Our friend is home .....

Well Martin made it home in one piece & smiling from ear to ear

He didn't get to the finish line....he scratched 2/3 of the way into the race....a friend told him tonight that HE is one of the real heroes in the sport because, he is out there doing it without the big corporate sponsorships, he's raising his own dogs in his own way, he trains them all himself and.....he quits when it's right for the dogs, not right for him!

A mighty wise friend, if you ask me !

Besides....

I really like having Martin home where he's safe & snug :)

*************

PS:

He's home "in one piece" but with a frost bitten tongue!

He was trying to lick the ice off his mustache at -50.....

OUCH!!

Martin's journey...begining to end...

Here is a visual of Martin's' journey!

(trail in purple)

& copied right out of the pages of the CB300 website,

the descriptions that follow....

Race Start/Finish: Wolverine Lodge
Wolverine Lodge is located in the picturesque community of Lake Louise. The lodge can be found on the south shore of Lake Louise at Mile 16.5 of the Lake Louise Road, which leaves the Glenn Highway at Mile 159.8.
26 miles to Tolsona

Tolsona Lake Resort
The resort is found in the community of Tolsona at Mile 170.5 of the Glenn Highway. This fast-paced checkpoint is a favorite with the spectators, for they can see the mushers zoom through and head down the final leg of the race.
23 miles to Glennallen

Glennallen
Check back soon for information on the route this year's race will take through Glennallen, Alaska.
59 miles to Chistochina

Chistochina Village Hall
Chistochina, found at Mile 32.7 of the Tok Cutoff, began as an Ahtna fish camp and later became a stopover place for traders, trappers, and prospectors. The leg between Chistochina and Paxson is the longest and most grueling of the race.
72 miles to Paxson

Paxson Lodge
The northernmost checkpoint is located at Mile 185.5 of the Richardson in the community of Paxson. Here the Denali Highway heads west towards Cantwell.
60 miles to Sourdough Creek

Sourdough Creek
This checkpoint is found at Con Seay's Sourdough bunkhouse near the old Sourdough Lodge at Mile 147.5 of the Richardson Highway. Here the trail leaves the road system for a while and heads into the beautiful back country of the Copper Basin.
59 miles to Race Finish/Wolverine

Martin's on the trail...

The cold snap (of 6 weeks) has finally

given up it's hold!

It's about minus 17 out there today! It is just beautiful, warm & snowing :) We can only hope that Martin is getting a weather break on the Copper Basin 300 Trail too...

So their "My Martin" is still in the race and we couldn't be more proud of him! He's survived -50 temps PLUS windchill & a gruelling trail !

More mushers have scratched yet our favourite competitor is hanging in!!

Adelheid, as Martin so fondly calls her, isn't surprised by his showing :)

& just beams at the reports of his progress!

Sarah's not surprised either...

but with crossed fingers and breath held

she listens to the updates!

They BOTH know that if they want to be as tough

as their "My Martin" when they grow up,

they'd better eat all of their Cheerios!!

(as you can see...Sarah is concerned that her sister didn't have enough

so she is sharing...)

& here is their ultimate hero & mushing coach, Daddy....
He's home after a cold & tiring training run...but not THAT cold! While his gear is frosted, his mustache & eyelashes aren't !!!
& by looking at his smile, it's easy to see he is pleased with the team :)


Starah...a solid leader through & through

Fiona...perhaps a bit psycho...& yes,
she DID nip Mummy out of sheer excitement...
but just look at those soft brown eyes...
& she lives to pull!! & Sarah...
Non more fair than her...
strong & true...
Leader extraordinaire !

After the run and a well deserved snack of fish guts, they got a tad distracted...
"but it was a BIG squirrel Master...it was getting into the sleep cabin...we HAD to protect what is YOURS"
Perhaps there might be a bit more training needed, but

they are still young leaders and we have pleanty of time for that ;)

****************

Hay Martin
Only one more checkpoint to go & your on the home stretch....
Keep warm Friend
and keep the runners on the snow ;)

Copper Basin 300....

Currently in 6th...Marin Jahr: is out of the start shoot with a strong showing...

