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North to Alaska 6 -- Race Finish
2008.01.25
Theo's neice Andrea was on the ice ready with her camera , and here's a picture of her taking a picture of me.
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Theo's neice Andrea was on the ice ready with her camera , and here's a picture of her taking a picture of me.
1
Here's the winning team immediately after crossing the finish line -- the first two dogs are "Heavy" and "Wild Bill", the lead dogs for winner Mitch Seavey's team. If they look tired it's because they've just pulled the sled and the musher 300 miles through water, snow, ice, and rain in 49 hours, 37 minutes, and 44 seconds.
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Here's the winning team immediately after crossing the finish line -- the first two dogs are "Heavy" and "Wild Bill", the lead dogs for winner Mitch Seavey's team. If they look tired it's because they've just pulled the sled and the musher 300 miles through water, snow, ice, and rain in 49 hours, 37 minutes, and 44 seconds.
2
The dogs are very well trained and their main objective in life is to pull sleds. They are very well cared for by their owners. One musher at the Awards Ceremony told how the dogs get little immediate gratification for what they do, every command means more work for them, and it's often hours before they get something to eat or get a rest. He finished with the statement "I felt honored to be allowed to go with them!"
Click here to add text
The dogs are very well trained and their main objective in life is to pull sleds. They are very well cared for by their owners. One musher at the Awards Ceremony told how the dogs get little immediate gratification for what they do, every command means more work for them, and it's often hours before they get something to eat or get a rest. He finished with the statement "I felt honored to be allowed to go with them!"
3
In the background you can see the winning musher (side on talking to the media), Mitch Seavey of Seward, Alaska. He is an experienced musher, having won the Kusko 300 in 2005, finished second in 2006, and was the 2004 Iditarod Sled Dog Race Champion.
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In the background you can see the winning musher (side on talking to the media), Mitch Seavey of Seward, Alaska. He is an experienced musher, having won the Kusko 300 in 2005, finished second in 2006, and was the 2004 Iditarod Sled Dog Race Champion.
4
Mitch Seavey talking to the media with his sled in front of him. He finished 56 minutes ahead of second place winner, Ramey Smyth.
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Mitch Seavey talking to the media with his sled in front of him. He finished 56 minutes ahead of second place winner, Ramey Smyth.
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Mitch Seavey with his lead dogs at the finish line.
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Mitch Seavey with his lead dogs at the finish line.
6
On Wednesday night January 23, we went to the Awards Ceremony where awards were handed out to all participants (even though there were still a couple of teams out on the ice). There were a number of women and girls among the mushers and this one (I don't have her name) was the winner of the Humanitarian Award which I think was for best treatment of her dogs. One of the mushers was a girl of only 17.
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On Wednesday night January 23, we went to the Awards Ceremony where awards were handed out to all participants (even though there were still a couple of teams out on the ice). There were a number of women and girls among the mushers and this one (I don't have her name) was the winner of the Humanitarian Award which I think was for best treatment of her dogs. One of the mushers was a girl of only 17.
7
The winner of the Bogus Creek 150 was Pete Kaiser of Bethel. He won not only his plaque and a prize of $5000, but was also give a beautiful new sled dog which he has under tow in this photo (look at the photo carefully). I have no idea why he was awarded the dog nor who gave it to him.
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The winner of the Bogus Creek 150 was Pete Kaiser of Bethel. He won not only his plaque and a prize of $5000, but was also give a beautiful new sled dog which he has under tow in this photo (look at the photo carefully). I have no idea why he was awarded the dog nor who gave it to him.
8
I mentioned above that one of the girls who mushed in the race was a 17 year old, I believe her name is Melissa Owens. Here you see her picture as she related some of her experiences on the ice and thanked those who helped her out.
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I mentioned above that one of the girls who mushed in the race was a 17 year old, I believe her name is Melissa Owens. Here you see her picture as she related some of her experiences on the ice and thanked those who helped her out.
9
Mitch Seavey, the winner of the K-300 speaking at the ceremony. A number of great stories were told by the mushers. One of them told how he looked up at one point and found that his team had disappeared, he saw only little heads in the water. His dogs were pulling the sled while swimming. Then he realized that his sled was about ten feet from the dropoff the dogs had gone into. A quick call of "Gee" and the lead dog headed to the ice but some of the dogs got tangled and ended standing on other dogs. The musher had to pull them out of the water thus tangling them with the gear and losing a lot of time getting the tangle out. They went on to finish the race.
Click here to add text
Mitch Seavey, the winner of the K-300 speaking at the ceremony. A number of great stories were told by the mushers. One of them told how he looked up at one point and found that his team had disappeared, he saw only little heads in the water. His dogs were pulling the sled while swimming. Then he realized that his sled was about ten feet from the dropoff the dogs had gone into. A quick call of "Gee" and the lead dog headed to the ice but some of the dogs got tangled and ended standing on other dogs. The musher had to pull them out of the water thus tangling them with the gear and losing a lot of time getting the tangle out. They went on to finish the race.
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The races finished at various times throughout the weekend, and we did not make it to the finish of either the shortest race, the Akiak Dash or the Bogus Creek 150 as we were doing other things when they finished. On Sunday evening the local radio station announced that the first team in the Kuskokwim 300 would be arriving around 8.00 PM, and we, plus the rest of Bethel, went to the river to see the first team across the line.
There were lights everywhere on the river, mainly snowmobile lights, but I was told to look for a bouncy, flickering, less intense light which was the headlight on the musher's cap -- the only light he/she has. Eventually we saw such a light in the distance and it did turn out to be the winning team -- a veteran musher named Mitch Seavey of Seward.
