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2009 iron dog sleds


2009 iron dog

Broke three torque arms, cold weather made my chaincase seal leak,HID headlights don't like cold weather, hit ice ridge bent a arms ( actually tore them ) had to jump start at 52 below
 
Congratulations on the finish!!

With all the reality shows on TV about climbing Mt Everest, crab fishing, logging, cutting trees down, man vs wild, Ice truckers, etc. Someone needs to cover this event from prep of the sleds to finish of the race. That way we could see the hell you guys must endure. That would be a great show IMHO.
 
T-Bone said:
Congratulations on the finish!!

With all the reality shows on TV about climbing Mt Everest, crab fishing, logging, cutting trees down, man vs wild, Ice truckers, etc. Someone needs to cover this event from prep of the sleds to finish of the race. That way we could see the hell you guys must endure. That would be a great show IMHO.
Click to expand...

X2
 
2009 iron dog

: Our Trail Story
Race day is finally here, months of work and preparation are finally over and it's time to put the plan to work.
Travis and Mark are at Big Lake early, around 8:30 am with a third place start around 11:06. Family and friends are there also to see their Team 23# head off on their adventure.
The weather is around 9 degrees and flat light, with overcast. The weather report for the week looks to be cold and snow at times, not bad for a 2000 mile snowmachine race.
Travis and Mark head out down the starting shoot, around Burnt Point and off they go. Right away Mark hits a driveway burm that sends him into the air ( he's thinking, no way can this be the first mishap?? ) he lands awkwardly and never looks back. One of the teams would crash on this very burm and have to scratch, they later find out.
Out on the Yetna River they run into ice fog that would keep their goggles iced over. Mark tried both of his sets of goggles, and then decides to run without any. Just before Skwentna they thaw their goggles out on the exhaust pipe and get back to racing.
The day turns nice and sunny and they have Puntilla in their sites. The steps this year (the last final rise into Rainy Pass) were not a problem; they were well packed and easy going. Plenty of snow through Rainy Pass, a few hard packed drifts and Willow brush to navigate through. At this point the hotter teams start to catch up with us...team 22, 18, 10 to name a few.
The upper reaches of the Kuskokwim River lye before us now. Snow covered gravel banks, ice overflows and some beautiful winding trail. Half way through this section we start to see other race teams with trouble already, team 7 had a machine on its side trying to figure out some problems. As we pull away from the banks of the Kuskokwim River a Lynx runs across in front of team 23#. Normally a shy animal, it must have been disturbed by all the commotion of the race teams.
On into Rohn we go, this checkpoint is just a small cabin and a few drums of gas. They have a jug of juice hanging from a tripod with a spicket and cups for all to drink from. A splash of water and off they go into one of the more hazardous sections of the race. This is tight spruce trees barely wider than the skis, areas of frozen tussocks and many pitfalls if you let your guard down.
Nikolai, the next checkpoint is a welcome sight some three hours later and 90 miles behind them unscathed. Teams like Minnick and Olstad do it in half the time....this is where they make their lead stretch out.
Again this year we stay at the Tukusko House in McGrath with Robert and SweetPea. An 11 hour mandatory rest and they are raring to go on day two. They get to their machines and notice the carnage of the race from the night before. Sleds with cowlings gone, A arms bent, shocks broken in half....better to slow down than wrench they say.
Off they go from McGrath, only to find out that they too did not escape from the rough trail. Mark had stopped to make an adjustment to his suspension only to find that his torque arm was broken. Travis takes a quick check and he too had the same trouble. Back to McGrath to find their great pilots (Channing and Ed) who were carrying parts in their plane. Into the garage to replace the parts and get back on the trail. But in their haste they forget to tighten two bulkhead bolts, this would cause them to return once more for parts. This was one of those mistakes that you want to kick yourself over.
