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Travis Beals Iditarod 2018: Into White Mountain

Sarah · March 13, 2018 ·

Travis Beals departs the 2018 Iditarod from Willow, Alaska. Photo by Kalani Woodlock Photography
Travis Beals departs the 2018 Iditarod from Willow, Alaska. Photo by Kalani Woodlock Photography

Travis is into White Mountain! Travis arrived in White Mountain at 9:33pm and will have to take a mandatory 8-hour rest there. This rest will provide a much-needed break for dogs and musher: it will mark one of the first good opportunities for Travis to sleep since he took his mandatory 8-hour layover in Shageluk 435 miles and 4 days ago. This rest will be crucial for the 77 miles he will have to travel from White Mountain to Nome.

When Travis leaves White Mountain, he is going to need every ounce of energy: it’s going to be one heck of a race to figure out 7th through 10th place. With some of the mushers moving significantly faster than Travis, I expect that he may drop a place or two in the standings but am hoping he will still be able to achieve his goal of his first Iditarod Top 10 Finish.

This race is far from over for Travis but for now, he and his team of loyal dogs get a much-needed rest.

Go Trav, go! Only one more run to go!

Travis Beals Iditarod 2018: The Long Run to Koyuk

Sarah · March 12, 2018 ·

Wrangler jumps for excitement at the start of the 2018 Iditarod. Photo by Kalani Woodlock
Wrangler jumps for excitement at the start of the 2018 Iditarod. Photo by Kalani Woodlock

Boy, was that a doozy of a run! It’s going to be interesting to hear Travis’ stories from this stretch of the race: getting spun about, ground storms, and just a long, long, long run.

The Iditarod lists the run from Shaktoolik to Koyuk as a 48-mile run. Due to the sea ice that the mushers usually run on getting blown out to sea two weeks ago when the trail crews were going through, the trail was routed closer to the coast and partially overland. This added about 7 miles to the trail when all was said and done so the route was closer to 55 miles.

Travis left Shaktoolik at 12:26pm this morning and arrived at 10:19. His run time was 9 hours and 52 minutes. Ramey Smyth is starting to creep up and did the run approximately an hour faster. If you watch the tracker though, Travis and Wade got lost during the run and ended up running back towards Shaktoolik for approximately 15 minutes.  While theoretically, this was only a 30-minute error, it may have affected the overall speed of the team if their confidence was at all shaken.

I expect that Travis and Wade will take a long rest here, 5 or 6-hours, to recover the team. Richie and Linwood will be arriving at the checkpoint at some point and it will be important to look at their run times before getting a better idea of where Travis really sits.

 

Travis Beals Iditarod 2018: The Stormy Trail to Koyuk

Sarah · March 12, 2018 ·

Conditions are tough on the trail to Koyuk. There’s a terrible ground storm brewing with high winds and near-0 visibility.

The good: Travis isn’t traveling alone. He’s with Wade Marrs and musher Ramey Smyth has caught up with them.

The bad: this is shaping up to be a very long run for the dogs — I’m thinking 9 hr plus. Conditions can change quickly on the way to Shaktoolik and if the storm clears or lessens other teams may make up considerable time. They may make better times simply because their teams are rested. Very hard to say.

Travis will have to rest at least 4 hours when he reaches Shaktoolik but a longer rest would certainly not be out of the question.

Keep Travis in your thoughts! This trail sounds rough!

Travis Beals 2018 Iditarod: 4th Musher into Unalakleet

Sarah · March 11, 2018 ·

Wow! Travis is into Unalakleet in 4th place. He stopped for about 1.5 hours on the trail and will rest here for 3-4 hours before continuing the 40 miles to Shaktoolik.

The dogs looked absolutely amazing coming in. There’s a great video now posted of Travis coming into Unalakleet on the Iditarod Insider. You have to have signed up for the Iditarod Insider program in order to watch this video.

Travis Beals Arrives 4th in Unalakleet – Iditarod

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Neighbor and friend, Kale Casey, was in Unalakleet and live-streamed  Travis’ arrival to the checkpoint as well as him doing his dog chores in the checkpoint.

It was great watching the team arrive and hard not to get excited by their strong performance. Travis comes into the video around the 15-minute mark: the first part of the video is Joar’s departure from Unalakleet.

The dogs all looked really strong. There were a lot of things to take away from this video: the first is that the dogs were moving great. The 1.5-hour break on the trail helped put some pep into the team and will keep them moving quickly down the rest of the coast. The other thing is that the dogs ate really well; they need this energy to continue fueling them down the trail.

