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Travis Beals Iditarod 2018: Onward to Kaltag!

Sarah · March 10, 2018 ·

The 122-mile push to Kaltag has begun!

After arriving in Grayling at 11:40 last night in 11th position, Travis opted to stay 5 hours and 40 minutes before heading down the trail. He left in 9th position: two teams who arrived before him took longer rests and departed after him. These teams were friend Wade Marrs and Jessie Royer. Jessie stayed 6.5 hours and Wade about 7 hours. These longer rests may prove beneficial a day or two down the line but for now it appears that Travis has the slight edge.

In mushing, there is a general rule of thumb that the dogs don’t really much of a benefit from a rest over 6 hours. That is, if a dog team isn’t restored from a 6-hour rest, an extra 30 minutes or even another hour or two isn’t going to be the deciding factor. Rests over 6 hours, however, do help the musher tremendously. With mushers only getting a little sleep here and there, a 6 or 7-hour break can really help the musher get a good quality 4-hour nap in and may better prepare them for helping their team down the trail.

So far, things are looking good on his run. He’s maintained some really good speed and appears to be putting distance between the teams he left ahead of as well as catching the teams who left before him. It’s been an interesting year given the tough trail conditions thus far. Although our training this year emphasized speed over power, this was the first year that speed has been our true emphasis in training. Even though we did not emphasize power training as much this year, Travis’ team has gone through several seasons of tough “power” training before switching to a different speedier style. Because of this, it’s hard for me to really say what our team specializes in. I’d give a slight edge to speed as that, after all, has been our focus — but that emphasis was built on a rock-solid foundation of many years where power training was the focus. Whatever it is, it seems to be working!

Travis and team dog Gremlin at the ceremonial start in Anchorage. Photo by Kalani Woodlock

Travis will likely catch several teams, depending on the amount of rest he chooses to take while camped, before Kaltag. He’s also poised to overtake many other teams on the run to Unalakleet. I couldn’t be more proud of how he has managed his race: his strong team management has really shown in his run times!

In Unalakleet, Travis has two different sleds waiting for him. He will certainly switch to one of these sleds as they are both lighter, but I can’t say which one for sure. The important thing is: they are both much lighter than the sled he is driving now. This decrease in weight will make pulling significantly easier on the dogs and give the team a boost at a later stage in the race.

I expect Travis and the teams ahead of him will camp somewhere between mile 585 and 592. Mitch and Joar are resting at 585 and from the map, it looks like this might be a great spot out of the wind — which I’ve heard there is plenty of. Nic is further up the trail at 591. I screenshotted Eagle Island before it was “erased” and had that at mile 592 so it’s unclear if Nic is at the hospitality stop in Eagle Island or resting shortly before it.

By my estimation, Trav will be pulling off the trail sometime between 11-12:30 which will give him and the rest of the pack he is with the benefit of resting during the heat of the day. Nic, Mitch, and Joar do not have that benefit. Make no mistake, these three teams have a significant lead over the rest of the chase pack — but with some forecasted snow along the coast, mother nature could throw a wrench in their races plans.

There’s been some concern from race fans that Travis hasn’t taken his 8-hour layover. Don’t worry! He took his mandatory 8-hour layover in Shageluk but there appears to be a glitch in Iditarod’s system. Every time they try to update this section of his racing information it doesn’t appear to save.

I am off to do some last minute packing, cleaning, etc before flying to Nome tomorrow morning!

Travis Beals Iditarod 2018: Into Shageluk and Onto Grayling!

Sarah · March 10, 2018 ·

What a day!

Travis arrived in Shageluk this morning at 9:38 am after a very long run. Between the fresh snow and continuous wind, the trail was extremely difficult and made for slow going. Still, he slogged ahead with his leaders breaking trail for the entire 55-mile run. Many of the teams in front of him, it seems felt that this was a particularly difficult run which is why so many teams declared their 8-hour mandatory layover — and many of the teams behind him struggled to get into Shageluk, with many opting to camp along the way. I’m so impressed by both Travis and the dogs, not only in their willingness to face every challenge that comes their way but to do so happily and to make adjustments when needed.

