RAMEY SMYTH
2008 IDITAROD
BECCA MOORE
2008 YUKON OUEST


Ramey takes 3rd Place!!!
Ramey grabbed third place arriving in Nome this morning at 09:52:06
Finishing in 9 Days 18 Hours 52 Minutes 6 Seconds


The City of Nome Lolly Medley Golden Harness Award Winner
03/16/08
Originally presented by the late Lolly Medley, Wasilla harness maker and one of two women to run the second Iditarod in 1974. The award honors an outstanding lead dog, chosen by the mushers. This year's recipient was "Babe" an 11 year old member of Ramey Smith's team from Big Lake Alaska. Babe has completed eight Iditarods and led her team to a 3rd place finish in 2008. Ramy Smyth is the son of the late Lolly Medley.

Update March 11th 2008 Out of White Mountain
Ramey's on his way to Nome in 3rd place with eight dogs leaving at 23:44. He has 77 miles to go.

Update March 11th
Into White Mountain at 15:44:00
Ramey is resting in White Mountain tonight completing his mandatory 8 hour layover. He can leave at 23:44 this evening. He has 8 dogs. Ramey is currently in 3rd place.

March 11th 00:10
Rolling into Koyuk Monday evening at 20:51:00 in 4th place, Ramey is nipping at the heals of Iditarod Champion Martin Buser. Ramey's team only gets better the closer he gets to Nome. He's clipping along at about 7.5 miles per hour. Next checkpoint Elim a short 48 miles away. Ramey has 989 ,iles behind him and ONLY 123 miles to go. All mushers must take a mandantory 8 hour rest at White Mountain, from there and incrediable race should unfold.


March 10th 2008 Unalakleet:
Ramey rolled into the coastal village of Unalakleet this morning at 01:26:00 with 12 dogs.
CLICK HERE FOR CURRENT IDITAROD RACE STANDINGS



The village of Unalakleet
Next stop Shaktoolik
The actual distance on this leg is usually about 37 or 38 miles. (As with some other legs, the official distance sometimes reflects the longest possible routing, or old routings.) The race follows the main snowmachine trail to Shaktoolik; it is normally well traveled and well marked. The first 25 miles cross a mix of woods, taiga, open areas, and exposed ridge tops; the last 12 miles are completely in the open on the barren coastline. This leg usually takes four to six hours, but can be much longer if the weather is bad. The trail leaves Unalakleet northbound and runs just in from the beach, turning inland after five miles to pass behind rocky 850-foot-high Blueberry Point. It comes almost back to the shore at the fishing camp of Egavik before climbing up the Blueberry Hills, reaching the thousand-foot summit at the 18-mile point. At the top the trail turns west and makes a three-mile drop back to the beach, then follows a slough and the dune line northwestward for the last 12 miles out to Shaktoolik. The primary concern on this leg is the weather. Shaktoolik is windy even in good weather, but under some conditions the winds can blow from the north at more than hurricane force, with temperatures well below zero and chill factors worse than minus one hundred.


If the winds are howling, the trail from Unalakleet to the top of the Blueberry Hills will be relatively sheltered (except on the ridge tops), but the last 12 miles out to Shaktoolik can be extremely difficult with drifts and ground blizzards.




March 9th 2008 Out of Kaltag:
Ramey is moving along leaving Kaltag this morning at 09:20:00 with 12 dogs. The dogs enjoying the cooler temperatures. Trail is slow but steady.
CLICK HERE FOR CURRENT IDITAROD RACE STANDINGS


Trail from Kaltag to Unalakleet
Next stop...
Unalakleet
(the coast)
This leg follows the ancient Kaltag portage, a relatively straight valley angling southwest through the coastal mountains; the route has been used for millennia by Natives. It is normally a well-used snowmachine highway. It marks the major transition from the inland river environment to the Bering Sea coast. Conditions can be vastly different at opposite ends of the portage, and wind is a constant threat on the western half.

The distance to Unalakleet is actually about 82 miles. Plan on 10 to 15 hours for this trip, depending on whether you want to camp along the way, and for how long. (By this stage of the race your team may be able to make it without a major rest.) If the weather gets bad, though, this trip can easily take 18 or 20 hours. There are two excellent resting spots on the trail, fifteen miles apart: the Tripod Flats cabin is 35 miles from Kaltag, and the Old Woman cabin is 15 miles farther on, about 35 miles from Unalakleet. Both are snug log cabins maintained by BLMand the local villages and can provide welcome refuges in case you encounter a storm.


Old Woman Cabin

The trail climbs for 15 miles from Kaltag through mostly wooded country to the summit of the portage, about 800 feet above sea level. Then it descends slowly into the valley of the Unalakleet River, staying mostly in wooded or semi-wooded country with some excursions across taiga and open areas until Old Woman, then running across mostly open tundra on the south side of the river valley. The trail drops back down onto the Unalakleet River about 8 miles out of town, making a couple of short portages across river bends before crossing the frozen lagoon into Unalakleet.

Check the weather carefully before leaving Kaltag. In a few years the race has actually been shut down because of storms on the coast, or drivers were at least advised not to leave Kaltag. Watch conditions closely as you work your way to the sea, and be prepared to hole up in one of the shelter cabins if conditions turn bad, which they can do out here with breathtaking swiftness.


Map- Kaltag to Old Woman Click to enlarge

On this stretch of trail the primary markings will be permanent four-inch metal reflectors on trees, or on wooden tripods in open areas. Most of the reflectors are yellow or gold, but many have weathered to various shades of off-white; they still reflect well, but may be hard to spot during daylight. You might want to keep your headlight on in twilight periods to help you pick out the reflectors.

