Musher Details

2005 Iditarod » Mushers » Gary McKellar

Gary McKellar

Bib Number: 59
Hometown: Wasilla, Alaska


Biography

Gary McKellar, 47, was born in Michigan. He studied welding in Michigan and was a logger there for 29 years before coming to Alaska in 1987 to fulfill a lifelong dream. He says he has always had working animals in his life, beagles, coon dogs and draft horses. Growing up in logging, he said they broke draft horses to work with them. He saw his first Iditarod re-start in 1987 doing the Iditarod would be an awesome “adventure.” “It started sinking in in 1999 when Dean Osmar gave me my first official sled dog. The seed was planted and now I have 42 dogs.” He and his wife, Tambra, have two adult children, Patricia and Rachael, and Garry, 13. Gary is currently a truck driver and a member of Aurora Dog Mushers and the Boy Scouts. He says he enjoys fishing, hunting, mushing and other outdoor activities.

Sponsors

Valley Block & Concrete
Christine Roalofs
Browning Timber
Jay Mar

Marty Wittman
Nomad Kennels
Outlaw Sport
Alaskan Elite SportsFishing


2005 Standings

Checkpoint Time In Dogs In Time Out Dogs Out Rest Time Previous Layover Status Distance
Enroute Time Speed (mph) 8hr 24hr
Anchorage 3/05 10:00:00 12 3/05 12:07:00 12 2h 7m
Campbell Airstrip 3/05 13:12:00 12 1h 5m
Willow 3/06 14:00:00 16 3/06 15:54:00 16 1h 54m 59
Yentna 3/06 20:55:00 16 3/07 01:22:00 16 4h 27m 5h 1m 8.97 45
Skwentna 3/07 04:52:00 16 3/07 10:05:00 16 5h 13m 3h 30m 9.71 34
Finger Lake 3/07 16:56:00 16 3/08 04:17:00 15 11h 21m 6h 51m 6.57 45
Rainy Pass 3/08 09:49:00 15 3/08 16:59:00 15 7h 10m 5h 32m 5.42 30
Rohn 3/09 02:38:00 15 3/09 12:16:00 15 9h 38m 9h 39m 4.97 48
Nikolai 3/10 10:41:00 15 3/11 12:40:00 13 25h 59m 22h 25m 4.15 ✔ 93
McGrath 3/11 20:44:00 13 8h 4m 5.95 ✔ Scratched 48