Off to Yentna

Alicia May and I saw Tess off on her short ski-plane hop to the Yentna Station Roadhouse today. Her flight was scheduled to depart at 11am, but some weather came in and their departure was delayed till 3pm. So we just sat around the Denali Flying Service office and chatted with another couple of women who were trying to get out to Skwentna.

Tess was looking forward to the weekend at Yentna. She borrowed some good boots from a friend of hers. We need to get some good boots like that. But for now, it was a good thing she was able to find a pair to borrow in her size. Actually, I believe they belong to her friend's dad.

While we were waiting for the weather to clear, we popped down to the Pioneer Lodge for a bite to eat. Alicia and Ava both had chicken strips, Iris had Mama Juice, I had a club sandwich (I'm polishing off the second half for supper), Tess had a fruit salad, Amanda had a burger. It was good food, decent price...

Once we got back to the airstrip, the weather began to clear. So they were lucky for that. Amanda and her girls piled into the back two seats and Tess got in the front passenger seat. And off they flew for their 30 minute flight to Yentna. They'll be returning on Monday evening...

The Iditarod starts tomorrow, of course. Yentna Station is the first checkpoint. All of the 90+ teams of dogs will be passing through starting tomorrow evening and through the night. Most of them won't stop for long. But some will rest their dogs a little and maybe stop in for a bite to eat or a warm beverage.

Amanda handles the dog drops at the checkpoint. If a musher doesn't think a dog should continue the race for whatever reason, he or she will drop them along the route. The dropped dogs are then transported back home either by plane or possibly snowmachine, depending on where they're dropped on the trail. (I could be just making this part up, but I believe that's how it works!) There are generally vets all along the trail at the checkpoints to make sure the dogs are faring well. It's really all about the canine athletes.