Silver Sled Part 2

Most people got to sleep in these cute little cabins, but our crew *lucked* out and got the wood shed!! Wahoo! Apparently last year they didn't even get cots in this shed, but we were lucky. Here's Jessica setting out her sleeping bag, beside my cot. How did I get stuck with the cot under the tablesaw?!? Sharing this lovely abode were Jessica & Katrina (Sean's handlers), Ray & me, and Laura and her handler, Dave. It was actually a cozy night's sleep and we were all surprised that there wasn't too many snorers among the bunch! That could have been due to the fact that we were all exhausted and passed out by 10:00! We all had to be up bright and early - at 5:45! Ouch!


Early morning and a miniature musher?


Laura was in the red lantern position (last), so due to the *reverse start* on Day 2, she was the first out at 8:00 sharp! Here she is ready to go:


Ray was last out at around 8:35 or so. Do these guys look ready to go or what?!? In fact, as we headed to the start, I had a hold of the leaders and when Ray let the snubline loose, the dogs shot ahead tripping me and kept on going. I thought Ray forgot to brake, but these guys were just so fired up, they could not be contained. It was insane.


Lazarus and Buzz ready to do their job.


This was a viewing point about 1.5 hours into the race. The teams all looked great, and *most* mushers were in great moods, joking and laughing as they went by. Prime example is Ray doing some kind of weird Superman pose for the camera...

Ray made up some great time here. He came through in about 9th position, about 9 mins behind the leaders.

Here he is right on time (I was getting pretty good at predicting his time to each spot, thanks to his consistent pace) at the Bear Creek Lodge icy crossing:


Ray telling me Lazarus is doing well (although I seem to be more interested in my newfound photography career rather than listening to him!). He was worried he might have to drop one of his main leaders due to a sore wrist, but Lazarus made it the whole way without a reoccurance of the injury.


And... the finish banquet where..... RAY WON!!!! WOOHOO!!

All the mushers and skijorers on stage. Check out those killer trophies! Ray got a nice fat cheque and his name to be engraved on the large trophy in front of Tyson (blue t-shirt). Needless to say, he was pretty freakin' excited. There was a lot of great teams in this race, some Quest mushers, others who have won local races, and some guys who are really competitive and have been mushing for decades. Ray's team really came together this year.

And my dogs were in the races too! With my neighbor, Tyson. He skijored with 3 of my dogs (Jack, Harris & Ripper), and his dog, Dakota. He won his class and apparently he broke the record too! They had a speedy 7-mile run and said the dogs were great, although his guy might have been a little freaked out by the speed and crowds. But most importantly, Tyson didn't wipe out on these icy trails with 4 maniacs yanking him down the trail! I pulled into the parking lot just after they finished the race. My guys looked super happy and pumped which was great to see!

And that was that. More than ever, after watching this race close-up, I've definitely made it a goal of mine to do it next year!