Our mom and this Mad Blogger got a great phone call from Anna on Sunday afternoon before the banquet and in between meetings and meet-n-greets. She sounded great, but perhaps with a little scratch in her voice after talking more in the last four days than she had in the prior ten.
Anna first thanked us for the “Nome bag”, a collection of goodies that mom and I put together and Kristy shuttled to Nome. Sounds like candy, face lotion, and drink mixes (Powerade and several others) were the first things she raided.
She then walked us through the entire race. I took frantic notes and will relay as much as I can.
The trail was pretty good launching off the restart. It was Anna’s plan to only mush 35 miles and then stop for a shorter rest before Yentna. Apparently that confused more than one musher who passed her by, a couple asking if everything was ok. She laughed if off, particularly when she only stopped in Yentna briefly to resupply and then hit the trail again. She said part of the reason she did that is that Yentna is very busy and a bit chaotic, so she was happy to quickly pass through.
The trail wasn’t great into Finger Lake. Mushers travel some rough stretches on this leg, which is ironic when running virtually alongside it is a marvelously groomed, wide cat trail. It sounds like more than a few mushers questioned why they didn’t just travel on the groomed section there, particularly when it would have been easier on the dogs. I suspect this may be raised during after-race meetings and will perhaps spark a change in the future.
The Happy River Steps weren’t too bad, at least for the first couple downhill plunging switchbacks. Approaching the last step, though, there is trail that goes right (which some snow machines take) and another, the proper Iditarod race trail, that goes left. Anna was running an eighteen dog line at this point (she still had 16 dogs but some were running single) and before she could get them stopped and redirected, 8 dogs had managed to plunge down a ditch trying to take the right veering trail. Anna got her snow hook set and fortunately a snow machine rider came along and was able to further stand on Anna’s brake while she hauled the 8 dogs up (they were all fine) and got the team headed on the correct trail.
Fortunately all of that transpired before Anna got to the bottom of the third step, where a camera crew was set up with hopes of getting some dramatic footage from one team or another. Not from her!
Rainy Pass was largely uneventful, and the weather had it really socked in. That turned out to be a good thing. Anna has seen the views from up there many times, and she more appreciated the inclement weather as it kept all but one plane grounded. Otherwise, plane noise is almost overwhelming. Ironically, it was the first year she remembered to pack ear plugs in her sled for just this checkpoint.
To hear Anna call the Gorge “great” was a very rare thing, but we heard it this year. There was plenty of snow coverage, decent trail, and the ice bridges were in really good shape. Toward the bottom of the Gorge, when the plunge finally subsides a bit but directly onto a substantial glacier, Anna saw a glow. Yep… another camera crew hoping for “good” footage. Anna laughed when she told us this part… saying she and the dogs came flying down but totally in control, hit the glacier with a skid and a wink, charged right over, and continued on. She heard one of the crew exclaim, “Who was that?!” Sorry, folks ~ Anna cruised right through that tough section no problem. You’ll have to get your footage from someone else.
Anna described how icy it was immediately before Rohn, and how rookie dog Anvik did not like that much ice one little bit. She was doing great otherwise, but Anna knew how long the ice could potentially extend past Rohn, and she couldn’t ask this little sweetie to tackle that. Especially when Anna was planning to leave Rohn completely loaded up with extra food and straw for a campout along the way. Anna wasn’t thrilled to have returned three dogs already by Rohn, but she also knew she had sent them home for the right reasons.
Rampage and Shoshanna led the way over the ice out of Rohn, and they tackled it like old pros. Shoshanna has a tendency to veer right when she’s running, and she kept knocking into Rampage. Anna was watching all this… Shoshanna bump, Rampage nudge her back. Eventually Shoshanna did it one more time and Rampage full body-checked her back into line. I think she finally took the hint! Such is pack camaraderie.
Anna and the dogs had a nice campout at Tin Creek as they made their way to Nikolai, and the weather was still very mild at this point in the race. Anna also tackled the Farewell Burn along this stretch, and despite her concerns about it leading up to the race, it turned out to be no big deal at all. She had a 13 dog team then and it was 30 miles of dust and dirt, but she didn’t need to deploy her rough locks (chains on the sled runners used to create friction and slow her team down) or release any tug lines from the dogs (releasing a tug line still has a dog attached with a neck line to the team, but their pulling force is removed). Net net, the dogs did great.
