The first race
Jocelyne and I had signed up for the Copper Basin 300. For me it will be the 4th time, for Jocelyne the first long 300 miles race. January seems always to be a month where we run regularly into problems with our employees, after some time of working they notice that dogsledding is not only sunshine, at least not for the guides. Last year I must I dismiss 2 guides 3 days before the Copper Basin and this year 2 guides left also 3 days before the, so we had some problems and instead of preparing for the race we had to pick up some dogs at Braeburn and clean up.
On Wednesday afternoon I returned with the last cart-load of dogs to the Kennel. I couldn’t convince Jocelyne to come to the Copper Basin. Her desire to do the race had passed and she had the firm opinion that she could not concentrate on the race.
I wouldn’t really go for the race and I have to admit that
mentally I was with everything except with the race. On the other
hand, I was conscious that I wouldn’t be happy if I blow
all this training and preparation in the wind and I was sure that
I will regret this at the latest in the next summer. And nevertheless
there was Roland, who was already in 1998 and 1999 on some races
and was now helping to train the racingdogs since 4 weeks. What
to do? Only Roland goes racing? Only I go racing? We go both? But
then we do not have a handler and the Copper Basin is on of the
few races, where you cannot drive without a handler. After some
discussions we decided - we go both; I had to give myself an internal
jerk. It was Wednesday evening and still nothing packed even we
didn’t know which teams will go racing, because Roland couldn’t
drive Jocelyne's team, because he knows nearly none of these dogs.
Roland always proved an unusually good hand for dogs and so I had
no problem to give him many of my racingdogs and even some beginners
to try. Nemo, Popcorn, Gas, Franky and Neuro did all have no racing
experience. Nemo and Popcorn are yearlings, Gas is 3 but he saw
only 2 hundred-millers, Franky come from the animal shelter and
Neuro we have since two year but only now where he is 5 years a
had a look at him for the racingteam.
To make it even more difficult we are not allowed to take legally
dog food over the border, I had left some in Tok (Alaska), but
not enough for 2 teams. Meat may be carried over the border only
in the original packaging, not small sawed. So we packed the blocks
and the circular saw also. With Roland and me a lot is going hand
in hand without many words and so after 4 hours the truck was at
22 o’clock ready with two teams. Then we left and made us
on the way to Alaska. Unfortunately I had a cold and wasn’t
particularly fit to drive. Those, which know me, know that I am
normally never copilot, but after 2 hours I hadn’t another
choice and gave the steering wheel to Roland. The weather for driving
wasn’t very good, it wildly snowed. Around 3.30 in the morning
we arrived at Beaver Creek and there Roland became also so tired
that we had taken a hotel room, this also you have never seen,
normally I always drive the whole way in one stretch. In the morning
at around 8 it went out to drop the dogs, after having dropped
them, suddenly all had disappeared, we where surprised where they
are gone, and wild barking around the corner, because there was
Saul Turner, the son of Frank, with his dogdruck. Oops, we hadn’t
seen him, but fortunately he took it easy. In Tok we made a short
pause, packed the meat, bought some things, because we had noticed
that there where missing some things. We didn’t have any
space left and so it was really tight on the 300 km to Glennallen.
When I was in Glennallen 2 weeks ago, they had about 60 cm of
snow and there were only around 10 cm frozen-over, also it had
thawed very much and even had rained for 2 days, fortunately didn’t
had that at home. Already for years I stay at Bill and Dorothy
Bowler of the Fireweed Hill B&B and it was beautiful seeing
them again. And right, Bill work in the butcher's shop in the only
shop of the place, we toke the meat blocks under the arms, went
to Bill and he cut them for us. That was much better than outside,
on the parking lot, with the circular saw. Until late in the evening
we packed our Fooddrops and prepared the sleds. Martin Jahr, a
friend from Haines Junction also arrived and stayed with us in
the B&B, it was also the first Copper Basin for him.
Friday morning was the official Fooddrop, but first of all we had to sign in Roland instead of Jocelyne. During the registration there was a very bad tendency. The Copper Basin was announced with $ 30,000 prize money like all the years before but now they told that there is only $ 10,000. Especially the professional mushers where very furious about that and some like Bill Cotter and William Kleedehen did dismiss. For Roland and me it wasn’t very important because we didn’t drive for the top positions. In the evening we had the mushermeeting and the startbanquet. The mushermeeting was gentle said not very helpful as we didn’t get a lot of information about the trail got or the checkpoints. Nobody seemed really know what’s going on. That did not improve the tendency under the mushers, however the banquet was very beautiful in the old Gakona Lodge, even it was hopelessly overcrowded, but if you cannot move, the only things which rests to do is remain sitting and drink beer. It is also well know that Beer is good for a cold. Because I drove the Trail already 3 times, I printed out a map from the internet and marked for Roland and Martin some basic data and times on it, so they have some reasonable reference points as Rookies.
Roland drawn number 29 and I the 33, that was ideally, very close
together and me behind him. We had only one serious problem left.
No handler, who drives the truck, but many handlers from other
mushers offered us their help and so probably it should go like
this for this race. When we dropped the dogs the last time Austin,
a dog from Trevor, and Popcorn and Nemo run away. Popcorn and Nemo
did come back after 15 min, but from Austin no trace. Well beautiful
shit, heavily swearing I drove through Glennallen and Roland searched
in the proximity of property. No trace. Well, there remained nothing
else to do than explaining my situation to the vets in the Caribou
hotel, and ask them to have a look after strew-end dog (and that
Austin was really in former times before Trevor got him from the
animal shelter). As I came into the lobby, who was sitting there
and fed with chips (my Diet): Austin. He was in-collected along
the Highways and brought to the hotel.
* all picture were taken by spectators of the CB300