Travis is clearly tired in the video and openly admits he hasn’t gotten any sleep. That’s tough. Right now, that’s going to be the most difficult thing for him to deal with. When you are that tired, even a tiny problem can seem insurmountable. From my experience on the Iditarod, Unalakleet has some of the best sleeping quarters in the race. Hopefully, Travis can get a bit of sleep here — though if he wants to stay in fighting position for the Top 5 he won’t get much more than 30 to 40 minutes; then it will be time to water dogs, booty and take off down the trail.

Travis remarked to Kale that the most important thing was that he was having fun; this has been our mantra all season. Even though it must be tough being so tired, I’m happy to hear he’s enjoying himself.

After the live feed ended, I spoke with Kale privately on the phone and he said that Travis was going to be switching out sleds. He may drop a dog, but who knows! Interestingly, he’s going to be going with his medium weight sled instead of his lightweight sled. This may have to do with the fact that his medium weight sled has a seat and his lightweight sled does not.  He’s prepping that for departure, will eat some pancakes, get a quick nap and get back out there.

Don’t be surprised when Travis leaves in a later position: Wade, Richie, Pete, and Ray will likely leapfrog Travis at this checkpoint. They rested longer on the trail and will blow through Unalakleet and run straight to Shaktoolik. Each strategy has different strengths and will unfold differently over the next 24 hours as teams make their way up the coast.

The benefit of what Travis is doing is that it will keep the dogs peppy and should keep him speedy down the coast. Travis is breaking the run from Kaltag to Shaktoolik into 3 runs. He ran 63 miles from Kaltag and camped for 1.5 hours. From his camp, Travis ran 22 miles into Unalakleet and after this run will run 40 miles from Unalakleet to Shaktoolik. These two short runs will build some speed back into the team for the final push from Shaktoolik into White Mountain.

Wade, Richie, Pete and Ray rested for Longer and broke up the 125 miles from Kaltag to Shaktoolik into 2-runs. They will rest less but rest less and longer runs will likely impact their speed.

Travis is betting that a little extra speed will help him be the musher in the front (or close to!) of this chase pack. Time will only tell how this strategy plays out.

Travis Beals Talks About His Lead Dog Fidget – Iditarod

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Go Trav go!

Make sure you follow Kale’s facebook page for more great live coverage of Iditarod 2018.

Travis Beals 2018 Iditarod: The Long Haul to Unalakleet

Sarah · March 11, 2018 ·

What an interesting 24 hours of racing we’ve had!

The team resting in McGrath during the 2016 Iditarod.

I’ve been multi-tasking trying to prep for Nome while crunching race numbers. After a great run into Eagle Island yesterday, Travis and his best friend Wade Marrs of Stump Jumpin Kennel traveled the remainder of the trail together into Kaltag. From the tracker, it looked like they alternated taking turns leading. This is advantageous as neither team tires out their lead dogs. Being a lead dog, especially in such tough trail conditions, is challenging.

Before leaving Eagle Island, Travis dropped Granger. Granger came up with a sore shoulder on the run into Ealge Island and with soft trail and several long runs ahead he didn’t want to have to carry her. This isn’t anything to be too concerned about as his team has lots of depth. I’m sure another dog will step up to the challenge!

The 122-mile stretch of trail from Grayling to Kaltag took Travis 20 hours and 42 minutes. Wade posted a slightly faster time — but both Travis and Wade continue to post faster times than the mushers in front of them. Currently, Travis is camped at mile 712 approximately 25 miles from Unalakleet. Ray, Pete, Richie, and Wade are all camped a few miles up ahead 0n the trail. I expect these teams will rest, 4-5 hours, and blow through Unalakleet.

Travis won’t rest long on the trail. He’ll rest approximately 1.5 to 2-hours tops before continuing to Unalakleet. Breaking up the 85 miles run like this, into a 60-mile run and a 25-mile run, will keep the dogs peppy and keep speed in the team for the push up the coast. He’ll play some leapfrog here, passing Wade, Ray, Pete, and Richie going into Unalakleet but they will pass him back shortly. Travis will have to stop in Unalakleet for a few hours whereas these teams will be able to blow through.

 

Sarah Stokey and Travis Beals at the start of Iditarod 2018 with Travis' Lead Dogs Granger and Krum.
Sarah Stokey and Travis Beals at the start of Iditarod 2018 with Travis’ Lead Dogs Granger and Krum. Photo by Kalani Woodlock Photography

In Unalakleet, Travis will switch to a smaller, lighter sled which will hopefully help him gain some faster times. It will be interesting to see how things take shape from there. Travis will have sacrificed some time but will hopefully have gained some speed. With already faster run times and a little extra rest, he’s hoping he can push past some of the competitors for a better finishing placement: it’s a conservative movement that will allow him to hold his current position with a possibility of gaining.

