I haven't been to an Iditorod restart in years so I decided to check it out again this year. Marie Lambing and I drove out to Bruce and Rose's cabin on the Deshka to our own little dug out snow spot at mile 6 to watch the teams pass by. I'm not a die hard dog racing fan, but it really is pretty impressive to watch. We cheered on 50 or so of the 88 mushers before heading out...saw some of the big names like Dee Dee, Jeff King, Martin Buser and Doug Swinley.
For those unfamiliar with the Iditorod it's a 1,100 mile dog sled race that goes from Willow (south central AK) up to Nome (northwest AK). Top finishers complete it in just over a week with one mandatory 24 hr. break and two 8 hr. breaks. They start with a team of 18 dogs and usually drop some off to be flown home along the trail. Some teams are down to 12 dogs now.
Part way through Bruce took me out on his snow machine to a cliff overlook spot where we watched them race in the canyon of frozen rivers. The picture is taken right where the Deshka and Su rivers meet. Crazy to think that we boat and fish that in the summer!
All in all it's been a tough year running. Over 19 competetors have scratched with major injuries. Sounds like the trail has been worse than they've seen in years. Hats off to 'em!
For those unfamiliar with the Iditorod it's a 1,100 mile dog sled race that goes from Willow (south central AK) up to Nome (northwest AK). Top finishers complete it in just over a week with one mandatory 24 hr. break and two 8 hr. breaks. They start with a team of 18 dogs and usually drop some off to be flown home along the trail. Some teams are down to 12 dogs now.
Part way through Bruce took me out on his snow machine to a cliff overlook spot where we watched them race in the canyon of frozen rivers. The picture is taken right where the Deshka and Su rivers meet. Crazy to think that we boat and fish that in the summer!
All in all it's been a tough year running. Over 19 competetors have scratched with major injuries. Sounds like the trail has been worse than they've seen in years. Hats off to 'em!
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