Iditarod 2017

[jbjones]

In the event that you missed it, we have a fellow Dawg mushing in the Idatarod!!!

Seth Barnes (http://iditarod.com/race/2017/mushers/997-Seth-Barnes/)

Go Seth! I don't know him, I just like the Iditarod and noticed the M-State beanie while browsing the musher list.

[ScoobaDawg]

Awesome , keep up up to date how he does.

[jbjones]

Awesome , keep up up to date how he does.

Will do. Looks like he finished the '15 Iditarod in 35th, which is pretty damned awesome on your first go-round. He's done a top-10 in the Yukon Quest, which like the Idatarod is a grueling 1K mile dog-sled race.

He has a site, so if you want to help him out, you can find that info there. He has some nice shirts too.

join-the-team (http://sethbarnesracing.com/contact-usjoin-the-team.html)


-JB

[State82]

That's great! The Iditarod is one of the most fascinating events there is.

[EngDawg]

Wherever you go. We go go with you. Good Luck Seth! From State to Nome.

[bgover4]

Looks like the race started at 2:00 today. It will be interesting to follow.

[Percho]

https://www.facebook.com/Seth.1049?ref=br_rs

[jbjones]

Looks like the race started at 2:00 today. It will be interesting to follow.

He is bib #51, and has left Fairbanks. About 60 miles to the first checkpoint, Nenana.

Iditarod 2017 Standings (iditarod.com/race/2017/standings/)

Alaska daily news reported that it was -23 degrees in Fairbanks at the start.

[AROB44]

Does he have a bulldog as his lead dog?

[jbjones]

Does he have a bulldog as his lead dog?

Naaa...'ol Bully would sleep too long in the checkpoints.

At any rate, Seth checked in 54th into Nenana. He was very slow getting there, in 11 hours. Most were doing it in half that time. It doesn't appear that he dropped any dogs, so maybe he's deploying the "slow start". Hope so, long way to go. He spent 13 minutes at the first checkpoint before heading out.

4-time champ Martin Buser is setting a blistering pace. He has already checked into Manley Hot Springs with nearly a 2 hour lead on Mitch Seavey (2 time winner).

[State82]

Does he have a bulldog as his lead dog?

Never work. He would be leading the whole team off trail hunting beavers.

[jbjones]

Seth has checked into Ruby (346 mile mark) with 15 dogs. He dropped one at the last checkpoint. Currently he's being scored in the 45th position. He has yet to take his 8 hour break. Many teams have already taken their 8, and some are doing their 24 now. Some very interesting strategies this year.

Long way to go.

[EngDawg]

Seth has checked into Ruby (346 mile mark) with 15 dogs. He dropped one at the last checkpoint. Currently he's being scored in the 45th position. He has yet to take his 8 hour break. Many teams have already taken their 8, and some are doing their 24 now. Some very interesting strategies this year.

Long way to go.

Keep the updates coming

[jbjones]

Seth is 34th into Galena. Sadly one of his dogs, Deacon, died just prior to arriving at Galena.

Seth hasn't taken his 8 our 24 hour yet.

Drive on, Seth. Godspeed Deacon.

[jbjones]

Deacon "apparently collapsed" before his death.

ADN: Deacon (https://www.adn.com/outdoors-adventure/iditarod/2017/03/10/iditarod-live-blog-first-dog-death-of-2017-as-leaders-reach-the-halfway-point/)


"Stu Nelson said 2-year-old Deacon, a dog in the team of veteran musher Seth Barnes, collapsed an eighth of a mile from the Yukon River checkpoint of Galena. Nelson said Barnes came into the checkpoint "distressed," carrying the dog's body in his sled bag."

