Puppy Team
3:00 p.m.
March 11, 2006
by Tyrell Seavey
|
Ultimate Iditarod's coverage of the 2006 Iditarod sponsored by:
|
While the hardened old road-warriors are setting the pace out in front, proving they still have what it takes to win this race, there is another group of mushers coming along in the back that are facing many of the same challenges. My 23 year old brother, Dan, phoned home today from Cripple and shared a little insight about how the race was unfolding for the back of the packers. This is his second Iditarod and he is running a team of two-year-old trainees escorted by a few older vets. He said that the young dogs were all 100% and he was planning on leaving Cripple with all 16. His only complaint thus far is the extreme cold. Because his young dogs are not yet seasoned to the trail his schedule calls for a bunch of campouts along the trail which requires him to stop outside of the checkpoints and brave the frigid temperatures. He said that on the run into Cripple he was the coldest he had ever been. “I left my camp in my overboots with wool socks and tennis shoes underneath,” he told my mom, “At one point my thermometer read -48 F and by the time I reached the checkpoint I couldn’t feel my feet at all.” He was not seriously frostbitten, but it was a close call.
He said
Tread (see article from earlier in the race) was a
little sore getting up in the mornings and that, “the older dogs were
definitely the weak links in his team.”
If he drops any dogs soon it will be the older veterans whose guidance
is becoming less important as the young dogs begin to get into the habit of
traveling down the trail. Overall his
attitude is great and he is looking forward to warmer temperatures and a good
run up to the