#dogteams
LightNews LightNews
egw-b12.bsky.social
Springtime at The port of Bethel. Preparations for the shipping season are happening, space is being cleared and work is underway. Meanwhile cars trucks snowmobiles and dogteams still traveling on the river. #shipping #alaska #cityofbethel #tugboats #workingboats #spring
March 31, 2025 at 7:06 PM
impudentstrumpet.bsky.social
alt text 3/4
Quince started the 1128 mile Iditarod reroute course on March 3rd. The race moved to a Fairbanks start due to a lack of snow in some of the areas farther south on the normal Anchorage to Nome route. This switch has only happened a few times before. Ironically, that just so happens to be a nearly identical route to the Serum Run. The incredible relay of dogteams coordinating together to get a box of antitoxin to Nome in 1925 during a diphtheria outbreak. And It just so happens that the most incredible dog on that journey was a lead dog named Togo who was also 12. And this is the 100 year anniversary of that amazing display of teamwork and commitment from so many mushers and dogs, especially Togo! Balto may have received most of the glory, but mushers have always known that it was Togo that did more than any other dog by far. At one point in the race, I saw that he had dropped two dogs since I checked last and I texted Blair and asked if she knew if Pépe was still on the team, and she said "She is!" And sent a photo that a photographer got of her leading on the trail. I was so happy! Pépe led the team for 659 miles to the Village of Grayling where Quince was informed that his team was not quite keeping up with the speed needed to stay in the race and he was withdrawn along with another team or two. Yeah, it could be considered a devastating blow... and people can get grumpy and argue about it, but the race has to keep a whole lot of things functioning on a tight schedule with limited resources and volunteers and sometimes things like this might just need to happen. Some might disagree, but this is not the place to discuss that. Because I know Quince, I knew he was going to take these difficult times and make the best of it like he always does...
March 23, 2025 at 6:44 AM
elmtree.bsky.social
With alt text
Jake Hway 25m • An epic story of Pépe the incredible sled dog! Pépe ran lead for Blair Braverman in the Iditarod 2019. She was 5 years old... but nearly 6. She ran lead with another dog for a little bit, and then ran "single lead" for the next 900 miles and brought the team to Nome. The next year, Blair's husband, Quince Mountain was planning to run Iditarod, but he was running a different team, so he dropped Pepé and a couple other dogs off at my kennel in Minnesota, Chilly Dogs Sled Dog Trips. We run tours with retired racing dogs and they keep having a blast doing what they love all the way through life! Pépe spent the winter here and she had a ton of fun... and we obviously had a ton of fun with her also! Quince didn't end up finishing the Iditarod that year. He made it to Unalakleet on the Bering Sea. Pépe went on to live with Blair and Quince as a simi retired sleddog/pet. That was the plan all along. A little over a year ago in the fall of 2023, I went to pick up a few dogs from them because they had newborn twins and they knew they wouldn't be able to run dogs much that winter. Then Blair came and brought a few more dogs, including Pépe! We mushed around in the fresh snow and played with dogs for a couple days. I was figuring that would be Pépe's last winter coming to be an active working sled dog with us. We have plenty of dogs older than that who thrive here doing what they love to do, but Pépe is different and she's kinda famous, and she always and forever will be Blair and Q's dog. She ran with us all winter and they picked her up in the spring. Now the most amazing part of the story... Buckle up! Now the most amazing part of the story... Buckle up! This past fall. Quince was gearing up his team for his second attempt at Iditarod, 5 years after his first attempt. The plan was that he would do conditioning runs with a larger pool of dogs and then decide on who is not quite going to make the cut as time gets closer to heading up to Alaska. Q and I were talking through the process of elimination quite a few times over the months of training. Pépe was not on the list of options early on and she was most likely going to come back to us here in Ely for the winter! After all, she is nearly 12. But then one of his main leaders ended up not making the cut due to a temporary minor medical issue. And in the mean time, Pépe was not only keeping up with all the conditioning runs... she was performing exceedingly well. Q told me that he thinks he is going bring her along in Iditarod. He thought maybe she'd make it one or two checkpoints and then be ready to stop, but that's she'd be really happy for the chance to race, even just a little. He thought maybe she'd