Happy dogs, race-ready sleds and snow

In six hours from this writing, the Iditarod race starts from Fairbanks to Nome, Alaska.   I’ve never been part of this, but the drama and energy of it all captivates me.

Ever since I read White Fang, and then visiting Anchorage twenty years ago, I have wanted to see this race.    Dogs straining at their leads,  the sleds loaded with enough supplies – I hear duct tape is a major repair necessity – and the men ready to compete across a thousand miles.

This morning, I have Dexter and Comet to walk. Straining at their leads, ready to go.  But pull a sled.  We’ll keep up via the Internet.  But this is all for now.  I have to walk them and enter my own competition in a little while.  I’ll dream of the wilderness, snow and labored breathing of the wilderness — while I jostle for position in traffic.

Follow the race here