Arriving in Shageluk, Travis declared his 8-hour layover. Mushers can choose where to take this mandatory layover but it must be taken at a checkpoint that is on the Yukon River. This year’s route means that mushers can take it in Shageluk, Anvik, Grayling or Kaltag. Although Travis hadn’t planned to take his 8-hour layover this early, the bad trail and concerns for one of his main lead dogs necessitated it. If you haven’t been introduced to our 2018 Iditarod team, make sure you do!

Travis wasn’t alone in choosing to take his 8 in Shageluk: the pack of mushers he has been running with all decided to do the same. I imagine this must have been a fun place to be early this morning and this afternoon with mushers swapping stories of their journey down the trail in between trying to get some shut-eye.

It seemed that the 8-hour rest did Travis well. He left Shageluk in 13th place with 14 dogs and cruised along into Anvik where he arrived at 9:01 pm. He had a runtime of 3 hours and 19 minutes, the third fastest recorded runtime yet and has been making up time on the teams ahead of him. Because the run to Anvik was so short he, and many of the other teams went through to Grayling.

He posted THE FASTEST run time from so far from Anvik to Grayling: 2 hours and 39 minutes and came into Grayling in 11th position. He made up over 40 minutes on Aliy Zirkle, passing her shortly before getting into the checkpoint. I expect Travis will rest in Grayling for 4 or 5 hours before continuing on down the trail.

With the snow and wind, Iditarod has faced an unanticipated hiccup: the drop bags for the Eagle Island checkpoint could not be delivered. Because this checkpoint is a remote location set up by Iditarod, drop bags are often flown in right before racers arrive: otherwise they risk exposure to the elements and to wild animals. Due to the bad weather, however, this didn’t happen in time. Iditarod, therefore, has turned Eagle Island into a hospitality stop for the remainder of the 2018 race. Mushers will not have any drop bags there though they will have access to a vet and will be able to drop a dog if needed.

This photo is an awesome throwback to Travis’ rookie run in 2013, the last time the Iditarod went the Southern route!

The trail from Grayling to Kaltag is 122 miles long and throws a rather interesting wrench into Iditarod 2018. Due to tough trail conditions, mushers will have to break up this run into approximately two 6o-mile runs or into three 40-mile runs. The trail and weather will ultimately dictate what many teams choose to do. Here’s the kicker though: teams are going to have to carry all their gear for this 122-mile stretch. This means extra weight in their sled on an already slow, tough trail. This may end up being an equalizer: stronger, slower teams will have the advantage in this section whereas smaller, faster teams may struggle.

Additionally, the teams out front, Nic, Mitch and Joar — will have to break trail. Their heavy sleds may compact the trail and make it speedier for the teams to follow. If it continues to be windy or to snow, however, any trail they put in may quickly vanish. I’m not sure if the teams behind them will be able to catch them as they have built a fairly substantial lead. That being said, anything can happen!

The run into Kaltag and then onto Unalakleet is traditionally the portion of the race where teams jockey for position to race along the coast.

One thing I know about Travis though is that he shines in adversity!

Travis Beals 2018 Iditarod Roster

Sarah · March 9, 2018 ·

I’m a little late to the ball game in posting our 2018 race roster. This year, Travis and I went at training and preparing his race team without the help of a handler. Between caring for a kennel of 55 dogs, living off-grid, running a few mid-distance races, and preparing for Iditarod, we haven’t had much time online. In fact, we’ve posted a lot fewer updates about our season this year than we would have liked, but we were so busy living life and running dogs that we didn’t have time to talk about the fun, marvelous adventures we’ve had this season. For that, our apologies!

Our theme this year whether on the trail or off the trail has been “work hard and let your success do the talking.”

This year’s line up is primarily veterans along with (2) two-year-olds.

Krum – Granger
Gremlin – Blue
Havoc – Mongoose
Dolly – Kip
Fidget – Wrangler*
Flo – Zeus
Check – Rowdy
Wanda* – Cash

Meeting Travis Beals’ 2018 Iditarod Team

Krum
Krum has graduated to the main racing leader this season. She’s a rock solid dog up front who is frisky, fun, and knows how to get the job done. She’s one of the younger dogs on the team at only 3.5 years old but she finished in the 2015 and 2016 Iditarod with Travis and ran to a 7th place Iditarod finish last year with Ray Redington. When Krum isn’t leading the team, she can often be found lounging on the couch inside. Krum is joined by her sisters Granger and Havoc on the team! I expect Krum and her sister Granger will lead a majority of the race!