They are finally on their way to Ophir and beyond, with Galena being their next checkpoint goal. Ophir to Poorman is another long section with many bumps and and sticks in burned out areas from long ago fires.
In and out of Poorman and on to an old mining road system that takes them to Ruby. This section is fast but the outside temps where starting to drop rapidly. Travis misjudges a corner here and ends up with the machine upside down and on top of him. A little sore, his pride damaged a little he keeps going...all the while thinking...I signed up for this??? Every year there is some point in the race where this thought runs through your mind. You work through it and your outlook changes.
From Ruby to Galena the pace is fast, but you could tell it was getting pretty chilly out. At this point Marks frost bites his lips of all things.
We get to Galena and it’s around 38 below and dropping. The sweetest gal on the Yukon is there to greet them, Erica Cleaver. She has a brother that's running the race this year also. She and her sister Shirley help Mark and Travis for the night, a great meal and a room to themselves.
We are are back on the clock the next morning around 8:30 am Monday. We crack open the door to head out to the sleds only to be greeted by 52 below!!! And they say it's 61 below further up the river around the Koyakuk River. They have to jump start their Yamaha's to get going. With only electric start it's just a bit too cold, even the two strokes had a heck of a time just getting the starter rope to move.
They start out slow on the mighty Yukon River, first going 30, and then 40 and finally they are rolling along at speeds up over 90 mph. Can you even imagine what the wind chill chart would say??
On into Kaltag to make the 90 plus mile jump over to the Bearing Sea, this is the area where the Deadliest Catch show is made. We make it to Unalakleet and keep going up the coast. Along this stretch Travis would loose a steering bolt, Mark doubles back to lend assistants. A quick fix and on to Shaktoolik, this is a quaint little fishing village located on a long spit of land. The people are smiling and tell us they will see us at the banquet in Nome.
Off to Koyuk we go, crossing the Norton Sound, A long iced over bay with many pressure ridges to navigate through. A welcome site is Koyuk, Nome seems like it's possible now.
We get into White Mountain and have to do some electrical work before we get off the clock for our last mandatory layover. Our HID headlights are not working due to the cold temps. Thankfully we wired in Lead Dog headlights before the race started. On our helmets they go, as the rules say you can't leave a checkpoint with no headlights.
On into Nome with the machines and riders in pretty good shape. The banquet is always awesome, the people of Nome are very hospitable. Nick and Todd win the halfway mark. We are very happy for them, Mark has a special connection with these two guys.....they built the current house that Marks lives in.
After some 29 minutes of repair work on the clock ( slides, wiring headlights, few nuts and bolts tighten and replaced ) we are ready to start the second half of the race after a 36 hour break.
We don't head out of Nome until 2: 20 pm on Thursday due to last minute rules change by the Iron Dog race marshal. By this time an impending winter storm is upon us. White out blizzard conditions great us as we head out of the Nome fire hall. We let team 9 from Idaho (Derrick and Bret) get in front of us and we ride their coat tales into the winter afternoon, their flat light vision was better than ours. Halfway back to White Mountain the visibility improves somewhat. Into White Mountain and we are now chasing team 9 after the gas stop, on their tails until we hit the ice by Elim. It is here where we pass them and don't look back. Though we seem to keep them close to us throughout the rest of the race due to different layovers times
