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Sled dog racing

The Dog Days of Summer

June 17, 2014 by robertforto Leave a Comment

Here in the land of the midnight sun, the mosquitos are out and the dogs are enjoying their vacation. They spend their days lounging around in the barking lot and wishing for the colder days when training will start again. We are truly in the dog days of summer here at Team Ineka.

That does not mean that nothing is happening, the mushers are busy running triathlons, working their summer jobs, fishing for salmon that they will use for trail snacks and backyard BBQ’s, plenty of chores to be had, dog houses to build and kennels and fencing to be installed, bees to attended too and cord wood to be stacked.

We are already planning our season. Robert will attempt (once again) to do his Iditarod qualifiers IF the snow comes and none are cancelled like they have been for the last two seasons. Nicole will run the Junior Iditarod for the last time before she heads off to college in the fall of 2015, Michele plans to enter a small race or two and our friend Dale will too.

We are always looking for people to be a part of the team too! You can learn more about our incredible athletes, the mushers and our daily life with 40 sled dogs.

You can sponsor a dog, booties or become a race entry sponsor, or help with the daily kennel needs with your generous contributions.

It takes a small army to get to the starting line. Our sponsors and supporters are not just people that donate money, goods or services to us. They are part of the team. We appreciate your support and look forward to new partnerships.

Our sponsors receive letters and pictures directly from your favorite mushers. You have the opportunity to meet the team at race events and if you are up in Alaska we can teach you how to drive your own dog team. The mushers are always willing to travel to speak to our sponsors and supporters and to school and other groups that would like to learn more about living a life with dogs!

If you would like to find out more, comment below or check out our sponsorship page by clicking the button below.
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Filed Under: Alaska, Daily Post, Dogs Tagged With: alaska, dog, Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, Junior Iditarod, MUSH, Sled dog, Sled dog racing

Neighbor…

August 6, 2012 by robertforto 4 Comments

This post is disturbing on many levels. One of much is the sheer disregard for a person’s right to privacy, but I have also included the language as transpired. 

After 850 miles in 30 hours this weekend, all Michele and I wanted to do is come home, take a hot shower and sleep.

We arrived at 10:15 and knew that bringing three new dogs into the dog yard would stir up the others and make a fuss. Our dogs are pretty good about settling down quickly and not causing too much of a commotion.

Not three minutes of our arrival with the dogs barking we started hearing our neighbor, Dave, screaming at the top of his lungs:

Mother fucker. Mother fucker. Mother FUCKER.

Dave lives on the corner of Allen Drive and Sue Drive in our neighborhood of less than 10 homes. In this little community there are five of us that are mushers. The dogs outnumber the humans, something like 12 to 1.

Dave has a reputation of being to the full extreme against the mushers in the neighborhood. Some would call him a bully. Some would call him a pest.

He is out of control.

Dave has a history of filing complaints with the borough. Video taping us as we run by with our teams and even blocking our access on more than one occasion.

Every musher in Willow knows Dave. His actions supersede him. But last night he took it a step too far.

When we applied for our kennel license we were required to have an inspection by Animal Control to make sure we were in compliance. The officer checked things like, proper waste disposal, noise control polices, the number of sled dogs, etc.

We received our license with a bit of advice: If that guy gives you any problems, call the troopers. Get everything in writing and make sure you document everything.

Over the past couple months Dave has harassed my daughter Nicole. Has walked INTO the dog yard while Michele was feeding and harassed her and had more than several screaming fits from his front porch when the dogs bark.

Dogs bark. That’s what they do. 

I have lived in the company of sled dogs for the better part of twenty years. The normal cycle of a dog yard barking is that it ebbs and flows with the barking not lasting more than a minute or two maybe once or twice a night if something riles the dogs up.

Up to this point we have dismissed Dave’s actions and non-consequentiual. Just a bitter man that wants to push his weight around and be the neighborhood bully.

Then at 12:27 AM the chaos began that will change the course of history for our little neighborhood and it is not something that anyone should be subjected to.

Michele and I had laid down to sleep and Nicole rushed into our room saying, “Dave’s in down in the dog yard!”