make it one or two checkpoints and then be ready to stop, but that she would be really happy for the chance to race, even just a little. I was shocked, but also supportive in that decision. On his way to Alaska, he stopped by to drop off 4 dogs that he wasn't going to bring to the race. They have been running tours with us since then. Quince started the 1128 mile Iditarod reroute course on March 3rd. The race moved to a Fairbanks start due to a lack of snow in some of the areas farther south on the normal Anchorage to Nome route. This switch has only happened a few times before. Ironically, that just so happens to be a nearly identical route to the Serum Run. The incredible relay of dogteams coordinating together to get a box of antitoxin to Nome in 1925 during a diphtheria outbreak. And It just so happens that the most incredible dog on that journey was a lead dog named Togo who was also 12. And this is the 100 year anniversary of that amazing display of teamwork and commitment from so many mushers and dogs, especially Togo! Balto may have received most of the glory, but mushers have always known that it was Togo that did more than any other dog by far. At one point in the race, I saw that he had dropped two dogs since I checked last and I texted Blair and asked if she knew if Pépe was still on the team, and she said "She is!" And sent a photo that a photographer got of her leading on the trail. I was so happy! Pépe led the team for 659 miles to the Village of Grayling where Quince was informed that his team was not quite keeping up with the speed needed to stay in the race and he was withdrawn along with another team or two. Yeah, it could be considered a devastating blow... and people can get grumpy and argue about it, but the race has to keep a whole lot of things functioning on a tight schedule with limited resources and volunteers and sometimes things like this might just need to happen. Some might disagree, but this is not the place to discuss that. Because I know Quince, I knew he was going to take these difficult times and make the best of it like he always does... He and his team was flown to Unalakleet. A much larger village with more planes and resources. That just so happens to be the same place Quince made it to in 2020 Iditarod. He just didn't feel right about stopping their journey there again this time. He decided to go on unsupported and uninvolved with the Iditarod. It was still a ways to go. 262 more miles to get to Nome. The plane ride to Unk made him skip out on 207 miles of this year's route, but this was a mission that started in 2020. He picked it up right where he left off and started traveling up the coast. He finished the route on the 19th, 16 days after starting in Fairbanks. Having done 921 miles and spent a bit of extra time changing up logistics, and making new plans, getting plane rides, and maybe even helping someone that was stranded...? (I heard rumors). He was also spreading ashes of a friend and going through some other tough situations in the recent past that was weighing heavily on his mind and heart. Some of that is explained in his video. Despite all the challenges and hardships... the team made it! Pépe may not have saved a town from a deadly outbreak, but she is definitely a hero in so many ways, to so many people. Quince didn't take her with him back in 2020... but hindsight is 20/20. She ended up taking him to Nome anyhow and we all love her even more than we already do. didn't think that was possible, but that's just her way of doing things. There is so much more to her story than what I know, but I have spent a fair amount of time with her and I know her pretty well. Many other people might have their own stories about her to share as well!
March 22, 2025 at 8:25 PM
bdsmithauthor65.bsky.social
www.smashwords.com/books/view/1...
E-Book sale! March 2nd to 8th
#memoir #goldrush #north #dogteams #fishing #hunting #trapping
Atlin Where Everyone Knows Your Dog's Name
A Northern gold rush town, Atlin, British Columbia, where the wilderness was a playground and dogs were a part of the family. Smith combines witty story-telling with the published writings and paintings of his mother. Many photos. An adventurous romp through childhood, in a place like no other, when kids were allowed to be kids kindles nostalgic feelings for some, yearning for adventure in others.
www.smashwords.com
February 23, 2025 at 11:40 PM
bdsmithauthor65.bsky.social
www.smashwords.com/books/view/1... 50% off E-book sale until the end of the month. #north #adventure #dogteams #shortstories #sasquatch #wilderness #trapping #fishing #noTV
The Way It Used To Be: Stories from a Northern Town
Experience life in a 1970s northern town where community was family. Where every day people lived extraordinary lives during a time and place where your wits and your courage were key ingredients for ...
www.smashwords.com
December 21, 2024 at 11:58 PM