We want to get to Shaktoolik before dark, as we know the winter storm is about to swallow us up again. Sure enough, into Shaktoolik and the wind and snow catch up with us. At this point we wonder around a little in the dark looking for the trail. We loose one of our GPS units during the search for the trail. We keep on a steady course with Unalakleet in mind for a rest stop.
Gary and Willa Enchinewiller are there to greet us. What a beautiful family, wonder full time we had with them and Gary is a great cook. He shares his art work with us and his daughter Kira is readying for a basketball trip to Stebins Alaska the next day. The weather blows through night, winds gusting to 45 mph. Gary says it is a fast storm and should blow itself out somewhat by morning. Local knowledge is always best, and sure enough the weather settles some and Gary cooks us breakfast and points us in the right direction for Kaltag.
It's snowing big flakes now, the woods are quiet and the trail is soft with all the fresh snow. A long ride into Kaltag, and low and behold team 9 is at the pumps just before us. Onto the wide open Yukon River with it snowing heavily now. We make good time even with the whiteout conditions. From here on out we'll be on the river systems...though not as bumpy they have their many ways of making it difficult for you. Crisscrossing through the frozen rubble, ice ridges and gravel banks that are wind swept.
Mark passes team 9 just before Galena to be first at the pumps...Travis does an endo in a passing attempt... awe that's racing I guess.
A quick in and out of Galena with Ruby as a goal for their last mandatory layover before Tanana. On their way to Ruby Mark's drive chain starts slipping. A quick check reveals that he's out of lubricant. They must stop and drain some engine oil and tighten the chain. No leaks were found ( they later surmised that the previous cold weather must have wept some of the oil out through the cold hardened seals of the 60 below temps).
They take their last 6 hours and get ready for the push to Tanana ( 225 miles from their goal ) and riding in 10 place.
This long leg of 120 miles must be approached with caution; teams have run out of gas while trying to run fast as well. With heavy snow falling they take it easy. Good thing too, they get into Tanana with 3/4 of a gallon of gas to spare. One of the other teams has to walk that night. They feel fortunate and relieved to be at their last night of their journey/race.
A great meal, good conversation with fellow racers and they are ready to push to the finish line.
Again its snowing with low forward visibility. Off they go in two minute intervals, all excited about getting to their goal.....aw but not as planned. About 30 miles out of Tanana there is a long straight stretch with an abrupt ice ledge at the end. With normal lighting conditions this may have been ok, but several teams met their fate this morning including team 23#. Mark hit it an nearly lost it, but he was unable to warn Travis in time. End over end he went and his right A arm and spindle was severely damaged.
A quick ok sign from Travis and they tried to drive away as best they could. Soon down the trail some work had to be done. They put sticks between the skis to make it drivable for Travis and Mark set out for Manley to try and find a welder and garage.
Travis makes some great repairs with the welder in Manley, though things were shaky at best. Out of Manley they go, 150 miles to the finish line. A slow but steady pace they applied. Another team’s sled is passed along the way, a scratch by team 24#. Travis must stop along the way with an upset stomach....he lightens his load and carries on.
Nenana lights are welcoming sight, our last bit of fuel and on the home stretch. Travis decides to pick up the pace a little, feeling assured of the finish line.
It's now 7:30 pm, we round the corner and see Pikes Place lights and a couple flashlights from our would be family and friends their to greet us. The Iron Dog race was about to end for team 23#. As happy as I was to see the Finish Line I was sad to see it come to an end. Through all our ups and downs I've come to find that it's the journey not the finish line that makes you want to come back..........we'll see...

