Expeditions

I apologize for the long radio silence! We’re back from our spring expeditions with lots of stories and photos to share!

Huge snowdrifts!

One of our adventures was with a mother/daughter duo. We had last taken them on a trip when the daughter was a freshman in high school. Now she was graduating and selecting a college! It was a blast to catch up and learn about her senior year during the time of Covid. On their last expedition, we had traveled around the Chena River Valley. During one of the nights, we stayed on top of Trapline Mountain during a windstorm and ended up bringing all the dogs into a 19ft in diameter yurt! While it wasn’t a very restful night, the mother/daughter duo said it was a highlight of the trip. This time we would be traveling to the Denali Highway. And wouldn’t you know it, Mother Nature had something to say about this trip as well! The adventure was delayed due to record snowfall in Fairbanks, then we had two glorious days, which were followed by two days of exceptionally high winds. Reading the forecast (-50F with windchill, 30-35 mph gusts) I knew that those just weren’t conditions that one would call a vacation. Luckily, we were holed up at Alpine Creek Lodge, and they made room for us to stay an extra two days! Bonus! As we mushed out after the storm, we crossed drifts that were at least twelve feet high caused by the wind!

All the photos in the above gallery were taken by Kalyn Holl Photography

At the very end of the season, we went on our annual arctic caribou hunt. This year, the crew was comprised of Kalyn (who you all know), May (good friend who has accompanied me on this hunt the past two years), Nick (my elder brother from Colorado), and Jessie (a new friend from Wyoming who owns a horsepacking outfit in the Wind River Mountains). Prior to this trip, my mom had actually spent more time with Jessie during the 2018 Yukon Quest when my mom was handling for the Ryno Team and Jessie was handling for Tim Pappas. In addition to the five humans, we had twenty six RK athletes going on the adventure: Goblin, Smoky, Thresher, Bert, Ernie, Tobin, Watson, Sherlock, Otis, Bull, Boone, Etta, Yoshi, Dolly, Scarpa, Faff, Mario, Rose, Wombat, Maple, Louie, Oryx, Wingman, Elmer, Bowser, and Avie (May’s dog). Basically we were a traveling circus.

We spent five invigorating days exploring the Arctic, mushing in extreme conditions, and spotting caribou, wolves, and even muskox! Each day brought so much adventure, excitement, and unending thrills that as we left the Arctic to head south, we sighed in contentment thinking the adventures were over.

Little did we know, the trailer tire had other plans. We’d been driving for hours and only had about 1.5 hours until home when I noticed a strange, dragging noise. I pulled to the shoulder of the road, hopped out of truck, and walked around to the trailer. “Uh oh….” I said. “We have a problem.”

Yep, as you can see from the photo, we had a problem. The tire had completely disintegrated, and the rim had warped around the hub. Oops. Apparently we had been driving like that for awhile. Initially, I was pretty embarrassed that I hadn’t noticed the issue sooner; however, after talking to other people who have driven the Dalton Highway or other long dirt roads, I was reassured that I’m not the only one to have had this issue. Apparently it can be challenging to detect on a trailer.

As we stared in awe at the rim and hub, May exclaimed, “this calls for lipstick!” May had brought pink and red lipstick on the trip and insisted that we all wore lipstick throughout the day. Why? I have no idea, but since I haven’t worn lipstick since my senior prom, it was a fun ritual. With a fresh coat of lipstick on everyone (including Nick), we got to work. Jessie, Kalyn, and Nick began unloading the sleds from the trailer and reloading them onto the dog box of the truck. May ran back down the road to see if she could find the tire, which was a futile task. I stared at the hub, hoping for inspiration. “Well,” I said, “Let’s see if we can take the rim off. It only seems to be molded on a couple sides. Maybe we can wiggle the rim off.” I’m glad I couldn’t see the massive flaws in my plan, otherwise I would have written off the entire endeavor as hopeless. With a bottle jack, we lifted the trailer and began to take off the lugnuts. It was quite a struggle, but using two sets of hands on the tire iron, we managed to get them all off. I did a brief wiggle of the rim and realized that there was no way we could finagle the rim off the hub. “Perhaps a trucker has a metal sawzall in their truck?!” I said hopefully.

