I have always held the philosophy that everything on this earth happens for a reason.  At times it is challenging to understand the reason things ebb and flow the way that they do, and if you aren’t able to bow when the wind blows and adapt, life can be a frustrating journey.

The intentions of Mother Nature lately have done their share to test us, as we literally went through a temperature jump of nearly 100 degrees in less than a week. From frigid cold that saw Paul electing to withdraw our team from the early January Copper Basin 300, to pouring rain with temperatures pushing 50 degrees ABOVE zero that caused race delays in other competitions, it has been a wild couple of weeks.

With the change in direction caused by the Copper Basin pullout, Paul and Kristy were in the midst of regrouping our program to head north to an alternative 300 mile race, the Klondike 300, when a big tropical blast settled on top of Alaska.  We experienced high winds, married with a significant amount of unseasonal rainfall. The combination left heavy ice encasing the landscape and flood warnings issued for our area rivers.  All of our local trails, not to mention most of the roadways, were impassable. Before the breadth of the storm’s destruction was fully unleashed, Paul and Kristi had made their way up to the starting line of the Klondike near Knik, Alaska.  They had planned for a “wet” race, expecting the warmer temperatures that were forecast. Their journey through the mountain pass on the single ribbon of highway that connects us to the rest of the world was a dangerous drive, met with slow going and closures due to avalanches.

It was almost like being spit on by the elements, as they awaited the start of the race while the weather became increasingly worse. The officials finally called for a week’s delay, when it became evident that the ice and water on the trail was not safe for travel. After the long drive home, the focus became an ardent search for trails that would allow safe travel for the team just to maintain training miles.  Although we do live in close proximity to the shoreline of Cook Inlet, the “beach”, which is usually a last resort for Paul to get some miles for the team, was not even an option due to the icy conditions. Literally, you could put ice skates on and travel around our dog lot, the roads and the existing trails. He was able to manage some repetitive loops through the woods immediately out of the kennel to give the dogs a 10-mile stretch, but it was not at all what he, nor they, wanted. In addition to that, Kristi encountered several aggressive moose while running the loop, which made it as dangerous as the ice on the other trails. The saving grace was that leading up to this point, the team already had a significantly higher number of miles under the belts than any other year, so they were not losing ground.

In suite with the officials at the Klondike 300, the local Tustumena 200 – which was next on Paul’s racing calendar – also went into a “delayed start” holding pattern.  This race was set to be underway this weekend (Jan. 24-25).  Paul has been very involved in consulting with the race officials on trail conditions.  He has been able to carve out some adequate miles for the team up in the high country on trails that were lightly kissed by a few inches of snow when we had rain at the lower elevations, but at this point it is still looking like the Tustumena race will have some significant alterations in order to even start at all.  Even with a foot of snow over the next couple of days, the underlayment of ice on the trails and the impact of all the water on the low swampy areas and creeks would continue to create challenges.

One of the things we have had many inquiries about in context with the trail conditions and the Tustumena 200 (mile) as well as the Klondike 300 (mile) is how this compares to the Iditarod.  Folks will ask if the mushers don’t encounter similar trail conditions over the 1,100 miles of trail between Anchorage and Nome.  In the years that Paul has made that journey, he has probably experienced pretty much everything these mid distance are facing right now.  But what needs to be acknowledged is something that I had made reference to in an earlier update regarding the infrastructure of the Iditarod.  The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race has a significant operating budget and an army of volunteers both on land and in the air to support the mushers and their dogs along this journey.  It is the absence of these resources and the limitations of the volunteers in these mid distance races that are the catalyst for caution, and rightfully so. One of the biggest things that Paul reminds people with the Tustumena, is that while it may be a trail that is doable for a veteran musher, the event is still technically an “Iditarod Qualifier”.  Because of this, you expect to have a mix of mushers with various levels of competencies coming to the table and some of them may not be ready for the challenge.

To explain the “Qualifier” element: the Iditarod has a rule that mushers who are entering this race for the first time, must first have successfully completed a series of “qualifying races” to prove they are capable of racing over 1,100 miles. To achieve the minimum 500 mile threshold that is required, the rookie mushers will participate in these 200 and 300 mile “mid distance” races.  There has always been an argument as to whether either of these truly qualifies a musher for what they are really going to experience in the Iditarod, but the process is valuable in weeding out some mushers none the less. What you will see in the course of the mid distance season is that mushers will balance their schedules with a series of these races to fulfill that Iditarod qualifying element.  Once a musher has finished the Iditarod, they do not have to re-qualify.  Mushers like Paul, will use the mid distance races to test young dogs leading up to the Iditarod, or others that do not aspire to race the Iditarod will focus their seasons exclusively on these abbreviated competitions as their kennel’s prime objective.

With those tiers of competitors involved in the race, the officials have to carefully weigh their resource limitations, the trail conditions and the overall timing when making the call to postpone or cancel a race.  The Tustumena 200 for example, is one of the last 200 mile qualifiers available for mushers still trying to make the Iditarod. If the race gets pushed back too late on the calendar, it then becomes a situation of it falling too close to the start of the Iditarod, and mushers like Paul will pull back because their focus is on the big race. With this focus in mind, I find it ironic that Paul and I had tried to scale back our personal time volunteering with the Tustumena 200 this year, but it seems we are knee deep in things regardless.  I guess it all comes back to everything happening for a reason. I see it this way, if Paul’s input helps the race committee make a sound decision that ultimately is beneficial to the dogs and the mushers, then it is time well-spent.

On other notes, the changes in the mid distance calendar have allowed Paul and Kristi to spend a fair amount of energy towards prepping the food drops for Iditarod. We KNOW  that will go on as scheduled, even if they have to move the start of the race north to Fairbanks like they did one year!  Kristi has become an expert with our meat saw, and it is almost a nightly occurrence to have our vacuum sealer packing something into airtight plastic bags. Paul has lists that he is checking and double checking, and the calendar is noted with various veterinary checks and schedules to meet. The dogs are happy and we are moving right along.

Until later - Life is a journey, enjoy the ride! Evy