Already thinking about winter. Thank you to Karen Laubenstein for the photo from the Iditarod picnic & sign-up.
Only a lunatic is thinking about snow in July. Yeah I know; everyone else is thinking about fishing, mowing, canoeing, hiking, and the ever present ‘to do’ list of summer chores. And I am too, but…
In reality a part of my mind and heart are already focused on winter. As I type this the countdown ticker on the Iditarod website tells me it is only a mere 241 days, 09 hours, 01 minutes, and 13, 12, 11, 10 seconds till the start of the 2013 race. 241 days!!! Do you realize how quickly that will come?!?!
Each year the annual Iditarod volunteer appreciation picnic & 1st day for mushers to sign up marks the beginning of another race season. By now Mushing Fans have already seen the musher listing, and read the news stories (Like the one in the Alaska Dispatch) The internet keeps us all in touch with ease and speed, so you already know I was there with cash in hand, ready to fill out the papers, and add my name to the list of 1st day entrants. A list that this year was a whopping 54 mushers. This year’s picnic drew a huge crowd, and it is always nice to get to see mushing friends from around the state. Usually when we see each other we are in competition and lacking sleep. So enjoying some conversation over lunch on a warm afternoon is a nice change.
The other group that I always look forward to meeting are the volunteers. Volunteers make the race! Because they do what they do I can do what I love to do, and I can not thank them enough.
And of course the teachers. Every year there is a summer camp for teachers to learn more about the race. These teachers are using the Iditarod as a way to engage students and make topics like math and science come to life in the classroom. Was very pleased to see a friend from last years Midwest Sled Dog Symposium, Shannon Wyckoff. She has been using Iditarod in the classroom for a few years, and I knew she was looking forward to attending this summers camp. From reading her blog you can see that camp did not disappoint. She, and a group of the teachers from camp, caught me right as I got there. It is always so cool to meet the teachers, because as many of you know education is an interest of mine as well. So entry paperwork was pushed aside for the chance to talk about different examples of classroom activities based on Iditarod that can incorporate Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences. (I am a big fan of Mr. Gardner and his theory)
Filling out the paperwork. Thanks to June Price - author "Backstage Iditarod"
OK we come for the early bib draw: everyone who signs up the first day draws first and gets the earlier numbers. So this year with 54 mushers signing up on the first day (yours truly included) we draw from numbers 1-54. Later mushers get to draw from later numbers. And there is always the hope of winning your $$$ back: every year there is a drawing and 2 mushers will win back their entry fee, must be present to win. But the real reason to make the long drive: long enough that I left on Friday to drive down and spent the night, so I would not be exhausted for the picnic the next day. (which kinda backfired becuase I stayed with a dear friend and we stayed up till 3 am drinking coffee and solving the problems of the world, so I was tired after all but it was worth it).
A chance to re-connect with old friends, meet new ones, and to thank the many people who make this race possible, THAT is why we come. I know so many volunteers, sponsors, and fans are not able to attend in person, so to everyone I did not get to see and hug in person: Thank You!
One last chore before we can put last years race away for good…
Another annual tradition, for me at least, has become the retrieving of the return bags. Last winter I wrote about return bags in a blog about drop bags. Basically they are everything I sent out, that wasn’t perishable, and could be reused: weather it was extra new clean gloves that I didn’t need, or booties that I needed, used, and were a wet frost covered ball of stinky dog booties when I crammed them all into a zip-lock freezer bag. Out at checkpoints all this is thrown in return bags which get sent back to the Iditarod Headquarters in Wasilla. Returning everyone’s race gear from remote checkpoints is a pretty big logistical effort, and bags take some time to all make there way from various points back to race headquarters.
I am saved the long trip down just to retrieve my bags becuase my dear friend and fellow Distance Diva Kelley Griffin (Silverbelle Kennels) grabs them for me when she gets hers, and stows mine in her garage until I make the trip for sign-ups. Huge thanks to Kelley, for her time and courage. Cause y’all have no idea what kinds of science experiments 3 month old, defrosted, dog booties locked in plastic bags can turn into!
This week the bags will be (bravely) opened, and organized. The booties will be washed and sorted, ready to be used on this winter’s training runs. There are always memories when I unpack. It has been months since I have seen my drop bags. But this act of getting them back, and getting everything cleaned up and put away for next year, is the final bittersweet and stinky chore of Iditarod 2012.
But fear not, the picnic marks the first step of Iditarod 2013~
- A picture is worth a 1000 words, so…
- Donna Quante of Husky Production (I was featured in a interview for Running Copper Basin) has a nice collection of Photos from the Picnic.
- Photos from the 2012 Iditarod Educator Summer Camp
- Ms. Burtschell’s Blog – from the picnic, see older posts about the Educators Camp
- Photos showing Iditarod volunteers in action
- Order June’s book – Backstage Iditarod
*yours truly is featured in a chapter, as are Dallas Seavey, John Baker & DeeDee Jonrowe.