With a fresh coat of lipstick, May and Jessie began flagging down truckers. Most would quickly shake their head and speed away, until one truck pulled up behind us. The trucker popped his head out of the window and said, “I’ll come take a look.” Long story short, Sean (nicknamed Two Dog due to having a Labrador and Weimaraner on his first truck) took the entire hub off the trailer and spent almost three hours bashing on the rim, finally freeing the hub! At one point, there were four semis backed up around us, everyone chit-chatting and slowing down to ask Two Dog what was going on. He’d proudly hold up the warped rim, which always received a PHEW! Good Luck! from the passing trucker.

A big thank you to Two Dog for getting us moving down the road! May asked if he would like a celebratory coat of lipstick, to which he said, “No thanks, but it makes sense why everyone has lipstick on now! Including Nick!” Ha! Nick was getting some strange looks from the truckers as they passed!

We didn’t trust the trailer, so we loaded all 26 dogs, 5 humans, and 5 sleds into the truck! But for some reason, that felt like the perfect way to end such an incredible adventure. And yes, we did bring home some meat for the freezer too!

Post Race and Sleeping

Photo by Whitney McLaren

I apologize for the radio silence, but phew, we’ve been rocking and rolling! When finishing in Nome, you often have to wait at least a couple days until the banquet. Sleeping, relaxing, eating. While I have enjoyed skipping out on the normal banquet hubbub, I did miss the forced relaxation. This year, we finished in the morning. We had breakfast with our dropped dog crew (Tyler and Kelsey), then immediately drove home to Two Rivers. The next day I relaxed inside and hung with the dogs. But that was it. The following day we jumped into tours and catching up on every day life. To be honest, I haven’t even had time to really think about the race beyond watching a couple videos. Occasionally, little snippets of moments come flooding back, but honestly, I’ve had to focus on the next task at hand. I’d say that the dogs have rebounded faster than me. As I type, I’m watching out the window as they body slam each other, chew on their houses, dig in the snow, and wonder why we went from running hundreds of miles to only doing 10-15. I definitely feel a little dog guilt, but luckily, they’re headed out for an expedition on the Denali Highway starting Monday. That should could them happy!

All that being said, I do plan to share stories and write a dog recap. It just might take me a few weeks, so thank you ahead of time for your patience! Each night as I crawl into bed, I do think about how I want to write about napping on the Iditarod. How if it’s cold, I would crawl in my sleeping bag with all my clothes and boots on. I typically lie on my chest and one hip, curling my arms underneath my body and cocooning my head in both my parka ruff and sleeping bag. I would try to make the perfect air hole that allowed oxygen into my cave, but not so much cold air that my nose got cold. But when sleeping in a warm cabin, like Skwentna or Iditarod, woooeee! Those were moments of paradise. I’d lie flat on my back, one arm outstretched over my head, soaking in the warmth as if I was in a lawn chair on the beach. I can’t normally sleep on my back, but in the middle of the race in a hot cabin, for whatever reason, it was my favorite. There are few times in my life when falling asleep has felt as glorious as napping in a hot cabin on a thousand mile race.

Another sleeping story- it was near the end of the race. I had been traveling more or less with Paige since Nikolai (inbound). We ran though the middle of the night, picked up supplies in Rainy Pass, and then mushed a bit farther until we pulled over to camp on the side of the trail. We had our alarms set for a 3:50 AM wake up call. As the alarm sounded, I started pulling myself out of my cocoon of warmth. Paige was nearby, and I heard her say, “Let’s stay in the sleeping bag just 10 more minutes”. RED FLAG. Never ever give yourself just a few more minutes of sleep. That is a slippery, slippery slope. But Paige typically beats me in a thousand mile race, so I thought, what could be the harm? Forty minutes later, I jump out of the sleeping bag and say- “PAIGE! We have to get up!!” She crawls out of her sleeping bag and says, “Let’s just go home. I’m cold. This isn’t fun anymore.” To which I replied, “Paige, we can’t go home. We’re on a race.” She gives me a quizzical look and says, “we are?” At this point, I thought she was just teasing. She asks, “Which race are we on?” “We’re on the Iditarod, Paige!” Paige responds, “huh, where are we?” “We’re on our way to Skwentna,” I say. She looks extra confused now, which is understandable since it is strange to be returning to Skwentna. She says, “ok…so…what should I do now?” “Well,” I say, “let’s starting packing up to leave and get to the finish!” Shortly after this conversation, Paige has cleared out the cobwebs, and she was quickly prepping the team to leave. But for the rest of the race, this memory brought us lots of laughs!