We can't say enough how Thank Full and appreciative we are of our Sponsors, Family, friends we've made along the way. To that end we say THANK YOU from our hearts. We hope that you were able to fill your week with the same excitement we had along the way........God Bless Travis and Mark Your Team!!
 
I enjoyed your story, thanks for sharing. The race sounds unbelievably grueling. Congratulations on finishing.
 
nytro23 said:
2009 iron dog

: Our Trail Story
Race day is finally here, months of work and preparation are finally over and it's time to put the plan to work.
Travis and Mark are at Big Lake early, around 8:30 am with a third place start around 11:06. Family and friends are there also to see their Team 23# head off on their adventure.
The weather is around 9 degrees and flat light, with overcast. The weather report for the week looks to be cold and snow at times, not bad for a 2000 mile snowmachine race.
Travis and Mark head out down the starting shoot, around Burnt Point and off they go. Right away Mark hits a driveway burm that sends him into the air ( he's thinking, no way can this be the first mishap?? ) he lands awkwardly and never looks back. One of the teams would crash on this very burm and have to scratch, they later find out.
Out on the Yetna River they run into ice fog that would keep their goggles iced over. Mark tried both of his sets of goggles, and then decides to run without any. Just before Skwentna they thaw their goggles out on the exhaust pipe and get back to racing.
The day turns nice and sunny and they have Puntilla in their sites. The steps this year (the last final rise into Rainy Pass) were not a problem; they were well packed and easy going. Plenty of snow through Rainy Pass, a few hard packed drifts and Willow brush to navigate through. At this point the hotter teams start to catch up with us...team 22, 18, 10 to name a few.
The upper reaches of the Kuskokwim River lye before us now. Snow covered gravel banks, ice overflows and some beautiful winding trail. Half way through this section we start to see other race teams with trouble already, team 7 had a machine on its side trying to figure out some problems. As we pull away from the banks of the Kuskokwim River a Lynx runs across in front of team 23#. Normally a shy animal, it must have been disturbed by all the commotion of the race teams.
On into Rohn we go, this checkpoint is just a small cabin and a few drums of gas. They have a jug of juice hanging from a tripod with a spicket and cups for all to drink from. A splash of water and off they go into one of the more hazardous sections of the race. This is tight spruce trees barely wider than the skis, areas of frozen tussocks and many pitfalls if you let your guard down.
Nikolai, the next checkpoint is a welcome sight some three hours later and 90 miles behind them unscathed. Teams like Minnick and Olstad do it in half the time....this is where they make their lead stretch out.
Again this year we stay at the Tukusko House in McGrath with Robert and SweetPea. An 11 hour mandatory rest and they are raring to go on day two. They get to their machines and notice the carnage of the race from the night before. Sleds with cowlings gone, A arms bent, shocks broken in half....better to slow down than wrench they say.
Off they go from McGrath, only to find out that they too did not escape from the rough trail. Mark had stopped to make an adjustment to his suspension only to find that his torque arm was broken. Travis takes a quick check and he too had the same trouble. Back to McGrath to find their great pilots (Channing and Ed) who were carrying parts in their plane. Into the garage to replace the parts and get back on the trail. But in their haste they forget to tighten two bulkhead bolts, this would cause them to return once more for parts. This was one of those mistakes that you want to kick yourself over.
They are finally on their way to Ophir and beyond, with Galena being their next checkpoint goal. Ophir to Poorman is another long section with many bumps and and sticks in burned out areas from long ago fires.
In and out of Poorman and on to an old mining road system that takes them to Ruby. This section is fast but the outside temps where starting to drop rapidly. Travis misjudges a corner here and ends up with the machine upside down and on top of him. A little sore, his pride damaged a little he keeps going...all the while thinking...I signed up for this??? Every year there is some point in the race where this thought runs through your mind. You work through it and your outlook changes.
From Ruby to Galena the pace is fast, but you could tell it was getting pretty chilly out. At this point Marks frost bites his lips of all things.
We get to Galena and it’s around 38 below and dropping. The sweetest gal on the Yukon is there to greet them, Erica Cleaver. She has a brother that's running the race this year also. She and her sister Shirley help Mark and Travis for the night, a great meal and a room to themselves.
We are are back on the clock the next morning around 8:30 am Monday. We crack open the door to head out to the sleds only to be greeted by 52 below!!! And they say it's 61 below further up the river around the Koyakuk River. They have to jump start their Yamaha's to get going. With only electric start it's just a bit too cold, even the two strokes had a heck of a time just getting the starter rope to move.
They start out slow on the mighty Yukon River, first going 30, and then 40 and finally they are rolling along at speeds up over 90 mph. Can you even imagine what the wind chill chart would say??
On into Kaltag to make the 90 plus mile jump over to the Bearing Sea, this is the area where the Deadliest Catch show is made. We make it to Unalakleet and keep going up the coast. Along this stretch Travis would loose a steering bolt, Mark doubles back to lend assistants. A quick fix and on to Shaktoolik, this is a quaint little fishing village located on a long spit of land. The people are smiling and tell us they will see us at the banquet in Nome.
Off to Koyuk we go, crossing the Norton Sound, A long iced over bay with many pressure ridges to navigate through. A welcome site is Koyuk, Nome seems like it's possible now.
