Originally from Olmsted Falls, Ohio, I became an Alaskan when I sold 2 mt. bikes to buy a one-way plane ticket from San Francisco to Anchorage, Feb 14, 1996. In other words, I left Ohio, hit the Pacific Ocean & turned right. During my first weeks in AK, I attended a live performance of Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion. I filled out one of the slips of paper that he read to the audience after intermission, "Hello to the folks in Cleveland, maybe I'll mush the Iditarod someday." 7 years later, I quit my job selling oriental rugs, and took a summer position at Tangle Lakes Lodge. There, I met Iditarod musher Jim Lanier. He was traveling the Denali Highway to cache dog food & straw for a winter training run. When I heard him say he needed a handler (dog mushing apprentice/grunt/indentured servant), I walked across the room & said. "I'll do it."
This was in August, 2004. In January, 2005 Jim entered me in my first race - The Tustumena 200. I finished, and knew I wanted more. In 2008, I wrote Jim a letter asking him if I could trade the labor of handling (caring for & helping train dogs) in return for a team to run my Iditarod qualifying races. He agreed. I completed the Knik 200 & Klondike 300. Jim has been an excellent mentor & friend. Without his guidance, expertise, & patience, I would not be in the position I am today.
Jim downsized his kennel this year, so I had to look elsewhere for accomplished dogs. At the Klondike 300 mushers' banquet, I put the word out that I wanted to rent an Iditarod team. Ryan Redington made an offer I couldn't refuse. Now, with the help of Ryan, his wife Erin, & their handler Jane, I am training dogs from the Callin' Trail Kennel for my rookie Idiatrod.
In high school, I was a state track athlete, excelling in sprint & hurdle events. Distance mushing is a new adventure for me. Every dog team driver will tell you the true athletes in mushing are the dogs. I help by running up the hills, & taking good care of the dogs, but it is the dogs who achieve the feat of running 1049 miles to Nome. My team will include up to 7 Iditarod finishers, other dogs with race experience, & some up & comers.
Dog mushing delivers self reliance, trust in the animals, the best exercise I know, & breath taking scenery. Imagine the hush of dog paws & sled runners gliding over a frozen river under stars & aurora borealis. Crisp air fills your lungs, as you move through a fog of dog breath.
I am training BarbaraAnn, Marvin, Allison, Crackle, Carmack, Angel, Winter, Turbo, Sky, Buddy, Corvette, Pearce, Ghost, Zinger, Bree, Turbo, Riot, Mulder, Scully, Fat Chance, Keebler & Hershey. When I line up for the Ceremonial Start the first Saturday in March, I will be participating in an endurance athletic event against the world's best.
Emil, Start of Copper Basin 300, 2009, -40 F |
