WOMAN'S BEST FRIEND

My posts to date have been light-hearted…but today all joking is aside.

I’m sure it is apparent by now how truly enthusiastic I am about dog sledding, the Iditarod and my opportunity to work closely with Kim Darst - as her supporter, cheerleader and dog handler. I’ve already expressed my appreciation for Kim’s generosity in letting me be among her handlers – and then extending the opportunity to include my husband and daughter in her race preparations as well.

But now as I write, I do so while holding Kim in even greater esteem. Kim was officially scratched from the race last night. This news came after a day of confusion on our end as to why the GPS tracking indicated that she was stopped for an abnormally long time on the trail between check-points. She was with two other teams who were not moving either, and our best guess was that either weather was causing them to wait, or a situation occurred with a team that moved the others to stay and assist.

In the evening a press release was issued saying that the air corps was deployed to check on the three teams at the back, and one of the teams travelling near Kim signaled distress and was removed from the trail by plane. That left us speculating that Kim was OK but had chosen not to abandon the situation. Later, we were advised that Kim was scratched, that there was concern for one of her dogs who was also airlifted to the checkpoint for examination, and that Kim and the remainder of her team were well and would camp on the trail overnight and move on in the morning.

What we know now is that the portion of the trail where they were stopped was actually closed-in by very deep snow (some high-wind storms have been wreaking havoc) and they were basically stranded. Kim’s lead dog, Cotton, was succumbing to hypothermia. Sending out a signal for help could save the dog…so signal she did. This also decided Kim’s fate as a racer - she would not be able to continue on towards Nome.

I am truly honored to be learning from such an ethical musher, and I have been shown by both Kim and Cotton what the word “teammate” really means.