April 23, 2001

…And I thought things were supposed to SLOW DOWN after Iditarod….

There are all sorts of things going on around here. First off, we are expecting a couple litters of puppies. A few weeks back we bred Grover to Visa – she is due around June 7^th. Then this past weekend we bred Jetti (Mannie’s Mom) to Spud. As Spud will be turning 10 this August, this will probably be his last litter, so we are especially looking forward to little ‘Tater Tots’ running around the house!

Last Friday we spent the day with a reporter from our local CTV station, CFRN. Chester, Camilla and I did a brief spot on their Noon news after which one of the producers made arrangements for them to do a piece on us for the evening news. The reporter came out and we hooked the entire 16 dog Iditarod team up to the 4 wheeler and went for a run. What a hoot that was. Most of the dogs hadn’t run since getting back from Alaska and they were KEEN to go!! 

The screaming as we were hooking up was ear piercing! Partway through the run we stopped so they could ask some questions on camera. We didn’t get too far into the talk when the team took off with the Quad – all the brakes were locked up and it still took me a long way to get them stopped again. It wasn’t quite as amusing the 2^nd and 3^rd time the dogs did it! After getting everyone put away, we packed up Chester and headed off to the Rochester School to do a visit. Rochester School has always been very supportive of us and I have spoken to the kids there on a couple of occasions, so it was an obvious choice of kids to include on air with us! 

On Saturday I ran a bunch of dogs into the city to get some eye testing done. Due to some hereditary problems that Siberian Huskies are prone to, it is the wise and responsible thing to do to get a Specialist to check them out before they are bred. We are happy to report that all 7 we took tested normal. 

Saturday evening was a hectic one. The community of Perryvale hosted a potluck dinner for Mark and I in honor of our Iditarod run. I did a presentation and slide show for everyone. In addition to lots of local folks, my Mom, my brother, and Mark’s parents all showed up from Calgary for the weekend – what a treat! The community presented Mark and I with a gift certificate for an evening in Edmonton at a Dinner Theater! They said that after all the time that we had spent apart this winter, they wanted to make sure we spent some quality time together. What a thoughtful and appreciated gift! We are so grateful to live in such a supportive community! A special thanks to Barb, Patti, and Phyllis for organizing the evening! 

Sunday I ran back into the city to drop Raptor off with his new Mom and Dad. I stuck around to watch some of the Edmonton Kennel Club Dog Show and to have dinner with a friend from Grande Prairie who was down for the show. 

This week is looking to be busy too. Tomorrow night Fly (my Australian Shepherd) and I start obedience classes. I’ve competed in the obedience ring with a few of our Siberian Huskies and I miss the being there. Hopefully, Fly will progress well in classes and I can get him out in the ring before winter rolls around! Contrary to what many think – he is already quite a well mannered fellow!

Later in the week, I’m heading off to Calgary for a few days to do a school visit and an on-air interview with CFCN. 

….I’m so grateful for all this SLOW TIME….

April 23, 2001 - Yentna – Finger Lake

Pretty much right on my schedule of resting 4 hours in Yentna, I pulled the hook and we headed off into the night. 

The trail ended up being fairly busy and I saw many mushers out there, including one (I never did figure out who it was) that was way off the trail along the bank of the river. From the shouts and curses it was pretty obvious that the trail wasn’t good over there and the mystery musher wasn’t having a lot of fun.

I had a great run. I had vowed not to use Grover in lead too much early in the Race – he is my best leader and I didn’t want to burn him out, however he loves leading and I didn’t want him to sulk too much about not getting a turn up front. So it was decided prior to the Race that he would get to lead on the short, easy 35-mile stretch to Skwentna. That basically set us up for a great trip down the Yentna.

There were a lot of teams still hanging out in the checkpoint. Typical to form, the dogs dove into the straw of the team next to them looking for leftover snacks. A little bit of muscling and I got them into their own spot, hooked the front end out, got their own snacks into them, and got some straw spread out. With just a little fussing they settled down while I cooked for them. After big, warm meals they were ready for their nap. 

I hiked up the riverbank to Joe Delia’s Cabin for some much appreciated warmth and good food. A quick snooze on the floor upstairs and I was ready to roll again. 

The dogs were quick to get up. I can’t remember which two leaders I put up front, I’m thinking it was Chester and Orion. Whoever it was, they certainly weren’t strong on their commands and ignoring my “HAW” they drifted off the trail to the right of the River. Finally they made a 90-degree turn and headed parallel to the checkpoint. The trail got slushy and wet and I couldn’t get a hook in to go up front and straighten out the problem. They barreled towards the left bank and at the last second their ears kicked into gear so they were able to hear my frantic shouts of ‘GEE’ and they swung hard to the right, which hooked us back up with the main trail. I think maybe they knew where we were headed the whole time and were just playing with me. 

