Iditarod

The beautiful Serrano Campground is situated amongst the tall pines on the north shore of the San Bernardino National Forest, steps from Big Bear Lake! This is a developed campground with water, showers, shaded sites and other amenities. The campground is on the north shore of the lake, off Hwy 38, across from the Polique Canyon Rd turnoff. Popular activities at this campsite include hiking, mountain biking, off-road riding, boating, swimming, skiing and snowboarding. The campground is pet friendly, but please keep all pets leashed at all times. Tether must be no longer than six feet. This weekend is the start of my Urban Mushing season! However, I do know there are some of you in this group that never even heard of urban mushing, let alone have any desire to do it. It can also be an expensive, not to mention addictive sport! This will be a great opportunity for those not quite sure if they want to try mushing, or those who just want to watch, to still come out and enjoy the beauty of Big Bear. Do some fall camping and hit the trails for a nice hike. My friend Kim is co-hosting this event with me to provide all non-mushers an alternate activity for the weekend. There will also be some easy, fun runs to participate in for those that would like to try urban mushing. Regardless of your urban mushing or non-urban mushing goals, this weekend is going to be a great weekend to try out the sport, meet an Iditarod competitor, relax and just have a great time in Big Bear. Aside from the cost of driving to Big Bear and camping, there is no other charge to participate in our fun runs and go hiking. These are the trails Kim is looking at exploring for this weekend: Grand View Point/Pine Knot Trail: (Sunday morning) The trail begins at the Aspen Glen Picnic Area and runs in a generally southerly direction until it reaches the aptly named Grand View Point, altitude 7,784. For the first 1.5 miles the hiker shares the trail with equestrian and mountain bike traffic as the trail winds its way up through stands of white fir and Jeffrey pine. Serious hikers make the 6 mile round trip in 3 hours or less. Sugarloaf National Recreation Trail: (Saturday Morning) If you came on the last Big Bear trip, we snowshoed this trail on Saturday. Kim will be starting at the other end of Sugarloaf this time. Although the view from the summit of Sugarloaf Mountain is mostly obscured by trees, you will have climbed to an altitude of 9,952 feet, the highest point in the Big Bear Valley. This hike is approximately 9 - 10 miles round trip. To make a camping reservation: Serrano Campground, Big Bear Lake. Reservations cost are $28-$56 a night. We are planning on camp sites lake front so to camp near the group choose camp sites: #103 - 132! Check in is at 2pm. Check out is at 12 noon! Directions to the campground: From I-10 in Redlands, California Exit at I-210 to State Hwy-30/330 north. Drive to State Highway-18 in Running Springs. Continue east on Hwy-18 at Big Bear Dam, do not turn at dam, go straight on Hwy-38 until you see Serrano Campground sign on the right. Turn right and followNorth Shore Lane to campground. Alternate lodging: If you don't do camping, and trust me, if I could afford not to do camping this would be me, here are some other, dog friendly, non camping, alternative lodging: Quail Cove Lodge (Fawnskin): 800‐595‐2683. Cabins of various sizes. No charge for dogs. Big Bear Lodge: 888‐949‐BEAR. Cabins of various sizes. $25.00 charge for dog plus cabin inspection at check out. Motel 6: This is where we stayed on our last Big Bear outing: Motel 6 Big Bear If you will be attending this event, please let us know which camp site you reserved and which days you'll be with us! Kim will be at the Serrano Campground on Thursday, Sept 23, if anyone wants to come up a day earlier also!