Granger
Granger is a reliable lead dog alongside her sister Krum. Granger is a very affectionate dog. When she comes inside the house, she forgets her size and pretends that she’s a lap dog. She has her own designated spot on the couch and is perfectly content to come in after a run and sit there for hours — that is until she decides that she MUST lick your face right NOW. In the team, she’s a steady dog who works hard . She’s happiest paired with her sister Krum but is a very laid back dog and happy to run with anyone in the team.

Blue
Blue! She’s the young gun of the team at 2 years old. She’s done an impeccable job all season, finishing in every race she’s started without a problem. In fact, she’s so good she can be easy to overlook once she’s in the team because she is so smooth and steady. We expect big things from Blue in the years to come, for now, her primary goal is to get as far along in the race as possible, ideally the finish line. I expect if she has any issues, Travis will drop her immediately due to her age. Though she may be small, this little lady is fierce!

Gremlin
Gremlin is 6 years old and one of the smaller females on the team. She has raced and finished in every Iditarod with Travis. She’s a dependable little dog who works hard and knows how to get the job done. Gremlin loves belly rubs and the occasional stint indoors where she can visit with her sister, Goblin. She’s a funny little dog who is like the energizer bunny: she just keeps going and going. Gremlin typically runs in swing but can lead if called upon. I don’t expect her to do much leading but she gives a boost of confidence to the lead dogs when they know she’s right behind them.

Havoc
Havoc is a quirky, expressive dog who graduated from Sarah’s 2016 Iditarod team and believe me, she’s come a long way since then! Havoc wasn’t always a hard worker — she’d travel down the trail well enough but she didn’t pull. Not anymore! She’s learned how to work hard while still maintaining a fun, carefree attitude. Havoc stands out for her extremely expressive “Yoda” ears and her gentleness. This lovely lady is a real gem!

Mongoose
Mongoose or “Goose” has always been excited to run every day of this season. He’s put on strong performances in the 2016 and 2015 Iditarod. Now at 4 years old, he’s a dynamite force, a solid leader, and a dog capable of charging the team with an electric current of excitement! Goose is also a dog that constantly makes us laugh. He loves rubbing up against things. He also has a very goofy toothy aligator grin. He’s a little on the shy side and prefers to be around people he knows and works with routinely. At dog mushing events, he’s the dog whose feet you can see sticking out from under the trailer.

Dolly
A graduate off of Sarah’s 2016 Iditarod team, Dolly is a phenomenal leader and all around go-getter. She’s one of the most excitable dogs in the team. She’s 4 years old and has single led some of the tougher portions of the race thus far. She’s a fun dog but can be a total pain in the butt: she’s good and she knows it and can sometimes be a little ornery with her teammates. I expect Dolly will do big things for Travis on the coast. She’s always been a real stand out to me, though it’s taken time for Travis to come around to her and let her train with his team. I expect she will be the dog he didn’t know he needed on the coast!

Kip
Kip, like his brother Mongoose, has been ready for Iditarod all year. Each training run he greats with so much enthusiasm that even though he runs in the middle of the team, we often have to hook him up close to last. His excitement spreads quickly to the other dogs. More importantly, Kip is a steady worker who always gives his best. He’s a gentle soul and a rather agreeable dog so he often runs with Dolly as he can put up with her sassy attitude.

Fidget
Fidget is THE leading lady, the go-to girl. She has been there every step of the way for Travis in every Iditarod and is the leader he has always been able to count on. When the going gets rough, Fidget gets tough! This amazing lead dog will single lead through the nastiest conditions Alaska can offer and do it with an attitude that says BRING IT ON! This is one tough dog. She’s pretty well known in Iditarod circles because she is THAT good. Travis felt a pang of pride at vet checks when one of the guys on the insider crew asked: “Where’s Fidget? She’s my favorite dog on the race.”

