Dew Claw Dan departed the berms on Kouwegak slough as the sun crept above the horizon. One could almost imagine that a tagline was attached to the sun and Kaduce’s team was assisting it into the sky over Unalakleet. Kaduce and his canines looked sharp as they headed out to Shaktoolik. Orchid, M.K., Pepsi and Topaz as well as the other members of his thirteen-dog team did a nice job of maneuvering out of the berms and onto the trail. Kaduce was parked behind Justin Savidis so to leave the checkpoint Team Kaduce with Orchid in charge had to make a quick right then immediate left then continue straight past Paul Gebhardt’s parked huskies to get onto the outbound trail. With Orchid at one end and Dan at the other the maneuver looked effortless. The maneuver was so perfect; Kaduce could have been driving a 4-wheeler. Kaduce grew up in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. He came to Alaska to ski. Soon he decided to ski behind a sled dog and from that moment on he was hopelessly hooked on the sport of mushing. Dan was the Iditarod Rookie of the Year in 2010. Kaduce and his wife, Jodi Bailey, own and operate Dew Claw Kennel. Besides being Iditarod veterans they are both veterans of the Yukon Quest.

Not too long after Kaduce departed, Justin Savidis began dressing his dogs. Justine came off the old portage trail at 0200. He spent nine hours in UNK before heading for Shaktoolik. Ten years ago, Justin and his wife, Rebecca moved from Idaho to Willow, Alaska. They sold or packed everything they owned into a truck and trailer to come north for a job offer that was the stepping-stone to a life with sled dogs. Savidis is an adventurer at heart who enjoys mountaineering, climbing and kayaking. Mushing and Iditarod are synonymous with adventure. Justin and his dogs live for pulling the snow hook. I would imagine that has something to do with the name he and Rebecca chose for their kennel – Snow Hook Kennels. The Snow Hook dogs were all business once they hit the trail, passing under the bridge that marks a team’s departure from Unalakleet or taking the trail to Shaktoolik. It’s a hike to take photos from the bridge but it’s a great perspective and well worth the effort

Ellis and the Sibes staged their arrival like the meat between two pieces of bread, the bread being the departure of Kaduce and Savidis. The Sibes came into view directly under the rising sun then made the turn to follow the bank into the checkpoint. His Sibes stood with heads high, ears cocked toward their coach and tails flagging while Mike set snow hooks on both ends of the team. Their tails were still flagging when the vets came around and even a little later while Mike was signing in. It’s hard to find the right bunch of adjectives to capture the essence of fine Siberian Team like Mike’s. I guess I’ll just go with majestic and hope you get the picture as well as the feeling of what it’s like to stand next to such handsome powerful dogs. Ellis said his run was good and while it’s good to be at mile seven hundred of the race, he’s sorry to be off the Yukon where the trail was quite excellent. Mike took booties off then let his heavily furred athletes roll in the snow for the fun of it as well as to cool down before he spread straw. The Sibes arranged and re-arranged the straw. Satisfied with their nests, they settled down and waited for hors d’oeuvres then dinner.

Kristy Berington arrived with ten strong dogs and did the usual dog chores before heading into the checkpoint. The checkpoint specialty at almost any hour of the day is sourdough pancakes. No arm-twisting was necessary to get Kristy interested in a stack fresh off the grill. From pancakes, she retired for some much needed sleep. I asked Kristy if any of her dogs were doing an above and beyond job. She told me about her two wheel dogs. Dolphin is a rescue dog that was extremely shy and very thin when coming to Berington. With love and patience Dolphin eventually came to trust Kristy and tried on a harness. A little more love and patience and Dolphin began to do training runs. A little more love and patience and Dolphin has made the racing team. The second wheel dog came to Kristy from Spenard’s parking lot. On a lumber buying trip, somebody with a ten-week old puppy that needed a home approached her. You can guess the rest of the story. The dog wasn’t from sled dog lines but took to wearing a harness and pulling. Again, with love and patience this dog is on Berington’s racing team.

Paul Gebhardt will do his best to complete the race with seven dogs. He’s been parked on the coast for nearly twenty-four hours. With the number of dogs on his line, he’s not competing for a top ten spot so he decided to wait and run the rest of the way with Kristy who helps train Gebhardt dogs. Gebhardt’s well-rested team started off to Shaktoolik a minute ahead of Kristy.