A few of her pups started having some stomach issues after Nikolia, decreased appetite and some diarrhea. Running out of McGrath, especially having just returned three more dogs leaving a team of ten, was rough. It was really the point at which she new she wasn’t racing anymore. She couldn’t ask her dogs to compete with those ahead of her. They would have to add more rest and take things one run at a time. Anna was able to get a call on her GCI cell phone to Kristy, who gave her the kind of pep talk that only an identical twin sister can.
Things improved a bit after everyone got some substantial rest in Ophir during Anna’s 24. The dogs were eating better. But then - it got cold. SO cold.
Anna and her team made it through Cripple and were 4 or 5 miles outside of Ruby in the middle of the night. It was at least -25F. Anna was tired, but she didn’t realize how tired until her reflexes were tested. Her sled hit a bump and she was a bit too slow adjusting her grip on the handlebars. She was also wearing very warm but rather cumbersome beaver mittens. The next thing she knew, she was thrown into the snow and there her team went trotting off without her.
Being separated from the dog team is a musher’s worst nightmare. So many things can happen. It is something that has happened in the Iditarod before, including this year to Ryan Redington! (And I think, briefly, to Paige Drobny.). Maybe it’s the spirits guiding teams down the trail, but in all the instances I can remember, it always turned out ok. It did for Anna this time, too.
Despite unimaginable panic, Anna started to run. But it didn’t take long for panic to lose its grip and reality to set in. Anna knew she couldn’t run and catch her team, who were easily trotting along at 8 to 10mph. So she settled into a purposeful walk and dug out her phone. Fortunately she had that on her, as the sat phone she had borrowed for the race was in her sled with the dogs, as were all of her provisions and the race issued GPS trackers.
Even more fortunately, her GCI cell phone had a signal. She was able to reach race marshal Mark Nordman and have him alert officials at the Ruby checkpoint to watch her tracker and have someone ready to intercept her team if it was spotted. She was also able to reach Kristy, who made a few more calls on her behalf. At one point, Anna saw something on the trail and realized it was her dog Platinum’s collar. She could only pray that Platinum’s harness tug was still attached to the rest of the team.
Frantic with worry, tired, sweating, Anna finally saw a light. And then another. The first glow was from the safety lights on her dog team. The second was an approaching snow machine with checkpoint officials from Ruby.
They were able to slowly approach the team from each side and, thank the spirits, everyone was fine. Platinum was still connected to the team, the sled was there with all its contents. A couple dogs were a little tangled up, but no injuries.
This Mad Blogger had learned of the incident from Kristy during the race, and even though I knew it ended well, I didn’t know if it was something Anna would want shared more broadly. I asked her during our call if she would prefer I not share this, but she said go ahead. It happened. No one was injured, and they ultimately finished the race. Anna is one cool cucumber.
Finally settled in Ruby with the dogs fed and resting, Anna pulled out some ashes she volunteered to carry during the race and spread along the trail. She found a nice spot when everything was quiet and the northern lights were overhead and had a quiet moment for Dan.
Anna had plenty of space in Ruby to spread her gear out to dry. She shook off the recent debacle and hit the trail again.
From there, Anna said it just got colder. And colder.
There were some narrow trails at this point, and Anna struggled a bit to find a good place to pull over for a campout. She finally found a spot that would do. She saw -30F, -35F as she made her way to Galena. Eventually she stopped pulling off her mittens to fish out the thermometer and look. It was bloody cold. Knowing exactly how cold wasn’t going to help.
Galena ended up being a very nice checkpoint. Anna had access to boot driers, tasty people food, and an excellent quality of straw for bedding down the dogs (not all of the straw provided this year was of as high quality).
She and the dogs ran to Nulato, rested, and hit the trail again to Kaltag, resting again in checkpoint. It was still cold. I think she said it was on the stretch between Kaltag and Una when she encountered a lot of hills, and she hopped off the sled and helped the dogs by running up a lot of them herself. She was warmed given the exertion, but she was also sweating. And then the sun set and it got colder. She finally got to Tripod Cabin and got the dogs fed and settled in their beds with fleece blankets (I believe made by a group of school kids!) outside. Anna went inside and was delighted to find an ample supply of wood, generously left by a native villager. She said she got that little stove really cranked up, and it was so warm and toasty in the little cabin.
Anna was keeping a close eye on Havoc at this time. He was eating ok, but Anna worried he might be getting a touch thin. She had him take some short rides in the sled basket to make sure he wasn’t doing too much. But with a couple more meals and a little extra rest, he seemed to pep up.
