Kristy has completed the 2010 Copper Basin 300 running a team from Morning View Kennel. SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM TO SEE HOW SHE PLACED! 

As the Copper Basin 300 (or Copper Basin as it is called) gets underway, it will be a very different experience for Paul. While he has participated in the race, and has a victory under his belt to prove it as well, he will be serving as a handler for Kristy in the race this time around instead. One of the key reasons to enter the mid distance races is to test out dogs for the upcoming Iditarod, or in the case of some rookie mushers, to give them additional qualifying experience. Originally, it had been planned that our friend, Scott Janssen, would be taking to the trail with a team to fulfill his future Iditarod qualifying stipulations. However, the Janssen’s had a death in the family and Scott was not able to make the race. While Kristy is fully qualified to meet the technical specifications of Iditarod rules for rookies, this race gives her additional experience as she continues to prepare for her rookie run in March.

Paul on the other hand, is currently planning to travel to the Kuskokwim 300 which starts next week. Because of the timing of the two events, and the different dogs that he wanted to test out on the two very different race trails, Paul could not race both events himself. The Copper Basin gets underway Saturday morning, and should wrap up late Monday or early Tuesday morning. Mushers are required to attend the post-race banquet, and then it is a long, eight-hour drive home. The logistics tied to the Kusko require Paul to be on an airplane headed out to western Alaska early Thursday, with time to also put in another training run with his “Kusko” team before he flies out. So instead, Paul will see Kristy through to the finish line, drive back home with those dogs, hook up and run the team that is home now, then as soon as Kristy gets back with her ride home from the Copper Basin, they will be on the road back up to Anchorage again. While the western Alaska village of Bethel has an extensive cargo airline capacity, our local Kenai airport cannot handle the mass shipping of that many dogs at one time, plus sleds, gear and musher.

It is almost like Paul will be on a mini marathon over the next two weeks himself. He has mastered the elements of preparation, which I hope that Kristy has paid attention to in these weeks leading towards the onset of the race season. This is the time of year where our house becomes a series of checklists next to stacks of Ziplocs packed with everything from Grabber handwarmers and clean gloves, to juice boxes and bags of booties. The organization is paramount. On the heels of the Kusko, which is considered the premier mid distance event of the season, is the dually-run Tustumena 200 and 100 mile races, followed by the new Denali Doubles race in February. On top of that event is the critical timeline to ship all of the Iditarod food drops out. 

But for now, it is just one step at a time, and that first step is getting Kristy on her way in the Copper Basin 300. It looks to be a rather competitive field, given the encouraging trail reports and ideal weather for racing dogs. Kristy will be coaching a team of 12 dogs on the 300 miles of trail, which travels through some of the most beautiful country in the state. The race starts in Glennallen, then dissects the countryside by way of cross country trails that take the teams over stretches of rolling hills, a few long steep climbs, frozen rivers and lakes and miles of trail flanked by birch and spruce trees. They even run along by the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, which carries oil from Alaska’s north slope to the terminus in Valdez, which is just south of Glennallen. The mushers and their teams have a likely hood of encountering herds of caribou in the area, and especially if the temperature drops, they will also enjoy vistas of some of the most spectacular displays of Northern Lights that you could ever imagine.

One of my most memorable experiences tied to mushing happened one year at the Copper Basin. At that time, the mushers would have 24 hours to travel the first 100 miles of race trail. This was followed by a mass re-start of all the teams, which was a sight to behold. But the format also meant that as the teams came into the point where those initial 100 miles of trail culminated, they would stack up and have to wait out the hours until they could be back on the trail. It was cold that year, but we had a relatively young team that was not entirely complacent with the idea of just sitting on straw and waiting to run. So I had to hang out in the snow with them, where they were bedded down alongside a good 30 other teams, to babysit them and keep them from getting tangled up with the neighboring dogs. The night was clear, and overhead, wide arcs of greenish light swept across the sky as the Northern Lights danced back and forth across the horizon. It was quiet, save for a few of the late arrivals that were still tending to their dogs. There were a few others like myself, sitting sentinel by our teams – our bodies bundled in arctic gear to ward off the cold. I am not sure what triggered it, but it started with just one dog. His nose lifted heavenward, his breath rising in a crystal fog towards the northern lights – as he let out a long howl. All around me, the dogs from every team followed his lead and joined in their chorus. It was remarkable, how they each found their pitch and created a melody that I can still hear to this day. As suddenly as it had started, the singing stopped, and although I can’t swear to it, it sure seemed like all the dogs settled in and slept better after that through the waning hours of midnight.

I am hopeful that Paul and Kristy have a safe journey on their drive up, and that the dogs rest comfortably in the hours before the race start. The pre-race banquet will be held tomorrow evening, which is when Kristy’s starting position will be determined. I plan to post updates throughout the race, but you can log onto http://www.cb300.com/ for race stats and more.

Until later – life is a journey, enjoy the ride! Evy© 

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COPPER BASIN 300 Update #1 as of 8:30 pm Saturday, January 9, 2010
                                                                                                                                                                                                        While it was a balmy 40 degrees above zero Thursday when Paul and Kristy took off for the start of the Copper Basin 300 at Glennallen, Alaska in my last update, the temperatures have made a significant dip in that region of the state, and with the race underway now, the thermometer along the trail was pushing -20 below.

