TWO WEEKS. Just TWO WEEKS until the start of the 2021 Iditarod. Last Monday, Derek dropped off 1548 pounds of gear to be shipped out to the various checkpoints. Myself and sixteen dogs were on the final training series, running around the trails of Two Rivers. There are actually about 17 dogs who are in contention for the Iditarod team. I made a video of 16 of the athletes:

Dolly- At seven-years-old, Dolly is one of the oldest in contention, but you wouldn’t know it. She’s one of the most enthusiastic of the crew, barking and jumping up like a pogo stick to get moving. She’s holding her weight well and looking strong.

Elmer- Elmer is a very serious, very driven fella. His back leg was a little stiff after one run a couple months ago so he missed our longest run series, but after this last one, he’s looking great! He’s a fantastic leader!

Louie- King Louie is tied with Wingman for the most miles so far this season. He has never missed a training run, and he often runs tours because of his lovable personality! Louie is an incredible leader, albeit a little on the sensitive side. Only positive words and thoughts when around Louie, otherwise he takes any negativity to heart. Such a sweet boy.

Etta- Etta is rocking it. She runs lead more often than not. Her weakness is her eating. For whatever reason, Etta likes to keep a slim, trim figure. Luckily, she eats her food after training runs and series, so I’m hopeful she’ll maintain her weight during Iditarod. I’m counting on her to be a main leader.

Yoshi- Yoshi is looking strong. She’s been a little softer than her siblings this season (meaning she gets distracted or bored occasionally); however, I wonder if that’s due to running closer to the front of the team. If she’s on the Iditarod team, I’ll probably have her run farther back in the team to help her focus. She has a beautiful gait and eats well, we just want to make sure it’s always fun!

Smoky- This guy is a FORCE. He has grown into a main leader this season and loves to partner with Etta to lead the team. Like Etta, he can be hard to keep weight on, but I know his secret food preferences so I’ll whip up all his favorites for the race (cat food!). Smoky had a sore wrist after our trip to Eureka, but with some time off, it’s looking 100% (knock on wood). I’ll probably wrap it at each stop just to be on the safe side, much to his frustration. I’ve never met a dog who hates wrist wraps more than this dude. He’ll chew off the wrap in ten seconds flat unless I cover it in athletic tape! The little punk.

Oryx- The Oryx Beast is chunky and ready to rock. I actually have to occasionally put her on a diet, even in the middle of the season because she can get rather thick! At the beginning of the season, Oryx often ran in lead, but like her brother Louie, Oryx can be a bit sensitive. She has to be feeling the leadership role, otherwise she lets you know by diving off the trail to roll in the snow.

Mario- Mario is looking great! He has completed all the training miles this year and is a little chunky muffin. In the team he’s very unassuming, but he always works hard, eats, and happily chugs along.

Maple- This big gal joined the team this summer. Initially, Maple was exceptionally shy and hid in her house for the majority of the day. With a little extra TLC, Maple has come out of her shell and now screams to run. She has run the Iditarod in the past and is an incredibly hard worker, so odds are Maple will be on the squad.

Uno- Uno is looking good this season! I wouldn’t call her the hardest worker in the team, but her recovery time is unmatched by any other dog. Uno is never tired. She’s always in your face and ready to rock.

Otis- Otis has had a rough season, primarily due to a bizarre, early season injury. During a run, poor Otis ran into a stick on the side of the trail and punctured his side! After a late night vet visit and stitches, Otis was on bed rest for a few weeks. To make sure he didn’t get fired up by the other dogs, Otis went to stay with Saeward at their house in town. He’s now fully recovered, but he does have less miles than the rest of the team. I really want him on the Iditarod team since he finished Quest last year and is such a cheerleader, but I’m on the fence. Final decision to be made later!

Faff- Faff the cheerleader. This gal is always happy and barking. During campouts, she loves to play with her neighbor instead of sleeping. I love her energy and attitude. She’s less experienced than many of the other athletes in contention, but she’s big, strong, and so happy. The energy she would bring to the team would be invaluable.

Wingman- This guy is tied with Louie for the most miles this season. He’s a force to reckon with and is a loud cheerleader on the team. Occasionally he has run in lead throughout the season, but I’d say his favorite place is just in the middle of the team. Barring any last minute issues, this guy will be on the Iditarod team.

Thresher- Thresher has had an excellent season so far. If there are any females in heat, Thresher can get a little distracted (he fancies himself a ladies’ man), but otherwise he’s dynamite. The trick is to just have Thresher run behind the gal in heat, and he’ll give 200%! Ha!

