IditaProject Forum

Ask away!

...Karen will answer when she can.

OK, I'm not shy...I'll ask...Karen, are you still in Nome?

tsfr

For those who would like to help support Karen and her dogteam, check out the online store at her website:
http://www.northwapiti.com/

How are all the dogs doing? Did they have any particular problems with the warmer temps this year?

My school is watching "Pretty Sled Dogs", we had a TTP contest for teachers and it was the Grand Prize! The winner is sharing, though.

Karen posted this to her North Wapiti website on March 19. Her Iditarod race this year was in honor of Snickers, her lead dog who died last year. She gave me permission to post it to the BSSD Forum.

"I will tell some more tales and such later, but just wanted to take a moment to answer the one question that everyone seems to have for me of late - and that is what about Snickers.

As sunset was just approaching Friday night, we crested Cape Nome and a lovely view of the coast and Nome lay in front of us. This has long been my favorite spot on the Iditarod Trail, not just for it's beauty, but for it's special significance to me. For my first finish in '01 and every one since, I have stopped at this spot and spent a few moments thanking my dogs for the journey and telling them how much I value them all. I know many mushers do that in Nome, but I have always preferred to have that quiet, special moment with them out on the trail. Once we get to Nome things get so hectic and out of control. At the top of Cape Nome, finishing is pretty much a given, but you are still in the solitude and peace that signifies most of the journey. It is a special spot for me and where I have always known that Snickers belonged.
So, with a beautiful sunset beginning to color the sky, I set my hooks and scattered all but a small amount of Snickers ashes. I took time to tell her how much I adored and missed her and how I would never forget her. Then I turned my attention to my 12 current companions and told them each how much I valued, loved them and how thankful I was for their companionship and hard work on our journey to Nome.
Pets and ear scratches were given, I asked Snickers to watch over teams on their journeys into Nome, told her I'd see her again and then headed for the burled arch.

When we crossed under the finish line in Nome, I took the last bit of her ashes and sprinkled them under the arch.

Lines from one of my favorite Robert Service poems ran through my mind -
"A promise made is a debt unpaid and the trail has it's own stern code..."

The promise I made to her in Grayling last year was now paid.

Goodbye my friend.

Karen"
A beautiful tribute from a wonderful woman. I haven't met Karen yet but hope to do so sometime soon. She is one of my Heroes.
StarDancer

Hi All,

Got out of Nome on Tuesday evening. Left in the middle of the Red Lantern Banquet actually.

Back at my home away from home in Willow now. We were planning on hanging around long enough to pick up my return bags, but ITC is saying that they won't be ready to pick up until the 27th of the month. So looks like we will probably have to head home without my stuff this year, as Mark has to be back at work on the 31st.

Karen

Hey Flower,

All the dogs are fine - thanks for asking. I dropped 4 dogs this race - Jinx and Runner with sore shoulders in Ophir, Herman with infected foot splits in Shaktoolik and Spider who was just tired in Elim. All are back to 100% now. And all the finishers - Crunchie, Sprite, Tess, Dasher, Charge, Barq, Hector, Batdog, Jr, Watt, Q, and Moses are romping around on their chains enjoying the spring air now.

Yes, the warm weather is a big issue for us. Not only does it slow the dogs down, it makes them more suseptible to pneuomia and infection, as well as tiring them out faster. We were extra cautious and avoided all but a few foot infections though.

Karen

hi karen, great to hear your back home from home at least and the dog are all well and enjoying spring.

how did the sibes cope with the warmer weather having thicker coats than the alaskans?

was there a race with in the race to be first sibe team home or were you guys just running to your schedules and loping along?

congratulations on another finish karen!!!

matt

Thank you so much for answering our questions, Karen. You are so kind to take time out of your busy schedule for us - we really appreciate it! It's a real treat for us fans to be able to get feedback from our favorite mushers.

And congratulations to you and your dogs on a great race!

Thanks so much for sharing about Snickers.....it brought tears to my eyes and a smile to my heart! I have wished the ITC site had some kind of "in memory" page for the dogs. I love knowing how special they were to their mushers and friends.

Anyway, I had read your comments before the race about the tracking devices, and now that the race is over, I was wondering if you have any different thoughts about it?

Thanks for spending time with us! For us "armchair mushers" it's a wonderful tiny peek into a different world!

Oh yes, there was a race within a race. I led the 'race' for almost the whole race, but Blake Freking ran a great race and had cut my lead down to 2 hours by White Mt. I knew at that point that he was probably going to get me on the last run and for a number of reasons opted to shut my guys down for another 8 hours in White Mt. So he ended up beating me to Nome.
We are all friends though, in fact I had dinner with Blake and Jen last night. I do however look forward to racing him on Iditarod again one day!!!

Yes, the siberians have issue with the warmer weather - basically the issues I mentioned in a previous post. It isn't just the coat however that does it. My guys are built from the inside out to conserve heat. For example, their blood vessels are smaller and set deeper against the muscle then their Alaskan counterparts to allow them to stay warm. So even my girl Sprite, who had shed most of her coat and was naked throughout Iditarod was warm in these temps!

Karen

I do feel differently about the tracking devices, just because fans and friends I have spoken with LOVED them.
I still think there are concerns that need to be worked out with them, but I feel that in light of the great response to them by the folks who follow the race, we need to figure out a way to make it all work.

Karen