It's high time I get everyone updated on Race to the Sky. To remove any possible suspense I'll start by saying we did it! We finished...and with the finish completed our Iditarod qualifiers!
As always, we look forward to staying with out host family who spoils us and - as you may have seen on our facebook page - we had a lovely loose-drop on top of the pass going into Helena. The dogs were so happy and ready for anything, I felt confident going into the race.
The vet check did yield one surprise - apparently Razz had a chipped molar from our moose encounter the weekend after Eagle Cap. Fortunately it wasn't serious, but the vet's had me put him on med's just in case the stress of racing might cause any trouble. Poor guy! But I found out we weren't the only ones with moose trouble, so apparently those big beasts were especially ornery this year...I feel thankful we escaped the encounter with no serious injuries - not even a broken sled.
The warm, sunny weather made a sled dog race seem miles away and tales (and photos) of bare ground at the start had me worried. Fortunately, as usually happens, the photos made it look worse than it was. Still, I figured I'd play it safe and have my handler (mom) ride the first couple miles with me. Mistake! I lost her just up the hill - the tussocks of grass made it hard to stay on.
I had trouble at one of the turns, but eventually we got moving in the right direction (thanks to the volunteer's help since snowhooks wouldn't hold)...everything being a bit more difficult than usual because Bella decided to come into heat for the race.
It didn't seem extremely warm out on the loop by Lincoln and I was very happy with our time - though I might've put more weight on the drag if I realized just how fast we were moving! Going up Huckleberry the dogs just flew. But to my dismay, when I stopped to snack, I realized I'd forgotten frozen meat snacks and only had kibble. They gobbled it up, anyway, and off we went again - thankful I'd bootied because some of the trail was a bit crusty now.
Coming down Huckleberry pass always seems really long and I could see so many lights in front of me - both 8-dogger's and 12-dog teams.
My handler team - mom, sister and grandma - were ready for me to get me parked. The punchy snow makes it hard to slow the team and harder for handler's to try to lead them. But we got parked. It's hard to come into a checkpoint because sometimes you feel like everyone is crowding in on you - there's almost too much commotion; especially after being used to your silent campsite or Eagle Cap where you're on your own. The dogs didn't eat well, for them, and seemed hot. Seeing my time, I was afraid I went too fast and decided I would take my 4 hour at Whitetail (which I'd tentatively planned to do). The dogs did calm down once I left and ate their saved food - even Eagle and Owl acted like the pro's they are, although it was their first race experience!
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