Some of the worst winds of the race were, not surprisingly, around Shaktoolik. Some winds were particularly nasty, and direct headwinds. Anna felt like she was nothing more than a big sail standing up behind her sled. She ended up crouching down at the rear of her sled bag and using one of her ski poles to help the team along. It saved her a little wind to the face and decreased her resistance to the wind, making it easier for her dog team to travel.
Besides the wind, Anna and her team saw a beautiful orange and red fox outside of Shak. Apparently it was moving at top fox speed, perhaps startled by the dog team or chasing a meal. But Anna said it was really zipping along. She also saw some ptarmigan and snow buntings, for fellow bird fans out there.
By Koyuk, the winds finally lightened up a bit. Anna talked about how they took a slightly different route with the trail this year around Elim, going through the woods and behind a weather tower. There was an icy hill that was challenging. I think it was near here that she said Diego started to change his gait a bit indicating his shoulder was bothering him, so despite him being very feisty about the whole thing, she returned him from Elim.
It was pretty hilly from there to White Mountain, but nothing unmanageable. Rampage was a great leader with Shoshanna and, with Rampage having been to Nome several times before, knew the trail - knew they were getting close to their ultimate destination. He was a great leader and driving force as they got closer to Nome.
When Anna had been in White Mountain for about an hour, she sent me a text. “I’m all alone here.” And she was. Yes, there were race officials, vets, villagers, a few others scattered about. But she was the lone musher. I had no idea how to reply at first, and ultimately just sent my love and encouragement. I asked Anna about how it felt to be all alone in WM, and for a great majority of the race overall. She said she missed having Kristy with her, obviously. But even though she was alone a lot, and really didn’t encounter many other mushers at all while traveling the trail, she “liked her little bubble.” No passing or being passed. No crowded camp spots or cabins. Just the wilderness and her dogs, running between quiet checkpoints.
Anna said her dog team left White Mountain well. Elmer may have rolled his eyes a little bit, but he went along with his pack. The race did actually implement some rules new to 2024 with respect to handling your lead dogs after a certain point leaving WM. I believe the intention of this was to make sure the dogs were leaving of their own volition and not being overly coerced by their musher. No one seems to have had any problems with that this year.
Anna said the blowhole between WM and Nome wasn’t too bad. “Normal - windy but not scary windy.” She saw another beautiful fox along this stretch and it too was moving quite smartly. Her dogs spotted it and while they didn’t give chase, they did pick up their pace a bit.
It was a bit warmer after WM, so she spent some time taking off the dogs’ jackets only to put them back on as she got close to the blowhole. She also stopped, I think between Safety and Nome, to swap Shoshanna out of lead and Mayhem in. Shoshanna isn’t exactly great with crowds, so Anna wanted to take the pressure of the finish off her furry shoulders. As it was, the dog team tried to move to the side of Front Street after they pulled onto the final stretch, as that is how they always train when they encounter roads around home. So her team wasn’t exactly arrow straight approaching the chute.
But then they were into the finish and she gave Kristy a big hug! She went around to her eight finishing pups and Kristy followed with frozen pork chop snacks. It did take Anna a minute to find the race issued tokens in her sled, but they were found eventually. She had tucked them in a pocket in another pocket before the restart.
It was a relief to reach Nome. It was crazy running over the haphazardly gutted moose early in the race. It was a race dominated by only low precipitation - light snow - but high winds and extreme cold.
Anna mostly hit the trail this year with tried and trusted gear, but she did say the Musher dog jackets she had were only put into circulation shortly before Iditarod. But she was thrilled with how those jackets performed. They worked great, had a good fit, and the colors really reflected well and lit up the dogs at night. After Anna returned a dog, Nic Petit asked to borrow the now spare harness, also made by Musher. Hopefully he had as good an experience with the Musher dog gear.
With an even more crackly voice, Anna finally said she had to do a gear drop at the airport in Nome before going to the banquet. So we said good bye.
I’m always amazed when Anna can keep all of those details straight in her head. And apparently she also gave a great finisher speech at the banquet Sunday night - even extending some props to this Mad Blogger and fluidly tossing about Iditarod history trivia.
I’m one proud Mad Blogger and not-a-twin sister!!
Anna, Kristy, and all the dogs are now home safe at the kennel in Knik. They will decompress, take the dogs on some runs, sort through any gear Anna sent back from her drop bags out on the trail. Sort through booties, wash the reusable ones. Hang with their house cats, Mittens and McMuffin. They may enter a short sled dog race (the Nome Sign 40-miler) not far from the home kennel later in March, and the spring ACE Race in April.
