This year truly would not still be going if it were not for the crew of friends I have around me. In this sport, there is something to be said for the people who were friends 1st and then stepped in to be ‘handlers.’ All of these individuals knew what they were getting into and still have stepped up to the plate. When I was down for the count and laid up on the couch for weeks and weeks, you see who is dedicated to making your dreams still come true.
First, the unsung hero in the kennel that asks for no recognition, my husband, Scotty. The kennel would NOT run without his support. When nobody else is around to help, he is here picking up the slack for whatever has to be done. He works full time as a banker and has his hand’s full-apparently people like to ask for a lot of money. Even after long hours at work, he still came home, fed dogs, cleaned the yard, and ran them into the wee hours of the night. He gave me updates on dogs, made sure they were cared for and dealt with my ‘great’ attitude during this time. I think I was harder to deal with than the dogs!
Family and friends have watched our children help while I was healing. They are continuing to help now when I’m trying to get miles on the dogs. If you are my family-THANK you! I love all of you! My in-laws- Del and Lori, sister Jennifer and brother-in-law Kevin, friends from work- Karina and Cat for playing with the kiddos, my Mom and Bill, Dad and Aliy-My circle is AMAZING. My church family-Kathy- that, brought me food and helped wherever they could.
Friends stepping up continue to make my heart smile and overflow with gratitude!-Karolyn Bristol came to the plate swinging. She knew exactly what was being asked, and she enthusiastically came out every weekend and ran dogs after working her full-time job Monday through Friday. She knows dogs, I trust her, and she was instrumental in keeping things moving down the trail.
Our kennel sponsor and friend Lisa has driven up more than once from the Kenai to help in so many ways I can’t even explain! She even cleaned my toilets. Seriously, there are not enough people like her in the world. She has been such a blessing to my family, dogs, and children. She has fed us (and is the best cook EVER), taken care of dogs, done kennel chores, ran errands-the list is too big! She can even bootie dogs, and they stay on:) Nice work, Lisa! We love you and are so happy your part of our crew!
We even had some surprise helpers come out and run! Wes-You ROCK. He is not on a sled much these days, but he knows how it’s done. He drove all the way to the kennel and said he was willing to barrel down our crazy out trail and run as far as needed! He ROCKED it and didn’t even kill himself:)
This year’s official HANDLER is my sidekick and partner in crime-Jen Nelson. She decided she wanted to move back to Alaska and check out this whole dog thing. She drives from Two Rivers, where she lives, to our house an hour away to ensure things are getting done- many days a week. A few years back, she traveled with me on mid-distance races, went to Nome to watch the finish of Iditarod, and even traveled the entire Yukon Quest tail with me in 2016. She knew what she was up for-kind of! That makes me laugh because no one ever knows! She keeps me motivated, and there will never be words for how much we appreciate her. The interesting part she did not ‘sign-up’ for was helping with the kiddos of KOAH. For a mom to race with children, you have to have a crew of people willing to help watch, pick up and even do the homeschooling of your children. She has done all of this and more. Now that the miles are longer, she often gets me off on the trail and stays home to make sure kids’ school gets done. It’s amazing how all this works out.
I want to share a post she made to discuss how one of her runs-solo went on a sled. This was not her first time, but without me. Her own team, leaving the yard and navigating all the obstacles. Please grab a cup of coffee and enjoy her experience!
The Rookie Handelers Perspective
What a ride it has been. Not just since the accident but really for me- it all started a year ago. That’s a long story for a different time and maybe a beer or two. Most of you may not know me, but I’m Jen (yes, the one with the mad snow machine skills). I jumped in with the crazy crew years ago but about a year ago took on being the unofficial-official handler of sorts. I knew some bare-bone basics about kennels and dog mushing but wanted to dive headfirst into things after moving back to Alaska from Texas. So I thought I would write something up to give you non-musher, tracker-watching fans a perspective of the sport from a true newbie/rookie!
Before moving back to Alaska last April 2020, I had attended numerous dog races. I had the honor of tagging along with Bridgett to races like the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod and hearing not only stories but insight into the strategy and planning that goes into a winning team. I was hooked from day one. I had the privilege to ride in a sled once but had never been on the back of a sled and drive a team. I returned with the goal of learning to drive a team and absorbing as much knowledge as possible from someone whose world was mushing since childhood.
So, where does one start when you want to learn? Poop, of course! It sounds like the low man job to shell out food and pick up poop. Surprisingly even this task is impactful to a team. The food is not some Ol’ Roy shelled out in mass. These dogs are on a refined diet of the perfect balance of calories, protein and fat, etc., to optimize peak performance. Making sure that each of the 22 dogs gets the right amount of food and water. Let’s not forget hauling 5-gallon buckets of wet food in winter gear on ice is a skill all its own. Kennel on hill and ice becomes a fun skating adventure of sorts that can provide endless entertainment for those watching feeding time.
So, as a result of these feedings, well… what goes in will come out. The poop is endless. Chipping away at “poop-cycles” and cleaning the yard during the running season is a 2x a day job… at least. Like humans, noting what the business looks like is key to how well their diet is and how they handle their running. With the puppies, it is also key to how they handle the transition to adult food. Feeding and yard duty is easily a 1-hour task… done twice a day. You can see where it can become a full-time job. The best part, though, is the time spent with the dogs. We talk, get kisses and lots of love. You start to learn about all the personalities when you hang out in their world.
