Kim’s in the Iditarod check-point as I write…almost halfway to Nome!
She is among a few rookies who are running at the “back of the pack", but moving along steadily. At this point she has dropped two of her dogs (Denver and Avalanche) from the team. They are fine and back with us in Anchorage, asleep in their familiar dog truck. How I wish they could talk! I have so many questions about what they saw and did out there.
I thought Trumpet and Durango would be happy to see their kennel mates return, but I’m not convinced that they are. The dogs who stayed were naturally getting extra TLC, and perhaps not so eager to share again so soon! The fact that three males are in the mix with one female also adds to the tension, I think. Meanwhile, Trumpet and Durango have their own tale to tell.
On what I thought would be a quiet day, I went to check-out some local museums with Diane (another of Kim’s handlers) and all the action happened while we were out. We returned to the news that Kim dropped the first dog whose identity was still unknown at that point. Also, it was discovered that the brakes on her dog truck were not working and it would have to be towed somewhere for service. Fortunately Kim’s mother, “Mom Darst”, is the epitome of grace under pressure. She had it all under control in her no nonsense, no fuss way. But the truck is the kennel and so the question was obvious, “What about the two dogs we have here?”
As luck would have it, there were two dog crates on hand in this pet-friendly hotel that we could borrow…so Trumpet and Durango moved in. It’s worth mentioning here that the room was already full of people and beds and supplies and luggage. I offered to take a dog into my room, to which Mom Darst said, “Oh, you have a roommate.” I opened my door and there it was, parked right down the length of two beds… Kim’s second dog sled - the one she used as her tag sled in the ceremonial start!
Sunday, March 15, 2009
A QUIZ
ISSUE:
“They might need someone who is willing to sell raffle tickets in the bar at night in Nome…oh, and it might be on St. Patrick’s Day when you’d need to dress-up in green and everything…and the winner is expected to arrive that night during the party that will already be going on…it’s normally pretty wild…this year it will be REALLY wild. I don’t know if you’d be interested…”
SANDY’S RESPONSE:
A: No way, I could never do something like that!…and what would my husband think??
B: Oh…I’ll think about it, but I don’t really get into St. Patrick’s Day
C: Where can I find a green gold rush saloon girl costume on short notice? Preferably with the garter…
“They might need someone who is willing to sell raffle tickets in the bar at night in Nome…oh, and it might be on St. Patrick’s Day when you’d need to dress-up in green and everything…and the winner is expected to arrive that night during the party that will already be going on…it’s normally pretty wild…this year it will be REALLY wild. I don’t know if you’d be interested…”
SANDY’S RESPONSE:
A: No way, I could never do something like that!…and what would my husband think??
B: Oh…I’ll think about it, but I don’t really get into St. Patrick’s Day
C: Where can I find a green gold rush saloon girl costume on short notice? Preferably with the garter…
DO NOT PASS GO...
All the good stuff here seems to happen late-night. I finally had my chance to work in the Anchorage Dog Lot when word came in one night that 19 dropped dogs were about to arrive at once and more hands were needed on deck.
These dogs are flown-in from the trail by a volunteer air corps, and as soon as they land and are trucked to the lot, vets check them thoroughly. Yes, they are examined at the checkpoint where the drop happens, and then again upon arrival to the Dog Lot, and pertinent information travels with them. Most dogs get the green light to be fed, watered and bedded down until a musher’s handler claims them. They are constantly watched, including monitoring of their eating and defecating, and vets are notified of anything seemingly abnormal. But they do not stay in the Dog Lot overnight. If a handler can not make a pick-up in short order, the dog is re-located to another venue…a local women’s correctional facility!
It is a brilliant concept, actually. The prison has rehabilitative programs for inmates, several involving canines. Caring for the Iditarod dogs is a privilege and responsibility for them, and the area where the dogs are kept is perfectly suitable – complete with some serious fencing to ensure no lost athletes!
Meanwhile, my joke the whole time my husband was here with me was that I was going to somehow land myself in that jail so I could tend to the dogs. Well, I’ve had the best of both worlds…I got to tend to the dogs in the Dog Lot, AND I went to the jail. Delivering the dogs and handing them off to the inmates inside the prison yard will probably remain one of the more memorable moments of this adventure. It was a really profound experience and I feel honored to have participated in this very behind-the-scenes (yet so instrumental) facet of the Iditarod experience. It was also quite sobering.
These dogs are flown-in from the trail by a volunteer air corps, and as soon as they land and are trucked to the lot, vets check them thoroughly. Yes, they are examined at the checkpoint where the drop happens, and then again upon arrival to the Dog Lot, and pertinent information travels with them. Most dogs get the green light to be fed, watered and bedded down until a musher’s handler claims them. They are constantly watched, including monitoring of their eating and defecating, and vets are notified of anything seemingly abnormal. But they do not stay in the Dog Lot overnight. If a handler can not make a pick-up in short order, the dog is re-located to another venue…a local women’s correctional facility!
It is a brilliant concept, actually. The prison has rehabilitative programs for inmates, several involving canines. Caring for the Iditarod dogs is a privilege and responsibility for them, and the area where the dogs are kept is perfectly suitable – complete with some serious fencing to ensure no lost athletes!
Meanwhile, my joke the whole time my husband was here with me was that I was going to somehow land myself in that jail so I could tend to the dogs. Well, I’ve had the best of both worlds…I got to tend to the dogs in the Dog Lot, AND I went to the jail. Delivering the dogs and handing them off to the inmates inside the prison yard will probably remain one of the more memorable moments of this adventure. It was a really profound experience and I feel honored to have participated in this very behind-the-scenes (yet so instrumental) facet of the Iditarod experience. It was also quite sobering.
