Long Lost Kuskoswim Pictures

Ryan put a bunch of Kusko pictures on a CD for me a couple weeks ago and I finally remembered to bring them home. It was interesting looking at the pictures and letting the memories come back. I've stayed focused on the tough end to our race, but it wasn't all that bad. Most of it was a lot of fun. Great experience. You can find a number of entries on my big Kusko 300 experience in the January archives.

Ryan, Eric, and I in our sharp Ocean Beauty hats. We got many compliments on those hats. This was just a little after arriving in Aniak. The dogs had just completed back to back 75 mile runs, eaten well, and were taking their rest. Dogs looked great and I was having the time of my life. I was really doing it after all the hard work. Those two men in the picture had a lot to do with me being there. It was nice seeing familiar faces in the checkpoint.
Coming off our mandatory 6 hour rest in Aniak headed to Pike Lake. The dogs all looked great, you can see Lucy trying to lope. Spirits were still very high at this point.

The team after the terrible run to Pike Lake and back to Aniak. Some tired pups in that bunch. Lucy just worked so hard getting us through that slop. She was beat. We rested 4 hours once back in Aniak, but should have stayed 8 or 10.

Here we are taking off out of Kalskag inbound. Gave the dogs a big 8 hour rest and they naturally fealt great. About 30 minutes after this photo was taken, Hagar began limping and was loaded in the basket. He hasn't pulled a sled since. Another 4 hours after that the team crashed. Five dogs had pulled the sled with big Hagar inside for 40 miles. They just ran out of steam. We slowly made the last 5 miles to Tuluksak where we waited on the weather and eventually scratched and flew home.

Here are a few pictures of the "trail" Monday. Ryan and Eric did well finding their way home.

It was fun looking through the pictures. The whole thing really left a bad taste in my mouth. Although it was a great experience, I failed. I'm not accustomed to failure. Many said it was the toughest mushing they'd seen, but I prefer not making excuses. Wasn't hoping for some big top 10 finish, just wanted to complete the race in time for the banquet. At the end of the day, my dogs could handle the trail, they just ran out of gas. Would have done many things better, but the biggest difference maker would have been more dogs. In particular, more leaders. That kind of mushing really takes a tole on the lead dogs. Having a crew of leaders to share the burden can make a big difference. Plan is to keep building my dog team and take them back to Bethel when we're ready. Things will be different next time.