Robert and Tyler of Team Ineka hit the trails of Willow, Alaska on a late season run with a 12 dog team around Lost Lady Loop and Bruno Blvd.
This video will give our viewers what its like on a dog sled training run.
The Dogs:
Goose-Denali
Sidney-Marble
Raegan-Jewel
Zak-Bodhi
Magpie-Sophia
Spencer-Shifter
When the sport of dog sledding is mentioned, one name often comes up in the conversation and that is Seavey. The Seavey family has been involved with the sport and the Iditarod for more than four decades. Two are Iditarod champions, Dan and Mitch, one is very close, Dallas and the youngest is a sure-fire favorite to mush under the burled arch in nome in a couple years. His name is Conway.
Following in the steps of greatness, Conway wins the 2012 by seconds. He will be an interesting one to follow. Be sure to keep an eye out.
Musher Conway Seavey (Bib #11) of Sterling, Alaska arrived at Willow Lake, Willow, Alaska at 3:52:00 pm Alaska Time with 10 dogs on his team claiming his first Jr. Iditarod Championship.
Conway edged out his training partner, Benjamin Lyon, also of Sterling, Alaska by a fraction of a second. Conway also won the Willow Jr. 100 earlier this month.
As of 4:59 PM AK Time, four teams had crossed the finish line.
Conway Seavey, 15, says that “coming from where I come from it’s hard to avoid mushing. I started at four and have been helping my family train since then.” Conway is the fourth son of 2004 Iditarod champion Mitch Seavey to run the Jr. Iditarod and the grandson of Dan Seavey, who ran the first Iditarod back in 1973 and will be competing along with his son and a grandson again this year. Conway ran the Jr. Iditarod last year and finished 10th. He said, “Last year was a very eventful race. Merissa (Osmar) and I took a five hour detour 40 miles from the finish line—we were in first and second place at the time. I took a two hour rest and finished up in 10th place. This year, if nothing else, I plan to finish the Race without getting lost so the jokers in my family will give me some peace!” Conway is homeschooled and in the ninth grade. He says, “I aim to become a professional singer/songwriter/producer, so that’s what I spend the majority of my time doing. Although singing is what I live for, mushing is a fun ‘side job.’ I don’t see myself mushing pro after high school. I’m way smarter than that! Even if I’m not mushing, I’m sure I’ll end up owing a ‘furry creature’ or two!
You can learn more about Conway at his personal website www.conwayseavey.com
The little hamlet, village or whatever they are calling it these days, of Willow Alaska comes alive next weekend for the start of the Iditarod. Thousands of people will flock to watch their favorite mushers on March 4th as they race towards Nome in the 1,049 mile dog sled race.
An Alaskan legend, Hobo Jim will play three shows at the Willow Trading Post on March 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. I saw him last year and he rocked the place!
Get there early as the trading post is rather small and fills up quick.
If you are going to be up here for the start this is s show you won’t want to miss!
Stay tuned for our daily coverage of the Iditarod on Mushing Radio
We had a scary incident last night at the Fort. One that caused us to drive all the way to the emergency room on some of the iciest roads that we have seen this winter.
Our son, Tyler (17) had been sick for the past week and a half with a really nasty bout of the flu. He was bed ridden for 5 days and threw up close to 40 times. Wanting to stick it out he refused to go to the doctor and we made sure all the home remedies were in place: plenty of fluids, small meals and plenty of rest.
Super Bowl Sunday Tyler was feeling well enough to to participate in the stampede sled dog event at the Willow Winter Carnival and headed off to school Monday morning. Not feeling 100% but he said, “Mom, I have to get back to school. I have missed too much.”
Monday and Tuesday he participated in basketball practice and then things took a turn for the worse. He noticed that he couldn’t quite move the right side of his mouth and he was having trouble blinking. In short, the right side of his face was droopy.
On Wednesday, Tyler went to the school nurse and she mentioned it looked like Bell’s Palsy. That sent all of the alarms ringing!
Michele and I were in Anchorage meeting a new service dog client when I asked him to send me a picture on mu iPhone with him smiling at me. It was very noticeable at that point and we decided that we needed to get him to the hospital.
We arrived home at 9:30 and headed the 30 miles back to Palmer to the closest emergency room. It was a slow night so we were seen within just a few minutes. As soon as Dr. Check came in he said what we thought he would; Bell’s Palsy.
