In order to volunteer for the Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race, it is not a bad idea to secure a place to stay while in the great state of Alaska. I lovingly refer to Alaska as 'the great state' because that is the endearing term used by, who else? Alaskans. I am beginning to believe Alaska is a great state. As mentioned earlier, Jackie and I will be staying with my daughter who resides in Anchorage for the first leg of our trip. Kim managed to book reservations in Nome at the Suite Dreams Bed and Breakfast for our first three nights. As I write this blog, we do not have a place to stay for our last three nights in Nome due to the early bookings of experienced Iditarod enthusiasts. I am not one bit concerned. Since my professional and personal life evolves around calendars, clocks and schedules, for some naive reason, I have faith that a place to stay will present itself. I have been told by several other volunteers that we will find a place. So, I have every belief this great state, Alaska, has great people in Nome, who will come forth with suitable accommodations.
Before we worry about accommodations, however, we need to get to Alaska. Airline reservations have been booked, changed, and re-booked. The weather cooperated and our plane departed on time from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on March 3, 2011, at 9:35 a.m. Our pilot must have known about our excitement because he managed to find clear skies, a tolerable amount of turbulence, and then he gently landed in Anchorage 45 minutes ahead of schedule. Upon deplaning, the captain was duly praised for the work of himself and his crew.
Alaskan Airlines guarantees luggage will be on the carousel within 20 minutes of arrival. If that does not happen, passengers will receive mileage or $20.00. This guarantee is airtight and I do not think Alaskan Airlines has ever paid a dime. I do not know how efficient the airline is for delivering luggage on time, but since the crew does not open the cabin door until 20 minutes after taxiing to the gate, it is pretty predictable by us passengers that the luggage will be on the carousel when the passengers get there! I do love flying Alaskan Airlines, however!
We arrived, took pictures of Jackie with animals frozen in time,
retrieved our luggage and were picked up by Kim. The next thing on our agenda was to get to the Mushers Banquet which was set for 5:00 p.m. at the De'aina Convention Center in downtown Anchorage. The purpose of the banquet is to recognize all the sponsors and mushers, and to draw numbers by the mushers from a muk-luk for their individual starts of the race. I did not purchase the banquet tickets until one week prior to our arrival because I lost the link for purchasing the tickets in one of my emails. After buying the tickets on line, Kim picked them up for me. My husband, Ken, happened to be visiting Kim and experiencing the winter weather with her and returned home the day before we left for our adventure.
We took Kim back to work, returned to Kim's house for a brief rest and wrestle with her house mates, Banks, her Alaskan Malamute, and Shyanne, her ancient lab-mix (who lived with me while Kim was in graduate school). We then picked up Kim, helped beautify America by adding fresh makeup to our faces, and departed for the banquet. When we arrived at the center, we found that we were at table 61. The place was electric with excitement. The huge room was set up with at least several hundred tables with each table seating 10 people. The perimeter walls were lined with Iditarod memorabilia and sponsors' tables. Each guest was given a beautiful poster of the head study of a sled dog above the Iditarod inscription.
(insert picture)
We found our table which was in the middle of the room and three tables away from the stage. Our table was surrounded by tables with various names under the table number. Behind us was Lance Mackey, the winner of the last four consecutiver Iditarods. That is a record for consecutive wins by any musher. I was star-struck! Where, oh where, was Jeff King?
Next to us was the table of Kris Hoffman from Wyoming. This is his first race. Then adjacent to us was one of the veteran mushers and past winner, Mitch Seavey. All 62 of this years' mushers were at the banquet. They were signing posters, answering questions and posing for pictures. Before and during dinner, there was fun entertainment that kept the crowds laughing and pumped with excitement. Then there were speakers, and auctions for trips (within Alaska), vehicles and various things. After raising more money, the drawing began. Each musher expressed his or her gratitude for supporters and sponsors, wished all of the other mushers a good race, then exited the stage. I decided to forego having my poster signed by as many mushers as possible when I saw that the line the mushers went through after exiting the stage lined two entire walls of the center. They were signing posters for all the fans!
I did manage to get a couple of autographs.
All evening, the excitement was at a fever pitch. This is the fun time of the race. Now, Jackie and I needed to find out where we fit into the big scheme of things.
