Recovered?

Well maybe not fully recovered...We are still playing with a bug we managed to pick up in Pelly. But we are back to running dogs and happy to report that everyone is happy and healthy and running sound. The dogs that were dropped were dragging Cody around before I even finished the race so everyone is good. We have been running the yearlings with the race dogs and the teams are looking really good. This past weekend, we had almost 2 feet of snow which made for a fun weekend. We harness broke our 8 puppies and they did amazing. Here is a little video of one of the puppy teams...

We have many people to thank, without which, this race would not have happened, namely Clint and Sarah, who loaned me 2 incredible dogs that were happy and barking the entire way. Clint was running the 1000 mile race at the same time and I ended up at a couple of the checkpoints with him. As he would ready his team to leave, his dogs in my team were screaming to go too! They recognized their friends from afar and wondered why they  weren't with them. Maybe that's why we were going so fast??

A huge thanks also goes to Jeff and Laura who took care of the house and the pooches who were left behind. They did a great job caring for the rowdy dogs left behind and even had dinner waiting for us when we got home. Man we are lucky people:) Also thanks to Springer and Lisa for exercising some of the ones left behind on a couple sled runs.

And lastly thanks to my greatest fan and best handler a person could ask for, my awesome husband Cody! He did a great job updating the blog and keeping everyone informed of our progress. He also sweated the whole time trying to get my form signed. Sorry babe, next time I will read all of the paperwork:)

Congrats to Paige.. finished in 6th place with 8 happy dogs!

Paige is in and the team looks great! We are proud of the dogs and all they have accomplished. Now is time for naps and dog care.. Paige will update us with some tails from the trail later as she recovers from her 4 hours of sleep since race started saturday.. stay tuned.

back at the truck! pups ae excited to get in the warm box.

Busted by the mounties for mushing without a license

So we have had a little drama this week, that I haven't mentioned until we got it all cleared up.. Back in Whitehorse before the race we were late to the mushers meeting. Since we were late, Paige didn't get certain paperwork collected from her. Immediately after Paige left the starting chute on race day, I was rastled up by a race official who was a little peeved that Paige had not turned in her hold harmless release form. I found it in the truck and gave to them, but it turned out that it had to be notarized by a notary official. Since Paige was already a couple miles down the Yukon River at this point, they decided that if she could get it notarized somewhere down the trail it would be fine. Well  I don't know if you have ever looked for a notary person at a dog race in northern Yukon Territory at odd hours of the night before, but it is about freaking impossible to find one. One of the officials thought that if we could get a mounty or RMCP officer to sign off that would be good enough.. Of course we didn't have an officer around at any of the checkpoints in the middle of the night either so Paige kept on moving and I kept on sweating it out trying to find a mounty to sign her off.

the RCMP officer looks hard to see if the girl in the passport photo is really the same stinky musher in front of him.

 Finally at Pelly Crossing we hit the mother load... Mounties were running the checkpoint.  So I got them all lined up to give her a little scare and tell her that she was getting her dog team comendeared for breaking canadian law of entering a dog race without proper release forms. Of course they wouldn't do it... but the officer did offer to take a bribe of a hefty sum to sign her sheet. How come canadian cops are so much cooler than us cops? By that grin in the picture I don't think Paige learned  a lesson at all. :)

So anyways.. Paige moved back a little in position today while giving the dogs ample rest. She left Pelly Crossing in 6th. which is not a big deal at all since all teams in front of her are either veteran iditarod mushers or running veteran iditarod mushers' dogs..she pulled the hook at 10:46 pm.  Actually the dogs pulled the hook on her and almost left without her at the start.. they were ready.

The trails are hard and fast and it is taking its toll on the dogs delicate shoulders and wrists. Bleeker has a pretty sore shoulder and she decided to spare him further damage and let him chill with me in the truck... he's pretty ecstatic. That brings the dog number to 8 for the last run.. not a problem for a quick 60 mile run at night. Paige said there are lots of snowshoe hares on the trail and it keeps the dogs excited and moving right along. She should be able to maintain a decent speed and should be back to the finish in under 8 hours, putting her back in Pelly sometime around 7 am.... check back to see what happened..

Paig is into the last checkpoint, Pelly Crossing, after a nice afternoon at McCabe Creek!

