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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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