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The Historic Iditarod Trail

Sarah · January 13, 2015 ·

The Historic Iditarod Trail

Long before there was a dogsled race, the Iditarod trail served as a vital part of the early Alaskan economy. The historic Iditarod trail ran from Seward, Alaska to Nome, Alaska. The purpose of the trail was to get freight from the northern most ice free port of Seward into the interior of the state. The trail was primarily a dog sled trail — although the portion from Seward to Nenana was eventually taken over by the Alaska railroad.

According to the Alaskan Bureau of Land Management, from 1880 to the early 1900s “the non-Native population [of Alaska] boomed from 430 people in 1880 to some 36,400 in 1910” due to the gold that was being found in Nome, Iditarod, Hope, Ophir and Ruby. The trail provided a valuable lifeline and dog sledding became the preferred method of travel.

The 1908 discovery of gold in Ophir and Ruby was one of the largest gold discovered with approximately $30 million worth of gold being removed from the areas. Although river traffic could provide transportation in the summer months, after freeze-up transportation relied solely upon the dogs.

Traveling on these trails was made easier for mail carriers by establishing cabins along the way, approximately every 20 or so miles. These roadhouses served as a convenient place for the couriers to rest their dogs at days end so they could continue down the trail. The mail the couriers brought was a welcome relief from the isolation that the long, dark Alaskan winters often brought the prospectors. Most couriers only ran a small section of the Iditarod trail, relying on relays to get mail and other essential freight in and out of the interior.

But as quickly as the miners came, the onset of world war 1, the rise of the airplane, the “drying” up and the consolidation of the gold field claims, saw the miners leave. By the mid 1930s all but a few of the dog sled mail couriers had been replaced by bush pilots.

The trail then fell into limited use until the Iditarod Sled Dog Race began in 1973 as a way to help preserve dog sledding in the state of Alaska.

The Historic Iditarod Trail with other significant Alaskan Routes — The Historic Iditarod Trail. This map is great as it also shows the 1925 serum run that helped make dogsledding famous!

The Iditarod Sled Dog Race

Against popular belief, The Iditarod Sled Dog Race does not commemorate the famous 1925 serum run to Nome (the green dotted line on the map above) ; the race commemorates the famous gold & mail trail that ran through the interior part of the state. By 1977 the Iditarod trail had become a national historic trail. Not only did the race serve as a way to help mushing stay alive, it also helped the trail become a national landmark. You can learn more about the Iditarod sled dog race on our blog post What Is The Iditarod Sled Dog Race.

Additional Resources

There are a number of resources available for those wanting to learn more about the historic Iditarod trail. The Alaska Bureau of Land Management has a great website with lots of historical information. You can check that out here. The Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance is a group of individuals dedicated to the continued preservation of the Iditarod trail. They have some great information for anyone wanting to learn more. You can visit their website here. Additional trail information is also available from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources.

Dog Of The Week: Cuervo

Sarah · January 12, 2015 ·

Cuervo

Cuervo joined our kennel shortly before Iditarod 2014 from Dallas Seavey. Travis needed a last minute go-to dog and knew he could rely on Dallas to provide him with a top quality racing athlete.Travis and Dallas both grew up in Seward and ran tours together for Dallas’ family for many years. In 2011, Travis went to work for Dallas for a summer at his summer dogsled tour show in Anchorage. Although Dallas no longer runs it, Travis looks back on that time fondly.

Dallas described Cuervo as:

The canine version of Dallas Seavey. Cuervo is small, confident, and can’t sit still. He is also incredibly mouthy, often times smarting off to dogs twice his size. But like Dallas, Cuervo can run…and run and run. He loves to eat, and can usually finish his food in time to swipe somebody else’s too. If there is a disturbance at 3 a.m. in the dog yard, it is usually Cuervo trash talking. In spite of his aggressive demeanor, he gets along with just about everybody

Cuervo has been starting to lead for Travis intermittently. He is a great dog with a lot of natural talent. He often runs with his half-sister Gremlin, a 3 year old Travis purchased from Dallas as a pup the summer Travis worked for him. Cuervo brings confidence, excitement, and a steady work ethic to Travis’ team. Although smaller than most of the males in our kennel, Cuervo makes up for his size with his hard work ethic and his big heart!