Urban GO Dogs clinic is an intimate, hands-on clinic for people who want to harness their dog's pulling energy while having FUN! Available for both beginners and advanced dog trainers alike, we will teach the elements of safely traveling by dog using your scooter, bike, trike or dog cart. In our Harness 101 section we focus on one-on-one work that helps provide confidence and control whether with one and two dogs or a whole team of dogs. You'll develop the skills to work with and train your dog in an urban environment, with distractions, and ensure you and your dogs are having a great time! Your Urban GO Dogs instructors are Barb Schaefer & Liz Parrish, co-founders of Life Through Dogs. A key tenant of Life Through Dogs is that dogs mirror and reflect without judgment how harmoniously we are living at any given moment. We can best learn about life - and ourselves - through these wonderful teachers. Barb Schaefer and Liz Parrish have combined experience of training sled dogs over 20,000 miles, and successfully work with a wide variety of dogs and people. Barb specializes in Siberian Huskies and has been formally training with them since '87 in a variety of areas including obedience competition, conformation, and dirt and snow sledding. Liz has primarily worked with Alaskan Huskies and accomplished her dream of finishing Iditarod 2008, starting her own learning from her first team in 1997 of an Australian Shepherd, Norwegian Elkhound, and a Beagle mix. YOUR DOG DOES NOT NEED TO BE A NORTHERN BREED TO MUSH!! (Please read the all the way at the bottom for more on this.) There is a fee for this event and it is limited to eight (8) entrants, hence the individualized training! There will be a discount for those that register before June 30th! Go to http://UrbanGoDogs.com and "request more information" to get further details. If you would like to do this training and need to make payments, Barb will accept the payment in (3) installments. You will, however, lose the discounted fee, regardless of whether or not register before June 30th. Barb lives in Sacramento and I believe Liz lives in Oregan. Aside from the cost of the training, we will also be responsible for their travel expenses...which includes them, their gear, and their dogs. As of right now, that cost will be approximately $40 per person. Depending on how many people sign up for Day Two training, the cost will be less. You can pay that on the day of training, and I'll let you know the exact cost closer to that date. And, because Barb and Liz have received requests from other groups in Southern California, this training will not be limited to just our group. Both Day one and Day Two training classes will also be offered to the SoCal Working Dog Group, which consists of the Costa Mesa mushing group, the Ventura County mushing group, and the Lake Elsinore mushing group. The clinics held last year for these groups sold out in days. Barb is graciously allowing me to hold off on offering this training to the SoCal group so that you guys can have an opportunity to register first for the training. I'll be offering the training to the SoCal group on June 28 so they can have a couple of days to take advantage of the discounted training price. If you register for the Day One, individualized Urban Go Dog training, you will be allowed to take the Day Two, Urban Go Dog Scootering Groundwork Introduction training for FREE! Go to http://www.UrbanGoDogs.com to submit your name and email address and you will immediately receive the details on these clinics. I know this is a lot of information, so please do not hesitate to send me an email ([masked])to clarify anything! From Barb & Liz: "Please join us and we look forward to working with you and your dogs to take your training results to the next level. We welcome your interest, look forward to your participation, and are glad to be able to enhance your relationship with your best friends!" Barb & Liz Please note --- this activity is NOT just for Siberian Huskies. There are a number of other northern breed type dogs that would love to be given the opportunity to answer their genetic calling. Alaskan Malamutes, Samoyeds and the Canadian Eskimo dog (and let's not forget Alaskan Huskies, which are now the breed of choice for running the Iditarod). These are among those that were bred specifically to pull sleds. On the other hand, other working and sporting type breeds simply have a LOT of energy to burn and likewise find fulfillment in running and pulling. German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois, Dalmatians, Portugese Water Dogs, Akitas, Jindos, Australian Shepherds, German Short-Haired Pointers (these dogs can sometimes hit speeds of 30 MPH or more!) These are but some of the breeds that have taken to dog scootering and other urban mushing type activities. Whatever breed your dog might be, even the lovable mixed breed mutt, if they have a lot of energy and love to run and pull, then this could be the perfect exercise for them. Your dogs do need to be properly socialized. Smaller breeds can do more of the canicross and bikejoring forms of urban mushing. I wouldn't recommend a dog of under 45 lbs to do any pulling. The first rule in Dog Sledding is that your dogs needs come first (Food, Rest, and Medical) the musher�s needs come second.

Saturday October 2, 2010 2:00 PM until 3:00 PM Backyard Iditarod Welcome a bit of Alaska as Shannon Miller demonstrates what mushers use for the Iditarod race. Meet Foxy, her retired sled dog, who ran the Yukon Quest in 2002. This program is for all ages. No sign up is necessary.Location: Tallmadge

Sled dog Trade Fair with speakers , including Sebastian Schnuelle, winner of the 2009 Yukon Quest Race and 2nd place 2009 Iditarod. Also begginer's course on scootering /bikeing with your dog(s). Family fun with many vendors, lectures; food available.

Klondike Dreams Kennel, along with the town of West Yellowstone would like to invite you to attend this years Sled Dog Race! Our area normally enjoys a good early season snow pack, making for the perfect first race of the season. We have good trails, beautiful scenery, and a fun atmosphere, so come and join us! The Rodeo Run Sled Dog Races is a two-day sled dog race in West Yellowstone. This race attracts entrants ranging from novices to Iditarod veterans. Meet the mushers on Thursday from 3:00pm to 5:00pm outside the Wild West Pizzeria. Races start at 9:00am Friday and Saturday. Spectators can watch the race at the starting line in town or at any designated checkpoints along the trail. For more information contact Klondike Dreams at our website or e-mail. Mailing Address:PO Box 1374West Yellowstone, MT 59758Phone: 406-646-4988http://westyellowstonesleddograces.comEmail: rodeosconcrete@msn.com Directions: Races start at the Old Airport at the intersection of Highway 20 and Iris Street. From Bozeman take Highway 191 South to West Yellowstone, turn right on Highway 20 proceed 6 blocks, turn left onto Iris Street. From Idaho take Highway 200 East to West Yellowstone, first street is Iris Street on the right.

