DONNELLY FLATS — The first dog race of the season has come and gone already. Alpine Creek Lodge, at Mile 68 of the Denali Highway, hosted its Excursion race Saturday.
The race is an informal event that allows teams to time themselves at the Cantwell race start. Racers travel 65 miles along the 135-mile highway — closed to vehicles for the winter — to the finish at Alpine Lodge.
This fun event ends with prizes and food furnished by the lodge. Wind and a lack of good snow kept the field small. Nonetheless, the teams that raced got an excellent training run and were able to partake of the unmatched hospitality of Alpine Lodge.
Now Ken Anderson, who's run the last 15 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Races, is adding race organizer to his already-impressive resume. Anderson is hosting the Tolovana 300, which starts just past noon on Saturday Dec. 17. Anderson designed his race as a 300-mile qualifier for mushers aiming to compete in the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest or Iditarod. He hopes veteran racers also will sign up so rookies can benefit from their experience. The race allows more-than-adequate rest, which behooves a long race early in the mushing season.
The Gin Gin 200, beginning in Paxson and running along the Denali Highway, takes place the first weekend of January. The Gin Gin has become a more-remote event since Paxson Lodge closed. Teams must be prepared for a cold start and finish at the east end of the Denali. The high point of the race is the warm hospitality at the only checkpoint, Alpine Creek. Expect about 20 teams to compete.
The Knik 200, run near the heart of Alaska's mushing community, has 34 teams signed up. Like many Alaska races, the Knik has been plagued by a lack of snow the past few years; the 2016 race was canceled. This time, organizers have alternative plans. Should there be insufficient snow at Knik, the start will be moved to Deshka Landing. Cold weather the past two weeks should translate into adequate ice thickness in most locations.
Virtually every weekend in January will bring a race for Alaska distance mushers, culminating in Alaska's two biggest middle-distance races — the Copper Basin 300 on Jan. 14 and the Kuskokwim 300 on Jan. 20.
The 50-musher Copper Basin field has already been filled, and all the top-five finishers from this year are back, led by defending champion Matt Hall of Eagle. So far, 16 mushers have signed up for the Kusko, but expect that field to grow as the race approaches. For years, the Kusko has been the world's richest middle distance race. Last year, champion Pete Kaiser of Bethel claimed $25,000 of the $130,000 purse.
Most kennels use 200- or 300-mile races as tuneups for the Iditarod or Yukon Quest. Training schedules may need to be tweaked, especially for Iditarod hopefuls, while there is still a month or more remaining before the March 4 start. Yukon Quest teams will need to be content with what they see since that race starts a month earlier, on Feb. 4.
Should the Yukon Quest seem out of reach, another first-year 300-miler, the Willow 300, is scheduled for the first weekend in February. Twenty-four teams have already signed up.
It is great to see new events along Alaska's highway system. Most of the races are structured so at least a portion of the trail is visible to spectators. Volunteers are always welcome at sled dog competitions, too.
Snow has been in short supply during October and November of 2016, but last week's dump provided hope for teams that have been training on wheels. There is just enough snow for small teams to use a sled in most locations, and another six inches on top will allow larger teams to use the trail — though the National Weather Service forecast for the next week doesn't offer much hope.
But maybe, just maybe, we will have a normal mushing season for a change.
John Schandelmeier is a lifelong Alaskan who lives with his family near Paxson. He is a Bristol Bay commercial fisherman and two-time winner of the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race.