On March 4th, at approximately 10:00 a.m. we arrived at the Millennium Hotel in Anchorage which served as the headquarters for volunteers. The hotel lobby had two check-in counters, one for guests and the other for volunteers for the race. After a brief wait in line, it was our turn. Have you ever had that sinking feeling that you have done everything you can to make something happen and then at the last minute, the bottom falls out? I gave my name to the volunteer behind the desk. As she thumbed through her card file, another volunteer was searching her computer: How do you spell your last name? (....now a REALLY sinking feeling!) I spelled it for her and her brows furrowed. I nearly turned and walked out the door. But, the excitement was still pumping through my veins and she said, 'Ah, here we are. Here's your hat, your identification tag and arm band'. Jackie and I are official Volunteers for the 39th 2011 Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race.
Now we had a decision to make. A dog handling class was being held from 12-2:00 p.m. If we chose to attend the class, we would be issued a 'dog handling card'. This step is mandatory in order to be at the beginning of the race to actually assist the mushers or to retrieve the dogs for the 'dog drop'. As an aside, mushers begin the ceremonial start on March 5th from Anchorage with 12 dogs. They start the actual race on March 6th from Willow with 16 dogs. During the actual race, the mushers may drop a dog due to fatigue, injury, illness of simply by the musher's discretion but the musher cannot add any dogs to his team. The 'dropped' dogs are flown by small planes from the place they are dropped back to Hood Lake in Anchorage, retrieved by handlers and volunteers, and taken to the women's prison to be cared for until the musher can claim the dogs after the race. Typically, if a dog is dropped, it will happen at one of the remote check points along the trail. That is why the dog is flown by small plane. If there is no airfield when the dog can no longer run, the dog is carried in the sled to the next drop site or taken by snow machine. Great care of the dogs is the key to a successful race. We were warned during class that these dogs are the mushers 'children' and we must cause no harm. Women handlers must not wear earrings or any other jewelry that could fall off or cause harm to the dogs, especially to the paws.
During or class, we were advised on what to do if we hear the term: Loose Dog! We were warned not to chase the dog because he is ready to run for 1,049 miles. We will not catch it! We are to get the dog, hopefully, by blocking him. If he is still adamant about escape, we grab whatever we can! We were also advised on how to handle the team in order to keep them in line until it is that team's turn to 'go'.
At both starts, the teams are lined up according to the numbers drawn at the banquet. Each team has four handlers who are strategically placed along the guideline to which the dogs are hooked in pairs. There are approximately four feet between each pair of dogs. A handler is positioned between each pair of dogs and must grab onto the knot on the main gang line, being careful not to grab the neck lines. This is the line that connects the dog's harness to the gang line.
Shawn Sidlinger, a former Iditarod four-time finisher volunteered his time, his sled and five of his dogs for the dog handler classes. The 'practice' was set up in the hotel parking lot. Just to the left of this area is the gorgeous Lake Hood which was frozen and show covered. We were able to watch small planes take off and land - with skis rather than wheels. At other times of the year, the planes land with - water else? water skis!
One class was held two weeks ago for local handlers. The March 4th class was held for volunteers who arrived from out of town. (This is the reason I changed our airline tickets - to attend the class!)
Now that we are official dog handlers, Jackie and I had another decision to make. Do we cash in on our Golden Tickets as Trail Guards for the race or work as handlers at the beginning of the race? The handler's card is good for five years. But we decided to get up at 6:00 a.m. and be at 4th and F Streets in downtown Anchorage for the ceremonial start to be dog handlers for the day.
The temperature should be around zero on the morning of the ceremonial start. Will we be able to stay warm? ...and can we 'handle' this? We will see............
Before we worry about accommodations, however, we need to get to Alaska. Airline reservations have been booked, changed, and re-booked. The weather cooperated and our plane departed on time from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on March 3, 2011, at 9:35 a.m. Our pilot must have known about our excitement because he managed to find clear skies, a tolerable amount of turbulence, and then he gently landed in Anchorage 45 minutes ahead of schedule. Upon deplaning, the captain was duly praised for the work of himself and his crew.
 |
| This is our ride to Anchorage. |
We arrived, took pictures of Jackie with animals frozen in time,
We took Kim back to work, returned to Kim's house for a brief rest and wrestle with her house mates, Banks, her Alaskan Malamute, and Shyanne, her ancient lab-mix (who lived with me while Kim was in graduate school). We then picked up Kim, helped beautify America by adding fresh makeup to our faces, and departed for the banquet. When we arrived at the center, we found that we were at table 61. The place was electric with excitement. The huge room was set up with at least several hundred tables with each table seating 10 people. The perimeter walls were lined with Iditarod memorabilia and sponsors' tables. Each guest was given a beautiful poster of the head study of a sled dog above the Iditarod inscription.
