Okay it’s a bit late as the Iditarod is long over, but I wanted to post a few shots of our Iditarod tailgate party.

The ceremonial start of the race takes place in downtown anchorage. This used to be the start of the actual race but having the race begin in Anchorage was problematic so the official start point was shifted to Willow. The ceremonial start is now just for the TV cameras.

The next day all the teams reassemble at the start near Willow and things get under way for real.

There are lots of places near the start where the race route is accessible as it crosses several frozen lakes and makes its way into the more remote bush.

Lots of folks set up along the first mile or so and make a party of it. Setups range from elaborate digs with big sponsor tents and BBQ grills to small knots of  people huddled around tiny fires.

A lot of people set up in the middle of the lakes but it’s cold and windy out there so our group found a nice spot nestled in some trees and well out of the wind.

A stack of old pallets formed the base for a pretty huge bonfire. Some one brought along a deep fryer and we cooked up not one but two turkeys. Great eatin out in the cold let me tell ya. Finger licken good!

But of course the reason we were there was to cheer on and encourage the mushers as they headed out on the trail to Nome. We had a list of the mushers so we were able to identify the teams as they approached. Calling out the mushers by name was a nice personal touch.

It took a few hours for all the teams to go by… including a Jamaican musher. Wonder if he knew the guys from the Jamaican bobsled team. I just hope they weren’t Jamaican dogs.

We all had a great time cheering them on, eating hot turkey and drinking cold beer. It was just about getting dark when we finally packed it all up and made our way back to the cabin. My friend and I got a little bit lost errr… turned around on the way back. Too many trails and all those lakes look alike. But finally we made it back to the cabin.

I’ll definitely be back out there next year.

When things start to get a little to hectic here in the big city there’s nothing like an escape to McCarthy for a few days to chill out and relax a bit.

It was a much easier drive than my last trip out. It was a lot warmer and the road had just been graded so it was in primo condition. They had gotten in there with a dozer too so even the glaciers had been blasted out! When the road is in such good shape it’s really nicer to drive in the winter than it is in the summer.

I pulled in around 4:30 so still a good amount of daylight left to sled my stuff the short distance to the cabin, stack up some firewood and just generally get situated. Temps were not much below freezing so warming up the cabin was a lot easier then it had been at -18.

The next day I piddled around a bit and got some supplies out of my storage shed in preparation for the main reason for my visit – a trip out to my property across McCarthy Creek. Still had a bit of daylight left when I was done so I clicked into my skis and skied down the road which was in perfect condition for skiing. Saw a couple of snowshoe hares, some ravens and an eagle.

Next day I loaded up the gear sled, strapped on the snowshoes and headed out to the property. Well I first drove to the footbridge and parked, then started walking from there. The road was in good shape all the  way out to where the trail cuts off the Nizina Road and I made surprisingly good time.

Once off the Nizina the fun began. I knew exactly what to expect but still, after even 15 minutes of breaking trail through knee-deep powder I was trying to remember why it seemed so important to do this. It was pretty tough going. I’ve learned from prior experience that they way to do it is to first break trail with snowshoes and then come back for the sled. If you try to break trail and haul at the same time the sled just keeps tipping over and you go a bit insane.

The worst part of it was that I forgot to fill up my water bottle. It was actually a pretty warm day to begin with but breaking trail was hard sweaty work. I had to keep eating snow to keep from getting totally dehydrated. At last I made it to my destination on my property and the first thing I did was fire up the stove and start melting snow!

Setting up camp was a pleasure with the warm temps and sunny skies, though making a good tent platform on bottomless powder is not easy – it just won’t compress or consolidate. A pair of cardinals stopped by to keep me company while I set up my tent and got my camp all squared away.

The next morning was just what I was hoping for and I was able to accomplish what I came for. I wanted to see where the sun rose and set at this time of year and where light fell on the property and how much. I am finalizing the sighting of the cabin that I will begin this summer and what to figure out the precise orientation and facing of the structure. Just about have it nailed down now.

Mission accomplished, I packed it up after a cup of hot cocoa and headed back into McCarthy. The trail was well formed by now and had set up a bit during the night so it was much easier and faster getting out.

Spent another night at my friends cabin and then hit the road bright and early the next morning. All in all a great trip to McCarthy – as always.