Jackie and I were dropped off by Kim at 4th and F streets at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 5th. We were gathered by the Visitor's Center along with all the other dog handlers awaiting instructions from our fearless leader, Rae. She arrived a few minutes later to check all of us in and handed out our arm bands. They were green lettering on white band that stated: ITC (Iditarod Trail Committee) Handler 2011. We were all thrilled and excited to be where we were.
The cleared city streets were closed down at 5:00 p.m. on March 4th so that the city could bring in the snow. This morning, the streets looked like they were ready for a movie set. They were covered with approximately 6" of pure white packed snow.
This will give the dogs a base for running as well as allow the mushers to apply the sled brake when necessary. But, I'm getting ahead of myself.
Rae and her faithful followers, all bound in various kinds of winter gear and boots who looked like we were weighted down, headed two blocks north. Each side street was lined on either side of the street with three different mushing teams for a total of six big trucks, mushers, handlers and 48 dogs in one city block. We were approximately six blocks north of the starting line. Today is the ceremonial start of the 2011 Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race. The 'trail' winds from downtown southeasterly through Anchorage ending on the abandoned Campbell Creek Air Field. It is about 18 miles long. This ceremonial start is to give the people of Anchorage, as well as out-of-towners, an opportunity to see each of the mushers and his and her team. These teams, however, only consisted of 12 dogs. The actual race, which begins tomorrow, will have 16 dogs in each team.
The last two blocks of this downtown area has been built up with about a foot of snow with 2' of banked snow on either side. This is to simulate a trail. Back where we were, six blocks away from the start, the mushers were arriving and unloading the dogs. The dogs were each attached to a hook bolted to the side of the truck and spaced 2-3' from the next dog. The dogs, depending on their nature and personality, were attached singly or with another dog. We were instructed to allow the dog to decide whether or not he/she wanted to be petted. Most of them were very friendly and let me know exactly where his 'sweet spot' was.
The mushers were lined up 1-63 with number one being the farthest from the start point. Our job as handlers was to assist the musher in getting his team to the start line - walking. As I mentioned in my last post, the dogs are attached to a gangline which is attached to the sled. The dogs are paired, having one dog on each side of the line. They will eventually run in tandem. If the musher had his own handlers with him, he did not need any of us to assist.
My sister Jackie, who is a marathoner and being every bit of 5' tall, was chosen to assist the first team to the start. That is her in the black and red jacket with the armband on her left arm. She is wearing a red hat with her gray Iditarod hat on top of that! She was pulling back as the dogs were loping forward!
The first sled was actually not a competitor but a musher who was driving the ceremonial sled to kick off the race. The rider was a person who was honored for her past participation with the Iditarod. The actual mushers who are numbered 2-63 (62 in all) also had a rider for this event. Depending on the celebrity of the musher, individuals were able to bid for the sled seat with the winning bid riding the sled. Average bids for the choice sleds was $7,500.00 and downward! Some of the mushers honored the "Make a Wish Foundation" with the lucky child as his rider!
The big perk for being a volunteer, in addition to assisting the mushers, meeting the mushers and seeing the dogs up close and being right in the middle of the organized chaos, is that with our badges, we now have 'credentials'. These credentials allowed us to be inside the barriers for the entire event! At 9:00 a.m., the volunteer security began clearing the cordoned off area of pedestrians and visitors. There were, seriously, as many people inside the barriers as there were outside the barriers.
Another perk is being able to see the dogs up close and to meet the mushers. Most of them are very receptive to talking to fans and supporters; some are more reserved - probably from having such a solitary hobby.
Think about it: when a musher is on the trail training his dogs for such long distances, there is nothing but wilderness, beauty, concentration, and the dogs. On this particular day, the dogs were amazingly calm and well-behaved. I learned that this behavior is natural. These dogs are well-trained athletes. They rest when its time and they perform when its time. As the clock wound down, each musher began to put his dogs in harness. When it was time for that musher to head for the starting point under the big sign, the dogs came alive. They were lunging, jumping, barking and ready to go! Thus, the handlers' jobs became very important. Do not let the dogs run - yet.
As for seeing the dogs up close and also petting them, I was surprised that they are as small as they are - perhaps 40 pounds - but very lean. And notice the booties. The dog on the left was dozing and his head kept bobbing, even with so much going on around him. The dog on the right was zonked!
Many of the dogs look like mutts but they are not. They are hybrids of the Siberian Husky. With the selective breeding for running, they are typically known as the Alaskan Husky. Their coats are very thick and they do well in freezing temperatures and below. Many of the mushers do drive with Siberian Huskies, however, but they are not known to have the endurance of the Alaskan Husky. It was evident that each musher's team had similar colors amongst the dogs. Only a few of the mushers have mix-n-match sled dogs - that is, various colored dogs.
The ceremonial race would begin at 10:00 a.m. One of the things that is very important is safety. The people must be kept safe from the 'dogs coming' and the dogs had to be kept safe from any unfortunate injury. After all, these dogs are getting ready to run for over 1,000 miles!
