2012 Iditarod!!!

Wow...now this Iditarod kind of sneaked up on me! Maybe its because it has seemed as though all winter here in the Adirondack Mountains has felt like late Feb or early March...its been an easy winter to say the least! Lulling me into thinking we have been on the back side of winter for months now....but no...Iditarod is yet to happen, and it BEGINS SATURDAY!! Yahoo!!! We got Hugh Neff, taking first place during the Yukon Quest...a 1,000 mile run to the finish a few weeks ago, a mere 26 seconds ahead of Allan Moore (married to Iditarod Veteran and 1st woman to win the Quest Aily Zirkle). My favorite musher Lance Mackey came in 3rd in the Quest...running a young Team of lively Alaskan Husky's! Go Lance! Dallas Seavey will be in the hunt this year for yet another top 10 finish....will the young guns be able to topple some of the "old time" favorites? John Baker won it last year....no spring chicken.....but experience means everything on the Iditarod Trail. And speaking of experience....Jeff King, who retired for just ONE year is back...hoping to win his 5th Iditarod. Buser, Mackey and King all in search of their 5th win (Oh please won't SOMEBODY knock Swenson off that damn 5 winner pedestal!!!!) Will this be the year? Not only is Dallas Seavey one of the rising Mushers of the Iditarod, but Martin Buser's son Rohn is also one to watch, with an impressive win ahead of Baker during a recent January Kuskokwim 300 mile race. So there you have it...the field is set....will it be Zirkle breaking into the top ten this year as the woman musher to watch...Dee Dee and Zirkle finished just outside of the top 10 finisher circle last year. Then you got the young guns, Dallas and Rohn, up against a mountain of experience in Baker, Mackey, Martin Buser, Mitch Seavey, Paul Gebhardt, Ken Anderson, Hugh Neff, Ramey Smyth and of course King. But remember...this is the Iditarod....where the musher is only half of the equation....its the Dogs who are the real athletes...who has the best kennel, the best Team that has been built from scratch. When all else is equal, its the dogs who make the difference.....this race has always been all about the dogs! Gee, Haw....Hike, Hike, Hike....the race is ON!