We had a busy 2007/2008 race season. Our plan had been to enter the Sheep Mountain 150 as a tune up but unfortunately it was cancelled due to poor snow conditions. So Mike (Barnett), our handler, and I headed to the Gin Gin 200 the last weekend in December. Mike was running young dogs so he camped the route, while I raced the main adults finishing 3rd for women and 5th overall - not far behind Lance. Mike did well earning the Sportsmanship award.
Excited by our result in the season's first race, Devan packed up the main team just five days later and entered the Knik 200. He had a good run and placed well after camping out a few extra hours at the halfway
With just five days rest, we again packed up the team and headed to the Cantwell 200. Mike ran the younger dogs and I the main team. It was a very competitive field with Iditarod and Yukon Quest champions in the field. Our team finished 5th, not too long after the winner, former Quest champ, Hans Gatt, and ahead of Iditarod champ Martin Buser.
Since we had not entered the Iditarod or Quest, our Big race of the season was the Tustumena 200. The Tusty is viewed by many as the toughest 200 mile race one can run, a true test of musher and dogs. This year IditaQuest Champ, Lance Mackey, entered the race for the first time since relocating to Fairbanks, making already competitive field moreso.
We have run the Tusty five times now, each time finishing better than the year before. In 2007 we finished 5th but were passed by several teams in the last few miles. This year I knew the races and training done prior to the race had prepared the dogs better than ever for the Tustumena. I knew we could and should do well.
The race was not without challenges. Due to the fires which had ripped through the Caribou Hills the previous summer, the trail through the High Country was wind blown and exposed; all teams were confronted with winds which tried to blow you off the trail. In addition, a snow storm just prior to the race start created a soft base on the trail, forcing the dogs and mushers to work hard.
Despite a crud which struck my two main leaders at the half-way, we did do well finishing 3rd, just three minutes out of 2nd. Given the change in the format which forced us to run two 100 mile legs (in prior years you could break up the 100 mile runs with mandatory rest), I felt the dogs finished very well. Unlike the prior year, they did not fade in the last ten miles, instead loping into the finish; the conditioning and training had paid off.
Our next race was the Goosebay 120 which is a long standing race held on our old stomping grounds in Wasilla. I had run this race with the Siberians several times years ago. It is a popular race since it is a doable race for recreational mushers and a good final tune up for teams headed to Iditarod.
It snowed alot prior to and during the race, providing for a slow trail with lots of challenges. I think I started 25th or so and passed all but one team enroute to the half way layover. Fortunately, our leaders have gotten really good at passing from behind. We also had to push through strong winds in the 7mile Marsh, soft trail, with very few markers.
The layover is adjusted for your start time, so I started the return trip 45 minutes ahead of all the other mushers. Nice to have that kind of cushion but it had snowed overnight nearly a foot burying many trail markers and forcing us to breaking trail for nearly a third of the 60 miles. I thought surely some other teams would make up time especially when I lost the trail altogether about 20 miles from the finish. There is no worse feeling for a musher when you are in the lead but think you may have lost the trail. Had I not trained on these trails for seven years when we lived in Wasilla, I would have been hopelessly lost; but I did figure it out after a 10-15 minutes of searching for the route.
Eventually we motored to the finish, more than an hour ahead of the 30 plus teams entered becoming the first woman to win this race in its 20 year history. Yahoo. The ladies at the Tug Bar/Goose Bay Inn were elated and moreso when they heard all but three in my team of twelve were females. We were all quite satisfied with the finish, our first win since the 2006 Gin Gin 120.
Mike wrapped up the race season with a 3rd place finish in the Chatanika 200 and also a third in the Taiga 300. He ran mostly younger dogs, two and three year olds, conservatively. Devan and I then took the dogs camping in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge with friends. This was our second journey there and as before it proved to be a great experience for all.
It snowed alot prior to and during the race, providing for a slow trail with lots of challenges. I think I started 25th or so and passed all but one team enroute to the half way layover. Fortunately, our leaders have gotten really good at passing from behind. We also had to push through strong winds in the 7mile Marsh, soft trail, with very few markers.
The layover is adjusted for your start time, so I started the return trip 45 minutes ahead of all the other mushers. Nice to have that kind of cushion but it had snowed overnight nearly a foot burying many trail markers and forcing us to breaking trail for nearly a third of the 60 miles. I thought surely some other teams would make up time especially when I lost the trail altogether about 20 miles from the finish. There is no worse feeling for a musher when you are in the lead but think you may have lost the trail. Had I not trained on these trails for seven years when we lived in Wasilla, I would have been hopelessly lost; but I did figure it out after a 10-15 minutes of searching for the route.
Eventually we motored to the finish, more than an hour ahead of the 30 plus teams entered becoming the first woman to win this race in its 20 year history. Yahoo. The ladies at the Tug Bar/Goose Bay Inn were elated and moreso when they heard all but three in my team of twelve were females. We were all quite satisfied with the finish, our first win since the 2006 Gin Gin 120.
Mike wrapped up the race season with a 3rd place finish in the Chatanika 200 and also a third in the Taiga 300. He ran mostly younger dogs, two and three year olds, conservatively. Devan and I then took the dogs camping in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge with friends. This was our second journey there and as before it proved to be a great experience for all.
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