The dogs were barking like crazy.

Michele and I jumped up and ran downstairs. We could hear our son, Tyler, on the front porch saying, “Sir, why don’t you just get outta here! The dogs will calm down once we leave. Sir, just leave!”

Dave was in our driveway at that point standing next to my Jeep. He was screaming at the top of his lungs,”Robert, you mother fucker, shut those dogs up before I bash their heads in!”

That was it. The last straw.

As I was getting dressed in our bedroom at the back of the house I could hear Michele frantic on the phone. She had called 9-1-1. She was giving the dispatcher the run down. Saying things like, “I don’t know if he has a weapon!”

By 12:36 I was dressed and out in my truck. I was shaking. I could taste pennies in my mouth. As I drove down our little road, that is no longer than a 1/8 of a mile, I saw the Trooper vehicle approach–blacked out as they call it–heading up the hill.

The trooper took a statement and was there for no longer than five minutes. Dave, curiously, was not home when they went to his place. I wonder where he was?

I was so stressed I went for a drive.

Some will ask, why did you leave? For one I knew the troopers were there and had it under control. Two, if I were to confront Dave it could have end up much worse than it did. Knowing that Dave sometimes carried a weapon I didn’t want to find out if he had one that night. I don’t own a gun and I don’t intend to.

I arrived back home about an hour later to a quite dog yard and a dark house. I had been texting Michele so I knew what had transpired since my departure.

When one moves into a neighborhood they expect certain things. The right of peaceful enjoyment. The right to privacy and the ability or at least the hope of getting along with their neighbors.

Having a neighbor dispute can disrupt everyone’s lives. I can’t think of much worse. Can you? The satisfaction of enjoying your property is diminished if you don’t know if someone will approach and go off the deep end. I have known people that have moved for neighbor disputes much less than this.

I know my dogs bark. All of the sled dogs in the neighborhood do. It is not an issue, at least as far as I can tell, for anyone except Dave.

It has now been 12 hours post event and I don’t know what will happen from here. I just hope that we could all just get along…

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Filed Under: Alaska, Daily Post Tagged With: alaska, dog, MUSH, Recreation, Sled dog, Sled dog racing

Iditarod 40: The Trail. Elim to Golovin

March 11, 2012 by robertforto Leave a Comment

Iditarod 40: The Trail. Elim to Golovin   28 Miles

The trail leaves Elim, following the ice along the coast for 10-11 miles to a cabin just north-northeast of the limestone cliffs, and here it turns right (inland) and crosses the Kwiktalik Mountains. This range is a low series of hills (1,000 to 1,500 ft.) with moderate grades. Vegetation ranges from small spruce to barren ground. Some of the grades are long (1 mile) but none are excessively steep. The barren sections are often windblown and icy. The last descent to Golovin Bay is long and sometimes runs side hill. At the Shelter Cabin on the coast, the trail turns sharply right and crosses the ice to Golovin. The village is located on a spit and is easily seen. (Counting the cabin below Elim where the trail leaves the ice, there are three shelter cabins on the trail, one of them being nine miles from the coast where the trail intersects McKinley Creek.)

Golovin (GULL-uh-vin) — (GOL) Lat 64.32 Long 163.50 — Population 171 – Not an official checkpoint, but a community with a large welcome. Golovin has one store. From here the trail heads across Golovin Bay, then overland to the next checkpoint.

 

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Filed Under: Alaska, Daily Post, Iditarod 40 Tagged With: Elim, Golovin, Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, Kuskokwim River, Recreation, Sled dog racing, Sport, Trail

