin 200, with a relatively small field of participants can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/Gingin200/

 

Happy Arm Chair Mushing

 

Sebastian