IT'S ALL FALLING INTO PLACE
With a little networking help from Kim’s handler, Jean - the only one of our crew who has been to the Iditarod before to work as a volunteer - I was soon able to secure a hotel room in Nome and line-up my volunteer job to work there in the “Dog Lot” (where some dropped dogs are held and where the finished teams are parked). DROPPED DOGS in this case refers to those that mushers drop from the team while out on the trail, for any number of reasons.
As Kim’s dog handler, I did not need to be registered with the Iditarod Trail Committee, but in order to help in any other capacity, it is required. There is a highly-organized coordination effort and training is provided. Some volunteers have years of experience, others are just learning, but everyone seems informed and competent and enthusiasm for the race is the common-denominator. So with Kim on the trail and my family settled back at home, I wasted no time getting my credentials to start signing-up for volunteer openings both in Anchorage and in Nome.
Surprisingly, my overnight shift to work with Jean in the “Computer Room” was actually quite fun. From 2:00 a.m. until 6:00 a.m. one morning we were getting email reports from six checkpoints on the trail and updating the “Current Standings” section of the Iditarod website with the info. It was non-stop action and we got very excited when we took the report that Kim was out of McGrath...so excited that our neighbor from the room next door came over to make sure we were OK. Oops…I think we got politely shushed…which naturally led into a slap-happy 3:00 a.m. giggle fit reminiscent of childhood slumber parties. “Must be the NJ people”…
As Kim’s dog handler, I did not need to be registered with the Iditarod Trail Committee, but in order to help in any other capacity, it is required. There is a highly-organized coordination effort and training is provided. Some volunteers have years of experience, others are just learning, but everyone seems informed and competent and enthusiasm for the race is the common-denominator. So with Kim on the trail and my family settled back at home, I wasted no time getting my credentials to start signing-up for volunteer openings both in Anchorage and in Nome.
Surprisingly, my overnight shift to work with Jean in the “Computer Room” was actually quite fun. From 2:00 a.m. until 6:00 a.m. one morning we were getting email reports from six checkpoints on the trail and updating the “Current Standings” section of the Iditarod website with the info. It was non-stop action and we got very excited when we took the report that Kim was out of McGrath...so excited that our neighbor from the room next door came over to make sure we were OK. Oops…I think we got politely shushed…which naturally led into a slap-happy 3:00 a.m. giggle fit reminiscent of childhood slumber parties. “Must be the NJ people”…
NEXT SHOW 2:00 P.M.
Kim’s dogs run a lot. At home in the spring and summer they run free in their play yard for exercise. During the racing season they run as teams pulling a sled or an ATV for training.
But here in Anchorage, the two dogs that did not make the final cut to run the Iditarod with Kim get to run along the lake right behind the hotel instead. They are not running loose and they are not running with a sled…they are running on leashes desperately clung to by me and another of Kim’s helpers…and the only visual I can convey in writing is the one that accompanies “Jaaane! Stop this crazy thiiing!”
At least I have a co-star in this daily sideshow that plays just beyond the hotel dining room windows, where our fellow guests get complimentary entertainment watching us try to keep-up and stay up while these powerhouse dogs have a field day.
Sled dogs are hardwired to run and to pull. It is simply in their DNA just like massive paws and coats suited to cold weather. Some traits that they need to be considered good working dogs can be taught to them - like directional commands - but other things just occur. Crouching and using leverage to do a high speed sort of crawl in ice and snow is one of these things…worrying about whether or not the human attached to them can fly is not.
But here in Anchorage, the two dogs that did not make the final cut to run the Iditarod with Kim get to run along the lake right behind the hotel instead. They are not running loose and they are not running with a sled…they are running on leashes desperately clung to by me and another of Kim’s helpers…and the only visual I can convey in writing is the one that accompanies “Jaaane! Stop this crazy thiiing!”
At least I have a co-star in this daily sideshow that plays just beyond the hotel dining room windows, where our fellow guests get complimentary entertainment watching us try to keep-up and stay up while these powerhouse dogs have a field day.
Sled dogs are hardwired to run and to pull. It is simply in their DNA just like massive paws and coats suited to cold weather. Some traits that they need to be considered good working dogs can be taught to them - like directional commands - but other things just occur. Crouching and using leverage to do a high speed sort of crawl in ice and snow is one of these things…worrying about whether or not the human attached to them can fly is not.
SUCH SWEET SORROW
John and Rhiannon are back in NJ , Kim and her team are out on the trail, and I am anything but alone at Iditarod race HQ, where I am staying with Kim’s mom and two of her other handlers, getting my hand and head into every facet of this “Last Great Race” that I possibly can.
My sadness over seeing my husband and daughter off at the airport did not stand much of a chance. Not because out of sight would be out of mind…but because after 15 minutes of waving good-bye from a distance, I realized they were not successfully getting passed the security check.
Sad became concerned as an agent came out to get me and a million thoughts ran through my mind. The thing that I did not expect was the message she was delivering, “He said to take this and have a good time with it.” A shiny metal object came at me, and when it came into focus through remnants of my tears all I could do was laugh. “Tell him I certainly will” I said, as I took possession of the fully accessorized corkscrew John was packing in his carry-on!
Quintessential John...and a great parting note.
My sadness over seeing my husband and daughter off at the airport did not stand much of a chance. Not because out of sight would be out of mind…but because after 15 minutes of waving good-bye from a distance, I realized they were not successfully getting passed the security check.
Sad became concerned as an agent came out to get me and a million thoughts ran through my mind. The thing that I did not expect was the message she was delivering, “He said to take this and have a good time with it.” A shiny metal object came at me, and when it came into focus through remnants of my tears all I could do was laugh. “Tell him I certainly will” I said, as I took possession of the fully accessorized corkscrew John was packing in his carry-on!
Quintessential John...and a great parting note.
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