There are many behind-the-scene elements to preparing for the Iditarod. One of the important parts are the "food drops".  All of the food that Paul's team will need, as well as the gear and supplies Paul will use to care for the dogs and himself, have to be prepared and shipped out several weeks in advance of the Iditarod. These are called food drops. 

The gear that is shipped is sent out in nylon reinforced bags that are called "drop bags".  These bags are labeled for each of the checkpoints, as well as having Paul's last name and a couple of other elements. You can see by this bag, that it has the words "FREEZE" on it. The items packed in this bag will be hard frozen to protect the meat that it holds for the dogs. The race volunteers will handle these particular bags differently, taking extra care to keep the contents frozen. Although temperatures during the Iditarod can tumble to below -40, there are times when it gets above freezing. By keeping the drop bags containing frozen meat protected with insulated wraps and other precautionary means, it helps to assure that the meat will not thaw and spoil. 

Not all the bags need to be kept frozen.  Some of them contain different things such as dry dog food, extra dog booties, vitamins and other gear for the dogs. (At right) Paul recycles plastic sleeves that would otherwise be used to hold frozen salmon for his dog food.  This is the perfect portion to make one "meal" for the dogs out on the trail.  Paul calls a meal that includes commercial dog food like this, mixed with water and other ingredients a "meat and potatoes" meal for the team.  This is their fuel! He will mix this with warm water for the dogs to eat like a soup.  We feed Momentum brand dog food - which is an excellent balance of protein and fat.  It is significantly higher in values than what a normal pet dog would eat, but sled dogs have a much higher metabolism and their bodies process this appropriately.

In addition to the commercially prepared dry dog food, a mainstay of our kennel is fish. Living here on the Alaska's Kenai Peninsula, we enjoy an abundance of salmon.  Thanks to Kenai River Seafoods, and other sources, we are able to utilize this natural, wild resource. The dogs love salmon, and we will feed sockeye, chum and king salmon during the race.  Can you guess what is packaged in the bag (left)?
Another big part of the dogs' diets are the variety of different meat that we feed. From beef, to horse, beef fat and lamb, the meat is cut into snack-size pieces and packaged into plastic bags for freezing. The meat comes in large 40 lb. blocks, so cutting meat is a time-consuming process. (at right) Our handler Kristi cuts meat with the large meat saw. Beef fat, purchased from the local grocery store is cubed and frozen into portioned meals. (below)

Paul Gebhardt notes all the contents of his drop bags in a notebook he carries on the trail. The cut up meat pieces are packaged and labeled for packing.