Many wonderful things have happened to us in the past couple of months, including Matt finishing the Iditarod! This year was touted to be one of the two toughest Iditarod races in history! Out of 82 mushers, 24 mushers did not complete the race. The lack of snow in the interior of the state was a grueling challenge for the racers, and many sleds and human bones were broken en route, but the real test was in Rainy Pass. It was here, during a horrific storm, that many mushers decided to call it quits. One of the biggest challenges in mushing is to be brave enough to trust your dogs and yourself, and to head out into a storm. The winds were up around 80 mph and the snow was blowing so hard that Matt wasn't even able to see the front end of his dog team. While ascending the pass, Matt came upon a musher who was unable to get his dogs to run into the wind. Our leaders went on-by, and led the other musher's team out of the scariest and most challenging part of the storm.
After dropping Ocean in Ophir, due to sore feet, he traveled with the remaining 11 dogs for the final 600 miles to the finish line. He also ran such a schedule that he didn't see another musher after Kaltag! That is nearly 400 miles! Matt ended up finishing in 13 days 1 hour 59 minutes and 40 seconds. After the dogs crossed the finish line, they each received a big sirloin steak! Check out the photo on the official Iditarod photographer, Jeff Schultz', web site. Go to www.iditarod.com and click on the link.
The finishing team included:
Dale (Ran every step of the 1,100 miles in lead!)
Nutmeg (Split leading 50/50 with her mother, Kandik.)
Kandik (Split leading 50/50 with her daughter, Nutmeg.)
Venus (Will be having Idita-puppies around May 18th!)
Chewie (The daddy of the Idita-puppies; borrowed for the season from The Deloach Family of Trapper Creek.)
Dune (The suprise finisher! He really stepped up his game!)
Linus (Performed as well as we expected, which was AWESOME!)
Eowyn (Now a two-time finisher, and a seasonded veteran.)
Pigpen (The big pig Never lost his appetite!)
Alice (The little hound that never quits.)
Twist (The escape artist.)
Becca decided that flying to Nome is no longer an option, so we've decided to both run next year! Matt is very excited to not be a rookie any more, and is looking forward to taking the puppy team to Nome.
Becca finished the Taiga 300 Spring Break Race, and now only needs a two hundred miler to be qualified for Iditarod 2008! Even running a mellow pace with the dogs just off Iditarod, they finish in 60 hours for a 4th place finish. Go to www.dogsled.com for video and race results.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
A very special thanks to all of our sponsors for the 2006-2007 mushing season!
Alaskan Illusions Productions
North Sails
Kinder Industries
The Calore Family
The Kipp Family
T-Spheres
