Helen on March 10th, 2010

Dan Kaduce's dogs

As the mushers move up the trail between Rainy Pass and Ophir, still not quite to the halfway point in Ruby for the northern route, the strength of the teams continues to impress fans, and some of the teams are already taking their mandatory 24-hour rest stops: Jeff King, Zack Steer, Hugh Neff and a few others declared their 24-hour stops in Takotna, located on the north bank of the Takotna River in a broad scenic river valley. Writing for the Iditarod’s Eye on the Trail blog, Bruce Lee shared a few observations about the front running teams at Takotna: 

  • Jeff King seems to be having one of those “magic carpet ride” runs.
  • Hugh Neff is upbeat and is also posting fast run times.
  • Lance Mackey’s team came into Takotna like a freight train.
  • John Baker’s team looks rock solid.
  • Sebastian Schnuelle had energy and his dogs are just as upbeat.
  • Sven Haltmann’s dogs ate like a bunch of alligators.

Six mushers have scratched at this point:

  • Pat Moon, a rookie from Chicago, was injured and knocked out when his sled crashed into a tree. Belgian musher Sam Deltour found Pat, and being a fifth-year medical student, knew what to do. Pat was airlifted to Anchorage for medical treatment, but plans to return to the race and meet his fellow mushers in Nome.
  • Michael Suprenant, Chugiak, scratched for medical reasons in Rainy Pass.
  • Zoya DeNure, Paxon, who was nursing her 7-month-old daughter, Jona, until the race began, developed an infection which spread to her left arm and required antibiotics, according to her husband, John Schandelmeier.
  • Karin Hendrickson, Chugiak, scratched because of equipment problems and damage to her sled.
  • Kirk Barnum, of Seeley Lake, Montana, scratched at Rainy Pass, stating his dogs were tired and he scratched to protect them.
  • Kathleen Frederick, of Willow, scratched Wednesday morning due to equipment and gear problems with 14 dogs on her team.

Craig Medred, following the back of the pack for a book he’s working on, reported Kathleen’s misfortune on his Twitter feed: “frederick on good run to rohn until her race went in the creek. literally. sled trapped under ice for hours. (4 hours ago)” And then: “after Iridium phone talk w/ race hdqrters, catherine frederick cried & cried. better now. accepting race over. (3 hours ago)”

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Helen on March 9th, 2010

The red dotted line in the center is the Iditarod Trail

The Iditarod Re-Start on Willow Lake

Newton Marshall, St. Anne, Jamaica

Karin Hendrickson, Chugiak

Art Church, Jr., Willow

Ryan Redington, Knik

Quinn Iten, Kotzebue

Karen Ramstead's handlers holding back her Pretty Sled Dogs

Dee Dee Jonrowe, Willow

Robert Nelson, of Kotzebue

Kirk Barnum of Seeley Lake, Montana

Sebastian Schnuelle placed second in the 2009 Iditarod

Libby Riddles, first woman to win the Iditarod, in 1985

Michelle Phillips and son Keegan, from Tagish, Yukon Territory

Martin Buser holds the record for the fastest time

Sven Haltmann

Keith Blaha, handler for Sven Haltmann

Jim Lanier, with son Jimmy driving in the blue parka

Sonny Lindner

Zack Steer, of Sheep Mountain Lodge, with his sons

Iditarod veteran Gerald Sousa of Talkeetna

Surrounded by family and friends, Lance approaches the start chute

Lance is still visiting with his fans as he waits at the starting line

Lance's mom holds onto the sled as his handlers hold the team back

Aliy Zirkle

One of the last mushers heads across the lake

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Helen on March 9th, 2010

Great stuff at the Willow Dog Mushers Association table

Goodies at the Willow Dog Mushers Association table

Pat Bach and Joe Runyon shopping at the WDMA table

Photographer extraordinaire Carol Falcetta

Lovely applique and quiltwork designs

A closer look...

Talkeetna artist David Totten's artwork

More vendors...

A couple of hours before the 2010 Iditarod Restart on Willow Lake

Getting everything ready

Karen Ramstead's license plate

Karen Ramstead stopped during the ceremonial start and sang a rousing chorus of 'Oh, Canada' with the fans, which got into the Anchorage Daily News

Theresa Daily, http://www.gomush.com

Aliy Zirkle's SP Kennel team

Sign on Emil Churchin's dogtruck door

Changing runner plastic

Sebastian Schnuelle and a friend look over his sled

Sebastian Schnuelle's sled

Brenda Borden and Jeff Chandler

Longtime Iditarod fan Marlene Phillips-Daniels, of Belgrade, Montana

Warren Palfrey of Quesnel, B.C. gets ready to load his sled

Passing out the bibs

Dan Seavey, veteran of the first Iditarod in 1973; he came in third in 20 days, 14 hours, 35 minutes, 16 seconds

A neat coil of gangline and harness snaps

Marlene Phillips-Daniels, Pat Bach, and Karen Ramstead

Lance Mackey and his wife Tonya

Lance and his long-time friend Theresa Daily take care of last minute business before he hits the trail for Nome