 

 

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Recent Posts

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  • Travis Beals Finishes the 2018 Iditarod

turningheadskennel

Turning Heads Kennel
Hello THK fans! I appreciate all the love and su Hello THK fans! 

I appreciate all the love and support my team and I receive each and every year. Ever since I was a young boy I knew dog mushing was in my blood and something I was meant to do. Chasing my dreams wouldn’t be possible without you all. I have a huge behind the scene crew that helps me with everything from dog handling, to food prep, and social media updates. So from the bottom of my heart I would like to thank you all.

With that being said, after much thought I’ve decided to take a step back and withdraw from the 2023 Iditarod. This decision did not come easily and is something that has been weighing heavily on me. I’ve always had the mindset of racing competitively and to push myself and the dogs to our fullest potential. This has led to a somewhat unbalanced approach to life that has been detrimental to my over all health. 

I believe that for me to get back to being a healthy competitive athlete that I need to take a step back so that I can come back stronger than ever. 

I am looking forward to catching up on things at home and with my business that have been put to the side for the past few years during training and race seasons. 

I also look forward to following the race this year from a different perspective and cheering on all my friends and fellow competitors down the trail. Good luck to you all. 

The next two months will be well spent working on me, my health, and training my team at my own pace.

Again, thank you race fans for your love and support. I hope you will continue to follow my adventures with Sarah and our incredible dogs.

- Travis
Sun’s out, tongues out! . . . #dogsledding #sled Sun’s out, tongues out!
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#dogsledding #sleddogs #iditarod #alaska #sewardak

📸 @its_kris_fish
Happy trails & wagging tails. We are back for anot Happy trails & wagging tails. We are back for another for season of sharing our sled dogs and passion for #dogsledding here in beautiful #sewardak 

Thanks to Azura and @its_kris_fish  for the awesome photo!
An absolutely incredibly dog team coming into the An absolutely incredibly dog team coming into the Kalskag (inbound) checkpoint of the Kuskokwim 300.

🎥 by Abby Klager

#TurningHeadsKennel #kuskokwim300 #k300 #bethelak #alaska #dogsledding #iditarod #dogsofinstagram #dogstagram #huskygram #huskylife #optoutside #kuskokwimriver #dogsled #mushing #sleddogs #sleddogsport #sleddogsofinstagram #alaskalife #alaskaoutdoors #alaskaadventure #alaskaliving #alaskanhusky 

@thealaskalife @kuskokwim300 @dogsleddingdaily
Travis putting booties on the dogs as he gets read Travis putting booties on the dogs as he gets ready to depart the halfway checkpoint of the Knik 200 sled dog race. 

There were hurricane force winds throughout the race. Semi trucks got blown off the road. Planes parked at the airport were flipped over.

Still, the dogs and Travis persevered — even when they had to go through waist deep overflow.

The team came to the finish line happy and healthy and in 2nd place. Travis also received the Humanitarian Award for Excellence in Dog Care.

We are so proud of him and Braxton, who ran the B team, and also had a strong finish.