Fall came, and it was time to start with some running. I had no idea a 4 wheeler could run a team! Again a new learning experience. It’s not as simple as “hook ‘em up and go run!” They had to learn their manners of being in a harness and being on a line and most of all PATIENCE! Patience to wait for the boss (Bridgett) to get everything just right so that there could be a safe exit to the road. Many wisdom pearls were discussed on the back of the wheeler, taking the team down dirt roads. Who runs well with who? What does their gait look like? I grew up with some exposure to horses and the rodeo world in Jr High. Trotting and loping are terms carried over to the mushing word too! Even old plow team commands of Gee and Ha are used! So we would talk about running speed and gait and how teams handle turns and hills. Eventually, I graduated to my own 6 dog wheeler team. The constant monitoring of speed (you do use your gas to keep them moving- they don’t just pull) was a challenge while watching the dogs make sure someone wasn’t starting to limp or that lines weren’t getting tangled.
You can see that it all is like an information overload for someone trying to absorb a lifetime of knowledge from their teacher! Snow came, and it was time for sleds! For me, this meant mastering the “out trail” on a snow machine. There was a hot, sweaty day in the fall spent preparing this trail. It’s a scary mess now, so I can only imagine the skill needed last year to get a team safely out to the trail system! As the machine rider, this meant I went first to help keep 13 very excited dogs speed in check. I am a novice machine rider as well, so learning was happening on this front as well. Side hilling and the infamous creek crossing were just a few hurdles to overcome.
On these runs with the team, I was there often as support and as an extra set of hands. Eventually, I was standing on the back of the sled holding the brake while the boss fixed harnesses or tangles. This led to a ‘throwing me in the deep end” experience. I got my first driving experience on the huge otter pond after Bridgett had me stand on the brake. She approached and pulled the hook and yelled, “READY!” (aka-go!) to the team, and I was off for my first drive. We circled a huge flat otter pond in 2 feet of fresh powder. It was exciting, amazing, and scary all at the same time. A new level of respect for a strong, powerful team pulling 200+ pounds of human, sled, and gear! I got several learning runs under my belt with Bridgett. Each one building some confidence and taking on different areas of the trail. Each time providing me a few lessons either from machine or dogs on what it took to manage 13 teammates.
We all know what happened on Thanksgiving, so that I won’t relive that “lesson.” However, the event led to another of the “throw me into the deep end” events. While Bridgett heals, we have dogs that still need to stay in shape if there is to be a chance of any races being run after she is better. So she quickly put into play a network of friends and family to get in some runs. While not her ideal running schedule, it would at least keep things in motion. So eager to learn more and do whatever I could to help make life easier since it was at my hand things were screwed up- I told her I would run if she were comfortable with me trying. A plan went into place to get a more experienced musher, Wes, to run 7 of the 13 dogs, and I would run 6. We would have Lisa on the machine as support. I knew the trail well and would need to pass Wes’s team to take the lead once out to the trail. Something I have never experience or even seen happen. I also needed to survive the out trail!
Fear was an understatement. I have only really been behind a team a few times. So many pearls racing through my head. I was questioning everything I thought I knew. I also feared I would screw something up and injure a dog and further set the team back. No pressure at all!! I truly felt the rookie pressure to step up. I would be last out of the yard behind the machine (lead) and Wes. As we pulled the hook and left, I felt like there wasn’t enough drag pad in the world to contain the power of just 6 dogs, much less 13! I clipped a tree on the first hard right after the drop but was thrilled I didn’t biff it. Next was the side hill. This was a challenge on a machine, so what was a dog team going to be like? I fumbled the weight shift and BAM first sled dump, not 100 yards out of the yard! My head screamed with Bridgett’s words of “NEVER LET GO! DON’T LOSE THE TEAM!” I had my first experience as a human dog-powered snowplow. I didn’t let go, and “Whoa!” stopped the team immediately. Stink-Eye Sanka turned and, in her motherly dog eyes, looked at me like, “really?” I literally said out loud, “I know, Sanka- just bear with me; we got 17 more miles to go!” So we were up and on our way.
There was a total of 4 falls. I will say… it was truly a maiden voyage! The open flat trail even can jump up and bite you if you aren’t paying attention. I felt like a real novice when I ate snow for missing the drag pad and losing a foot off the skid. But the falls are not the highlight! Each one taught me a lesson. All valuable in their own way. Self-evaluating pain as injury or not injury, and knowing you have to get home because there isn’t a quick rescue if you are way far out. It is the stuff that grows that true Alaska grit and hardiness. Lessons and a bit of pain do get outweighed, though, by the sheer joy and wonderfulness of standing on the back of that sled gliding seamlessly through fresh snow with nothing but the sound of the sled and dog’s feet. The hours of workouts and gym time cumulating to make the team handling a bit easier. The night time beauty of the trail and the sounds (heard some wolf/coyote howls!) of the trail creating a wonder all their own. Bridgett often mentions it in her post or conversation, but I know there aren’t words that can accurately express the experience now. The thought of the isolation and responsibility invigorating and unnerving at the same time. If the experience is this amazing 10 miles out from her house I can only imagine the experience on more famous race trails that have you HUNDREDS of miles from anything.
So my goals of moving and tackling the dog mushing world as a Texas girl are in full swing. Not exactly as planned but “adapt and overcome” is a bit of a motto right now at KOAH. Life is short, and 21 years of ER nursing taught me that. So make your “mushing” dreams happen, folks!