Paige is into Pelly Crossing with 9 happy excited dogs! She got in around 6 pm. She split this run into 2 sections with a camp and nap at McCabe Creek, being that it was warmer in the day time and the dogs often are little doggy. Lupine was experiencing some shoulder pain so was dropped at McCabe and is hanging with me and the other girls in the truck. Paige will be going out for the last leg tonight of a run to what is called Stepping stone which is 30 miles and then back another route from Stepping stone to Pelly, another 30 miles for the finish. Stay tuned tos ee what happens!

little doggies running on to McCabe Creek

Paige left Carmacks this morning at about 4:30 am with 10 screaming dogs.  She decided to drop Ursa and TJ Maxx because they were not as amped to go as the others and were slowing the team down a bit. She left in 3rd place and hopefully she can maintain the position till the end. Gerry Willomitzer and Ed Hopkins, both Quest 1000 mile veterans, left several hours earlier and she likely will not even see them at checkpoints before the end. Her next stop is McCabe Creek which is a short 40ish mile run. She will stay there for a few hours and and then hit the trail again. McCabe Creek is not a true checpoint, but a rather a dog drop and hospitality stop at a farm where they provide meals and rest to the weary travelers. I won't be able to update again until we hit Pelly Crossing later today.  I have lots of photos and video that we will post later, but internet signal strength has been low since the internet is satellite set up for the race and there are many official race and media uploads continuously going.

Paige into Carmacks in 3rd!

Paige just rolled into Carmacks checkpoint before schedule. I thought she would be in around 10 and she pulled in at 9:30 while I was laying on the floor.. She came into the checkpoint in 3rd position. This checkpoint is their mandatory 6 hour layover. Paige is out doing chores, so will let you know her plan and time of departure as soon as I know.. The leaders are a couple hours ahead, so she likely can't move up anymore in this race, but hopefully she can hold this spot till the end.. Go big Squid!

Paige out of Braeburn and having a blue bird run to Carmacks

Paige left Braeburn Checkpoint at 12:49 after a six hour rest. She still has 12 happy and healthy dogs. Here is a video of her taking off from the Checkpoint.


She moved up to 8 when she left, but had Yuka Honda right on her heels as she left. She planned to run straight through to Carmacks at just under 80 miles. As long as she stays on schedule she should be into Carmacks around midnight.. give or take an hour.. She can always camp along the way if the dogs need it.

a couple videos from Paige's start in Whitehorse yesterday

Josh Horst took a couple videos of the start in Whitehorse yesterday. Thanks Josh!
Dogs leaving the truck

Here is a link to Paiges Start

A few pics from Braeburn

Paige and the dogs are napping and plan to head out after 6 hours of rest before hitting the trail for a 80 mile run to Carmacks. She should be leaving around 1 pm. Here are a few pics from the checkpoint this morning.

it was dark when she came in.. so just imagine a dog team with wagging tails and a smiley frosty Paige face.

She was truckin on the trail so she ordered the "Truckers" breakfast.

a big view of the teams parked at the checkpoint.. Paige's team right in front.

getting blankets on the dogs so they can get some sleep.

Paige into Braeburn!

Paige rolled into Braeburn checkpoint at 7:09 am with 12 happy and excited dogs. She said she had a great run in on great trails with awesome northern lights. She moved up to 9th position currently. I will keep you posted more on her run here after she comes in to get some chow and a nap. She is currently getting the dogs fed and all rested for their stay here.

And the birthday girl is off and running!

We started Paige's birthday off with a great 1000 mile Yukon Quest start. Helping our friends getting on their way was great and sometimes emotional. It was great to be able to whatch them all go and we will see them down the trail. Paige's only spoken birthday wish was that she wanted Pizza. not burgers, not vietnamese, and definitely not chinese.. so we got her some pizza and a little extra wrapped up for her sled. We then headed back to the starting chute and got her all ready to roll.. Paige is seen below doing what we have learned to do well this week..... wait. wait and wait some more. the dogs on the other hand have gotten impatient and by today were ready to get out and see some country.

we then pulled a group of bad ass helper/handlers together to help us wait. These great folks helped us get Paige's team all hooked up and safely into the starting chute. Thanks to Steve, Megan, Horst, and Sarah.

So with the help of our trusty helpers, we guided the freaknig crazy team into the starting chute. Paige walked up and down to say hi to all her dogs while I untangled the 12 harness banging pups. Josh and Megan have pictures and video of the actual start.. I on the other hand had my hands full making out with the birthday girl... not allowed to touch her on the race ;) so had to get it in now! but really, I will get some video and photos  up soon as I get my hands on it.  Paige pulled the hook and headed out at 5:40 pm Pacific time zone.. 

