The Re-Start

It was decided among the dog handlers today that the ceremonial start and the re-start should be renamed the parade and the start, respectively. Yesterday was fun and relaxed and today was just unspeakably amazing. I had so much fun yet was physically and emotionally exhausted by the end of the day. Sending teams off into the great wide unknown is so exciting and also so emotional. A few of those dogs won't come back and some of those people might not, either. Some will make it to Nome in the top 10, some will have to scratch and throw away at least a year of preparation.

Okay on to the pictures...

The start at 9 a.m.

When I first got there it was pretty empty, save for some volunteers running around setting up. Once people started arriving, I got assigned the job of running people to their parking spots, which is basically running across the lake in front of the truck to show them where to park, then running back to the entrance and doing it again. I may lose a fair bit of weight on this trip, especially because I was too nervous to eat most of the afternoon.

Dogs lined up and ready to go in the dog lot with handlers holding them back.

The start around 2, when the race began. The fence is packed all the way across the lake. I've heard an excellent spot to watch is just past those trees, on the next lake. Maybe another year (I noticed that I've started saying that to myself without thinking about it. The race commitment really does just sneak up on ya).

A team lined up in the chute with handlers holding them for the count-down!

I only got to handle one team, but I still got to feel the excitement of it, so I don't feel gypped. I handled Tamara Rose's (#26) team, who were a handful! I didn't end up leading Sam's team into the chute because he only needed a few handlers and he used some fellow mushers from the Yukon Quest. I did get to follow him around and write down dog names on the vet list, though, and help keep the dogs calm before they set off for the chute. There was one dog that I guess is usually very shy, but she liked me and I got a kiss from her before they left :)

Sam checking over and talking to the dogs one more time during the countdown in the chute.

It's true that it's possible to simplify this race in words. It's just a bunch of people and their dogs on an extended camping trip across Alaska. But when you're here it somehow amounts to so much more than the sum of its parts, and I'm not even sure I can explain how. The mushers love their dogs and the dogs love to run and the fans and volunteers love the teams and it just works. I can't think of another sport that has this much camaraderie and mutual respect. No one jeers or bad-talks another team, and I can't tell you how many times I heard, "Good luck and be safe," today from absolutely everyone involved.

When I finally got back to Anchorage tonight, I was absolutely beat and starving, and I don't think I've ever been happier to eat a hamburger in bed, but at the same time I'm aware that the small tasks I helped with today are nothing compared to what the mushers face in the coming weeks. Happy trails, mushers!

(tomorrow I will be in dog drop and comms from 1-midnight, so I'll probably write again Tuesday)