Iditarod Videos

After resting for a couple days, we’ve jumped back into the normal routine of tours, training runs, and playing with puppies! Over the next couple weeks, I’ll upload videos from different sections of the trail.

One of my favorite sections was the Farewell Burn, specifically on the return route. However, on the outbound, that section of trail was my least favorite. When heading outbound, we hit the burn at night. It was windy, causing the dead trees to sway and groan. The Burn is notorious for its bare ground (all the snow is blown away), and the way out was no exception. We skidded across frozen dirt and tundra with the wind whipping up the dirt particles. As I opened my mouth, panting from the effort of running next to the sled up the steep inclines (sleds don’t slide very well on dirt), I would swallow a cloud of dust, leaving a gritty dry feeling in my mouth. A layer of dirt and grime covered everything- the sled bag, the dog booties, their tongues, my face. Most mushers camp at the only open water of Tin Creek, otherwise you’re scraping the meager layer of snow off the ground to try and make water for the team. So needless to say, when we left the Burn behind on the outbound direction, I was not looking forward to having to return back through that wasteland.

Little did I know, the area received a fresh layer of snow during the interim, so when we returned through the Farewell Burn, it was spectacular! Since it was daylight, I was able to see the towering mountains on all sides. The once spooky trees adopted a Dr. Seuss-like quality rather than a Nightmare Before Christmas vibe. The dogs sailed across the fresh snow, so no more dust and dirt in the face for us! Plus, we saw buffalo!

A bit about Alaska Bison:

In Alaska, there are two different subspecies of bison: wood bison and plains bison. Wood bison are slightly larger and are naturally occurring in Alaska; whereas the plains bison were established in 1928 near Delta Junction.

There are four herds of plains bison totaling about 900 animals. According to Alaska Fish and Game, “various forms of bison existed in Alaska for several hundred thousand years; until relatively recent times, bison were one of the most abundant large animals on the landscape. Alaska’s existing wild plains bison are descendants of animals that were transplanted from Montana in 1928 to Delta Junction. Transplants have created additional herds at Copper Rivers, Chitina River, and Farewell.” The bison that we saw were part of the Farewell herd.

And did I mention we were treated to a SPECTACULAR sunrise?

Iditarod Finish

Ryne Olson, 7:13 am, 18th place!!!! A huge congratulations to Ryne and the team who came across in this order:

Goblin Thresher

Faff Smoky

Wingman Mario

Maple Yoshi

Louie Oryx

Dolly Etta

Uno and Bowser met the Ryno crew at the finish line.

They spent 8 days 16 hours 13 minutes and 42 seconds running and camping on the Iditarod Gold Loop Trail... so there will definitely be more updates, trail stories, and race pictures on the way! We just need to get the team home first and let the well earned resting begin.

Thank you for following along and cheering on Ryno Kennel! It means so much to us to have a support system like we do. You guys rock too!

Photos courtesy of our good friends - Whitney McLaren, Kelsey Koenigs, and Cat Strader

Day 9 of Iditarod

Even though I’ve worked with sled dogs before, this is my first year handling for a race kennel. All those trailing miles, puppy massages, meat cutting, packing drop bags, and rest of the long list for what needs to happen before the race start... they‘re paying off. I’ve adored watching Ryne and the dogs that I’ve cared for all season take on the famous Iditarod race. This year has been full of unknowns, making it tough at times so I couldn’t be more proud of what the team is accomplishing! Even better, they’re happy while doing that!!!

Kalyn has been a rockstar at helping me write these blogs. She’s much better at checking the GPS tracker regularly and telling me what it means. It’s been fun learning how to watch virtually and pull from multiple resources to get a basic understanding of a trail I’ve never been on.

We’ve been caring for the dogs at kennel, running the large puppy class, checking off the end-of-season to-do list, and operating tours at the Chena Outdoor Collective. Our little routine is being changed up today as Kalyn and Derek take off this afternoon. The plan is to be down there for Ryne’s finish... and Ryne and the dogs can’t return until they pick her up. So Derek and Kalyn better be at the finish line on time!! I’m ready for trail stories and dog cuddles.

Ryne left Nikolai and passed through Rainy Pass for a quick resupply before camping on trail 1.5 hours later. She took a five hour rest before pulling the hook and running to Finger Lake. They did the same thing here; a few minutes for a quick resupply of dog food, booties, and human snacks. They left at 8:48 this morning.

The team is in Swkenta now, where they’re taking the final mandatory 8 hour rest. It’s the last official checkpoint before Deshka Landing and the finish line.