As everyone had said, there was a lot of snow out there. The trail was somewhat soft, but not too bad. It was pretty obvious by the high banks though that stepping off the trail might mean you wouldn’t be found till spring. A real plus was that the moguls that pounded mushers and sleds last year weren’t nearly as prevalent.

Once pointed the right direction things settled down. Lance Mackay and I played ‘leapfrog’ a few times, Danny Seavey smoked by and my team kicked it up a gear for a few miles. I finally stopped for a snack break on One Island Lake, knowing Danny would get far enough ahead that the dogs would settle back into their own pace. The trail to Finger Lake is really a lot of fun. There are some open swamps, a few creek crossings, some twisty trails through pretty forests, and some wonderful views of the Alaska Range looming ahead.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I remembered from last year. It made the trail seem shorter then last time and I was very happy as we made the journey around the Lake and into the checkpoint.

April 3, 2001 - The Restart to Yentna

The real deal! At the last minute the restart had been moved from it’s usual location in Wasilla to the community of Willow. In 1998, when I was ‘Chasing the Race’ the restart was held here, so I pretty much knew what to expect. For mushers, the Willow restart is a delight. No double sledding, no roads to deal with, you are out and right onto the trail! 

Our morning started really early. Vivian was wonderful enough to get up and cook steak and eggs for breakfast. What a treat, especially when I didn’t know when or where my next meal was going to be.

As we were sitting in the Willow Community Hall a reporter from the Anchorage News came over and asked if he could talk to me about my Siberians – gosh, I find it sooooo hard to talk about my dogs ;) We had a nice interview and it resulted in, what I thought was a good article in the Anchorage paper the next day. 

When I eventually wandered out to the dog truck, Mark told me that the drug testing crew had been by and collected urine from some of the dogs. We laughed and wondered if they knew something we didn’t – usually they only test the top teams. 

Microchips were checked on the dogs, the sled was packed, checked and rechecked and eventually – it was Show Time!

I made a last minute decision to put Camilla in lead with Gus instead of Oreo. It wasn’t a good decision, as Camilla seemed preoccupied with the crowds. Sure enough, they felt like a herd of cattle thundering out of the chute – which was confirmed by a picture that ran on the front page of the A.D.N Sports section the next day. The dogs looked happy and enthused, which was cool – but you couldn’t even tell who was supposed to be in lead! Oh well, it was still a LONG way to Nome. 

The team didn’t feel good right from the start. They seemed to lack the focus and power that I had come to expect from them through out the season. I vowed to be patient and let them work through it. In no time at all Dee Dee’s team BLEW past us. She brightly called out ‘Thanks Karen’ as I stepped on the brake to allow her an easy pass. Shortly after Rick Swenson’s crew passed too. I still find it quite the thrill to share the trail with teams of this caliber. 

The trail winds along a river until it hooks up with the Yentna River. The weather was great, the trail lovely – a great day all and all. 

Well before dark we pulled into Yentna Station. Last year I had gone right through here, having stopped earlier on the trail, but with the change in distances due to the restart being in Willow, a 4-hour break seemed wise. I got the dogs settled in and fed and got up to the Roadhouse for a great feed of spaghetti! Sure was tastier then, say – extra firm TOFU would have been!! 

There is a little inside joke to this. Lloyd had been trying to convince me the entire time we were in Alaska how good Tofu pancakes were. I was thoroughly unconvinced (and still am). This led to a lot of jokes going around about Tofu. When I pulled into Yentna and started unpacking my sled to cook for the dogs, what did I find in my sled bag but a package of extra firm TOFU. Seems Greg and Marie Stevens from BASH thought this would get a good laugh out of me – and it did. The checkers probably wondered what that twisted musher was doing over there, laughing away to herself!

April 2, 2001

Yesterday morning, as I lay in bed with the window open I heard a Canada goose fly overhead. That and the lack of snow on the ground here are good signs that winter is over and spring is arriving. And so brings to close an amazing and never to be forgotten winter.

Over the next few weeks I’m going to make an effort to get all the stories down and online. I hope you will all enjoy them and that in this small way, I can repay everyone for the tremendous outpouring of support and good wishes that I’ve been overwhelmed by.

THANK YOU ALL!!!

The story begins…..

Ceremonial Start

As last year, the Ceremonial Start of Iditarod is a well-organized circus! And one I thoroughly enjoy! We arrived early and got the truck parked in our designated spot. In no time at all the street was packed with other teams, fans and volunteers. Arriving late was Charlie Boulding. The crews had dumped a lot of snow on 4th Avenue this year, much more then last year. Great for dog teams, not great for dog trucks. Charlie spun and slid his way around the corner and up the street, sending Mark and I SCRAMBLING to rescue dogs from the side of our truck. He slid by us and inched by Devan Currier’s truck with his wife, Robin yelling out apologies as they went! Trust Charlie to add flavor and excitement to the morning!!!

