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Rookie’s Journey – Ophir to Ruby
May 31, 2006
We left Ophir at 7:37 AM. I knew that I was going to miss Lycos,
but I had no idea how much. I had Platinum and Dash in lead. The
typical leave the checkpoint routine is that everybody stops to
stool. So Platinum stopped, then Dash had to stool. Then Bass, who
was running in swing, had to stop and stool. Then Dash decided that
she didn’t want to lead. Dash is only a year old and had led
from McGrath, so this isn’t surprising. At this point we are
still in sight of the checkpoint. I moved Balu into lead with Platinum
and we went about a mile down the trail. Then I moved Basil into
lead with Platinum and we made it about 2 miles down the trail.
I tried Platinum in single lead and we made it about a 1/4 mile.
I moved Bass up into single lead and we made it about 3 miles. I
tried Keiko with Bass, but Keiko wanted no part of this. Finally
I moved Basil into lead with Bass and we started making slow but
steady progress.
I didn’t realize it yet, but the next section of the race
would be much more of a mental / emotional challenge for me than
a physical challenge. What had happened since yesterday to change
us from a strong charging team to a group if individuals struggling
down the trail? The only difference was the change in my attitude
when I had to drop Lycos. I wasn’t looking forward to the
rest of the race. As much as I tried to conceal it the dogs read
me like a book and the whole team started a downward spiral.
We are on the
trail to Cripple about
4 hours out of Ophir. The dogs are
sleepy and when we stop several
lay down and many of the others close
their eyes. It is about -20 with
a 20 mph wind.
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Leaving Ophir we traveled down the broad
flat valley of the Innoko River. I don’t remember any wind at
the Ophir checkpoint, but as we left the wind was blowing about 20
mph and it was about -20 degrees, so it was definitely cold. The forecast
for the next 7 days was more of the same with no major changes. The
team was flat, but Ken Anderson says that after a strong run it is
usual to have a slower run and then come back for another strong run
so I tried not to worry about it. About 4 hours into the run we passed
three straw beds and a fire pit where someone had stopped and camped.
Of course the dogs had to stop and checkout all the straw. I don’t
know whose fire it was, but at the Red Lantern Banquet Lance Mackey
told a story on Aliy Zirkle. Evidently Aliy decided to break the 160
miles from Ophir to Ruby into three runs instead of 4 which meant
that she had to camp along the trail in the cold. It was -45 in Cripple
that night and colder on the trail. Lance passed Aliy in her camp
wrapped in her sleeping bag sitting by a fire and asked how she was
doing. “I’mmm freeeezing” she replied.
That wasn’t the only distraction on the trail. We would be traveling
fairly well when Bass would slam on the brakes and drive his nose
into a spot on the trial. I’d call him off and we’d start
moving again, but pretty soon he would do it again. When I got to
Ruby one of the drivers ahead of me was complaining about driving
a team with several girls in heat. I said “I know”, every
place where one of the poor girls would pee, Bass insisted he had
to stop to check it out!
I didn’t sleep well in
Ophir and I don’t think the dogs slept well in the cold. The
team was looking pretty sleepy and when we would stop several of the
dogs lay down and many of the ones left standing closed their eyes.
I’ve heard stories of dogs falling asleep while running and
can start to understand it. After 26 hours in McGrath, a 4.5 hour
run and 12 hours in Ophir they shouldn’t be this tired. Jewels
has a slight limp in the left front, remember the vets thought they
saw something there in McGrath. Rom has a limp in the right rear.
About 5 hours into the run Basil has had it and doesn’t want
to lead anymore. I move Platinum into lead with Bass and we continue
down the trail, but these are the only two real leaders I have left.
Dogs camped between
Ophir
and Cripple. The wind is blowing
about 20 mph, but this spot is
out of the worst of it.
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We are about 400 miles from the restart
in Willow and the whole team seems to be falling apart. I wonder if
this is “The Wall” that I’ve heard so much about
and if we work our way through this the team will get stronger. Kim
Kittredge passed me, and then we both had to pass Ron Cortte who was
camped alongside the trail. Kim’s dogs did not want to pass
that straw and he had to finally get off the sled and lead them past.