The permanent reflectors often mark a corridor rather than a specific track; this corridor can be a hundred yards wide, and there are multiple markers in many sections. The exact hard-packed trail will usually be marked with standard Iditarod trail stakes. This can be a major factor on the western end of the trail where it runs for miles across open tundra and the wind can drift everything in within minutes. When the trail is drifted over, you’ll want to try to follow the trail stakes because that’s where the packed trail is. (You don’t want to be floundering through unpacked open snow with your dog team if you can avoid it.)




Coming off the trail into Nulato
Update March 8th
Ramey is currently in 13th position blowing through Galena today. He arrived at 07:49 and departed at 08:00. His dogs are doing great.

CLICK HERE FOR CURRENT
IDITAROD RACE STANDINGS


Next stop ...Nulato
This leg is all on the Yukon River and normally presents no real problems. It is a major snowmachine highway maintained by the locals and is well used all winter. Plan on four to six hours for this run. It can be cold, as can all river runs, and all the usual river hazards can be present, including overflow, rough ice, and open water. When the wind blows, the trail can become obscured very quickly, but it should be well marked. The trail can swing back and forth across the river several times on this leg to cut across bends.

Leaving Galena the river runs generally west. Fifteen miles from Galena the trail passes the fishing camp at Bishop Rock, a prominent landmark on the north bank of the river. Ten miles later it passes the mouth of the Koyukuk River, a major tributary, flowing in from the north, with the village of Koyukuk on the northwest bank. Five miles past Koyukuk the river swings south and the right bank becomes a low range of mountains rising to a thousand feet above the river. Nulato is eleven miles past the big bend to the south, on the right (west) bank.





Ramey leaves the 2008 Iditarod start line with his Iditarider smiling
(click on photo for larger view)


Welcome to Homestretch Kennel
Ramey is signed up for Iditarod 2008. This will be his 13th running of the Last Great Race. This year’s plans also include a few mid-distance races. The team is in training, setting the base miles for the upcoming race season. The kennel has grown and there are many young dogs ready to step up to the plate. The two year olds that were in training last season are really shining! We’re very excited about the prospects. The veteran members of the team are going strong, and we are very proud of all of them. Let the snow fall, we’re ready get on the runners.

Our new pups are here! We have a litter out of Sand and Pawn. They are a lively and social bunch ready for adventure. Sand is a veteran Iditarod and 440 finisher.

Our other litters are from Dude and Gabby and Flint and Fire. Gabby had 5 pups. Dude is a 6 time Iditarod finisher! He finished 2006 Iditarod at 10 years old. His sister Babe is a 7 time Iditarod finisher, leading Ramey under the burled arch 7 times in a row! The pups are enjoying their walks and exploring the forest. We have two pups from our Sand and Star litter, Luna and Pluto. Fire had 8 puppies, quite the litter. They look like little wolf pups. Both Fire and Flint are Iditarod finishers, both having spent a lot of time leading the team.



Ramey and the team placed 16th in the 2007 Iditarod. Eight dogs made a strong push to the finish line; Babe, Scott, Hera, Emelia, Yoshie, Dude, Happy, and Flame. They swiftly cruised down Nome’s front street healthy and happy. Babe and Scott (Babe’s son) led most of the race. Hera finished as a two year old. Hera is the daughter of Phoenix, another 8 time Iditarod finisher. Most of the Iditarod team went on to race in the Kobuk 440.


A huge thank you to our wonderful and dedicated sponsors!! All of you help keep this team on the trail. Outdoors and More Sporting Goods - Wasilla, Steve Ripp - Wisconsin, Kenai Chrysler – Bob Farvetto - Kenai, Daily’s Web Design – Theresa Daily - Chugiak, Dr. Tim’s Pet Food – Dr. Tim Hunt - Michigan, Lloyd Charlie- Minto, Alaska Diesel Doctor - Wasilla, Brent Cassidy – custom welding - Willow, Pizza King - Wasilla, and Alaska Cheesecake Company - Wasilla.



Also, many thanks to everyone who helped with Iditarod 2007: Steve Ripp, Marguerite Goodman, Janine Goodman, Kayla, Trisha, Skeeter Stitt, Miranda Stitt, Skipper Stitt, Bonnie Church, Devin Rolland, Melody Hughes, Jessica Manifold, and LJ Miller.


Becca Moore
Thank you to our very good friends Mark, Julie and Jack Laker for hosting us during the Tustemena 200. Ramey and the team placed 7th.

Thank you to Dennis and Candace of KICY radio station for hosting us in Nome after Iditarod. They have been our host family for 3 years now!

We have a fantastic kennel handler, Sylvester Traylor! He has jumped right in and has been an important part of our kennel. Syl comes from Connecticut but was born and raised in Georgia. Our puppy handler is Pam Aviza. Pam has been doing and excellent job loving and socializing our puppy crew and getting them out and about on puppy walks.


Becca has many things to look forward to this season. She's looking forward to running her first big race; The Yukon Quest International Sleddog Race! Half of the fun will be getting ready for it. The race begins February 9th, 2008 in Fairbanks. This year is the 25th Silver Anniversary of the Yukon Quest…it should prove to be quite spectacular!



Ava joins us on most of our training runs and during dog lot chores. She’s always excited to see the dogs and jump on the 4 wheeler or sled. Look for her in the 1-dog class in a few seasons!































TOP NEWS


 

 
 


SPONSORS


ALASKA DIESEL DOCTOR

ILIAMNA LAKE LODGE

STEVE RIPP
 






























Best viewed with a 4.5 browser or higher
HOMESTRETCH KENNEL - WILLOW , ALASKA
All Rights Reserved © 2005 - No portion of this web site
may be reproduced without written permission
from Homestretch Kennel - Ramie Smyth & Rebecca Moore
E-Mail Us


Designed & Maintained by Daily's Web Design
www.dailyswebdesign.com
sleddog@alaska.net