Trail report is good. Temperatures cooled down meaning that the swimming pools of yesterday are rough frozen ice today. Beyond this refrozen area in the first 14 miles, the trail is reported to be solid and fast.

Paige's personal spot tracker is currently working and shows her on her way. It is about a 100 mile run to Braeburn checkpoint. She plans to camp at about half way. This camp is scheduled for 4 hours to give the dogs a meal and a quick nap. We expect this entire run to Braeburn with rest to take approximately 14 - 15 hours on these fast trails as she moves about 9-10 mph. So we expect her to roll into Braeburn at about 8 am. I am getting some rest in Whitehorse tonight and will get on the road around 5 am to get out to Braeburn before she rolls in. She has a mandatory layover at Braebunrn and plans to stay for 6 hours.  Stay tuned folks and I will try to update as soon as possible.  follow the Quest 300 site for more official race updates.



Happy Birthday and Good Luck... we are so proud!

Bleeker gets a little love from 4 hot ladies.

Yesterday was spent at the vet checks making sure all the dogs were healthy and ready to run. All the dogs got the okay to go from the vets.. the only problem.. Bleeker is supposedly fat, but I imagine he'll loose a pound or two in the next 300 some miles. We then stumbled into the musher meeting a little late.. an hour to be exact. Somehow we go the time screwed up.. maybe we are getting old.. well Paige is anyway because today it is her birthday.. she will be celebrating out on the mighty Yukon River with the dogs today. Wish I could join her, but damn what a present! So after a slap on the wrist, we were released from the meeting.. shortest musher meeting in history for us at just under 5 minutes!..  Below is the roster and starting order for the Quest 300. Paige will go out 21st.

The 1000 mile race begins at 11 am this morning. The 300 mile race begins at 5. Paige will be leaving the starting shoot at 5:42 becasuse racers leave in 2 minute increments. There are no SPOT trackers for the Quest 300, but Paige has asked for permission to carry ours so that you can follow along and see her progress. http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0YTXLnDPoJ0q6eDjMu6ABA8LrkbzpB3QN

It won't be as exciting as it will jsut be her on this map, but if used in conjunction with the tracking on the Quest site for the 1000 mile racers, you can figure out where she is this crazy race.

It is bound to get exciting so stay tuned here and on the Yukon Quest 300 website as well as the Yukno Quest facebook page.. Links provided in last entry..

Warming up in Whitehorse

We made it to Whitehorse after an all night drive. Megan, Paige and Cody drove all night and reached Whitehorse at around 2 on Thursday. Temperatures here were above freezing. Felt nice walking down the street in Whitehorse in a T shirt, but won't be so great for the dogs with their thick coats.  We heard rumors of swimming pools of water out there on the river, so should be an exciting race!

We went to the annual start banquet. Thanks to T Bear and Jenny Jaye for the tickets to the banquet. there were still 3! Here all the mushers for the 1000 mile race drew their starting positions. We had a great time hanging with our friends that will be racing. Below Mike Ellis and Kyla Durham are pretty proud of the teenage mutant ninja turtle t-shirt that Kyla just scored at value village to help her in her quest.


So today we are doing vet checks and mandatory meetings.. Then hopefully we can celebrage Paige's birthday a day early in Whitehorse. For the rest of the race Cody will be updating the Blog from checkpoints. You should follow race results on the YQ300 site at http://www.yukonquest.com/site/yq300-race-updates
or on their facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=6427726&id=245766914645#!/YukonQuest

Let the fun begin!

Last camping trip before the we hit the road.

We had a great weekend in the White Mountains. Paige ran the race team and I ran the youngings with the freight sled loaded to the gills. We met our friends Scott, Molly, and Chris at Lee's Cabin. Paige ran on to Crowberry and stopping to wave through window at Lisa, Bob and their friends and then headed back. I took Scott for a ride back to his lonely snowmachine that couldn't seem to move... The next day Pagie ran on to Borealis cabin while the rest of us cut fire wood and hauled with dogs and then we loaded everyones gear on the freight dog sled and the yearlings pulled it all out. We found a snowmachiner who was nice enough to tow Scott's machine out.. otherwise Paige's team was going to have to tow it. I'm sure they could have done it, but it was hot out. We are now home and packing and getting ready for the road.