My dogs were slow, but passed with only longing glances at the resting
team. So I wasn’t the only musher with leader problems.
I kept looking for a sheltered place to camp out of the wind. There
wasn’t much, but about 2:30 PM I found a place that was out
of the worst of the wind and in the sun to camp. I had used the whole
bale of straw in Ophir to give them a warm bed there and had none
to bring along for the camp, but I did put their coats back on them.
It had warmed up to 10 degrees, but the wind had a definite bite to
it. I melted snow for water and fixed the dogs a warm meal. As tired
as the dogs were, I assumed they didn’t sleep well in the cold
at Ophir and thought they probably wouldn’t rest very well here
either. I considered pushing on to Cripple where we had straw, but
decided to compromise and rest the dogs slightly less than they had
run. At 7:15 I pulled the hook and headed for Cripple.
The dogs are
resting in Cripple. The low was -15
and 0 degrees when we left with a pretty
constant 20 mph wind. I used coats and all
the straw to try to shelter the dogs.
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I’m seeing more mental issues with
the team. I’ve still got Bass and Platinum in lead, but something
irritated Bass and he snapped at Platinum. They worked it out, but
it shouldn’t have happened. Jewels was not a happy dog. He wasn’t
neck lining (pulling back against his neckline), but he wasn’t
pulling either. I’m going to drop him in Cripple. Dropping good
dogs at every checkpoint is getting to be a bad habit and my confidence
in the team is weakening.
The trail is now windblown in spots and as the sun goes down it is
definitely colder. It was about -10 degrees when we left camp with
the wind still blowing. The remainder of the trail into Cripple was
much like the trail into camp and we arrived in Cripple at 11:51 PM.
Cripple is just a tent checkpoint that is set up halfway between Ophir
and Ruby. It is cold and exposed to the wind. It’s about -15
degrees as we pulled in with the wind still about 20 mph. The vets
tell me that it was -45 here for a couple of days and that two teams
scratched here. Thank heavens I don’t have to deal with that!
The team is on
the trail between Cripple
and Sulatna Crossing. The wind is still blowing
and it's cold. |
There were few enough of us that they
let us sleep in the heated volunteer tent, just like Ophir. I rested
better, but still didn’t rest well. I don’t imagine the
dogs rested well here either. Once again I used coats and the entire
bale of straw to try to insulate them from the wind and cold. My attitude
is continuing to suffer here. The team looks terrible, I’m down
to two real leaders, and Bass is just not as driven as he had been
a year or two ago. He is eight years old and it may be showing. Luckily
Platinum is getting stronger as we get into the race. I’ve got
no urge to quit, but this isn’t as much fun as I had hoped.
There are 5 teams in the checkpoint, counting mine, and with the mood
I’m in any little excuse is enough to stop me from leaving.
We finally leave as a group, with me being the last out of the checkpoint
at 10:48. Just after I leave the checkpoint I see the teams stacked
up ahead of me. The trail is blown in by about 8 inches of snow. Kim
Kittredge left first and his leaders are balking at the blown in trail
and not taking direction well. Kim goes up and works with the leaders,
finally gets them going down the trail and the group slowly pulls
ahead of me. The trail alternates between open swamp and forested
country. In the swamp the trail is windblown with about 2 to 4 inches
of soft snow. It is hard going for the dogs.
Windblown trail
between Cripple
and Sulatna Crossing. |
I realize that I’ve got to work
on this attitude problem or the rest of the race could be pretty miserable.
I pray to God to help me with my attitude and pull out my walkman.
At home I had selected upbeat / happy songs to help me out. Some old
Beach Boy’s tunes and Hobo Jim should be just the ticket.