Hang in there Seth. Damn...

https://www.adn.com/resizer/qddoL8K_lI6hsctN7o1JQmwpQAg=/600x0/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-wordpress-client-uploads/adn/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/10070613/Deacon-3x2.jpg?token=bar


Also of note in that article, it said that Seth was running a "puppy team for the Seavey's". Which makes me think he's being groomed from the multi-time Champions for a big-time Dog Sledding career (Yukon Quest/Iditarod, etc). From what I understand, he worked for the Seaveys. Which is great...other than a few other kennels (Mackey being one), there are no better in the history of the race, damn near it.

[EngDawg]

Man that stinks.

Does the fact that he hasn't taken his breaks mean that he will fall back in the standings, kinda like a racing driver taking a pit stop?

[jbjones]

Man that stinks.

Does the fact that he hasn't taken his breaks mean that he will fall back in the standings, kinda like a racing driver taking a pit stop?

It's really hard to tell at this point. He's down 2 dogs right now. ...since most everyone has at least taken their 8, I would think he may be behind the strategy. But, it's possible he could very well have planned this type of run (minus the death), to make a late set of rests, and a massive push at the end.

We shall see in the coming days.

[Corn Bread]

In the event that you missed it, we have a fellow Dawg mushing in the Idatarod!!!

Seth Barnes (http://iditarod.com/race/2017/mushers/997-Seth-Barnes/)

Go Seth! I don't know him, I just like the Iditarod and noticed the M-State beanie while browsing the musher list.

Just went to the official site. Seth is a legit Chemical Engeering 2010 grad from State. Seth is from LA, "lower Alabama". His official picture him has wearing the MSate beanie hat. He has been racing for about 4hrs now. His real time is running.

[Corn Bread]

Never mind, I am way behind on this post. But this is cool.

[ScoobaDawg]

Man that stinks.

Does the fact that he hasn't taken his breaks mean that he will fall back in the standings, kinda like a racing driver taking a pit stop?

Pretty sure he is taking his 24 right now. He should be coming up on leaving pretty soon tonight if so.
He came in thursday night at 11:35pm Alaska time. It's friday night 9:29pm Alaska time now.

[ScoobaDawg]

and he's out. took 24 hour rest (24:44 exactly) Out with 14 dogs now. Hopefully the other one that got dropped today is alright.
Should be at Huslia in 11-15 hours. So sometime between 11:30am-3:30pm hopefully

[jbjones]

and he's out. took 24 hour rest (24:44 exactly) Out with 14 dogs now. Hopefully the other one that got dropped today is alright.
Should be at Huslia in 11-15 hours. So sometime between 11:30am-3:30pm hopefully

Yep, I bet he's keeping that 8 for near the end. Then make a huge push with that puppy team.

Edit: Actually he dropped the first dog after the 1st or 2nd checkpoint. I was reading some article that said he was keen to drop a dog for the slightest reason. Which makes Deacon's death a real surprise.

[ScoobaDawg]

Yep, I bet he's keeping that 8 for near the end. Then make a huge push with that puppy team.

Edit: Actually he dropped the first dog after the 1st or 2nd checkpoint. I was reading some article that said he was keen to drop a dog for the slightest reason. Which makes Deacon's death a real surprise.


3rd checkpoint (Tanana)
down to 14 with the death of deacon. that's correct.

[Bully13]

Pretty cool MSU reppin this event. Proud of him.

On a side note, I remember Jim Rome referring to this event as "ikilledadog"

[ScoobaDawg]

Pretty cool MSU reppin this event. Proud of him.

On a side note, I remember Jim Rome referring to this event as "ikilledadog"

Not Funny at all.

[Offshore Dawg]

Not Funny at all.

Yep Rome can diffidently be an ASS about things he is not down with in his attempts to re write portions of our English language

[ScoobaDawg]

and he's out. took 24 hour rest (24:44 exactly) Out with 14 dogs now. Hopefully the other one that got dropped today is alright.
Should be at Huslia in 11-15 hours. So sometime between 11:30am-3:30pm hopefully

He took 15 hours and 25 minutes to get to Huslia. Has been resting for almost 5 hours now. Wonder if he is taking his 8 hour already.