Go, Ryne Go!!!

Photographer: Michael Schoder

Photographer: Michael Schoder

Photographer: Michael Schoder

Photographer: Michael Schoder

Day 8 of Iditarod

Similar to children in a school building, sharing trail and space with so many other dogs, it’s common for a bug to get picked up while on races. Ideally, teams will rest for a bit and it’ll pass through quickly. Sometimes though, mushers do make the decision to scratch from the race if their dogs need a bit more time to get rid of the stomach bug. The health of the dogs comes first for every musher out there. Ryne’s team caught the stomach bug right before entering Nikolai. They took an 8 hour rest there and that helped the team get back on their paws. They look great!

Last night, the Ryno team camped with the two Squids team, Paige Drobny and Cody Strathe. These three are great friends so it brings a smile to our faces knowing they had the comfort of each other!

The Alaska Range showed some gnarly trails on the outbound direction, particularly the Dalzell Gorge. They’ll make their way back through it soon enough. Currently, the team is at the Rohn checkpoint with less than 200 miles to go!!

Upcoming is Skwenta, 105 miles out from Rohn, where all mushers will take their last mandatory rest of 8 hours.

Tyler and Kelsey picked Bowser up and he is now getting his beauty sleep and extra love alongside Uno! Thanks guys!

Lastly, here’s a big shout out and thank you to all the kennel sponsors:

Feniks & Company, LLC

Bema Electronics

Two Rivers Outpost

AlaSkins Pet Supplies

Orion's Belt School of Self Defense

Dr. Carson's Supplements

Individual Dog Sponsors and Groupies

Chena Outdoor Collective

Thank you, thank you, thank you. We couldn't do this without your support!

Iditarod Ophir to Nikolai

On Friday, the team left Ophir (south for the return journey and 2nd time here) at 2:46pm AKDT. Four and half hours later, they were at it again. When we checked, the team was averaging a solid 8.3mph. Go, Ryne go!

A little night run brought them into McGrath at 12:26am for a slightly longer break of 5 hours and 19 minutes. The temperature was cold here last night and the same was true for the Iditarod team. Cold weather is a mushers friend since dogs tend to run and eat better when they’re not overheated. Ryne left McGrath at 5:45am with 12 dogs.

Plenty of mushers sent a second sled to McGrath. Ryne did this and planned on switching to it. The second sled is light-weight and fast. However, after running over the trail once already, she’s sticking to the DogPaddle that she began the race with. It’s a well-built, robust sled and perfect for keeping control in tough conditions. So, continue to keep your eye out for the Ryno colors of teal and purple that form her sled bag!

6 days, 2 hours, and over 50 minutes into the race. Ryne is currently resting at Nikolai checkpoint. She’s taking her first mandatory 8-hr rest out of two. The dogs and musher alike are soaking in the sun rays. 247 miles to go!

Tyler and Kelsey, good friends of the kennel, picked up Uno in Anchorage and are loving on her until the end of the race when she’ll join the rest of the team for the return trip home to Two Rivers. She was a “doggy pogo stick.” That’s Uno for you!

Day 6 of Iditarod

The team took their 24 hour rest in Ophir and we’re hearing that it was very bare-bones, even for Iditarod standards. Part of this is due to the small volunteer and crew numbers this year, an effort to avoid spreading COVID. 

Ryne came in with soaking boots and wet outerwear. She placed gear into the Arctic Oven to dry out and would spend in the night in a tent too. The Arctic Ovens are run by propane and it went out the last 10 hours of Ryne’s rest here. In other words, she was basic tent-camping in -30 temps!

After Ophir is the Iditarod checkpoint. The team arrived there around 9:00pm AKDT on Thursday and left it at 12:57am today with 12 dogs in harness. Our sweet Bowser stayed behind in the wonderful volunteer hands for extra attention and pets. Can’t wait for him to be home at the kennel so I can do that!

Ryne and the dogs camped at mile 477 for a couple hours but are on the move again! They have less than 367 miles to go.

The return journey brings two challenges: head-on passes and “knowing what’s to come.” Luckily for the mushers from Two Rivers, Alaska, they’re use to passing. It’s a mushing community and there’s plenty of kennels here that share the trails everyday. 