#dogsledding #sleddogs #alaska #dogsofinsta #doglife #alaskalife #huskylife #instahusky
💯 #dogsledding #alaska 💯 #dogsledding #alaska
Getting out and enjoying the sunshine together. #d Getting out and enjoying the sunshine together. #dogsledding
Happy Birthday Travis 🥳 Happy Birthday Travis 🥳
Two by two⁠ 🐕🐾❄️⁠ ⁠ Trail breakin Two by two⁠
 🐕🐾❄️⁠
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Trail breaking :)⁠
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#turningheadskennel #iditarod #dogsledding #sleddogs ⁠
#husky #huskies #huskygram #instahusky⁠
#getoutside #explore #adventure #explorealaska #alaska⁠
#denalihighway #cantwell ⁠
#instadog #dogsofinstagram #dogslife #mustlovedogs
BB is a rock star⁠ ⁠ ⁠ #instadog #dogsofinst BB is a rock star⁠
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#instadog #dogsofinstagram #dogslife #mustlovedogs⁠
#turningheadskennel #iditarod #dogsledding #sleddogs ⁠
#husky #huskies #huskygram #instahusky⁠
#getoutside #explore #adventure #explorealaska #alaska
Baby Skunk 💕⁠ ⁠ Skunk is now almost 17 mont Baby Skunk 💕⁠
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Skunk is now almost 17 months old and is working hard at being a sled dog.⁠
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#instadog #dogsofinstagram #dogslife #mustlovedogs⁠
#turningheadskennel #iditarod #dogsledding #sleddogs ⁠
#husky #huskies #huskygram #instahusky
We were blessed with some gorgeous skies this seas We were blessed with some gorgeous skies this season. Here's just 1 of the many we enjoyed 💕⁠
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#getoutside #explore #adventure #explorealaska #alaska⁠
Time Warp! A look back at early season fall traini Time Warp! A look back at early season fall training using the side by side. ⁠
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(Also, what smells so good in the grass 🤣)⁠
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Right now, the snow is melting and spring is well on its way here but we are already thinking about this coming fall and the adventures it will bring us. 💕⁠
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#instadog #dogsofinstagram #dogslife #mustlovedogs⁠
#turningheadskennel #iditarod #dogsledding #sleddogs ⁠
#husky #huskies #huskygram #instahusky⁠
#getoutside #explore #adventure #explorealaska #alaska
Dolly & Blue. 💕⁠ ⁠ ⁠ #turningheadskennel Dolly & Blue. 💕⁠
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#turningheadskennel #iditarod #dogsledding #sleddogs ⁠
#husky #huskies #huskygram #instahusky⁠
#instadog #dogsofinstagram #dogslife #mustlovedogs⁠
#getoutside #explore #adventure #explorealaska #alaska
Old man Boston 💕⁠ ⁠ Our time left with Bost Old man Boston 💕⁠
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Our time left with Boston is slowly coming to an end but this geriatric sled dog is full of heart. He is the dad or granddad to many of the dogs in our kennel. ⁠
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Each day we have together is a gift. ⁠
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📸 by Kalani Woodlock
Travis and the dogs are in FINGERLAKE on #Iditarod Travis and the dogs are in FINGERLAKE on #Iditarod 2021 🥳 and OUT of FINGERLAKE.

Although his stats haven’t been updated as of this posting, it looks like he got there around 5:10 this morning, making it about a 4.5 hour run for him and the dogs. He rested about 3 hours and is now headed down the trail towards RAINY PASS

Here’s a fun video from one of the last training runs this year. 

🥳🎉 Go Team Go 🎉🥳
Well, he’s off! We’d hoped to livestream the s Well, he’s off!
We’d hoped to livestream the start of #Iditarod but because of the new location, we unfortunately didn’t have coverage!

The starting line up this year:
BB - Blue
Spartan - West
Krum - Granger
Melissa - Queen
Skiff - Jovie
Ohmer - Mongoose
Delta - Tug

Go Travis go!
The countdown to race day has started. Travis is g The countdown to race day has started. Travis is getting in the last few training runs before #iditarod to determine the final few dogs on the roster.

Our trail has one minor road crossing that we usually have no problem with —  as it’s in a wide open area — so we have plenty of opportunity to see cars and vice versa but with it continuing to snow day after day in Willow, the berms have gotten quite high. 

Because of this, after Travis and the team take off I drive down to play crossing guard.

Here’s a glimpse of the team from yesterday. #dogsledding #turningheadskennel
Well we got 1882 lbs of food headed out on the #id Well we got 1882 lbs of food headed out on the #iditarod trail for mushers and dogs. 

A big thanks to Caleb & Dave for helping cut meet, Victoria & Richard for letting us post up at their house, and a huge crew of human volunteers who helped cook Travis’ meals for out on the trail. @dlwalkerak for cooking and organizing and: @zudyscafe @akcarlyn @lonechicharron @woodysthaikitchenak @bakingthyme and Cristian McClain for cooking @majormarinetours for some great snacks and Portage Transport for delivering.

It’s not small feet getting a team ready to go 1,000 miles but this year— with little indoor access —- it really took a lot of careful planning to make sure Travis stays warm and well fed.

Thanks team!
A lot of the time, we are running teams of 8+ dogs A lot of the time, we are running teams of 8+ dogs. It’s more practical with a lot of dogs in training. That being said, there is something magical about breaking things down and working with the dogs one on one in smaller teams. This is especially true for our youngest teammates!

In this video, 16-month-olds Keister and Tucker are working as a lone pair. With no one else to guide them, the pups get their first experience taking commands without the pressure of having other dogs “chase” them. They also get to practice lining out and staying forward oriented.

Working at night with young leaders, a headlamp also becomes a great tool as we can easily show the trail we want the dogs to take. 

#dogsledding #mushing #iditarod #alaska
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