I’ll be back with one more (far briefer) post to wrap things up for 2024.
Anna first thanked us for the “Nome bag”, a collection of goodies that mom and I put together and Kristy shuttled to Nome. Sounds like candy, face lotion, and drink mixes (Powerade and several others) were the first things she raided.
She then walked us through the entire race. I took frantic notes and will relay as much as I can.
The trail was pretty good launching off the restart. It was Anna’s plan to only mush 35 miles and then stop for a shorter rest before Yentna. Apparently that confused more than one musher who passed her by, a couple asking if everything was ok. She laughed if off, particularly when she only stopped in Yentna briefly to resupply and then hit the trail again. She said part of the reason she did that is that Yentna is very busy and a bit chaotic, so she was happy to quickly pass through.
The trail wasn’t great into Finger Lake. Mushers travel some rough stretches on this leg, which is ironic when running virtually alongside it is a marvelously groomed, wide cat trail. It sounds like more than a few mushers questioned why they didn’t just travel on the groomed section there, particularly when it would have been easier on the dogs. I suspect this may be raised during after-race meetings and will perhaps spark a change in the future.
The Happy River Steps weren’t too bad, at least for the first couple downhill plunging switchbacks. Approaching the last step, though, there is trail that goes right (which some snow machines take) and another, the proper Iditarod race trail, that goes left. Anna was running an eighteen dog line at this point (she still had 16 dogs but some were running single) and before she could get them stopped and redirected, 8 dogs had managed to plunge down a ditch trying to take the right veering trail. Anna got her snow hook set and fortunately a snow machine rider came along and was able to further stand on Anna’s brake while she hauled the 8 dogs up (they were all fine) and got the team headed on the correct trail.
Fortunately all of that transpired before Anna got to the bottom of the third step, where a camera crew was set up with hopes of getting some dramatic footage from one team or another. Not from her!
Rainy Pass was largely uneventful, and the weather had it really socked in. That turned out to be a good thing. Anna has seen the views from up there many times, and she more appreciated the inclement weather as it kept all but one plane grounded. Otherwise, plane noise is almost overwhelming. Ironically, it was the first year she remembered to pack ear plugs in her sled for just this checkpoint.
To hear Anna call the Gorge “great” was a very rare thing, but we heard it this year. There was plenty of snow coverage, decent trail, and the ice bridges were in really good shape. Toward the bottom of the Gorge, when the plunge finally subsides a bit but directly onto a substantial glacier, Anna saw a glow. Yep… another camera crew hoping for “good” footage. Anna laughed when she told us this part… saying she and the dogs came flying down but totally in control, hit the glacier with a skid and a wink, charged right over, and continued on. She heard one of the crew exclaim, “Who was that?!” Sorry, folks ~ Anna cruised right through that tough section no problem. You’ll have to get your footage from someone else.
Anna described how icy it was immediately before Rohn, and how rookie dog Anvik did not like that much ice one little bit. She was doing great otherwise, but Anna knew how long the ice could potentially extend past Rohn, and she couldn’t ask this little sweetie to tackle that. Especially when Anna was planning to leave Rohn completely loaded up with extra food and straw for a campout along the way. Anna wasn’t thrilled to have returned three dogs already by Rohn, but she also knew she had sent them home for the right reasons.
Rampage and Shoshanna led the way over the ice out of Rohn, and they tackled it like old pros. Shoshanna has a tendency to veer right when she’s running, and she kept knocking into Rampage. Anna was watching all this… Shoshanna bump, Rampage nudge her back. Eventually Shoshanna did it one more time and Rampage full body-checked her back into line. I think she finally took the hint! Such is pack camaraderie.
Anna and the dogs had a nice campout at Tin Creek as they made their way to Nikolai, and the weather was still very mild at this point in the race. Anna also tackled the Farewell Burn along this stretch, and despite her concerns about it leading up to the race, it turned out to be no big deal at all. She had a 13 dog team then and it was 30 miles of dust and dirt, but she didn’t need to deploy her rough locks (chains on the sled runners used to create friction and slow her team down) or release any tug lines from the dogs (releasing a tug line still has a dog attached with a neck line to the team, but their pulling force is removed). Net net, the dogs did great.
A few of her pups started having some stomach issues after Nikolia, decreased appetite and some diarrhea. Running out of McGrath, especially having just returned three more dogs leaving a team of ten, was rough. It was really the point at which she new she wasn’t racing anymore. She couldn’t ask her dogs to compete with those ahead of her. They would have to add more rest and take things one run at a time. Anna was able to get a call on her GCI cell phone to Kristy, who gave her the kind of pep talk that only an identical twin sister can.