Wrangler
Wrangler is the biggest dog on the 2018 Iditarod team and likely the most lively. This dog loves to show off his excitement by jumping. The only thing Wrangler enjoys more than running down the trail is the snack he gets when he arrives at the checkpoint. Though he’s a whopping 70+ lbs, Wrangler is a gentle giant. He loves giving hugs to people. He is a happy dog, a strong single leader, and is a great puller.

Flo
This hardworking girl is a dynamite up front. Headstrong and intelligent, this little leader isn’t afraid of single leading through a storm. She’s a competent dog who is enjoyable to be around and what she lacks in size she makes up for in heart. She’s led most of the training runs this season but is not the main race leader. Flo had a slight injury prior to the start of the Iditarod and given the tough trail conditions I wouldn’t be surprised if she had to get dropped sometime late in the race.

Zeus
At the dog truck, everyone always wants to know who Zeus is. He’s the supermodel of the dog team with beautiful black and grey fur and stunning glacier blue eyes. A real looker. If there’s a dog getting photographed on our team, it’s usually Zeus. He’s a spitfire in harness and knows how to get the team going. He’s a good dog up front and ran lead a lot this winter. He’s a hard pulling dog who sometimes overexerts himself in his desire to get down the trail. I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t see the finish line.

Check
Check is goofy. He’s a happy go lucky carefree dog. He reminds me of someone with headphones in, grooving to their own beat, walking down some city street. Check does his own thing with a smile on his face. He isn’t the hardest working dog in the team but he is the type of dog who will always find the finish line. Check will lead if he has too, but his carefree attitude and march-to-my-own-beat style don’t always make him a good fit up front.

Rowdy
Rowdy is, well, rowdy. Although he is one of the smaller males on the team, what he lacks in size he makes up for in sheer enthusiasm. At the end of a run, Rowdy will be the first dog on his feet saying “WHY ON EARTH HAVE WE STOPPED!” Rowdy will be the dose of pep to the team that they need when the trail gets long and tough.

Cash
Cash is a new addition from Wade Marr’s kennel. He ran last year with Wade, though he did not finish. Cash is a peculiar dog. He loves running but often isn’t as expressive as some of the other loudmouths on the team. He is, h0wever, gaining more and more confidence and trust in his teammates and Travis. Cash is 3 years old and we expect that he’ll be twice the dog he is this year, next year.

Wanda
Wanda is, admittedly, not the best dog on the team. What she lacks in skill, she makes up for because she’s sweet and because Travis enjoys her company. I expect that she will grow into a heck of a dog with age as she’s already done some leading this season.

Which Dogs Has Travis Dropped?

Dogs are dropped on Iditarod for a number of reasons if their musher feels they can’t continue on. If you’d like to learn about why mushers drop dogs, check out our blog post on dropping dogs. Dropping dogs is a part of practicing good dog care out on the race trail: we only want to take those teammates who want to go down the trail and are capable of safely doing so!

Wanda
Wanda is already back at the kennel. She has been prone to fits of diarrhea all year long while running. We’d thought we’d gotten a good handle on it through changes in feeding and dietary supplements, but apparently not. I know how disappointed Travis must have been in dropping her. Before he left, he knew there was a risk in taking her and thought that some of the dogs he was leaving at home were stronger candidates but “I really like her,” he said. “I enjoy having her on the team.” So he decided to take her after all running dogs is about, first and foremost, the dogs and having fun together!

Wrangler
The second dog he dropped was Wrangler. Wrangler is the biggest dog on the team weighing in at a whopping 72 lbs. His bigger build than his teammates, the fresh snow, and Travis’ starting position was the perfect alignment of bad trail conditions for a bigger dog like a Wrangler. Due to weather, he still, unfortunately, hasn’t made it home but it sounds like he made a late flight to Anchorage last night!

Travis is Into Iditarod!

Sarah · March 9, 2018 ·

What a run! Travis arrived into the ghost town of Iditarod at 9:23 this evening after 13 hours and 3 minutes on the trail. He stopped along the trail at Don’s cabin, arriving there at 12:24 and departing almost 4 hours later.