Waiting to Start

Our helpers this year were a lot of fun – friends from the Bay Area Siberian Husky Club (B.A.S.H.) had flown up for the start. They were terrific, helping out any way they could and taking lots of pictures!!  One favorite picture was when Libby Riddles came over. Any of you who have followed my diaries since last year know that I am a big fan of Libby’s.  Her book, Race Across Alaska was one of the things that got me hooked on the idea of Iditarod. Libby came and asked about my training this year and what I had done different to prevent the problems I ran into last year. Always gracious and friendly, she posed for some pictures with my Idita-rider Liz, and myself.  Definitely, a highlight in my mind!

Libby & Karen

Libby & Karen

Idita-Rider

In no time at all, it seemed, the dogs where hooked up and we were standing in the starting chute. (Did everyone see the spiffy looking red and black bandanas with the maple leaves on them that the team was sporting at the Ceremonial Start? They looked so good. Our thanks to my terrific ‘landlady’, Nancy Black for sewing these up for the dogs!)  

Starting Chute

Bandanas

It seemed just as special this year as last.  This time Mark had opted not to ride the second sled for the Ceremonial start and had passed the honor on to our friend, Lara Baker. As the team shot out of the chute, I gave Mark the ‘high five’ that we have exchanged so many times in so many starting chutes. (This tradition arose from a late entrance into a chute at one of our early races. I missed the chance to get a ‘good luck smooch’ from Mark and had to settle for a high five as the team rocketed by – it has become sort of a ‘good luck’ ritual for us.)

Our ride to the end of the shortened course was solid and uneventful. Lara did a fine job on the tag sled and Liz was an engaging and interested Idita-rider. She and I chatted almost none stop along the way!  I was very pleased with the dogs, they pulled solid and strong, if not fast through the 11 miles.  The only ‘incident’ of the trip was my leaders attempt to ‘clothesline’ official Iditarod photographer, Jeff Schultz. I run my leaders without a neckline hooking them together. Each leader chose a different direction around Jeff’s legs as he stood on the side of the trail taking pictures. Luckily, I saw it coming and was able to stop everyone before I had to foot the bill for a bunch of very expensive camera equipment! 

A quick feeding after arriving at the truck and we were loaded and headed home for my last night on a comfy bed and the dogs last night in their cozy straw filled houses.

March 29, 2001

More details coming...stay tuned! :)

Click on the images to view much larger versions.  I have purposely left the originals very large, generally 1024x768 so that details will be more easily visible. 

I'm sure these will be way out of order, but in the interest of getting them posted as quickly as possible...
Enjoy!

March 28, 2001

More to come soon! :)

Go here and click on the images to view much larger versions.  I have purposely left the originals very large, generally 1024x768 so that details will be more easily visible. 

Enjoy!

March 19, 2001 - The Finish

She did it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Karen arrived in Nome with 15 beautiful Siberian Huskies, riding her sled in style (not running, but riding). 

Her time: 14 Days  23 Hrs 53 Min 16 Sec. 

As the final musher to successfully complete the 1000+ mile course to Nome in this year's race, Karen will receive the Red Lantern trophy.

We have no close up pictures of her arrival yet, but I'm sure she was smiling from ear to ear (as the siberians might have been too to see Mark waiting for them).

Hundreds of people spent most of the afternoon checking for her arrival on the Live Nome Webcam. With the way the camera was cycling, all that people got to see was the two lead dogs and then Karen's back.

Stay tuned for stories from the trail...

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From Dogsled.com:
"Iditarod: Red Lantern
As Karen Ramstead brings in the last team on the trail, she will receive the Red Lantern Award and bring closure to another fine Iditarod race. Stay tuned - We're here till the last musher crosses the burled arches in Nome."
I hope they're ready for the hits on their server...

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From NorthernTerritories.com:
"In the early pioneering years of Alaska, dog teams were used to carry freight and mail between the Anchorage, Seward and the interior. Along the way, roadhouses were set up as rest stops and shelter. The mushers made their way across the Alaska wilderness in all types of weather. To help them, a kerosene lamp was hung outside each roadhouse as a beacon. These lamps helped the mushers find the roadhouses, and served as a notice that a musher was out somewhere on the trail. The lamp was left to burn until the musher was safely at his intended destination.

In 1986, to address and continue the tradition, Chevron USA hung a Red Lantern on the burl arch in Nome. The lantern is lit at the beginning of the race every year, and it burns brightly until the last musher crosses the finish line. The last musher across the finish line puts out the lamp, officially signifying that the Iditarod Sled Dog Race has come to a close. This practice has identified the last musher in the race as the Red Lantern musher.