[ScoobaDawg]

Nope left right after i posted that at 9pm. He is down to 13 dogs now.
Heading to Koyukuk. Looks like others are taking 15-17 hours for this section. So Somewhere between 5pm- 7pm our time Sunday.

Sadly a 2nd dog, Smoke, passed on another team.

[Corn Bread]

Nope left right after i posted that at 9pm. He is down to 13 dogs now.
Heading to Koyukuk. Looks like others are taking 15-17 hours for this section. So Somewhere between 5pm- 7pm our time Sunday.

Sadly a 2nd dog, Smoke, passed on another team.

Must be to cold for PETA to protest.

[ScoobaDawg]

Must be to cold for PETA to protest.

Oddly enough it looks like Smoke died of hyperthermia aka overheating. A statement was put out the other day.
https://www.adn.com/outdoors-adventure/iditarod/2017/03/11/iditarod-live-blog-for-saturday-march-11-a-dropped-dog-dies-in-transit/

Necropsy reports indicate that hyperthermia — overheating — caused the death of a dog that died Friday night while being flown from Galena to Anchorage with 74 other dropped dogs.


Smoke was a 2-year-old from the team of veteran musher Scott Smith, who dropped the dog at Manley Hot Springs on Tuesday. Smoke had a wrist injury, according to race reports.


In a written statement released Saturday night, race officials said the necropsy findings "were consistent with hyperthermia, although further testing will be conducted to complete the study."


"The sequence of events that contributed to the warm temperature within the aircraft are being reviewed," the statement said.


Smoke was the second dog to die in the race. Necropsy findings on Deacon, a 2-year-old from Seth Barnes' team, have not been released. Deacon collapsed and died Thursday just outside the Galena checkpoint, race officials said.

[FISHDAWG]

very cool thread ... thanks guys for keeping it going

[jbjones]

I just read that Necropsy article, Thanks for posting the update Scooba.

Meanwhile, the Seaveys are ripping it! Wow. The top 20 has a lot of tip-tier names in dog-sled racing...the Seaveys...Gebhardt...Zirkle...Mackey; Dont' count out Jeff King or Martin Buser. Both are known to pull some late race hijinks (fake sleeping in checkpoints, etc). It's a trip!

[jbjones]

Also, back when Lance Mackey went on his tear of 4 Quest wins, AND 4 consecutive Iditarod wins, one of the outdoor channels had coverage of the race. It was really well done; Each episode was only lagging by about a day. As soon as a day finished, they had it edited, produced and on the air in a very short time.

It's a shame it's not covered now. I seriously contemplated buying the streaming package from iditarod.com. I probably will next year if there is no coverage on TV/Cable/Sat.

[ScoobaDawg]

Seth dropped another dog, down to 12, and then made quick work of the 22 mile trip to Nulato in 2 hours 11 minutes. Up to 40th place if I'm reading the standings right. He still has an 8 hour break to take. He left for the next short stop in Kaltag(47 miles away) at 9:52pm sunday night alaska time. Trip should be between 4 and 4.5 hours. So should get in around 2-3am ast ( 5-6am cst). Next comes Unalakleet, a longer trip of 87 miles that 5 people have checked in so far as of 11:30ast (2:30cst) and took between 9.5 hours to closer to 14 hours for those 5. So will have to see how long a break he takes in Kaltag before knowing timeline for that stop.

Seavey reached Shaktoolik (758 miles in, 221 to go) on Sunday night at 9:04pm (12:04 cst), which is the Next checkpoint after Unalakleet. It's a shorter 40 mile trail. He hasn't left yet as of 11:30pm AST. He has taken both of his mandatory rests already. Mitch only spent FIVE MINUTES in Kaltag while Dallas spent 3 hours and 51 minutes. This is the point where he might have have won it but nothing is certain out in the artic.

From the checkpoint site for Shaktoolik, it says..

