Last Sunday, I went to Willow, Alaska to watch the start of the Iditarod sled-dog race. What a hoot! Gun-carrying grizzled old-timers wearing bear and wolf skins mingled with i-phone toting techno-kids and hundreds of over excited dogs yapping to get on the trail. The trail is about a thousand miles of snowy toughness, and the winner will make it in about nine days of mushing (in about 3-4 more days).
This year it's fairly mild weather, but in previous years it's been so cold guys had to drop out to keep their eyes (and dogs) from freezing...when it hits 50 degrees (F) below zero, you have to break your piss off. It gives a whole new meaning to "Golden Arches".
The one thing that stood out to me was how small the dogs were. Everyone thinks about sled-dog huskies being these big, furry, strong dogs, but in fact the dogs used are medium sized, about 45-50 pounds and are not pure-breds. And they all wear paw booties to protect their feet. Some mushers are even outfitting their dogs in neon colored booties.
This coming weekend, it's a golf tournament on a frozen lake (and maybe frozen turkey bowling for non-golfers). Can't wait.
This year it's fairly mild weather, but in previous years it's been so cold guys had to drop out to keep their eyes (and dogs) from freezing...when it hits 50 degrees (F) below zero, you have to break your piss off. It gives a whole new meaning to "Golden Arches".
The one thing that stood out to me was how small the dogs were. Everyone thinks about sled-dog huskies being these big, furry, strong dogs, but in fact the dogs used are medium sized, about 45-50 pounds and are not pure-breds. And they all wear paw booties to protect their feet. Some mushers are even outfitting their dogs in neon colored booties.
This coming weekend, it's a golf tournament on a frozen lake (and maybe frozen turkey bowling for non-golfers). Can't wait.