(insert picture)
We found our table which was in the middle of the room and three tables away from the stage. Our table was surrounded by tables with various names under the table number. Behind us was Lance Mackey, the winner of the last four consecutiver Iditarods. That is a record for consecutive wins by any musher. I was star-struck! Where, oh where, was Jeff King?
I did manage to get a couple of autographs.
All evening, the excitement was at a fever pitch. This is the fun time of the race. Now, Jackie and I needed to find out where we fit into the big scheme of things.
On March 4th, at approximately 10:00 a.m. we arrived at the Millennium Hotel in Anchorage which served as the headquarters for volunteers. The hotel lobby had two check-in counters, one for guests and the other for volunteers for the race. After a brief wait in line, it was our turn. Have you ever had that sinking feeling that you have done everything you can to make something happen and then at the last minute, the bottom falls out? I gave my name to the volunteer behind the desk. As she thumbed through her card file, another volunteer was searching her computer: How do you spell your last name? (....now a REALLY sinking feeling!) I spelled it for her and her brows furrowed. I nearly turned and walked out the door. But, the excitement was still pumping through my veins and she said, 'Ah, here we are. Here's your hat, your identification tag and arm band'. Jackie and I are official Volunteers for the 39th 2011 Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race.
Now we had a decision to make. A dog handling class was being held from 12-2:00 p.m. If we chose to attend the class, we would be issued a 'dog handling card'. This step is mandatory in order to be at the beginning of the race to actually assist the mushers or to retrieve the dogs for the 'dog drop'. As an aside, mushers begin the ceremonial start on March 5th from Anchorage with 12 dogs. They start the actual race on March 6th from Willow with 16 dogs. During the actual race, the mushers may drop a dog due to fatigue, injury, illness of simply by the musher's discretion but the musher cannot add any dogs to his team. The 'dropped' dogs are flown by small planes from the place they are dropped back to Hood Lake in Anchorage, retrieved by handlers and volunteers, and taken to the women's prison to be cared for until the musher can claim the dogs after the race. Typically, if a dog is dropped, it will happen at one of the remote check points along the trail. That is why the dog is flown by small plane. If there is no airfield when the dog can no longer run, the dog is carried in the sled to the next drop site or taken by snow machine. Great care of the dogs is the key to a successful race. We were warned during class that these dogs are the mushers 'children' and we must cause no harm. Women handlers must not wear earrings or any other jewelry that could fall off or cause harm to the dogs, especially to the paws.
During or class, we were advised on what to do if we hear the term: Loose Dog! We were warned not to chase the dog because he is ready to run for 1,049 miles. We will not catch it! We are to get the dog, hopefully, by blocking him. If he is still adamant about escape, we grab whatever we can! We were also advised on how to handle the team in order to keep them in line until it is that team's turn to 'go'.
At both starts, the teams are lined up according to the numbers drawn at the banquet. Each team has four handlers who are strategically placed along the guideline to which the dogs are hooked in pairs. There are approximately four feet between each pair of dogs. A handler is positioned between each pair of dogs and must grab onto the knot on the main gang line, being careful not to grab the neck lines. This is the line that connects the dog's harness to the gang line.
One class was held two weeks ago for local handlers. The March 4th class was held for volunteers who arrived from out of town. (This is the reason I changed our airline tickets - to attend the class!)
Now that we are official dog handlers, Jackie and I had another decision to make. Do we cash in on our Golden Tickets as Trail Guards for the race or work as handlers at the beginning of the race? The handler's card is good for five years. But we decided to get up at 6:00 a.m. and be at 4th and F Streets in downtown Anchorage for the ceremonial start to be dog handlers for the day.
The temperature should be around zero on the morning of the ceremonial start. Will we be able to stay warm? ...and can we 'handle' this? We will see............
Love it Jenny!!! What a memory of a lifetime you are building! Enjoy!
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