Lance Mackey

Libby Riddles, who ran the Iditarod several times between 1980 and 1995, and became the first woman to win the race in 1985

Serum Run veteran Jamie West and artist David Totten

Hand carved and painted box by Rose Albert, the first Alaskan Native woman to run the Iditarod, in 1982

Close-up of the lid

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Helen on March 8th, 2010

Newton Marshall, Jamaica, with Idita-rider Jan Tremer, from Pennsylvania

Ever the crowd-pleasing showman, four-time Iditarod champion Jeff King with his gee-pole sled and Idita-rider Darian Stengrim, of Alaska

Ross Adam and the ever-popular Freedom Frog, promoting freedom from drugs and alcohol

Mitch Seavey and Idita-rider Janet Shelfer, Florida

Hans Gatt with partner Susie Rogan and Idita-rider Kathy Wright from Georgia

Iditarod veteran Ramey Smyth balances the sled as they top the Cordova St. hill at 15th Avenue

Ramey Smyth and Idita-rider Yvonne Ooten, from Florida

Karin Hendrickson and Idita-rider Joyce Griffith, California

Ryan Redington, grandson of Iditarod founder Joe Redington, Sr., with Idita-rider Georgeanne Eiskamp, of California

Warren Palfrey, Quesnel, British Columbia, with Idita-rider Denali Adams, Alaska

Quinn Iten, Kotzebue, Alaska, with Idita-rider Sharyn Gunter from California

Siberian huskies emerging from the Seward Highway tunnel, and the always popular Iditarod veteran Canadian musher is...

Karen Ramstead, North Wapiti Kennels, Perryvale, Alberta, with Idita-rider Stone Kellus, Washington

Michael Suprenant and Idita-rider (unidentified)

Karen Ramstead and Idita-rider Stone Kellus, Washington

Michelle Phillips, Tagish, Yukon, with Idita-rider Lindy Fortier, Alaska

Sebastian Schnuelle, who came in second behind Lance Mackey in the 2009 Iditarod, and won the 2009 Yukon Quest, with his Idita-rider, Anita Danielson from Oregon

Kristy Barrington, with her twin sister Anna riding the tag sled

Newton Marshall, from St. Anne, Jamaica, is an Iditarod rookie, but he placed 13th in last year's Yukon Quest, and 7th in the 2008 Percy Dewolfe Race from Dawson City to Eagle, Alaska and return

Newton Marshall's secret weapon: multiple Iditarod and Yukon Quest leader, multiple Golden Harness award winner, perhaps the most famous sled dog in Alaska, Lance Mackey's 'Larry'

Newton Marshall's Iditarod team

Handler Braxton Peterson leads two of Newton's team to the dogtruck

Eppo Eerkes interviewing Newton Marshall

Hank Debruin, Winterdance Dogsled Tours, Haliburton, Ontario, with Idita-rider Julia Roles from Ontario

Aliy Zirkle and Idita-rider Ken Privratsky, Alaska

Veteran Ken Anderson with Idita-rider Karlee Bridges, from Alaska

Champion musher and Iditarod veteran Aliy Zirkle's team

Taking off the harness after a good run, one of Aliy Zirkle's dogs

Sleds at the end of the ceremonial run

Keith Blaha and GG Goss; Keith rode Sven Haltmann's tag sled

Iditarod veteran Sven Haltmann, from Fairbanks

Lance Mackey arrives with his Idita-rider, Bette Isacoff from Massachusetts

Lance's team

Reigning three-time champion musher Lance Mackey

1978 champion Dick Mackey - dispensing a little fatherly advice?

Dan Kaduce's team at the end of their ceremonial run, with Idita-rider Sarah Greenlaw, and Jodi Bailey riding the tag sled

Kathleen Frederick's 'Shameless Huskies' Iditarod team heading home

Dan Kaduce and Jodi Bailey ready to unhook their team

Teammates from Dan Kaduce and Jodi Bailey's Dew Claw Kennel, Chatanika, Alaska

Dan's partner, champion musher Jodi Bailey

This is Dan Kaduce's rookie Iditarod run, but he's had four top ten finishes in the Yukon Quest and received the Vet's Choice Award in 2003.

Dan Kaduce and his Idita-rider, Sarah Greenlaw from Wisconsin

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Helen on March 6th, 2010

Lance Mackey talks with his dad, 1978 champion Dick Mackey

Dick Mackey founded the Coldfoot Classic, named after the North Slope truckstop he also founded, Coldfoot

Rod Perry, a veteran of the first Iditarod in 1973, built this sled before that race

John Schandelmeier, whose wife, Zoya DeNure, is running this year

Bumper sticker disclosure

Alaskan husky

Rod Perry, author and veteran of the first Iditarod in 1973

Mushers like to have options

Jamaican musher Newton Marshall with teammate Larry, who's traveled the trail many times with Lance Mackey

A husky seemingly flies through the air and back into his dogbox

Ken Anderson studies the vets studying his dogs

A Redington dog awaits his vet check

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