Bert- Watch out world- here comes a dark horse! Bert was very unimpressive as a yearling. He was easily distracted. For example, one day last season I was mushing a team with Bert in wheel. Kalyn was running a team behind me. We decided to switch teams. When Bert realized it was Kalyn mushing and not me, he spent the next 10 miles looking over his shoulder with big eyes wondering what on earth had happened. Oh Bert. All that being said, he has really matured in the past couple months. In particular, Bert has thrived on campouts and trips. He loves going new places and traveling. He’s dog #16 to be on the team just because I’d rather him run a mid-distance race before jumping into a 1000-miler, but if he had a mid-distance race under his belt or was a year older, then he’d be on the team for sure.

Bowser- Bowser has also improved immensely this season. He’s always been a hard worker; however, Bowser sometimes battles with anxiety. He gets really excited to run and dips incessantly, ultimately giving him an upset stomach. Last season we dropped him out of training to give him time to mature and hopeful overcome his anxiety. It seems to have paid off! This year Bowser is doing much better and has been controlling his dipping habit (biting snow as he’s running). Occasionally he can get worked up, but overall, it’s been a HUGE improvement.

Goblin (not in the video)- This guy is pretty special. He’s run every one thousand mile race with me since 2016. On the final run in the Quest last year, he strained a tendon on his back leg. If you remember, he actually crossed the finish line in the sled bag. After laser therapy, rehab, and lots of time off, Goblin has been looking great. I built up his miles a bit slower this season as a precaution. After a 200-mile training series, Goblin was the tiniest bit stiff on his back leg, but otherwise he’s been great. We’ll make the final call closer to the start, but if it was up to Goblin he’s ready to GO GO GO!

This Friday, we’ll be taking the dogs in for EKGs, and final vet checks will be on Saturday with Dr. McCrea. Most likely we’ll vet check Scarpa as well as the above 17 athletes. Scarpa is also looking really great, she’s just young and on the thinner side, so I’d rather her not run 1000-miles for her first race.

We’ll keep posting updates of Iditarod prep. We hope everyone is getting as excited as we are!!! Who’s ready to start pressing the tracker refresh button?!

When we asked Rucu if he was ready to come out of retirement and run the Iditarod

Multiple skills I have learned over the season come together in order to make one thing happen: Iditarod drop bags. These are what will carry Ryne and her incredible furry athletes over the famous 1,000 Mile Race.

They hold goodies for the dogs (booties, meat snacks, vet kits, kibble, jackets, cat food) and for the human (dry gloves and socks, meals, spare batteries, hand warmers, etc). It’s a fine line balancing having enough supplies with options but also not wasting a ton of resources.

We had a few meat-cutting marathon days to prep for the amount of snack bags needed. This happened outside at the meat bandsaw. When the cold snap arrived, we moved inside to bag other non-frozen items. My own dogs loved when I weighing and bagging kibble on the kitchen counter; they were quick on the clean up duty whenever a stray kibble made it to the floor.

Fun fact about me: I adore spreadsheets. It’s calming to have a piece of paper in my hand with all the information I need to complete my task—and easy access at that. We used our spreadsheets heavily as we gathered the correct quantity to each individual bag. Not every check point requires the same items. Ryne spent a great deal of effort to think of a broad running plan and base the drop bags off of that. It’s difficult making these decisions weeks out when you’re not sure what the weather will be like! They’re many factors to take into consideration.

This is my first year working for a race kennel, classifying me as a “Yearling” with Tobin, Sherlock, Watson and Rose. I’ve given Ryne and Kalyn quite a few laughs already this year and made sure it continued through the packing process. From silly questions to threading half of the drop bags wrong, I must take it in stride and appreciate the strong female mushers teaching me more and more... besides, a good belly laugh is always needed!

Speaking of which...

“One of the drop bags is opened and I saw Simon pick up an almost empty meat snack bag,” Derek says coming into the main cabin.

Simon and I, who also just arrived, nod in agreement.

“What? But wasn’t Sasha and Jeezy with you?” Ryne says from the couch.

“Yes.”

“Cartel is with me,” she says while getting up to prove the point. “Cartel?”

Peeking into the dog kennel, we hear another “Cartel?“ before a huh is let out.

“I guess it was Cartel since she’s not actually inside.”

Laughter is interrupted long enough for Simon to add that there were only a couple pieces left of the original 16 meat slices. Who knows where they’re hidden around the property now.

As if Kalyn and I didn’t sneak Cartel enough meat crumbles through the fence during our meat packing day.