She started the race earlier today, leaving the starting line in the 31^st position, in the field of 43 teams. Paul called me after she had gone through the first checkpoint, and he was pleased with how the dogs were doing. He said he had many positive comments about how great Kristy’s team was looking, and he said he felt that she would have a good race. It promises to be a challenging event, because in addition to the cold, there are high winds forecast for the area moving in over the next 24 hours.

Currently, the area of the trail that Kristy and her team of 12 dogs are moving through is predominately  rolling terrain as she made it to the Wolverine checkpoint on the edge of Lake Louise. This is familiar country for Kristy, as she and Paul did a fair amount of training there earlier this season, and last year as well. After resting the team for about two and a half hours, she headed out onto the frozen surface of Lake Louise and Crosswinds Lake headed east to the notoriously frigid area around the checkpoint of Sourdough. From Paul’s latest report, she left Wolverine at 7:05pm  She will plan to stop and feed the dogs on this leg of her journey. After Sourdough, the trail climbs through wooded, winding trail to towards the Meier’s Lake checkpoint. That is an area where moose can be a problem, and the bite of the arctic air can soak into your bones. I am certain that Kristy is very thankful for the warm Northern Outfitters Parka she is wearing on the trail, and the new fur ruff that her sponsor, Halliburton, gave her to ward off the cold. Paul said she ate some warm soup and drank several glasses of water during her stop at Wolverine, so this is good to help fortify her system. Hydration is critical to mitigate frostbite.

She will rest the dogs at strategic points, applying a run/ rest schedule that Paul had mapped out with her to take advantage of the type of training they have been working with our team to develop. The race has several mandated rest stops, all of which occur at the designated checkpoints.

The team she is running is a solid group of dogs. Her main leaders are Bear & Black Dog, but she had additional leader strength in team members: Thor & Duke. The rest of the team consists of the solid veteran athletes of Marshall, Tessa, Tinker, Weasall, Cat and Rosco. The two new dogs to the team are GreyStone and Cutie Pie. Paul indicated that all 12 were eating and drinking well, and they were all businesses at the checkpoint, which meant that all the time spent camping with them was paying off.

For anyone that is interested, the Peninsula Clarion newspaper did a nice feature on Kristy focusing on her participation in the Copper Basin race. There are some great photos that were taken locally here on the Kenai Peninsula. You can visit the Clarion website at this link to read the article:

 http://www.peninsulaclarion.com/stories/010810/out_496589966.shtml

While they seem to be experiencing some delays in getting the information updated, you can log onto the Copper Basin site for continued race updates and trail reports at http://www.cb300.com/ ..

Until later – life is a journey, enjoy the ride! Evy©
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With her string of 12 dogs, Kristy has continued her progress in the 2010 Copper Basin 300. During the hours of midnight last night, with temperatures plummeting to -33 below zero, she rested the team at the Sourdough checkpoint for several hours before heading out on the run to Meier’s Lake. When I talked to Paul, he said that Kristy had a good run into this checkpoint, and was in good spirits. It was encouraging news as she had been rather down in the dumps while at Sourdough. Evidently, the team was experiencing some type of stomach ailment, and Kristy had to spend more time on the trail coming over from the Wolverine checkpoint than she would have expected, and she was concerned about the dogs as well. Paul coached her through this mental barrier, and told her that if she personally became depressed, the dogs would intuitively pick up on this and this would have a direct impact on their performance. He suggested some adjustment to the feeding regimen, which seemed to help the dogs, and he said that Kristy was able to get a little sleep during the break as well. He said she felt the team had fun on the winding, hilly run into Meier’s Lake, plus the temperature was up to -6 below.

From there, she would be progressing to the checkpoint of Paxson, where she planned to take a mandated layover of 8 hours. She had been using the duo of Bear & Duke in lead on the run over from Wolverine, but had switched Thor into lead with Bear as he usually set a faster pace. It will be just as some of us are heading off to bed when she pulls the snowhook later tonight to get back on the race trail for what is probably one of the most challenging sections of the run. So far, the predicted winds have yet to impact the area, but the trail alone can defeat even the most experienced mushers on this next leg of the journey. The teams will be looping up towards the barren country surrounding Summit Lake (which is the place where I swear is the coldest I have ever been in my entire life!), then they will make the run over to the Chistochina checkpoint. On this journey, they may well encounter open water, plus a very challenging climb up and over the flank of the Alaska Range. It is spectacular country, but unforgiving. Fortunately, because of the number of teams in this year’s race, the likely hood that she will end up traveling in close proximity to another team is much greater. Paul said she had commented that she had not felt cold at all. She was staying well hydrated, and was keeping GRABBER foot warmers in her boots. He said her long blond braids were frosted up and stuck out like sticks, and all the gear was heavily frosted due to the conditions. She, like the rest of the mushers in the race, had tried in vain to dry some of her gear next to the heaters at the checkpoint, but she really was not there long enough to do an adequate job of thoroughly drying her clothing. Years ago, reaching the area of Summit Lake promised an actual checkpoint in the form of an impressive log lodge, complete with large dryers that could be used to handle damp gear. But a fire leveled that structure some years back, and although another facility served as a stopover for several years after that, a subsequent earthquake that rattled the area a few years ago made that structure unstable to the point of condemnation.  So now the next real stop will not be until they reach the Chistochina Community Hall.