Things improved a bit after everyone got some substantial rest in Ophir during Anna’s 24. The dogs were eating better. But then - it got cold. SO cold.
Anna and her team made it through Cripple and were 4 or 5 miles outside of Ruby in the middle of the night. It was at least -25F. Anna was tired, but she didn’t realize how tired until her reflexes were tested. Her sled hit a bump and she was a bit too slow adjusting her grip on the handlebars. She was also wearing very warm but rather cumbersome beaver mittens. The next thing she knew, she was thrown into the snow and there her team went trotting off without her.
Being separated from the dog team is a musher’s worst nightmare. So many things can happen. It is something that has happened in the Iditarod before, including this year to Ryan Redington! (And I think, briefly, to Paige Drobny.). Maybe it’s the spirits guiding teams down the trail, but in all the instances I can remember, it always turned out ok. It did for Anna this time, too.
Despite unimaginable panic, Anna started to run. But it didn’t take long for panic to lose its grip and reality to set in. Anna knew she couldn’t run and catch her team, who were easily trotting along at 8 to 10mph. So she settled into a purposeful walk and dug out her phone. Fortunately she had that on her, as the sat phone she had borrowed for the race was in her sled with the dogs, as were all of her provisions and the race issued GPS trackers.
Even more fortunately, her GCI cell phone had a signal. She was able to reach race marshal Mark Nordman and have him alert officials at the Ruby checkpoint to watch her tracker and have someone ready to intercept her team if it was spotted. She was also able to reach Kristy, who made a few more calls on her behalf. At one point, Anna saw something on the trail and realized it was her dog Platinum’s collar. She could only pray that Platinum’s harness tug was still attached to the rest of the team.
Frantic with worry, tired, sweating, Anna finally saw a light. And then another. The first glow was from the safety lights on her dog team. The second was an approaching snow machine with checkpoint officials from Ruby.
They were able to slowly approach the team from each side and, thank the spirits, everyone was fine. Platinum was still connected to the team, the sled was there with all its contents. A couple dogs were a little tangled up, but no injuries.
This Mad Blogger had learned of the incident from Kristy during the race, and even though I knew it ended well, I didn’t know if it was something Anna would want shared more broadly. I asked her during our call if she would prefer I not share this, but she said go ahead. It happened. No one was injured, and they ultimately finished the race. Anna is one cool cucumber.
Finally settled in Ruby with the dogs fed and resting, Anna pulled out some ashes she volunteered to carry during the race and spread along the trail. She found a nice spot when everything was quiet and the northern lights were overhead and had a quiet moment for Dan.
Anna had plenty of space in Ruby to spread her gear out to dry. She shook off the recent debacle and hit the trail again.
From there, Anna said it just got colder. And colder.
There were some narrow trails at this point, and Anna struggled a bit to find a good place to pull over for a campout. She finally found a spot that would do. She saw -30F, -35F as she made her way to Galena. Eventually she stopped pulling off her mittens to fish out the thermometer and look. It was bloody cold. Knowing exactly how cold wasn’t going to help.
Galena ended up being a very nice checkpoint. Anna had access to boot driers, tasty people food, and an excellent quality of straw for bedding down the dogs (not all of the straw provided this year was of as high quality).
She and the dogs ran to Nulato, rested, and hit the trail again to Kaltag, resting again in checkpoint. It was still cold. I think she said it was on the stretch between Kaltag and Una when she encountered a lot of hills, and she hopped off the sled and helped the dogs by running up a lot of them herself. She was warmed given the exertion, but she was also sweating. And then the sun set and it got colder. She finally got to Tripod Cabin and got the dogs fed and settled in their beds with fleece blankets (I believe made by a group of school kids!) outside. Anna went inside and was delighted to find an ample supply of wood, generously left by a native villager. She said she got that little stove really cranked up, and it was so warm and toasty in the little cabin.
Anna was keeping a close eye on Havoc at this time. He was eating ok, but Anna worried he might be getting a touch thin. She had him take some short rides in the sled basket to make sure he wasn’t doing too much. But with a couple more meals and a little extra rest, he seemed to pep up.