We get into White Mountain and have to do some electrical work before we get off the clock for our last mandatory layover. Our HID headlights are not working due to the cold temps. Thankfully we wired in Lead Dog headlights before the race started. On our helmets they go, as the rules say you can't leave a checkpoint with no headlights.
On into Nome with the machines and riders in pretty good shape. The banquet is always awesome, the people of Nome are very hospitable. Nick and Todd win the halfway mark. We are very happy for them, Mark has a special connection with these two guys.....they built the current house that Marks lives in.
After some 29 minutes of repair work on the clock ( slides, wiring headlights, few nuts and bolts tighten and replaced ) we are ready to start the second half of the race after a 36 hour break.
We don't head out of Nome until 2: 20 pm on Thursday due to last minute rules change by the Iron Dog race marshal. By this time an impending winter storm is upon us. White out blizzard conditions great us as we head out of the Nome fire hall. We let team 9 from Idaho (Derrick and Bret) get in front of us and we ride their coat tales into the winter afternoon, their flat light vision was better than ours. Halfway back to White Mountain the visibility improves somewhat. Into White Mountain and we are now chasing team 9 after the gas stop, on their tails until we hit the ice by Elim. It is here where we pass them and don't look back. Though we seem to keep them close to us throughout the rest of the race due to different layovers times
We want to get to Shaktoolik before dark, as we know the winter storm is about to swallow us up again. Sure enough, into Shaktoolik and the wind and snow catch up with us. At this point we wonder around a little in the dark looking for the trail. We loose one of our GPS units during the search for the trail. We keep on a steady course with Unalakleet in mind for a rest stop.
Gary and Willa Enchinewiller are there to greet us. What a beautiful family, wonder full time we had with them and Gary is a great cook. He shares his art work with us and his daughter Kira is readying for a basketball trip to Stebins Alaska the next day. The weather blows through night, winds gusting to 45 mph. Gary says it is a fast storm and should blow itself out somewhat by morning. Local knowledge is always best, and sure enough the weather settles some and Gary cooks us breakfast and points us in the right direction for Kaltag.
It's snowing big flakes now, the woods are quiet and the trail is soft with all the fresh snow. A long ride into Kaltag, and low and behold team 9 is at the pumps just before us. Onto the wide open Yukon River with it snowing heavily now. We make good time even with the whiteout conditions. From here on out we'll be on the river systems...though not as bumpy they have their many ways of making it difficult for you. Crisscrossing through the frozen rubble, ice ridges and gravel banks that are wind swept.
Mark passes team 9 just before Galena to be first at the pumps...Travis does an endo in a passing attempt... awe that's racing I guess.
A quick in and out of Galena with Ruby as a goal for their last mandatory layover before Tanana. On their way to Ruby Mark's drive chain starts slipping. A quick check reveals that he's out of lubricant. They must stop and drain some engine oil and tighten the chain. No leaks were found ( they later surmised that the previous cold weather must have wept some of the oil out through the cold hardened seals of the 60 below temps).
They take their last 6 hours and get ready for the push to Tanana ( 225 miles from their goal ) and riding in 10 place.
This long leg of 120 miles must be approached with caution; teams have run out of gas while trying to run fast as well. With heavy snow falling they take it easy. Good thing too, they get into Tanana with 3/4 of a gallon of gas to spare. One of the other teams has to walk that night. They feel fortunate and relieved to be at their last night of their journey/race.
A great meal, good conversation with fellow racers and they are ready to push to the finish line.
Again its snowing with low forward visibility. Off they go in two minute intervals, all excited about getting to their goal.....aw but not as planned. About 30 miles out of Tanana there is a long straight stretch with an abrupt ice ledge at the end. With normal lighting conditions this may have been ok, but several teams met their fate this morning including team 23#. Mark hit it an nearly lost it, but he was unable to warn Travis in time. End over end he went and his right A arm and spindle was severely damaged.
A quick ok sign from Travis and they tried to drive away as best they could. Soon down the trail some work had to be done. They put sticks between the skis to make it drivable for Travis and Mark set out for Manley to try and find a welder and garage.
Travis makes some great repairs with the welder in Manley, though things were shaky at best. Out of Manley they go, 150 miles to the finish line. A slow but steady pace they applied. Another team’s sled is passed along the way, a scratch by team 24#. Travis must stop along the way with an upset stomach....he lightens his load and carries on.
Nenana lights are welcoming sight, our last bit of fuel and on the home stretch. Travis decides to pick up the pace a little, feeling assured of the finish line.
It's now 7:30 pm, we round the corner and see Pikes Place lights and a couple flashlights from our would be family and friends their to greet us. The Iron Dog race was about to end for team 23#. As happy as I was to see the Finish Line I was sad to see it come to an end. Through all our ups and downs I've come to find that it's the journey not the finish line that makes you want to come back..........we'll see...

We can't say enough how Thank Full and appreciative we are of our Sponsors, Family, friends we've made along the way. To that end we say THANK YOU from our hearts. We hope that you were able to fill your week with the same excitement we had along the way........God Bless Travis and Mark Your Team!!
Click to expand...

I know this is a old thread, but your write-up on your race experience so wants me to run the Iron Dog! I just have to figure out how first, because I live in Sweden. Hard to get my sled on to the plane!
 
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