One thing that is always great about the Copper Basin is the welcome that the locals give to the teams. While the format of the race has changed somewhat over the years, and there are different organizers than when I handled for Paul at the event in his early years of racing, the Copper Basin 300 remains a social function for the area in many ways. Bowls of hot stew and warm chili usually await the mushers when they arrive, and there are designated places for the teams to get some rest. The local radio station in Glennallen does a great job of covering the race, and I remember driving from checkpoint to checkpoint tuned into the station to listen for coverage. In terms of the race, the job of handling for the teams is actually very tough in this race. While the mushers and their teams are able to travel the 300 miles of trail by way of cross country routes, the handlers driving from checkpoint to checkpoint technically put on far more miles by being restricted to the highway system.  Then at the checkpoints, the handler will stay out with the team in the cold while the musher rests or gets a bite to eat. Once the team leaves, there is the scramble to retrieve any drop gear and pick up straw if the rules allow you to do so, then you head out to the next checkpoint. Fortunately for Paul, he does not have any dogs that Kristy has dropped to also care for during this arduous marathon. But I can distinctly remember the fatigue that Paul is no doubt experiencing now. He anticipated catching an hour or so of sleep at the next checkpoint due to the short drive, and he has always handled sleep deprivation much better than me, so I guess I shouldn’t worry about either he or Kristy.

The fact that Kristy, and most of the other teams in the race, have not been dropping dogs is a testament to the fact that the trail conditions must be very favorable to the teams. Paul expressed satisfaction with the quality miles the team is getting with this run, as some of these dogs will likely be considered for his Iditarod team. He did note that he felt that the team was probably performing like a bunch of kids with a substitute teacher though. This is not a reflection of anything other than the knowledge and relationship that the team has of Paul’s expectations of them, and their ability to take it easy and ride Kristy’s relative inexperience. But the beauty in this, is that both mushers deeply respect the individual athletes on the team, and the dogs know that both Paul and Kristy truly love them. As Paul says, that is not something you can fake with the dogs.

It will be interesting to see the balance of the race unfold. There are some high caliber mushers at the plate in this year’s Copper Basin, and Kristy is hanging in with a respectable run. It is difficult for me to truly gauge which team stands out as a definitive front runner, but truly my focus is on Kristy’s progress. I do not know that I will get another update out until late tomorrow (Monday) night – by which time Kristy will be significantly closer to the finish line. You can continue to follow race updates at http://www.cb300.com/updates . 

Until later – life is a journey, enjoy the ride! Evy

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©COPPER BASIN 300 Re-Cap As of 5am Tuesday, January 12, 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          From the field of 43 mushers that left the starting line in this year’s running of what is billed as “the toughest 300 miles in Alaska”, Kristy crossed the finish line last night to claim a very respectable 17^th place. Her total time to travel the challenging course was 58 hours and 17 minutes. Take a moment now, and consider what you have done over the past 59 hours…. I’ll bet it was nothing compared to the mental and physical challenges that Kristy overcame covering the 300 miles of race trail. While I haven’t had much of a chance to talk to her about how she felt, when she called last night, she sounded upbeat. Paul was very pleased with how the team looked coming into the finish line, and felt that the dogs had gotten “good miles” as they are referred to in the mushing arena.

Kristy did drop a total of 3 dogs from the initial team of 12 that she had left the starting line with back on Saturday morning. Marshall, Thor & Cutie Pie all finished out the race circuit riding with Paul. One of the unique elements about the Copper Basin is that any time a musher drops a dog from their team, they immediately are taken by the handler that is required to follow the race. So Paul was able to care them himself, which was no doubt reassuring for canine and human alike. None of them had any serious problems. Cutie Pie was the rookie in the team, and sometimes it can be mentally challenging when the dog first starts racing. (which is another reason why these early season races are so valuable to the dogs before they leave the starting line of the 1,100 mile Iditarod)  Paul had indicated that Marshall had a sore wrist and that Thor’s shoulder had been bothering him.

I am expecting the pack to pull into the drive any time now. They planned to stop on the drive back home from Glennallen to feed the dogs and let them out to stretch, then they would make the drive home while the dogs slept in their straw-filled individual dog boxes. It did start snowing early this morning here at the kennel in Kasilof, so they may be encountering some more severe weather in the mountain pass they come through to reach our place.

It will be a quick turnaround for Paul. He plans to hook up his Kusko race team and get them out on the trails here for a good training run, before turning around and heading to the Anchorage airport. That race kicks off this weekend, so stay tuned for more updates.

The Kusko 300 race can be tracked via: http://www.k300.org/  as well

Until later – life is a journey, enjoy the ride! Evy