Author: Sanka W. Dog (309 posts)


Zoom Lens – Dressing for Success

Zach Steer shared his system for dressing and system for organizing his gear with junior mushers at a clinic on Thursday evening. Both Zach and his wife Anjanetta have run Iditarod and many other mid-distance races. He showed a short video of Anjanetta putting all the necessary gear on. It amounted to thirty-seven pieces, which …

Zoom Lens from Anchorage

Zoom Lens from Anchorage 2/19/14 by Sanka W. Dog  The big news here is the announcement of where the race will start. With the lack of snow to cover the river ice, there was plenty of discussion about moving it way up north to Fairbanks. It was a unanimous decision by the ITC Board of …

Sanka’s Elite Ten for 2014

by Sanka W. Dog After great runs with the team, I’ve been studying the Iditarod website, reading all the bio’s and doing research in the race archives. Here are my predictions about top-ten finishers in Iditarod XLII. Aliy Zirkle has finished second for the last two years. She’s run dogs her husband, Allen Moore, has …

Make Dog Houses and Gear

There’s nothing better than hands-on real-life experiences for learning. Thanks to musher and educator Tim Vandermeuelen, Symposium participants went to work making necklines and constructing a doghouse. Tim handed out pre-cut and marked lengths of braided nylon and the indispensible fid to everyone interested then the fun began – push the fid through the rope …

Forward to Iditarod XLII

It was a pleasant day with more clouds than sun as volunteers, mushers and race fans gathered on the front lawn of Iditarod Headquarters to picnic and reminisce about the past race. At the same time in a tent just to the left of Balto’s statue, mushers were signing up, creating the first chapter of …

Zoom Lens – One Champion, All Winners

For me Iditarod starts with the Junior Iditarod on the last weekend of February. The juniors are the future of The Last Great Race. Their starting banner is located on Knik Lake. It’s within shouting distance of the Redington Homestead. It’s a great way to annually remember Joe Redington, his work in founding the race …

Widow’s Lamp Extinguished

Doors opened for the Finisher’s Banquet of Iditarod XLI at 1500, (actually now that the race is over we can go back to civilian time 3:00 pm). Folks filed in, claimed what they hoped would be a good seat then anticipated an outstanding dinner served by the Millennium of Anchorage. Mushers, fans, family and friends …

Zoom Lens – Russian makes Nome

With a stiff wind at his back, Mikhail Telpin and eleven Chukchi huskies made the burled arch.  Wind driven snow was swirling down the street and around the chute. The Chukchi stopped a few feet short of the burled arch but in order to finish, the nose of the lead dog must cross under the …

Zoom Lens – Taggart

As for the trip along the coast from Unalakleet, Angie said the wind at Golovin was enough to knock you over. A big gust would come along and I’d nearly get taken out sideways – WHAM! The dogs are lower to the ground they’re not affected as much but it takes good leaders to keep …

Zoom Lens – Twins in Nome

For two years in a row spectators have seen double in the chute on Front Street. Identical twins, Anna and Kristi Barington have come off the Bering Sea and approached the burled arch nearly side by side. Last year Anna’s lead dog broke the plane of the arch first by one minute. This year Kristi …