I need to write a one paragraph summary for the following books: Angela's Ashes by: Frank McCourt Wormwood by: G. P. Taylor Alas, Babylon by: Pat Frank Farewell to Manzanar by: Jeanne W. and James Houston Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod by: Gary Paulsen I don't want to plagerize anything but can anyone give me some links or some help to write a simple one paragraph summary.

Answer: I could give you the summary to "Farewell to Manzanar." Jeanne is reflecting about a time in her life where she and her family were uprooted from their home shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. The same day that Pearl Harbor was attacked, Papa tried to hide his identity by burning his flag of Japan as well as his identity papers. It didn't do much good for him because Papa was considered an enemy alien. He was charged with delivering oil to Japanese submarines off the coast and he was relocated to Fort Lincoln, North Dakota for questioning. No one knew where Manzanar was. All Jeanne and her family knew that was where the government was sending them. Jeanne was excited. She'd never traveled outside of Los Angeles and she got to ride a bus. She was seven years old at the time. On the foot of Mount Williamson, among the billowing dust storms, in the middle of the desert, stood barracks, watchtowers, and barbed wire. This was Manzanar. This would be their home for the next 3 1/2 years. At Manzanar, conditions were quite unbearable. It was cold at night but hot during the day. There were no partitions in the bathrooms, and there were long lines to the mess hall, the wash room, etc. Because everything was chaotic at the time, there was nothing to do. Jeanne's mom found work as a dietician, leaving Jeanne and her siblings by themselves. Jeanne decided to study Catechism. Nine months after Papa's arrest, he reunites with the family at Manzanar and Jeanne sees first hand how Papa's attitude changed. The first thing she saw was cane, a sign that Papa somehow became weak. When he arrived at Manzanar, he was a lost man. His two countries were at war and he was betrayed by both. All his life, he believed he was better than the other Japanese men and he was so angry for being forced to live so close to them for the first time. He hated to work for someone, so he didn't take a job at Manzanar. Instead he puttered or paced all day in the barracks. Many of the camp inmates labled him as an "inu" because it was rumored that he snitched on some of the Japanese men at Fort Lincoln, North Dakota in exchange for an early release. Two months after the December riots, the government issued the Loyalty Oath to distinguish between who were loyal American citizens and who were traitors. Every male seventeen years of age and older were required to fill it out. Questions 27 and 28 caused an uproar as it asked whether you were willing to fight for the U.S. and declare allegiance with the U.S., forswearing any previous allegiance they had with Japan. It was difficult for Papa because if he checked "no," he would most likely be sent to Tule Lake and from there shipped back to Japan. If he were to check "yes" (he did vote yes), that would mean pledging loyalty to the United States; the same country that accused him of delivering oil to the Japanese and possibly fighting his own countrymen if drafted. As the years went by, many people started to overlook the prison aspect of Manzanar and turned it into a little village. Despite the watchtowers and barbed wire, there were softball leagues, sock hops, Boy Scouts, ballet lessons, neighborhood gossip, hair salons, a post office, a church, and even a school. You might say that things were becoming tolerable, livable in comparison to when her family first arrived. In October 1945, Jeanne and her family were released. After nearly 4 years in isolation, living among one race, Jeanne and her family had a hard time living among society. People made hasty judgments about her. She joined a baton twirling corp., the school newspaper, and even tried to be the carnival queen, which she did succeed. However, after accomplishing all these goals, Jeanne still had a sense that she still didn't fit in. She simply did not know who she really was and who she wanted to be. In April 1972, Jeanne and her family visited the ruins of Manzanar. Everything that once represented manzanar was simply gone.

Its about this dentist living in miami. and he finds out he is adopted. and his mom died and now he has to go to alaska to take care of the huskies. and he decides to race in the iditarod. and he ends up winning.

Answer: I've seen this movie a hundred times. It used to be one of my favorites. It is DEFINITELY Snow Dogs.

Answer: With their long bodies and aerodynamic designs keeping them low to the ground, I think you have a wiener there!

I do not live in a region where it snows a lot, but somehow, I have become obsessed with dog mushing. My dream is to be in the Iditarod someday, but I haven't the slightest idea of where and how to start...... Any suggestions????

