Comments on: Iditarod 2016 – Day 5

By: Bryan

Bryan — Mon, 14 Mar 2016 15:16:47 +0000

Galena was an Air Defense Command Air Force Station. When I was stationed in Alaska in the 1960s fighters would launch from Galena and Tin City AFS against Soviet Tu-95s that were being annoying in the Arctic Ocean or Bering Sea.

Yep, Joe Redington, Rick Mackey, and Dan Seavey started Iditarod dynasties. It was something to do in late winter. 🙂

By: Barrett Watterson

Barrett Watterson — Mon, 14 Mar 2016 04:16:24 +0000

Redington also mushed his dog teams to remote sites along the Dew Line in the Arctic. The use of high powered helicopters for rescue and reclamation eventually put an end to the need for dog teams and Joe’s work with the army ended.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Thu, 10 Mar 2016 21:47:09 +0000

More people have climbed Mount Everest than have completed the Iditarod, and if she finishes she will get the belt buckle along with the Red Lantern, which is the real prize, just ask Kim Franklin.

Fortunately it doesn’t look like Kim has gotten withdrawn this time. Big dogs do this – they gulp food and chew on leads. People have no idea how much work goes into getting guard dogs to tolerate a leash, and there are a lot of wonderful smells that need to be investigated out in the wild. As it happened in the Burn, I would assume she got bounced off the sled by hitting a stump or a tussock. The teams in back really take a beating in low snow years.

By: JuanitaM

JuanitaM — Thu, 10 Mar 2016 19:56:39 +0000

Just checked and it looks like Ellen is the only person to have won two Red Lanterns. Dang. Too bad. I know she REALLY doesn’t want to be back there.

Then again, it’s a testament to sticking it out which is what the Red Lantern is all about.

By: JuanitaM

JuanitaM — Thu, 10 Mar 2016 19:46:02 +0000

Too bad that Zoya had to scratch again. I was really hoping that this would be a year that she could finish because I really root for her discarded dogs. It’s been several years since she was able to finish.

Wonder which person has held the most Red Lanterns? It’s a badge of courage to just get one because a finish, no matter what, is pretty good in this race. But to get more than that, it could be disheartening.

Tough day for Kim, but dogs being what they are, these things will happen. Dogs running loose are happy dogs. It’s hard to gather them back up.

Well, I’m sitting here on my deck with the first of the spring weather, and it’s just beautiful with the mountains in the background. I lose the view in the summer because I don’t have the heart to cut down the beautiful maple and a couple of huge poplars. I can see the tiny leaf buds, so the leaves will start showing up in a couple of weeks now. Phone says it’s 72 degrees. Nice!