Except for the addition of the forested sections of the trail it is
much the same as the trail into Cripple. About 40 miles, halfway to
Ruby, we come to Sulatna Crossing, an old mining camp. From Sulatna
Crossing, we follow and old mining road to Ruby. Given the cold, wind,
and the fact that I don’t think the team rested well at the
camp coming into Cripple, I’ve decided that if I get to Sulatna
Crossing in 5 hours or less I’ll try to make the trip to Ruby
with just a 2 hour rest. We did a 100 mile run in the Knik and again
in the Don Bowers with just a 2 hour rest. It should take us 11 to
12 hours and we can do that.
Sulatna Crossing
on the trail between
Cripple and Ruby |
As we get to 4:00 PM the dogs have been
running for 5 hours and I’m looking for a place to stop without
much luck. We are on an old road and it’s exposed with no place
to pull off and camp without blocking the road. There probably isn’t
anyone right behind me, but my old campsite would be an un-necessary
distraction for the teams that will follow tomorrow. Finally about
4:30 as we climb a hill there is a cleared area in the ditch to the
side where someone camped early in the race. It’s mostly covered
in snow, but the dogs pull in eagerly when I give the command. It’s
still pretty cold and windy, but not as bad as on the road. I feed
the dogs, but don’t think they will rest here and decided to
leave after only 30 minutes. I’ve never done this before, but
think it might give me a jump on the other teams. I’ll make
up the rest in Ruby where we will have straw.
The dogs leave the spot just like they had been resting for several
hours. Everybody got up, moved to the trail, and a short ways down
the trail stopped to stool. I’m feeling pretty good about this,
but it is a typical rookie mistake. I was unaware that, while the
trail into Sulatna Crossing was mostly flat, the trail from Sulatna
Crossing to Ruby is very hilly. There were supposed to be mile markers
on the road giving distance to Ruby, but I hadn’t seen one yet.
It turned out I wasn’t nearly as far down the trail as I thought
I was. That was mistake number two. This trail ran over the tops of
some pretty good hills and stayed on top of a ridge, exposed to the
wind for some time. I thought I was about 10 miles out of Ruby when
we crested a substantial hill.
Iditarod trail
on the road from
Sulatna Crossing to Ruby. |
The wind is howling from the right, it’s
pitch black, everyone is cold and tired and in a bit of a funk anyway
and we hit this hill that is nothing but hard packed snow and ice
for about 10 feet down from the summit. The wind blows us down the
hill and the sled drags the dogs to the soft snow at the bottom of
the hard pack. The sled hits the soft snow sideways and rolls. I take
inventory and notice my heavy Northern Outfitters boot on my right
foot is caught between the brake bar and the back of the sled. My
left foot is extended straight down into the soft snow and not touching
bottom. Now what!?! After a couple do minutes of wiggling I get lose,
work the sled back upright, untangle the dogs, and move down the trail
to see what is next. When I get to Ruby I find out I was 20 miles
from town, not 10.
We continue to run in the high exposed country with lots of climbs
and descents and finally hit a winding plowed mountain road that takes
us down into town. Standing on my brake for all its worth just barely
manages to keep the sled under control as the dogs miraculously recover
their speed for the downhill run. From start to finish it is about
2 miles into town. Later I discover that more than one musher rolled
his or her sled and was drug into town. We make it safely to the bottom
only to make a 90 degree right turn onto a town street with a big
patch of ice (glaciation). We slid down to the bottom of the ice,
but didn’t roll the sled. Bass and Platinum pulled us off the
ice and back onto the trail and we came into the Ruby checkpoint at
10 minutes before 1 AM.
As I rest in the checkpoint I have real mixed emotions about the dogs’
performance. They were real weak climbing the hills, but went into
the wind all day long. Bass gave me fits when he stopped in mid-stride
to check out that poor girls pee spot, but he followed commands wonderfully
coming down the plowed icy road and kept me out of trouble several
times. I’m making two mistakes here. First I’m looking
at the negatives, rather than celebrating the positive things the
team has accomplished. Second, I’m looking at the dogs’
performance, rather than our performance as a team. It is a small
change in viewpoint, but critical for success. I’ll realize
this as we go down the Yukon.
Keep ‘em Northbound
Eric
© 2006 All rights reserved
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