#1) Mackey: is out front, leaps & bounds ahead of the pack...but then again THAT is to be expected coming from the soul man to win the Yukon Quest & Iditarod in the same year, two years in a row!! Note: Mackey's DOGS actually ran these races back to back !! ( I'd be thrilled to own some of his kennel castoffs!!)

2nd) Sass: is a well liked man...He won the Quest 300 the year Martin scared us all on Eagle Summit...in fact, Sass rescued the fella who lost his 12 dog team as they went careening down the near-fatal mountain. With this act of selflessness, he still took first place in the race! The following year, in 2007, when Sean Martin & Laura took a crack at the same race, Sass came to the rescue of Yuka Honda after she, devastatingly, had a dog die on the trail! In this race he was going for the full 1000 miles & thought he did not win this time, he DID do very well & earned a prestigious award for sportsmanship! There is always room for a Knight in shining armour no matter where you are!

3rd) Gatt: well....here is a man that, in the mushing world, needs no introduction. I LOVE this man, as do most of us. He was the first man to win the the Yukon Quest three years in a row! He IS the God of Mushing regardless where he places in the end!! A local Yukon too...

4th) Moore: Some big-wig Alaskan that I'll have to learn more about... I believe he has won the CB300 somewhere in the past...

5th) Lanier: of Chugiak, Alaska, I believe him to be from a family of long time mushers...has been racing, himself, for some 30 years...I suppose that means he knows a thing or two about dogs!

Other names to look for would be:
Michelle Phillips, One of the 4 women who have places top 5 in the Yukon Quest's history
Eddy Hopkins, Humble husband to Michelle & all sound fun guy...(on my team for the Kluane to Chilkat International Bike race in 2006)
Sebastien Schnuelle, local Yukoner who has been racing for ever and a day...Martin has some of Sebastien's dogs in his kennel & they are good friends.

So looks like our friend Martin is fairing well in the early hours of what is known to be the toughest 300 miles there are out there! I DID ask him if he had any final words before he left & reminded him that Dodds (a rather beautiful young female in his kennel named after some brilliant Yukoner...brilliant for what we aren't sure, but I've hear only great things about this person...why else would Martin name one of his dogs after her?) was to be left to ME in the even he did not return! I'm sure his laughter (in response) indicated an affirmation.

By the way...that would be a photo of "Dodds & Dodds" in the top right hand corner of this Blogg!!!!!

http://www.cb300.com/updates

To satisfy your burning desire about Copper Basin 300 standings...simply follow the link above

http://www.cb300.com/graphics/trailmap.lg.topo.jpg

Follow this link to a map of the race trail

******************

All the while, keep in mind that Martin Jahr is the notable "My Martin"
to Baby Adelheid & Baby Sarah, so in the end, we don't really care where he places, only that he gets home safely so that he may continue to sing German nursery rhymes to my children!!

What would we do if we didn't have....

...the weather to talk about ???

At these Yukon Winter temperatures, there is a clear line between

In-Door creatures &

Out-Door creatures!!

Yukon Out-Door Creatures...

My gentle baby Spruce...

The neighbourhood trickster...Robert the Raven...

Alex...bless his heart

Bernie...all frosted up:)

His brother Zazoo...equally frosted...

Dear Sarah...God of Lead dogs everywhere!!!

The Red Lantern...

A welcoming sign to all who venture near...

Glistening icicles that stop growing...

but only when it's too cold to have any trickles ...

& ME!!!

Well...for a few minutes anyways ;)...

*************

Yukon In-Door Creatures...

Adelaide Anne - Snug as a bug...

Sarah Grace - Not a care in the world...

Wellington - Master and Lord over all he surveys

&

William...

the cat...

who is curled up in some secret nest, dreaming away his afternoon...

Brrrrrrrrrr ;)

Murray is a fellow Blogger...

he's been hearing a lot of complaining about the Yukon climate as of late.....

Well Murry...this one's for YOU ;)

It's -47.2 (in the sun - up against the cabin wall!)
I say,

"BRING IT ON!"
Because we live off the grid (meaning "No electricity", for you city folk)

and rely on propane...

it means.....

... NO cooking

....NO laundry

... NO hot water


... NO generator


.....NO CHORES!!!!!

And as you can see by the faces off my girls.....that is

NO PROBLEM!!!!!

