FORT YUKON TO BIRCH CREEK
Anthony, a local sprint musher, rode on the runners with me down the road to where the trail drops onto the Yukon. Its quite the drop off, and the dogs can’t see where you mean them to go. So the race helped us make the turn being, it’s so hard to stop on the hard-packed road.
“Abbie! You can catch Josh, your dogs look way better. He’s only one hour ahead of you!”
One hour! Ha! Realistically I knew that was a lot of time to make up in two 36 mile runs. The only way that would happen is if some radical, race shaking event happened. But if something like that was to happen, Lord knows THIS would be the year for that. I thought about this year’s Quest, Fur Rondy, and Junior Iditarod. What have we learned this year? It ain’t over until ‘til the fat lady sings. I wasn’t going to roll over, but in all likelihood Josh was the champion.
Right now I had to get Lady out of Fort Yukon with out a snafu. We dropped onto the river and I called the team up. The jumble ice and the windblown sand bar, mixed with the glow of headlamp made it seem like we were crossing the surface of the moon. The dogs got excited and we cruised across the river quickly.
Well, that was easy. Nobody even seemed to care we just left Fort Yukon. Cool. Actually, they seemed to be moving nicely. The Yukon River is few miles across until you round a sharp corner into Eagle Slough. Just before we slipped out of sight I turned and looked back to see if I could see a headlamp heading across the river. All I could see was the glow of the village. I felt better but not confident. Ken could be not very far behind and I know he knows how to keep a dog team together so he can push at the end. It seems he’s always that guy your not really paying attention to and then there he is, top 5 in the Iditarod. I had a lot of experience chasing me down, so I knew I had to keep pushing.
We climbed up the steep bank off of slough. The trail then makes its way through the Birch Forest. The trail has little turns and hills through the trees and then it opens up into meadows or little lakes. Its actually quite beautiful. We follow the same trail in and out of Birch Creek. I thought how nice it would be to see it in the morning light on the way back.
The team really was coming together. You couldn’t tell they were 2/3 of the way through a 100 mile run. Or maybe you could, this team isn’t about the high end speed. We aren’t going to go down and win the Nenana Ice Classic Race. They are trained to move at the speed they can carry FOREVER. This team knows how to travel. There are moments when they rumble like a freight train, and there are moments that they seem to float across the snow. You might not see it, but you can feel it on the sled.
Every time the trail opened up I would turn back to look for Ken. I like to keep my headlamp off often so other mushers can’t see where we are at, but it was too dark. However when I would turn back I would cover my light with my hand so that if Ken was back there I wouldn’t instigate his team to try and catch me.
I had a few scares because the Northern Lights were so spectacular and bright, I thought at first glance it was the glow of his headlamp coming.
There is always that moment in a race that you think back and remember, that was when it all was perfect. This is the moment I will think about for this race. The dogs traveling like a silk ribbon down the trail, being chased down by Ken Anderson and the Northern Lights. Trail marker reflectors streaking by in the night. Dropping into the low lying river cold of Birch Creek. And pulling into the spinning airport light of the tiny village of Birch Creek.
Josh’s team again was well at rest, so I could tell I hadn’t gained any time worthy of being a threat to him. But I never caught a glimpse of Ken either.
The volunteers were very helpful and brought me hot water for dogs and coffee. I had to maximize this short rest. I personally do not like 2 hour rests. I know they help the dogs recover a little, but I’m still not convinced its not wasted time. Someone once said any rest under 4 hours is a waste. But in this race, and usually in other races, they are necessary to be competitive. I incorporate 2 hour rests in training runs often, I just kept reminding myself of this. Also the team was rolling, but I was still holding them back a little. I didn’t want to stove them up before resting them so short.
The dogs were bedded and fed. So I went inside. There really was no point in trying to sleep. Josh was resting but I could tell, not really getting any sleep. It was just as well because there was a lady named Mackey who entertained me by telling lots of stories about Jay and his mother, and all her Aunties, and all her Cousins. Every story began with, “Oh so and so, she is my mother’s uncle’s sister-in-law’s cousin….” or something of the sort. As she told these stories she threw in phrases like “I dig it” or “it was a trip man. ” It made the time go quickly.
Ken pulled into the checkpoint about 35 minutes after me. That made me nervous. I didn’t want 2nd place taken away in the last few miles like on the Two Rivers 200, but with only 35 minutes separating us, that certainly was a possibility. Ken also mentioned that he had turned down the “New Trail” at the overflow, and realized quickly that it was a bad idea so he turned around to that the “Overflow” route. So that meant he had wasted some time. How much? Is that the only reason I am still in front of him? I had my work cut out for me in the last 36 miles.
Birch Creek to Finish
All too quickly, it was time to go. I went out and got the dogs ready. They weren’t as perky as usual, but I could tell we were going to leave well. Jupiter was a little stiff, hopefully he would warm out of it. We took off into the night. There was just a hint of a sunrise on the horizon. It would be day light by the time we reached Fort Yukon.
I had a head on pass with Tom Lesatz, just outside of Birch Creek. He didn’t seem very positive.
“I had a mutiny Abbie. How far to Birch Creek?”
“Its just right there.”
Then on the other side of the spectrum I met Jodi Bailey about 20 minutes later.
“Whoo hoo! How far?” she called as she whizzed by.
I had to call back to her, “About half an hour!”
After the dogs warmed up completely, Jupiter did run out of his stiffness, I decided we better start moving. Who knows if and when Ken was going to pull up behind us. So every open area I would call the dogs up, then I would let them slow down and rest in the trees again.
They really looked great. It was a beautiful sunrise. It was a great morning! Next I had a head on with Hugh Neff and Jessie Holmes.
Hugh said, “He’s about an hour in front of you.”
“I don’t care about him, I’m worried about Ken behind me!”
It seemed a lot quicker going back then heading out. But then it always does. Sooner than expected we dropped onto Eagle Slough and the dogs really started to drive. We made the sharp turn out onto the Yukon and we cruised by our midnight moon landscape which had lost its eeriness in the morning light. Now I could see the water tanks and shacks on the banks of “the Fort” and no Ken in sight behind. The dogs seemed to skip across the river ice and up the bank. They did it!
There was a small crowd gathered, Jay, and of course Earl. I couldn’t believe he was still out there! Cosmic Canines, the 2 time Yukon Flats 300 2nd place winners. Even though Josh declared at the finish banquet that we could all come back and try to beat him, but it would be tough. Maybe 3rd time will be a charm for us.
The Team:
Lady Grumpy
Sleepy Sirius
BossMon Jupiter
Mud Big Dude
Dopey Cloud
CONGRATULATIONS TO JOSH AND ALL THE OTHER MUSHERS!!!!
After the race
I want to thank Fort Yukon for being so hospitable. We stayed for the dances and the Sprint Race. I spent time with Jay’s daughter and granddaughter. It was a nice banquet. And although I didn’t want to leave, I had a wonderful run back to Circle. It was sunny and just the PERFECT spring day. And to top it off Circle served us some of the best Moose Stew, biscuits, and Salmon Salad I have ever had when were done. Thanks to you too!
This race has me anxious for the year to come. The up and coming pups combined with this group are going to be fun to drive. They’re solid, they’re happy, and know how to travel. I can’t wait to show ‘em off next year!
