Gin Gin 200, First Iditarod Qualifier of the season

Long time no hear. Hello from the Armchair Musher. I am back on the runners…. and in the armchair too.

While much of the continental US has seen low temperatures, Alaska has once again seen a relatively mild winter. Specially the ” Valley ” mushers around Knik- Wasilla- Willow have been hard hit. Talking to a mushing friend there this morning, he told me that it was currently raining outside. Not ideal weather for long distance mushing. Further north the conditions are quite a bit better.

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This past weekend saw one of the first races of the season take place. The Gin Gin 200 is an Iditarod qualifier and brainchild of Zoya Denure ( who finished the Iditarod in 2008 and is signed up for 2015 ) and her husband John Schandlemeier of Delta Junction Alaska. Both have been putting on many races for the mushing community. The Gin Gin is named after one of John’s all time favourite lead dogs. The race has seen a change of course and format over the years. The 2015 start was at the Meiers Lake Roadhouse and saw teams leaving in a double barrel start. 2 Teams at the same time. The main reason is to reduce the start time differential adjustment. Over 40 teams were signed up and not all of those made it to the starting line. The weather and other considerations hindered some mushers. Six p.m. on Friday night the first 2 teams shot out onto Meiers Lake, followed the bumpy bush trail to Paxson Lake for 5 miles. We were treated to near ideal running conditions. Full moon, light breeze and temperatures hovering around 0F. I say we, as I took part myself and briefly left my armchair. After Paxson Lake another short portage trail connects to the Denali Highway. From then on, it is often smooth sailing. The first and only checkpoint was Alpine Creek Lodge at MIle 68 of the Denali Highway, or a 86 mile run right off the start. Less ambitious teams packed straw and camped out around Mile 30 to 34. Teams are up in the high country at that point and temperatures usually much warmer than in the valleys. The faster teams had a runtime of about 9 hrs total which is a pretty fast clip considering there are some serious climbs during the race. Mile 13 Summit is notorious for windy conditions and can really breathe fire. Not so this year. Both runs Mother Nature behaved and there was no wind to speak of.

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Alpine Creek Lodge has hosted many Iditarod mushers this season during training. The Denali Highway has been one of the few places with decent snow cover. 4 Time Iditarod Champion Jeff Kings Team was parked in front of the lodge when we racers pulled in. Alpine Lodge had hosted their own 110 Mile race earlier in December, where teams ran out from Cantwell to the Lodge. Jeff helped with that organization and claimed first place in that race.  When we ran the middle leg during the Gin Gin, a short 36 Mile Loop to the Susitna River and back, Jeff came our way with his large string of dogs, then his handler with another team, then his Jeep on tracks with supplies. Jeff is going all out again. Only one week ago did he post pictures of his team climbing up Eagle Summit along the Yukon Quest route. 

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The total accumulated rest in the Gin Gin was 10 hrs. Brent Sass, who was Iditarod Rookie of the year in 2012 in 13th place, left first, closely followed by Matt Hall and Iditarod Runner Up Paul Gebhard from Kasilof. The only dog drop of the race was at Mile 42 on the Denali Highway, as John and Zoya have a kennel there. Race Rules made it clear, that once you left a dog in Alpine on the way out, you had to carry it back to the Mile 42 dog drop, which had Paul give a ride to one of his teammates. It did not slow down his progress as he proceeded to finish 3rd. Iditarod Veteran Tom Lesatz from Iron Pearl Kennel in Two Rivers finished a strong 4th place and the top 5 were rounded out by Paige Drobny who finished Iditarod in 25th place in 2014.

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This coming weekend sees the first 300 Miler of the season take place in Glennallen, Alaska. The Copper Basin 300 is aptly named the toughest 300 Miles in Alaska.  Mushers are pretty much guaranteed to find all kind of conditions they will encounter during Iditarod, too. Steep Mountain climbs, open water, overflow and even some long runs. With a new race route encompassing the Checkpoint of Mendeltna Lodge, the longest run is 80 plus miles. Many strong Iditarod teams are signed up to compete, including neighbour and fan favorite Aliy Zirkle along with her husband Allen Moore of SP Kennels. Allen has won many Copper Basin Races. I met Aliy during this afternoon’s training run, both of us running our teams for some stretching out.

While we were at the Gin Gin, SP Kennels spent the time during the first cold snap of the season in the White Mountains north of Fairbanks to put on some quality miles. During the Gin Gin temperatures dropped to 30 below on Paxson Lake. Apparently the White Mountain Valleys were not much warmer.  On the upside, warmer temperatures are in the forecast for the CB 300. And oh yes, we DO carry trackers. Happy armchair mushing…..

Sebastian

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