Eye on the Trail: After the St. Patrick’s Day Parade

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DeeDee comes to the finish line in Nome

“Hopefully this is the beginning of a good year because I could use a really good year,” said DeeDee Jonrowe under the Burled Arch in Nome when she was congratulated on finishing her 31st Iditarod.  Indeed she could.  Back in June the Jonrowe’s lost their home to the Sockeye fire and a few weeks later her mother passed away.  A race with decent weather and relatively good trail as experienced in 2016 might just be the start of that really good year.

DeeDee first entered the race in 1980.  She had a string of eleven consecutive top ten finishes between 1988 and 1998.  In her Iditarod career, she’s taken sixteen top tens.  She’s broken into the top five eight times.  DeeDee is always very upbeat with her dogs.  She knows how intuitive dogs can be and how they pick up on the musher’s attitude and emotions.  She believes that the difference between an adventure and an ordeal lies between the ears.  She also believes that bad attitudes are like colds, nobody want’s to catch one.

DeeDee says, “Over the years I’ve seen the very best in the hearts of Iditarod fans, volunteers and competitors.  This race for me has always been about the passion for my dogs and culture of the Alaskans in rural areas.”

Nathan Schroeder arrived at the arch ten minutes behind DeeDee.  Fans who watched the GPS tracker have seen that he checked out of Safety 36 hours before his arrival in Nome.  Well, yes he did check out of Safety but according to family members, he returned there for health reasons.  When he regained his strength he made the actual run to Nome in about two and a half hours.  Nathan is a three time race veteran.  His rookie run was in 2014.  He earned Rookie of the Year honors in a close duel with Abbie West.  Nathan grew up in Minnesota and he credits a sled ride behind a team of Malemutes in grade school for fueling his mushing passion.  Schroeder is a four time champion of the Minnesota based John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon.

Veteran musher Jodi Bailey arrived and parked next to Schroeder under the burled arch.  Jodi is a theater major and really has a way with words.  She said, ”Getting to Nome is always bitter sweet.  You almost wish you could keep going from here.”  She continued, “I was impressed by the unique moments in time and place.  This morning, after the long climb up the Topkok Hills, the sea ice was glittering for as far as I could see. I knew the worst challenges were over.  Those moments wouldn’t have value by themselves but in the context of the race, they are really priceless and memorable.” 

Jodi has a few dogs on her team that are core veterans.  When I first met them, they were yearlings, just learning the trail.  Now at the age of four, Pepsi and Topaz were in wheel and MK was in team.  They are blue eyed beauties with tons of endearing characteristics.

Jodi made history in 2011 when she became the first rookie to conquer the Yukon Quest and Iditarod in the same year.  She says about long distance mushing, “What I enjoy most about long distance mushing is the time alone with your dogs on the trail.  When you are focused on your team, dealing with immediate concerns in front of you, and directly exposed to the natural world around you, then you are really living in the moment.”  Jodi and her husband Dan Kaduce own and operate Dew Claw Kennel in Fairbanks, Alaska.  Dan is also a Quest and Iditarod veteran.

Ever colorful Monica Zappa claimed 47th place in Iditarod XLIV.  She’s finished in 47th place in her two previous races also.  The thing she pointed out was that the place was the same but she’s improved her time by nearly one day each year.  In 2014 she finished in 13 days, 4 hours and 8 minutes.  In 2015 she finished in 12 days, 3 hours and 13 minutes.  Today she finished in 11 days 0 hours and 17 minutes.  This is a statement about the trend of talent competing in Iditarod but one also has to take into consideration trail and weather conditions.  Improving ones finish time by more than a day in three consecutive years is a compliment for Monica and her hard work.  

Monica is very animated and energetic.  When she was loving up each dog, she got to her leader Blue Steel (named for a type of rope) and we asked her to pose with the guy who’d lead her across the state of Alaska.  Blue Steel happened to be lying down and rather than roust her leader, she laid down to pose with him on his level.  She explained the name and praised him for working in single lead (which he prefers).  A spectator standing outside the chute said, “Hey I’ll trade you leaders.”  Monica looked toward the voice as we all did.  The spectator opened her coat to reveal a cute but very tiny toy poodle.  It was a great moment but I don’t think Monica seriously considered the offer.

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Mike Williams, Jr. brings six dogs to Nome

Mike Williams Jr., of Akiak, Alaska completed his race in 11 days, 3 hours and 29 minutes.  Mike picked up the sport of mushing through his father, Mike Sr.  Young Mike helped his father train back in the days when he was racing the Kusko 300 and the Iditarod.  Mike and his wife are the parents of four children including a set of twins and a brand new baby daughter.  Before leaving the burled arch for the dog yard, Mike was presented with a baby quilt for his new daughter.  Mike is pleased with how his dogs did in the race considering the number of miles he was able to train.  Four young children can keep parents extremely busy.

Mike made his first trip to Nome in 2010.  He ran five consecutive years before taking 2015 off.  His best finishes have been 8th and 11th.  Mike came to Nome with a small team of 6 very spirited dogs.  It seemed that they really liked running in from the coast.  It perhaps felt like heading home to them.  Mike had to adjust his race strategy when he left Ophir with 8 dogs.  It wasn’t a race anymore.  It was quality time spent with his dogs doing the best he could with what he had.  To do that speaks loudly of his ability to adapt and change intended outcomes.  The elder Williams has made the run to Nome 15 times.  The last time, 2013, it was with the younger Mike  also in the field.  Mike Jr called racing with his Dad a great opportunity to share the trail and the sport they both love.