Restart II—-We discover more mushers in the dog lot—2pm
Joe Runyan
Returning to the dog lot, I decide to take any slice of reality I meet. About trucks, some dogs are already harnessed, barking occasionally in anticipation of a 2pm start. The sky is clear, sun intense, and temperatures well above freezing.
Mitch Seavey is one of those mushers who has already harnessed his team. “Do you have a minute to show me Gumbo and Kosher?,” who we have already met by phone in a previous interview. Mitch works his way down the gangline to the rear of his big dog truck to a big brown eyed , very settled male. This is Gumbo, 8 years old, who works with his brother Kosher, an orange bright furred just slightly smaller. Their job is to lead the team out of the Willow restart , across the lake and north and west bound to the foot of the Alaska range at Skwetna, our first official checkpoint. Gumbo and Kosher, Mitch reports, are level headed governors that understand a sensible speed and are Mitch’s phalynx of trusted leaders. Tanner, his super brown leader, is seven and restlessly moving on his tether. He and other big bron three year old males are to be buried in the team until they are needed in several days. I am presuming Mitch wont put the speedsters to the front until he arrives on the north side of the Alaska Range. Amongst Tanner and the three years old, Mitch pauses to recognize Taurus, a big four year old male that is a fast trail leader. Mitch, and the rest of the front runners I have seen appear to be particularly concerned about warm weather and hard trail. The are accustomed to adapting to changing conditions.
No sooner than I wish the 2013 champ good luck, I encounter Jeff King, the 4x champ, walking across the dog lot. “Is it true you tried putting more training miles on the team this year?” He admits to more miles in training but prefaces the conversation on how he did it. “Yes, lots of miles—1000 in November, a 1000 in December and 1200 by the last of January. We trained at 8 miles an hour, usually with 26 dogs on the tow line. We were able to do it by using a jeep with tracks.” In this way, he and his partner Ellen could train for three days in a row, camp out, and train a large number of dogs—-even if snow conditions were marginal. King is acknowledged by all the mushers I talked to as a big time front runner. He has done well in the pre-season. A camera (go pro?) is mounted on his baseball cap, and one imagines that he wants to document ACTION.
#13 Kelly Maixner, a banner advertising the Maixner dental clinic, was stretching out his 16 dog towline. Kelly stopped to show me his very innovative carbon-tevlar runners, sled bed, and a large Kevlar box attached as a trailer . The brown Kevlar box was designed to haul dogs, an innovation used by others including the champ Jeff King. “The rules state that dogs must leave the start chute on the line, otherwise I would certainly put a few dogs in the box.” The theory is obvious. Instead of dragging the brake to slow the team, why not let a few dogs rest and ride?
#10 Aliy Zirkle was relaxed, standing near her very organized sled. She is a huge favorite and has gathered a big following at her parking site. I step in line to wish her good luck.
Ralph Johanessen, the rookie phenom from Norway, is in front of his dogs. I have met him only briefly and am lucky to catch him. He is compact, about 5’7’’ and already a couple of people say he is a Joe Redington, Sr. sort of personality—-always in motion and answers questions with short answers, and has not much regard for obstacles like warm weather, ice, and lack of snow. Possibly that’s why Ray Redington likes him and took some time to tell me that he will be the first rookie to also win—which is a big endorsement from a major front runner with credibility to make such statements.
Aaron Burmeister #23 is on the list for a top finish, having impressed everyone in 2013 with his dog team. Unfortunately he faded, in part due to problems with his huskie’s feet. He designed a dog food widely used by other mushers, and is respected for his views on training and nutrition and careful notetaking.
Up the border of the dog lot, Monica Zappa is inspecting her sled load. She and partner Timmy Osmar have been training her young team of 2 year olds for a training run. “Oh, no, I am just in it to finish with a good team,” obviously excited and happy about her first Iditarod.
Allen Moore, the 2x Yukon Champ and aliy Zirkles husband, is standing alone by his dog truck. “In a few minutes I’ll have Aliy’s big team(referring to a crew with leashes to each dog in the team) over here to help me take the team to the start chute.” Allen is regarded as a superb trainer. His even demeanor may be one of the keys to his success. Soft spoken, a great success of humor, he describes their race season. “We decide which races we want to run and generally one of us gets the best team. Aliy won the Yukon Quest and now she is interested in the Iditarod, so she gets the team.”
Cym Smyth, a veteran, has been a perpetual favorite, but this year , it seems to me, mentioned by mushers as a dark horse and a spoiler. Its hard to ignore these recommendations, so watch out for Cym.
Martin Buser, the 4x champ known for very fast dogs and and race strategies that rely on speed to prevail, is beside his sled. “I want you to look at this” and shows me his runners which are made from thick two inch slabs of uhmw. “Very flexible—-like the noodle sleds made from carbon fiber runners—-which lets the sled easily slide over rough trail.” The sled is packed, the weight divided between a rear cargo area and a standard sled bag to the front of the sled. He sits in the middle of the two loads.
“The rear has quite a bit of weight with extra water and a full cooler of food, feed bowls, and snacks ready for the trail.” I ask about the problem of hydration since the warm weather and dearth of loose snow along the trail—usually a convenient way for dogs to grab snow while working— is a concern. It is well known that martin offers his dogs clear water in a bowl whenever he stops for a break. “Well, we have conditioned the dogs for years to drink water and this winter was no exception.” Obviously, his strategy includes keeping the engine hydrated.
Does this team include dog’s from last year’s run? “Most of the team is back and they are 4 1/2 year olds.” Martin cleaned up in the pre-season, winning almost every event entered with this group of dogs. He is highly regarded by mushers in the event. I didn’t ask him about his schedule, but mentioned circumspectly that his unusual strategy of 2013 was taken seriously by mushers. He took the bait, “Oh, really, do you think somebody might try my strategy?” (remember, Martin made a giant run over the Alaska range in 2013 and parked his dogs in Rohn checkpoint for his 24 hour break. It gained him ten hours, a lead he maintained for about 2/3 of the race. Most importantly, he understands how to do it—and might modify with a dangerous new strategy.) But the point is, we ARE expecting someone to consider Martin’s giant move.
We leave early afternoon for Finger lake. Our Archives show that Martin breezed through about 1 30 am in 2013. Aliy Zirkle followed at 6am. Sorlie told me he would stop in Finger Lake for a good break. So, there you have it—strategies all over the board.