"Population 199 -- One look down the street at the snowdrifts will tell you this is one of the windiest stretches of the trail. From here the trail continues overland for a short distance, then leads the mushers out onto the ice of Norton Bay, one of the most treacherous segments of trail that the musher may have to contend with. The checkpoint is at the armory."

https://s26.postimg.org/e54c5q0mh/route.jpg

[ScoobaDawg]

Dallas Seavey is in the lead... for now.
Dallas passed through Shaktoolik with only a 17 minute while dad, Mitch stopped for 5 hours 10 minutes. Leaving out Mitch was 22 minutes behind and only 14 minutes ahead of Joar Leifseth Ulsom.
Another article I found noted how the only way anyone could beat Mitch was to try a 3 run strategy since the Seaveys were going to likely do a 4 run.
https://www.adn.com/outdoors-adventure/iditarod/2017/03/12/difficult-or-desperate-iditarod-strategy-may-be-needed-to-run-down-seavey/

Next up is Koyak, 50 miles away.

Our boy, Seth is doing good. Still in 40th. Made the last section in 4:13 and has been in camp for a couple hours now.
Well...Maybe not actually he is 1 of 2 out the 68 still going that hasn't taken his 8 hour stay yet.

[jbjones]

Looks like Seth took his 8 in Kaltag.

Old man Seavey is the sure favorite to win it now.

[jbjones]

The Elder Seavey is close to being able to leave White Mountain. 77 miles to Nome. If all goes well, he should reach the arch around 1830 Central. Mitch and Dallas have done a really good job on this race in the recent years. Good to see Seth working with them. Maybe he can field a more experienced team next year and be up front battling with the leaders. It'd be awesome to see an M-State flag draped from the Burled Arch in Nome.

[Political Hack]

The Elder Seavey is close to being able to leave White Mountain. 77 miles to Nome. If all goes well, he should reach the arch around 1830 Central. Mitch and Dallas have done a really good job on this race in the recent years. Good to see Seth working with them. Maybe he can field a more experienced team next year and be up front battling with the leaders. It'd be awesome to see an M-State flag draped from the Burled Arch in Nome.


Loved the updates from you and scooba. Let us know how he does in other races too, assuming you follow those.

[ScoobaDawg]

Having a state connection is what got me interested. So thanks to the OP. I didn't know the first thing about the race till this week. Amazing what I was reading last night about Mitch possibly not only breaking the course record but shattering it. The speeds he is doing this late is why his son knew he had no shot. What a team of dogs.

[ScoobaDawg]

I wonder why Seth's picture changed. He's not in the MSU beanie anymore. He is hanging at 42nd place now and took a 14 hour break at his last stop. I hope there is more details written somewhere after the race. Love to read it.

[PassInterference]

Is he on social media? Somebody get the word out that Elitedawgs is rooting for him.

[jbjones]

Loved the updates from you and scooba. Let us know how he does in other races too, assuming you follow those.

Definitely will. I somehow missed him in the '15 race, his rookie year. I should have read his bio, seeing as how he finished 35th. That's pretty good. At any rate, next FEB the Yukon Quest kicks off, so if he's running, I'm sure I'll post a reminder.



Having a state connection is what got me interested. So thanks to the OP. I didn't know the first thing about the race till this week. Amazing what I was reading last night about Mitch possibly not only breaking the course record but shattering it. The speeds he is doing this late is why his son knew he had no shot. What a team of dogs.

Yeah, Mitch is eating it up. I'm all for him shattering the record, but it's kind of different in these types of events. The route is different than when Dallas set it last year....weather, etc. Still an awesome effort, and deserving of any accolades he gets!



I wonder why Seth's picture changed. He's not in the MSU beanie anymore. He is hanging at 42nd place now and took a 14 hour break at his last stop. I hope there is more details written somewhere after the race. Love to read it.

I just noticed that they totally reworked their musher page as well. Not sure why he has a different stock photo. I'm not expecting him to finish much higher. There was an update on his website. The article said his only goal this year was to finish. He knew he was taking out a very young and inexperienced team so he wasn't even shooting for 30s or 40s. It's a hell of a grind, so finishing is a worthy endeavor.