Heck the wood stack in the cabin even doubles as ...

a great foot rest as I sip my hot mug of tea & blog...
:)

Hay Murry...No complaints over here ;)

Meet the newest member of my family.....

...MY TRUCK!!!

Isn't she a beaut??

She's an '09, 1500 Crew cab, 4x4, Short box

Chevy Silverado

&

That would be me in the driver's seat beaming!

Thank goodness she got here when she did...the power steering on the car kacked on the way into town, the heater choked & the rear defrost chose not to work anymore...Heck, the kids nearly froze in the back seat on the way into town...took them a solid hour to warm-up once we got them indoors! Talk about a panicked Mum, I was fit to be tied!!

Happy news is, on the drive home, we might as well have been sitting on a tropical beach lounging while the radio announcer was spewing something about -40'C temps just outside the door! This pretty new girl took find care of us ALL on the way home! Sean on the other hand was bundled up in the car, fighting against the steering system while we tag-teamed home!

While on route, we stopped at Icywaters to pick up about 500 lbs of yummy frozen Arctic Char...The dogs just LOVE these dead, frozen morsels. Then we visited Laura & Jon in their driveway (to oooh & ahhh over my new beasty) & then it was off to Walmart for baby stuff & Canadian Tire for heavy duty floor mats for the truck. Then... finally... we were off, down the road towards home!

We took the time to stop in at Stacie's to visit but Dale & she were out cutting wood (and at -40'C, what a worthy thing to fill your time with) Funny thing was that Sean stopped on the side of the highway (in his semi-chilly car) to make sure I'd taken the new truck out of 4 wheel drive... Well of course I had... but had he left the car doors unlocked while he walked back to me to chatter?? NO!!! Did he leave the keys in the ignition with the engine running? YES!! Oh, & where were is warm mitts & fur hat? In the LOCKED VEHICLE with the KEYS! Into my new & very toasty warm truck he hopped (after kicking the tires of the car...) Keeping in mind, it was bloody cold out there...I chose to flag down the very next vehicle that came by (it took all of 1 & 1/2 minutes! And WHO do you think it was?? STACIE & DALE!! YAAAAAAA !! Our friends to the rescue!!! Not only did they get some tools (a coat hanger) to get us unlocked, they also had us join them for tasty New Year's Eve Leftovers & a cozy place to feed our (cozy warm but STARVING) children!

Guess I should have taken a photo of our friendly hero's in Dale's brand new Silverado (only a few days old) His is all sparkly white & happens to be a 3/4 ton with a full box! Oh well...let's just say that they were our

Knights in shining armour riding their White Horse :)

So...Here we are at home, safe & sound...minus the spare keys...yes...in the excitement of our day, we lost the spare keys! I'm crossing my fingers in hopes that they will re-appear...

(I can just see you Mum, shaking your head as you read this!!)

First morning with my new baby...& WHO is off with it?? That would be my husband :) I've agreed to LOAN him the truck for hauling the

Cabin-Life-Necessities ... so off he goes to bring his three women their water supply :) You just have to love a good Man!! :)
And he came home just thrilled with how well it did...Something about springs & all that truck stuff I know nothing about...All I know is that it's a really pretty blue colour & has AC for those viciously hot July Yukon days that we are so well known for...Oh no...that was ONTARIO's viciously hot days.... :):):):):) all a distant memory now.... SO I just got AC, why??? I'm sure I'll be able to put it to use once or twice a year, even if, just for fun of it!
At least I have OnStar...well actually, as it turns out, it doesn't work in most areas up here...Hummm...what about that XM Radio? I'm keeping my fingers crossed on that one :) But it looks mighty complicated with some kazillion stations to chose from!
All kidding aside, I DO have a great truck now & the girls & I will be able to travel safely on the highway. We can even visit local friends now too, hauling our jogger with us (the jogger wouldn't fit in the car trunk at all!!) ! Walking the girls on our road isn't the best idea during bear season & the rest of the year there is too much snow to be pushing a jogger around here! So I'm mighty excited about being able to get out & about now...
Look out friends. Here we come!!!!!

*****************

So that is the smile om MY face these days ... my new truck :)
Oh did I tell you that all of our pipes are frozen now too???
Sean is off fixing THAT crisis as I type...
Have I told you lately just how much I love my hubby??