2015 Copper Basin 300 Race Overview

Sarah · January 10, 2015 ·

So first of all, we should put it out there that we are NOT racing the Copper Basin 300. We went back and forth on this throughout the fall and ended up on the waiting list. Sometimes, that’s just how it goes. Travis had a stellar performance in the 2014 Copper Basin 300 earning himself the coveted Humanitarian Award for Best Dog Care. He started and finished the race will all 12 dogs.

Asking Travis about the race he said, “Ya my team was on fire. But one of the things I really took away from that race was that they were ready to go and it was only January. There were still another two months between the Copper Basin 300 and Iditarod.”

This year, we are trying to shift focus away from the smaller races and onto the bigger ones. We have no idea if it will work or not. Most mushers our age start out handling for other racing kennels, where they learn the tricks of the trade, before going and starting their own kennel. Not us! So a lot of the tricky decisions about how to train and race early on in the season has been something we have had to carefully navigate. I’m not sure we’ve dialed anything in yet. Although we now are much more mobile than before, the biggest hiccup for us being really successful is trail access. When it comes down to it, we really need to buy property in mushing country: Willow, Fairbanks, Healy, Eureka…here’s to hoping we can do that sometime in the near future. We tried this year but kept having issues pop up. It’s been the biggest roadblock.

That being said, the Copper Basin 300 is a very big race. Besides the Kusko 300, it is one of the most challenging races out there. It’s a notoriously tough and physically demanding.

So let’s take a Look at the CB300.

Copper Basin 300 Overview

Long considered the toughest 300 mile dog sled race, The Copper Basin 300 is a challenge for both the musher running the race and their handler, who offers support. Although Copper Basin is considered a qualifier for running the Iditarod, many mushers have often remarked “that running Iditarod should be a qualifier for the Copper Basin.”

The circular race trail allows mushers along new trail during each leg of the race. Each checkpoint is at some sort of lodge. The Copper Basin 300 is known for its notorious trail conditions and bone chilling weather. Temperatures are routinely -30 and -40 below. Because the course crests numerous hills, teams also have to contend with blown in trails.

In 2013 when Travis first ran the race, nearly every team had to go over a windblown summit. Due to the severe winds, each team had to break out trail. Later in the race, warm temperatures and freezing rain made for an interesting mixture.

The Copper Basin 2015 Race Route

The Copper Basin 300 begins in Glennallen, AK and runs counter clockwise. The CB300 has 18 hours of mandatory rest built into the race. There is one One (1) mandatory layover of six (6) hours plus start differential at any checkpoint. An additional accumulation of twelve (12) hours at any of the checkpoints. IN 30 MINUTE INCREMENTS. You can learn more about the Race Route here.

Race History

The race has been running since 1990 and has only had to cancel the event twice. The first cancellation was in 1996 due to extremely cold weather. The second cancellation came in 2012 during the middle of the race when cold weather and poor trail conditions prevented mushers from being able to make it to the next checkpoint. Many, at this point, thought the Copper Basin would be finished. Under the new direction of race manager Zack Steer, the 2013 Copper Basin was was widely considered to be one of the best put on races of that year.

Our Past Experiences With The Copper Basin 300

In 2013 Travis entered the Copper Basin 300 as a way to introduce his team to tough terrain. He had no intention of running competitively, rather he used it a learning experience for both him and his dogs. Sarah handled for him in this race. The handlers of the Copper Basin 300 are responsible for picking up after their musher and taking care of any dropped dogs. To do this, handlers must drive the entire race route. By the time handlers finish picking up after their musher, they often have to “race” to beat their musher to the next check point.

In 2014, Travis finished 5^th in the Copper Basin and received the Humanitarian award for best vet care.

This year, we are sitting out. We’re disappointed but are also interested in seeing how a season with fewer races impacts our team.

2015 Copper Basin 300 Resources

Copper Basin 300 Facebook Page

Copper Basin 300 Website

Mushers We Are Keeping a Close Eye On In This Race:

Wade Marrs – Stump Jumpin Kennel

We always have to root for Wade and like to think we are some of his biggest fans. We’ll be training out of his kennel and watching the dogs that didn’t make the race team. Wade runs primarily smaller dogs. He finished 8th in the CB300 last year and 8th in the Gin Gin 200 last week.