Iditarod 40: Idita-Facts

March 9, 2012 by robertforto Leave a Comment

  • The Iditarod starts in downtown Anchorage, Alaska, on Saturday, March 3rd (10 am)
  • The Iditarod Re-starts in Willow Alaska, Sunday, March 4th (2 pm)
  • As of February 16, 2012 there are 66 mushers signed up for the 2012 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, including 52 veterans, 14 rookies and 16 women. To date eight mushers have withdrawn for various reasons. Entrants hail from 5 states – Colorado, Illinois, Idaho and Washington, as well as from Alaska and from 4 countries – United States, Canada, Norway and New Zealand. The record number of mushers starting the race was 96 in 2008.
  • This year’s race slogan is: 40th Race on 100 Year Old Trail – The 2012 Iditarod marks the 40th running of the dogsled race on the century old gold trail between Seward and Nome now known as the Iditarod. (See more information about this topic under 40th Race on 100 Year Old Trail in this guide on page 16.)
  • The team’s average 15 dogs, which means over 1,000 dogs will leave the starting line this year. Each musher can start with a maximum of 16 dogs down to a minimum of 12 dogs
  • Six Iditarod champions will be attempting to regain the title. Many of the past champions from other long distance races are also racing including Yukon Quest champions, Kusko 300 champions and Beargrease champions.
  • The race crosses two mountain ranges (including North America’s largest mountain range, Alaska Range)
  • The trails meets up with the Yukon River at Ruby and reaches frozen Norton Sound at Unalakleet.
  • The route alternates every year. This year’s route, the Northern Route, will run from Ophir through Cripple, Ruby, Galena, and Nulato before meeting up with the Southern Route trail in Kaltag.
  • There are twenty-four checkpoints (counting Anchorage & Nome), three of which are uninhabited during the rest of the year.
  • There are seven teams signed-up for the 2012 Iditarod that have also signed up for the 2012 Yukon Quest – Kristi Berington, Jake Berkowitz, Trent Herbst, Sonny Linder, Lance Mackey, Huff Neff, and Brent Sass.
  • The 2012 Idita-Riders represent 22 states and raised $155,000.
  • Volunteers are an integral part of the Iditarod. As of February 8th, 2012 there were 718 volunteers registered representing 46 states and America Samoa. This number does not include those who volunteer in communities along the trail or in Nome. The number of volunteers will continue to grow over the weeks to come and by the end of Iditarod 2012 there will be over 1,500 volunteers involved in some way or another. This number equates to over 35,000 volunteer hours.
  • In 2012 there are a total of 52 veterinarians – 3 for dropped dogs in Anchorage, 2 for dropped dogs in both McGrath and Unalakleet, 42 veterinarians dispersed along the trail and 3 consultants.
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Filed Under: Alaska, Daily Post, Iditarod 40 Tagged With: alaska, Iditarod, Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, lance mackey, Norton Sound, Sled dog racing, yukon quest

Iditarod 40: The Trail. Cripple to Ruby

March 8, 2012 by robertforto Leave a Comment

Iditarod 40: The Trail. Cripple to Ruby     70 Miles

Leaving Cripple, the country stays the same for 15 to 20 miles. Then the trees get larger and thicker, with larger rolling hills. At Bear Creek, the trail enters a cat trail that should be easy to follow. At Sulatna Crossing (steel bridge), most of the mushers stop to rest and feed their dogs. (Sulatna Crossing is not a checkpoint.) There is a small lake on the left. Immediately after the bridge, the trailbreakers will punch out 15 to 20 parking spots for dog teams. The trail follows this road all the way to Ruby Hills. There are many long grades and much side hill to travel.

Ruby (ROO-bee) — Lat. 64.44 N Long 155.29W — Population 173 — The first checkpoint on the famous Yukon River, the longest river in Alaska, stretching 1,875 miles from its headwaters in the Yukon Territory of Canada to the Bering Sea. Gold was discovered here in 1907, but no town was established until 1911 when additional gold deposits were discovered on Long Creek, causing a rush of prospectors to the area. This is the home of 1975 Iditarod champion Emmitt Peters. Ruby was home for many of the mushers who carried mail for the Northern Commercial Company from Tanana to Ruby. The trip took four days and paid $5 a day. Dog team mail ended here in 1931. The checkpoint is in the community hall.

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Filed Under: Alaska, Daily Post, Iditarod 40, Uncategorized Tagged With: alaska, Finger Lake, Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, MUSH, Nome Alaska, Recreation, Sled dog racing, Trail

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