I was fortunate-- thanks to hosting by Lara-Ke Kennel and a slew of friends-- to be able to fly up to Fairbanks this weekend and watch/handle/film one of the first sled dog races of the 2013/2014 season. Right now I'm sitting in the airport (for my commute back to work in Anchorage). I'm pretty sure they are basically waking the plane up now. Meanwhile, I'll try to write a little about the non-mushing side of a race experience.
I've gotten to race sled dogs off and on since I was 14. Because of the kennels where I worked and handled, I got to spend most of my time training dogs or racing dogs. Only over the last few years have I gotten, also, to handle for races. This is a unique and kind of weird experience, especially if you're used to being on the other side of the runners.
This weekend was no exception. It may have even felt stranger because I was not only on this side of the runners- I was on the operating end of a video camera as well.
The main reason I came up to Fairbanks this weekend was to do some filming for a project proposal I'm putting together.
Since it's in the works, I don't want to talk too much about it specifically, but it's a mushing project. What a great excuse to visit friends and see a race!
I ended up taking about four hours of footage at the race start, checkpoint, and road crossing. The race was populated by a huge range of experience. I even boldly did some interviews-- something I really don't love, necessarily. I know how frustrating it can be to be asked a lot of distracting questions when you are trying to get your head in a race space, or even just trying to figure out where that bag of booties you packed went. I tried to be respectful of my interviewees... I'm going to throw together a quick vid this week about the race, and I hope fans enjoy a glimpse into the start, especially. I'm not going to lie... I only interviewed people I know! So although Iditarod and Quest champs Lance Mackey and Jeff King were very much a part of the race, they have no idea who I am, and I didn't feel comfortable, yet, acting the paparazzi. I guess if I do want to keep filming races I'll have to get over it. Ultimately, while I love filming and I hope it brings a cool piece of the race to fans who can't be present, my real goal and desire is on the business end of the runners.
I was really impressed that the Two Rivers Dog Mushers Association handled a suddenly and surprisingly big field, as well as a plot twist in trail conditions, with apparent ease and dexterity. It wasn't easy, but I think their work was appreciated. I'm making this leap because as I filmed at the road crossing, almost every single musher as they popped up onto pavement for a brief second, shouted out to all the volunteers a resounding "Thank you!" I was really pleased with how grateful the racers seemed. I hope the volunteers who worked hard, seemed to be everywhere, stayed up late, broke trail, created a last-minute new checkpoint, and put on a really nice race felt as appreciated as they deserved. If not, let me express it from a handler/spectator perspective: Nice work TRDMA. And thanks!
Besides filming, I did a little handling. The main duty in this case was driving to the checkpoint to get dropped dogs if there were any. The way this race worked is that there were actually two races going on at once- the Solstice 100 and the Solstice 50. You can guess from their titles how long each race was. The 100 stopped at the checkpoint, rested a mandatory 4 hours, and went back over the same trail to return to the starting point at the Pleasant Valley Store. The 50 racers actually finished at the "checkpoint." This meant that all of their handlers had to be there and ready not to pick up a couple of dogs if necessary... But to load up a whole team as well as musher and gear. The real trick was getting back out of the finish/checkpoint. There was a real jigsaw of dog teams in place when I arrived at the Shooting Range where the finish/checkpoint was located. Don't worry, no one was doing any target practice while teams were around. This location was a last minute change. Normally for this race the checkpoint is Angel Creek Lodge, but due to recent heavy snows that bow tree limbs down and close off the trail, there was suddenly no dog team access to the regular stop. The race organization opted to turn a relatively open spot on the trail into a checkpoint with a wall tent, a barrel of water over a fire to provide water for dogs, and a little parking space. For 24 teams doing a layover and 19 finishing a race, it was as tight squeeze! But it was pulled off well.
Because it was tight, the race asked 100 mile handlers to not park in the checkpoint. We were actually easily able to find spots on the road, just a short walk from the teams on the "pond" where they were parked.
The checkpoint was a chance to be social, film a little, and talk dogs. With only a four hour layover relatively early in the evening, most mushers didn't try to sleep. I got to see teams all across the board. Since it was the actual solstice, there was only about three and a half hours of daylight. The race took off in light but the checkpoint was dark and the finish was pretty dark too. Out away from a lot of civilization, the starscape was massive and clear. As 100 mile teams left the checkpoint for their second leg, a rocking-chair half-moon rose orange and watching over the hills. I worked in Two Rivers for a (cold) season, so I'm used to it being well below zero when the stars shine out in December. It was a perfect temp, though, an easy couple degrees above zero. It was a beautiful night. As I watched the moon rise and the teams shush off into the night I was wishing the hardest that day that I was going out next with my team on quiet runners in the quiet snow.
I did have a job though: that was to take up straw. The purview of a dutiful handler. I helped pick up straw for four teams, the two Lara-Ke teams (Judy Currier and Chase Tingle), and the two Smokin' Aces teams (Matt Hall and Riley Dyche). The goal is to leave the camp site as clean as it was before the teams entered.
After all four teams were out, it was about eleven. My co-handler Guro and I headed back to the kennel to tend to the two dropped dogs we had on hand, get a little food, and get ready to see the finish. Back at the store, we missed Aliy finishing by just a few minutes... About five to be exact. Matt Hall finished 5 minutes behind her, and we actually (probably annoyingly, sorry Matt!) drove behind his team on a short section of trail that is also the road to Lara-Ke kennel. He turned where the trail became dedicated trail again, and we zoomed ahead to try to catch finishes. We pulled into the parking lot just in time to see Matt arrive, but too late for Aliy. She was speedy! Instead of loading dogs into a truck for a really short jaunt back to their kennel, Aliy just drove her team home. The other SPK teams did as well, and so did Judy and Chase.
At the kennel, Guro and I helped unhook dogs, dole out a hearty feeding, and make sure everyone looked and felt good. Chase, Judy, Guro, and I went our separate ways for bedtime around 3:30 in the morning. It had been a long night, but a great one. I'm pretty sure I curled up and passed out with a list of new experiences, about 4 hours of great film, and huge smile on my face.
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