Nicolas Petit

Nic finished 2nd in the 2014 Copper Basin but this year is driving a completely different group of dogs. Last year, he drove a team that primarily consisted of Raymie and Barb Redington’s dogs. This year, he is driving some dogs of his own breeding. There are four former THK dogs in his team.We have no idea what to expect from Nic although we do know he has been spending lots of time training in Glenallen on the Copper Basin 300 trails. His team has lots of young dogs and this will be their first real (and one of their biggest) tests.

Kristin & Andy Pace – Hey Moose! Kennel

Kristin & Andy have a small kennel out of Healy, AK. One of the things that impressed us the last time we ran with them was the size of their dogs. They’re massive! Kristen is training for the Yukon Quest. I don’t know how each of them plans to race but I sure am looking forward to their post-race write up. These guys are great writers!

Paige Drobny – Squid Acres Kennel

Paige had an impressive performance in the Gin Gin 200. She and her husband Cody Strathe are quickly making a name for themselves in the mushing world. They have some really nice dogs and are very well organized. It will be interesting to see how Paige and her team performs.

Ray Redington Jr. – Team Redington

We love Ray. He’s always been a really great friend to us and has been quick to offer us helpful mushing advice. Ray is also signed up for the Kuskokwim 300 which has an impressively large purse. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ray race hard but I also wouldn’t be surprised to see him hold back a little too. He’s got a busy race schedule ahead of him as he has also signed up for the 1,000 mile YUkon Quest. Regardless, he will be up at the front of the pack!

Aliy Zirkle – SP Kennel

Aliy, in all likelihood, will be running the B-team out of SP Kennel. We’re excited to see how she performs. She should have a more relaxed run than her husband, Allen, who will be trying to win the Copper Basin.

Allen Moore – SP Kennel

The CB300 favorite, Allen Moore has dominated this race for the last couple of years. I expect him to win the CB300 or do incredible well. He will be driving SP Kennel’s A-team

Robert Redington

Robert is another friend of ours. He is working on getting qualified for Iditarod. He did really well in the Aurora 50/50 this year. We are hoping he has a great race and are excited to watch him race. He’s got some incredible dogs that he has been training over the last few seasons.

Spencer Egbert – SP Kennel

Spencer is a long time friend of ours and is now working for Aliy and Allen. This is his first 300 mile race and we couldn’t be more excited for him!

Following the 2015 Copper Basin 300

For live race tracking check out: http://www.cb300.com/racecentral.aspx as well as liking the Copper Basin 300 facebook page.

SP Kennel usually does a fantastic job of posting live updates. I’ve always been impressed by the large crew they bring to the race to help with social media. You can count on them having 2-3 quality updates.

My First Dog Sled

Sarah · January 10, 2015 ·

I remember – it seems like a lifetime ago now – standing in Travis’ old dog lot at his mom’s house four years ago. The leaves were just starting to fall off the trees and the wind would come along every now and then ruffling them up out of their loose piles in the dog lot and driveway. Travis spent his days working construction for a local builder. We spent our evenings together running dogs and dreaming of a future where we were self sufficient and making names for ourselves as racers.

That September for his birthday, I’d gotten Travis two new beefy snow hooks. Our first “date” months beforehand he had taken me mushing on the historic Iditarod trail in Seward and once, when we stopped to rest the pups, they eagerly pulled his snow hook. He had a rag-tag set up which included his hook being on a bungy line. When the hook popped, the line stretched forward and then snapped back, the hook almost hitting me square in the face. My goalkeeping reflexes kicked in and somehow I managed to either deflect it down or catch it.

He apologized profusely. “Ya I shouldn’t have it on that buts it’s the only rope I have.”
I laughed. I was having a blast.

We still joke about it. Those first runs we did together will always hold a special place in my heart. Our gear was often broken or pieced together. On one run, we had a stanchion snap, our brake bar fall off and we somehow managed to lose our drag.

We wouldn’t bring tools or sled repair kits. Often we were woefully underprepared but our logic was that we weren’t far from home — always less then seven miles. Nothing that bad could ever happen.

When things broke we’d take necklines and tug lines, splicing together spruce trees, duct tape — anything we could find and deem usable — to help us repair our sled and get back to the yard. We always managed. We smiled. We learned.

Looking back, we were a minor disaster but it never mattered. We had fun and we were training the puppies — now the core of our race team — and there was no stress.