Answer: I would try to find mushers near you and see if you could volunteer to work for them. The position is called a handler, and as a handler you can learn how to care for and run sled dogs by working with an established musher and team. Ideally choose a distance musher with racing experience. I would also volunteer at local races and events to learn as much as you can about them, and meet other people involved in the sport. Sled Dog Central is a great resource online for information, check the links on the left for listings of clubs, organizations, kennels, and mentors. http://www.sleddogcentral.com/ Mushing is a very expensive sport and to get to the level where you are ready to participate in an event like the Iditarod will take years. SO be prepared for a big long tern investment. Weather you have your own team, or work with someone to lease a team you are still going to need to qualify for the race. To do that you will need to run 750 miles of approved qualifiers over 2 years, and get a veteran musher to sponsor you; all before you can sign up. You can find all that information in the rules at the Iditarod web site: http://www.iditarod.com/mushers/ And then I would read and learn as much as I could. There are great videos for sale about the Iditarod: http://www.iditarodstore.com/browse.cfm/2,131.html As well as great books about mushing and dog care: Dog Driver is excellent http://www.amazon.com/Dog-Driver-Guide-Serious-Musher/dp/1577790944/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275852238&sr=8-1 Backstage Iditarod will show you more about the race: http://www.amazon.com/Backstage-Iditarod-June-Price/dp/0979582849/ref=pd_sim_b_24 and here is one called the Fact Book http://www.amazon.com/Iditarod-Fact-Book-Complete-Guide/dp/0974501492/ref=pd_sim_b_2

I live up here in Northwest Washington, and I'm looking for a dog, preferably a Husky. Can they live up here comfortably? I've always wanted a Husky, ever since I watched Balto and learned about the Iditarod Sled Dog Race, but I don't want to buy one and then let is suffer in a climate that it can't deal with. I'm not going to make an animal suffer because I think it's a pretty dog, so I'd just like to know if the climate up here is all right for them. Huskies are a cold climate dog, and I'm a cold climate person, so I'm not much worried about the cold, but the heat. It's gotten into the 90's up here (never more than a few days in the summer though), and that is what worries me. I'm aware of Alaskan Huskies, but I also know that Mr. Leonhard Seppala was instrumental in the Siberian Husky breed. If I have my history correct, Togo was one of his dogs, as well as Balto, both of which were Siberian Huskies (not a wolf-hybrid, as the cartoon depicted) that took part in the Great Serum Run of 1925 (which was a relay, and not one continuous dash, as the movie depicted). Siberian Huskies are used in the Iditarod (or, if they are not now, they once were), but that doesn't mean they are the dominant breed. There are Malamutes and other such cold weather dogs. I even recall a man who entered a smaller race with poodles (he didn't get very far, as I recall).

Answer: There are plenty of Siberian Husky owners (and even mushers) in WA state. The dogs do fine, there. If you are serious about the breed, please do your research and buy from a responsible breeder (or consider rescue). There are plenty of decent breeders in WA/OR. Start looking here: http://www.shca.org/shcahp4f.htm#WA These people will also encourage you to read up on the breed and determine if it's right for you. Siberians aren't for everyone, and too many of them are dumped in shelters at 1-2 years old after people buy them for their looks and don't understand what they're getting into.

Iditarod this year and was wondering if it would be ok to use illegal immigrants to pull my sled? Arizona seems to have an abundance of them and the cost of trained dogs is way to expensive. Would this be against the rules?

Answer: you are a joke! illegal immigrants are ppl just like your retarded @ss...

Answer: Not since the “Saber-Toothed Tigers” went extinct about 10 thousand years ago.

Answer: Not that they could not be use for recreation? why not as long as they are not too cold and conditioned correctly it could be lots of fun. but race, NO Rule 43 -- Dog Description: Only dogs suitable for arctic travel will be permitted to enter the race. Suitability will be determined by race officials. this is from the Iditarod rules: http://www.iditarod.com/pdfs/2010/rules.pdf And in both races dog must undergo a vet check, where it is highly unlikely any vet would approve of a schnauzer team. Yukon Quest rules + notes on sled dogs: http://www.yukonquest.com/site/sled-dogs/ http://www.yukonquest.com/user-uploads/basicpage-files/2010%20Yukon%20Quest%20Rules%20FINAL.pdf It is also highly unlike a team of schnauzers would be capable of attempting to compete at that level, it is simply not what theya re bred to do. Whereas sled dogs are uniquely bred to do just that: http://outside.away.com/outside/bodywork/201003/sled-dogs-human-athletic-performance-research-1.html http://dog-breeds.suite101.com/article.cfm/alaskan_sled_dogs_tremendous_athletes

i know they have one uder the teacher tab for teachers to use. but do they have a real mission statement or vission or goals and objectives? links would be very much appreciated.

Answer: The statement you saw is for the Education Department of the Iditarod, the organization devoted to education and outreach. Not the actual race or the organization. The Iditarod race is organized and run by the Iditarod Trail Committee (ITC), and they as the governing organization they have a board of directors, and bylaws. The bylaws include a section title 'purpose' and that is the closest to a mission statement I know of. Link for the bylaws follows http://www.iditarod.com/pdfs/meeting/bylaws.pdf and more about the ITC http://www.iditarod.com/aboutus/

Answer: i buy movies on ebay alot. hope that helps.