Having already gone over the trail, it can be worrisome about redoing the tricky sections. Check at this wonderful article about this very topic and read what some mushers are saying about it! I particularly love this comment of Ryne’s when she’s speaking about the downhill over a glacier:

“It’s just like rocks and ice and dirt,” Olson said. “I do have chains on my sled, so I can put those down. But even still, it’s gonna be a pretty wild ride.”

https://www.adn.com/outdoors-adventure/iditarod/2021/03/11/as-the-iditarod-prepares-to-shift-into-reverse-mushers-dread-whats-ahead/

Day 5 of Iditarod

Smoky and Goblin lead Ryne and the team (total of 13 dogs) out of Ophir checkpoint at 8:25am AKDT. They’ve completed the 24 rest but still must take two mandatory 8 hour rests before the finish line.

Trail breakers have rerouted the trail in order to leave out the Flat. Overflow and excess snow has made it too difficult to break trail and snow machines were getting snuck. The Flat was the 20 mile turnaround loop after the Iditarod checkpoint. Instead, all teams will leave from Iditarod and head back over what they’ve already done.

This is the first time in the race’s 49-year history that the trail won’t finish at Nome. It’s finishing at Deshka Landing. The 2021 path is called the Gold Trail Loop. Since the checkpoints are the same both directions, they often have North or South added to the end, depending if it’s the out or return journey.

The stretch between Ophir and Iditarod is a more empty one; a stretch of miles on miles. There is a mixture of terrain, at least! Black Spruce to barren upland tundra, brush hillsides to frozen lakes. It’s about 80 miles checkpoint to checkpoint.

Enjoy Bowser peeking around Ryne, waiting for some love after Dolly!

Photo credit: ZachaRiah hughs

Day 4 McGrath to Ophir

Ryne left the McGrath checkpoint at 1:57am AKDT for a night run. It’s great to travel at night for the cooler temperatures that keep dogs happy and snow from turning soft and punchy. Five hours and thirteen minutes later, team pulls into Ophir where it likely Ryne is taking her mandatory 24 rest and the time differential.

The 24 hour rest must be taken at an official checkpoint between the Skwenta to Iditarod stretch. It could be taken at Iditarod but it has to be taken before going on to Flat for the return trip. Time differential is how the race makes up for the mushers beginning at staggered times. Each bib left 2 minutes after the previous one. Since mushers can take their mandatory rests at various times, the Standings will be shaken up until all rests are completed. That’s when we’ll clearly see the race Standings!

The team pulled into the Ophir check point at 7:10am. Before starting our day here at the kennel, Kalyn watched the livestream and captured screenshots for us! Ryne was the 4th team to enter Ophir.

Iditarod Insider recently had a quick interview with Ryne while she was camping along the trail and let me tell you, she was beaming!! We’re so proud of her performance but it especially warms us to see her bright smile and upbeat attitude. If you have access to Iditarod Insider, definitely check it out!

Day 3 of Iditarod

When Ryne is here at the kennel, she always tells Kalyn and I good morning in an upbeat tone. When she’s gone, we tend to ignore each other until the caffeine kicks in. Today though, our morning lull quickly turned into talking about the race with Derek and how proud we are of the Ryno team!!

At 2:35pm, Ryne left the Nikolai checkpoint. She covered 111 miles since Rainy Pass and conquered the notorious and infamous Dalzell Gorge along the way. Several miles of the tight, twisting trail lead down to the river and drops further into the gorge. It can be a real pinball machine at times. Surviving this part gets the mushers a few miles from Rohn checkpoint.

The stretch from Rohn to Nikolai often has a painful amount of overflow and icy patches. It goes along the South Fork of the Kuskokwim River and covers the Farewell Burn. Farewell Burn is the site of Alaska’s largest forest fire in 1978, affecting a million and half acres. It’s a very tough run but the team made it through for a well-earned rest.

Now, Ryne and the dogs are headed toward McGrath! She left the Nikolai checkpoint with 13 dogs. Uno was left with volunteers due to a swollen tendon, just to be safe. Uno is an incredible sled dog and already has three Yukon Quest races under her belt so this must’ve been a tough decision. But if there is one steady fact about Uno, it’s her positive energy and I bet she‘ll try to lick the faces of anyone that helps her get back home.

It’s been warm out there, reaching near or above freezing point. Dogs don’t run as well in the warm temperatures so many mushers had to slow down during the hottest hours. Not for long though! By Thursday, many parts of the trail will reach subzero values. It’s expected to be as low as -20 and -30! Cooler temperatures will be great for the race.

Photo credit: whitney mclaren photogrApHy

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