Some of the worst winds of the race were, not surprisingly, around Shaktoolik. Some winds were particularly nasty, and direct headwinds. Anna felt like she was nothing more than a big sail standing up behind her sled. She ended up crouching down at the rear of her sled bag and using one of her ski poles to help the team along. It saved her a little wind to the face and decreased her resistance to the wind, making it easier for her dog team to travel.
Besides the wind, Anna and her team saw a beautiful orange and red fox outside of Shak. Apparently it was moving at top fox speed, perhaps startled by the dog team or chasing a meal. But Anna said it was really zipping along. She also saw some ptarmigan and snow buntings, for fellow bird fans out there.
By Koyuk, the winds finally lightened up a bit. Anna talked about how they took a slightly different route with the trail this year around Elim, going through the woods and behind a weather tower. There was an icy hill that was challenging. I think it was near here that she said Diego started to change his gait a bit indicating his shoulder was bothering him, so despite him being very feisty about the whole thing, she returned him from Elim.
It was pretty hilly from there to White Mountain, but nothing unmanageable. Rampage was a great leader with Shoshanna and, with Rampage having been to Nome several times before, knew the trail - knew they were getting close to their ultimate destination. He was a great leader and driving force as they got closer to Nome.
When Anna had been in White Mountain for about an hour, she sent me a text. “I’m all alone here.” And she was. Yes, there were race officials, vets, villagers, a few others scattered about. But she was the lone musher. I had no idea how to reply at first, and ultimately just sent my love and encouragement. I asked Anna about how it felt to be all alone in WM, and for a great majority of the race overall. She said she missed having Kristy with her, obviously. But even though she was alone a lot, and really didn’t encounter many other mushers at all while traveling the trail, she “liked her little bubble.” No passing or being passed. No crowded camp spots or cabins. Just the wilderness and her dogs, running between quiet checkpoints.
Anna said her dog team left White Mountain well. Elmer may have rolled his eyes a little bit, but he went along with his pack. The race did actually implement some rules new to 2024 with respect to handling your lead dogs after a certain point leaving WM. I believe the intention of this was to make sure the dogs were leaving of their own volition and not being overly coerced by their musher. No one seems to have had any problems with that this year.
Anna said the blowhole between WM and Nome wasn’t too bad. “Normal - windy but not scary windy.” She saw another beautiful fox along this stretch and it too was moving quite smartly. Her dogs spotted it and while they didn’t give chase, they did pick up their pace a bit.
It was a bit warmer after WM, so she spent some time taking off the dogs’ jackets only to put them back on as she got close to the blowhole. She also stopped, I think between Safety and Nome, to swap Shoshanna out of lead and Mayhem in. Shoshanna isn’t exactly great with crowds, so Anna wanted to take the pressure of the finish off her furry shoulders. As it was, the dog team tried to move to the side of Front Street after they pulled onto the final stretch, as that is how they always train when they encounter roads around home. So her team wasn’t exactly arrow straight approaching the chute.
But then they were into the finish and she gave Kristy a big hug! She went around to her eight finishing pups and Kristy followed with frozen pork chop snacks. It did take Anna a minute to find the race issued tokens in her sled, but they were found eventually. She had tucked them in a pocket in another pocket before the restart.
It was a relief to reach Nome. It was crazy running over the haphazardly gutted moose early in the race. It was a race dominated by only low precipitation - light snow - but high winds and extreme cold.
Anna mostly hit the trail this year with tried and trusted gear, but she did say the Musher dog jackets she had were only put into circulation shortly before Iditarod. But she was thrilled with how those jackets performed. They worked great, had a good fit, and the colors really reflected well and lit up the dogs at night. After Anna returned a dog, Nic Petit asked to borrow the now spare harness, also made by Musher. Hopefully he had as good an experience with the Musher dog gear.
With an even more crackly voice, Anna finally said she had to do a gear drop at the airport in Nome before going to the banquet. So we said good bye.
I’m always amazed when Anna can keep all of those details straight in her head. And apparently she also gave a great finisher speech at the banquet Sunday night - even extending some props to this Mad Blogger and fluidly tossing about Iditarod history trivia.
I’m one proud Mad Blogger and not-a-twin sister!!
Anna, Kristy, and all the dogs are now home safe at the kennel in Knik. They will decompress, take the dogs on some runs, sort through any gear Anna sent back from her drop bags out on the trail. Sort through booties, wash the reusable ones. Hang with their house cats, Mittens and McMuffin. They may enter a short sled dog race (the Nome Sign 40-miler) not far from the home kennel later in March, and the spring ACE Race in April.
I’ll be back with one more (far briefer) post to wrap things up for 2024.