Bell’s and also known as facial palsy, Bell’s palsy is the sudden weakness of one side of the face. It is often temporary and is attributed to the inflammation of the facial nerve that controls the muscles on the weakened side of the face.
While not life threatening it is a serious condition. The doctor said Tyler is about a five on the one to ten scale and with proper intervention the prognosis is good for a full recovery. There is an outside chance that some of the weakness will remain.
The doctor didn’t seem to overly concerned and wrote a few prescriptions and began to do his job as a public health professional. He told us that while they don’t know for sure what causes Bell’s Palsy it is most likely a form of the Herpes Simplex virus that attacks a weakened immune system. It was probably brought on by someone that carried it into the school and passed it along with a simple cough or too much touching.
Best course to prevent this, as well as 99% of common illnesses, wash your hands religiously and stay away from people that are ill–the doc said.
We headed to Walgreens and filled Tyler’s prescriptions and saved a ton of money by using our little used prescription program. I think we got most of the medicines at 60% of the normal price.
You know me, I have to add my two cents here. First. We are self-employed and we do not have health insurance (can someone tell P-BO I need some of that Obama-care!). I have a real problem with people going to the emergency room for primary care and we would not have gone unless it was a perceived emergency. This trip cost us well over 700 bucks and we will be happy to pay knowing we did what was best for Tyler.
Second. Not only do I hate the hospital, but you will be lucky to see me take an aspirin. Tyler is the same way. We would rather sweat it out than get poked and prodded by someone in a white coat. That’s just how we roll.
I know what some of you are saying: how could he not take his son to the hospital when he was sick for 10 days? How could he be such a bad parent?!
Hardly the case. How many times have you, rabid reader, rushed to the E.R. when you had a bout with the flu? It’s not 1918 and very few otherwise healthy people, especially teenagers, require medical intervention.
But the real issue here is today’s youth. For some odd reason everyone born post 1991 thinks it okay to hug, hang on, and otherwise molest, everyone they come in contact with. I once witnessed my daughter, Nicole being hugged more than a dozen times by a group of friends as she walked across the auditorium at her middle school. In short they touch each other WAY too much.
True it’s not 1950’s Leave it to Beaver where a guy and a girl have to be chaperoned to the local soda fountain. But still, what is up with all the groping? I just don’t understand it. My little girlfriends in school were lucky to get a little note, fancy folded and all, much less hand-holding in the hall.
I don’t know about you, but to me, enough is enough. Maybe then we wouldn’t have all these creepy crawly germies floating around. This isn’t the free lovin’ 70s. Kids, you should spend more time on Facebook for cryin’ out loud!
On Sunday, Team Ineka’s Robert and Tyler Forto took part in the sled dog stampede at the Willow Winter Carnival in Alaska.
We had so much fun! (Well, after about 12 guys, a couple shovels helped get our dog truck un-stuck)
The Stampede goes a little something like this:
A team of two mushers and up to an eight dog team compete in a race to see who can collect the most cash. Each team is required to have a sleeping bag, a parka, a cooker, a heat source to melt snow, and a pair of boots. Whichever team can get out of their sleeping bags, melt the snow, put on your boots and parka, hook up the team and hit the trails will be the first to claim the cash!
The cowbell rang and we jumped into action. We jumped out of our sleeping bags. We threw on our boots and I splashed some HEET in the cooker to melt some snow while Tyler started harnessing up our eight dogs.
By the time we were hooked up the team beside us was already on the trail! We had to kick it into high gear.
We got the dogs hooked up, threw on our required parkas and Tyler jumped into the basket and away we went.
We had a five mile loop to reach the cash.
About mid-way Tyler had to jump out of the sled to get the dogs to turn a quick right on the middle of the lake. He flew through the air and made a spectacular landing that got the crowd cheering!
We arrived at the cash. Cash and gift cards were hooked to clothes pins along the trail and we could collect as much as we could grab as long as we didn’t get off the sled.
We raced back to the truck to claim the “silver” for a solid second place with the team beside us claiming gold.
We grabbed about 60 bucks in cash and a gift certificate for 25 dollars from All Seasons Clothing in Wasilly.
We had an awesome time!
What a way to spend an afternoon. We will be back next year for sure.