This put his actual travel time closer to 9 hours. Although most teams camped along the way to Iditarod, most of the front runner rested between 3 – 3.5 hours. He also passed four teams who left before him: Rick Casillo, Matt Hall, Michi Kono and Michelle Phillips.

The trail is soft and the weather warm. It sounds like both Travis and the dogs are having to work hard, but looks like their efforts are paying off through faster run times than those immediately surrounding him. His goal is to maintain speed and to continue picking off the teams ahead of him.

Lou Pereira prepa Travis’ sled for shipment to Unalakleet. Due to the expected forecast, we decided to tarp it. — Lou Pereira preps Travis’ second sled for shipment to Unalakleet. Due to the expected snowy forecast, we decided to tarp it.

For my part, I spent the day preparing and shipping out a sled after getting word that Travis thought it would be a good idea. The only problem was the sled he wanted was buried under snow, had no sled bag, and by the the time I got word I only had a few hours to get it prepped and to Anchorage.

Thanks to my friend Lou Perieria, Noah Pereira’s dad, we were able to find a sled bag and get the sled out before the shipping company closed. It will make it’s way to Unalakleet early tomorrow morning provided the weather holds. Keep your fingers crossed!

I expect Travis to leave Iditarod between 4 and 5 hours after his arrival. This puts him on the trail somewhere between 1:30 and 2:30 in the morning — which is hard.

Travis at the finish of the Ceremonial start of the 2018 Iditarod. Here he is loving on Blue and her aunt Gremlin. — Travis at the finish of the Ceremonial start of the 2018 Iditarod. Here he is loving on Blue, the youngest dog in the team, and her aunt Gremlin, one of the oldest dogs in the team.

The human body seems hardwired to want to sleep at this god forsaken hour and staying awake can be a real struggle. From about 2am to 5am is often great mushing for the dogs — cooler weather, harder trails —- but can be tough on the musher. It also sounds like Travis was considering dropping his “caboose” on his sled which will force Travis to be more attentive but allow him to more easily help the team in the dog snow.

I had wanted to spend the day writing about our dogs, giving a team roster, and filling in some of the gaps in our winter — but it seems the day had other plans!

Travis Beals Iditarod 2018: Choosing Takotna for his 24

Sarah · March 8, 2018 ·

Well, I’ve been scouring the internet and finally found a picture of Travis and Team in Takotna on their 24-hour layover.

Right now, Travis sits approximately 6.5 hours behind the current front runners. He’s traveling at similar speeds to most of the front runners so that 6.5 hours is primarily from additional rest that Travis has put into his team.

This extra rest is going to be a real benefit in the miles ahead as the trail looks slow and tough leaving Ophir — just look at Joar’s runtime time to Iditarod (though he did stop for about 3 hour). That extra rest will certainly help the team there!

Travis Beals Resting in Takotna — Travis gets ready to put jackets on his dogs while resting in Takotna

YesTravis’ decision to rest for two hours in McGrath wasn’t originally part of the race plan we designed but was decided on due to the fact that the trail into McGrath wasn’t good. Given the trail conditions and suspected forecast — I think he’s right and made a great choice in stopping.

Up until now, Travis has had a very conservative run/rest schedule for a competitive team. This has allowed his team to stay in better shape. Rather then go into his 24 with the dogs depleted and needing to recover, the dogs go into the 24 stronger making their rest more beneficial and coming out of the 24 much tougher.

Travis’ race strategy up until now seems to have paid off. His team is eager — the word is that his dogs barked and screamed upon his arrival in Takotna with several dogs jumping and lunging in harness. Although the team was clearly capable of continuing on, Travis shut them down. Keeping the dogs eager to go will ensure a strong team moving forward.

The dogs are also eating and resting well. So far, the dogs have eaten every meal they’ve been offered. This is a tell-tale sign that the team is shaping up nicely. How a dog team eats is often one of the surest ways to measure how that team is feeling. Having every dog wolf down its meal is a definite confidence booster for any musher and this team, it seems, is shaping up to be one of the strongest teams Travis has ever driven in Iditarod.

Travis will depart Takotna 5:56 am Thursday morning.

Go Trav go!