We learned to fix what we needed to fix and we had fun doing it. At times I’d get annoyed we sure spend a lot of time fixing things I’d think and occasionally vocalize.

Travis’ response was always the same. “I’m a broke dog musher. I can’t afford new stuff.”

So we were resourceful.

But that fall day in 2012 when we were gearing up for our first full season of running dogs together, I can remember shivering from the wind. It was howling. We were hooking the dogs up to the four wheeler when Travis casually mentioned he’d bought me a present.

I was thinking maybe he’d bought me a new pair of gloves or a better rain jacket when he told me he bought me a sled my jaw dropped and I looked at him in disbelief.

“Where on earth did you get that kind of money?!”

He’d saved his tips from work that summer and slowly saved up. “It’s not like brand new or anything,” he said sheepishly “but it should hold together pretty good.”

From the moment we got it, it was a beautiful sled albeit well-loved and trail-worn. Made by “prairie built” it was incredibly light and fun to drive. It sported a bicycle seat on back and was the first “sit down” sled we owned.

The first time we took it out we had a blast, switching teams so we could both take turns driving it.

“You’re really good on that thing!” He said beaming at me.

We drove that sled everyday we had enough snow. It had sleek aluminum stanchions and a bright blue and yellow sled bag. Driving it, we felt like rock stars — not that we shared trails with anyone.

But then, of course the inevitable eventually happened: the aluminum stanchion snapped coming around an icy corner the following spring . We took necklines and a hair tie and part of an alder and made a quick trail repair that got us home. A local welder fixed it for us and before we could order a replacement stanchion the second one snapped.

Life happened. And what should have been a simple fix went untouched and sat in our garage waiting to be fixed. We started doing tours and business life soon took over. Suddenly it seemed we hardly had time for each other, let alone sled repairs!

A year went by and we still hadn’t fixed it. We’d acquired other sleds and drove those lamenting our lack of time and energy to fix my first sled.

Until yesterday.

Yesterday I came back from a meeting to find Travis tinkering in the basement. I could hear the saw running and heard the occasionally tap tap. I opened the basement door to see what on earth he could be working on.

“No! You’re not allowed down here!” He said.
“Why?” I asked.
“It’s a secret.”
“Ok.” I said.

The new single stanchion dog sled Travis built me

He worked well into the night, not coming up for bed until 3am. And the secret he’d been working on was my dog sled — Except it wasn’t my dog sled at all. Travis had seen me eyeing our friend Wade’s homemade single stanchion sled and had apparently overheard me asking for advice on building one. Travis had taken the runners off my old dog sled and made a completely new creation.

Travis Beals lifting up the new dog sled he just built. It's made out of hockey sticks and is pretty light weight. — Travis Beals lifting up the new dog sled he just built. It’s made out of hockey sticks and is pretty light weight.

To say I’m excited to drive it is an understatement.

Isn’t it a thing of beauty? We can’t wait to try it out.

Travis Beals sitting on the seat he built for his first homemade dog sled

Help The High’s Rebuild Their Kennel

Sarah · January 10, 2015 ·

A few short weeks ago willow mushers Jaimee and Justin High lost their house and business in a fire. Although we have never met Jamie or Justin personally, the mushing community is small. When disaster strikes, we all have to help out. Jaimee is signed up for the 2015 Iditarod, having already completed it once. The Highs lost almost nearly everything in the fire — Jaimee’s Iditarod belt buckle, which she received after finishing her rookie year, sustained serious damage.

Fortunately for the Highs, their dogs stayed safe. They have showed tremendous resilience in the last few weeks — moving back to their property and beginning to rebuild.

The High’s are currently running a GoFundMe campaign to help finance their rebuild and to help Jaimee get to the starting line of the 2015 Iditarod. We would love to see as many Turning Heads Kennel fans as possible help out this hard working couple!

Help Jaimee and Justin rebuild their home and get to the starting line of Iditarod 2015. Visit their fundraiser and help these wonderful mushers rebuild! Jamiee has also set up an amazon.com wishlist for supplies she needs for her 2015 race. Here are some things you can purchase for the High’s!

Here are more articles about the fire that consumed the High’s residence:
Willow Fire Displaces Iditarod Musher & Dogs
Willow mushers lose home they built to fire; residents and dogs OK
Alaskans rally for Willow mushers who lost home they built to fire