For some reason, I got 'lost' from the ITC movement and spent my time viewing the teams up close, petting the dogs and talking with other Iditarod visitors.....so many wonderful stories. One couple would be leaving Anchorage to fly by bush plane to a remote cabin owned by a business client, with views of the remote Iditarod trail. Can you imagine? Pictures of the teams without buildings in the background! Kim was the roving photographer and getting wonderful shots with her 35mm digital with zoom lense; and, Jackie remained at the start to listen to the announcer and watch the dogs leave.
My impressions of this day's events were well-founded. Lots of people. Streets crowded with things other than cars. Snow, mushers, dogs, straw, TV cameras, reporters. I just never expected to be inside the barriers. It took a little over two hours for all the mushers to leave downtown. All in all, it was a 10-hour day for us. Kim, Jackie and I sought rest and food in a Sushi restaurant to exchange stories. I had bragging rights, however. I demanded their absolute attention to show them my prized photo:
Me with Lance Mackey! His wife took the pic.
The cleared city streets were closed down at 5:00 p.m. on March 4th so that the city could bring in the snow. This morning, the streets looked like they were ready for a movie set. They were covered with approximately 6" of pure white packed snow.
This will give the dogs a base for running as well as allow the mushers to apply the sled brake when necessary. But, I'm getting ahead of myself.
Rae and her faithful followers, all bound in various kinds of winter gear and boots who looked like we were weighted down, headed two blocks north. Each side street was lined on either side of the street with three different mushing teams for a total of six big trucks, mushers, handlers and 48 dogs in one city block. We were approximately six blocks north of the starting line. Today is the ceremonial start of the 2011 Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race. The 'trail' winds from downtown southeasterly through Anchorage ending on the abandoned Campbell Creek Air Field. It is about 18 miles long. This ceremonial start is to give the people of Anchorage, as well as out-of-towners, an opportunity to see each of the mushers and his and her team. These teams, however, only consisted of 12 dogs. The actual race, which begins tomorrow, will have 16 dogs in each team.
The last two blocks of this downtown area has been built up with about a foot of snow with 2' of banked snow on either side. This is to simulate a trail. Back where we were, six blocks away from the start, the mushers were arriving and unloading the dogs. The dogs were each attached to a hook bolted to the side of the truck and spaced 2-3' from the next dog. The dogs, depending on their nature and personality, were attached singly or with another dog. We were instructed to allow the dog to decide whether or not he/she wanted to be petted. Most of them were very friendly and let me know exactly where his 'sweet spot' was.
The mushers were lined up 1-63 with number one being the farthest from the start point. Our job as handlers was to assist the musher in getting his team to the start line - walking. As I mentioned in my last post, the dogs are attached to a gangline which is attached to the sled. The dogs are paired, having one dog on each side of the line. They will eventually run in tandem. If the musher had his own handlers with him, he did not need any of us to assist.
The first sled was actually not a competitor but a musher who was driving the ceremonial sled to kick off the race. The rider was a person who was honored for her past participation with the Iditarod. The actual mushers who are numbered 2-63 (62 in all) also had a rider for this event. Depending on the celebrity of the musher, individuals were able to bid for the sled seat with the winning bid riding the sled. Average bids for the choice sleds was $7,500.00 and downward! Some of the mushers honored the "Make a Wish Foundation" with the lucky child as his rider!
The big perk for being a volunteer, in addition to assisting the mushers, meeting the mushers and seeing the dogs up close and being right in the middle of the organized chaos, is that with our badges, we now have 'credentials'. These credentials allowed us to be inside the barriers for the entire event! At 9:00 a.m., the volunteer security began clearing the cordoned off area of pedestrians and visitors. There were, seriously, as many people inside the barriers as there were outside the barriers.
Another perk is being able to see the dogs up close and to meet the mushers. Most of them are very receptive to talking to fans and supporters; some are more reserved - probably from having such a solitary hobby.
This is John Baker leading his own team.
This is Kim, me and Jackie with Sebastian Schunelle 
As for seeing the dogs up close and also petting them, I was surprised that they are as small as they are - perhaps 40 pounds - but very lean. And notice the booties. The dog on the left was dozing and his head kept bobbing, even with so much going on around him. The dog on the right was zonked!
The ceremonial race would begin at 10:00 a.m. One of the things that is very important is safety. The people must be kept safe from the 'dogs coming' and the dogs had to be kept safe from any unfortunate injury. After all, these dogs are getting ready to run for over 1,000 miles!
 |
| John Baker controlling his leaders. |
My impressions of this day's events were well-founded. Lots of people. Streets crowded with things other than cars. Snow, mushers, dogs, straw, TV cameras, reporters. I just never expected to be inside the barriers. It took a little over two hours for all the mushers to leave downtown. All in all, it was a 10-hour day for us. Kim, Jackie and I sought rest and food in a Sushi restaurant to exchange stories. I had bragging rights, however. I demanded their absolute attention to show them my prized photo:
Me with Lance Mackey! His wife took the pic.As wonderful and busy as this day was, however, I cannot wait for tomorrow - the actual start of the race from Willow Lake in Willow, Alaska. It is a 2-hour drive from Anchorage but we are not a volunteers for that part of our trip.
Tonight, we will be planning our strategy for observing the start of the 39th running of the Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race. As of now, however, we do not know what the setup is like so anxiety is beginning to build. I want a good spot, but will that be possible?..............
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