Is he on social media? Somebody get the word out that Elitedawgs is rooting for him.

I follow his twitter account (@SethBarnes1049), but there hasn't been much updating to that.

[jbjones]

Is he on social media? Somebody get the word out that Elitedawgs is rooting for him.

Oh, I also sent him an email through his website; Told him he had some fans here on ED and were rooting for him. His handler responded quickly, and said they would make sure he saw the message when he arrived in Nome. Maybe he'll create an account here and give us a first-hand account of his Iditarod 2017 experience.

You can buy shirts off of his site, as well as sponsor dogs. I'm thinking he needs an "ED" dog for next year's events!

[basedog]

How many "mushers started"? I'm all for sponsoring and ED Dog, we can call it....... Agenda! LOL.

[ScoobaDawg]

Oh, I also sent him an email through his website; Told him he had some fans here on ED and were rooting for him. His handler responded quickly, and said they would make sure he saw the message when he arrived in Nome. Maybe he'll create an account here and give us a first-hand account of his Iditarod 2017 experience.

You can buy shirts off of his site, as well as sponsor dogs. I'm thinking he needs an "ED" dog for next year's events!

Great job.. Love to learn his journey. I did wonder about that with all his dogs only being 2 year olds compared to Mitch having 4 and 5 year olds. No better way to get great experience..

[Dawgbite]

How many "mushers started"? I'm all for sponsoring and ED Dog, we can call it....... Agenda! LOL.

If it's a male dog we should name it "Hey Hugh", if it's a bitch we can call it Yancy!

[jbjones]

Mitch Seavey wins the 2017 Iditarod!! This makes 3 for him. I'll post the time when it is available.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C66pRsCU8AATQW8.jpg


Mitch is the fastest and oldest Iditarod Champion. He beat his son's record speed, set last year, by nearly 8 hours!

Fastest and Oldest Champ (https://www.adn.com/outdoors-adventure/iditarod/2017/03/14/at-age-57-mitch-seavey-wins-iditarod-as-its-fastest-and-oldest-champion/)

[jbjones]

Seth has checked out of Shaktoolik, still with 12 dogs. He's clipping along, and closer to the Burled Arch. He's scored 38 at the moment. There's a chance he can better his rookie effort in '15 of 35th. From the report on his web page, that is not his objective but he may very well end up with a career best finish.

[jbjones]

Seth checked out of Elim with 10 dogs. A bit over 100 Miles to go. White Mountain -> Safety -> Nome are the final checkpoints.

Aily Zirkle finishes in 8th. She said the last 77 miles were 40mph winds and -10 degrees. Yikes.

[Tbonewannabe]

Seth checked out of Elim with 10 dogs. A bit over 100 Miles to go. White Mountain -> Safety -> Nome are the final checkpoints.

Aily Zirkle finishes in 8th. She said the last 77 miles were 40mph winds and -10 degrees. Yikes.

I can't imagine just sitting outside in that shit much less competing in it. Those people are tough SOBs.

[basedog]

If it's a male dog we should name it "Hey Hugh", if it's a bitch we can call it Yancy!

Damn ur good!!!

+1

[jbjones]

Seth has checked into White Mountain! 77 miles to go! Scored 37th currently.

[ScoobaDawg]

Seth has checked into White Mountain! 77 miles to go! Scored 37th currently.
At white mountain is where the mandatory 8 hour stay is. He checked in at 5:06pm AST. So the earliest he can leave will be 1:06am (4:06 CST) on Thursday. There are two ahead of him within an hour and half if he can cut in time off in stops. But there are 3-4 close behind him if he slows any.

[ScoobaDawg]

And Seth is on his way. He left White Mountain after his exactly 8 hour stay in 37th place. 36 is 45 minutes ahead. 35th is hour and half. That would be about as far he could move up if he pushes. 34th is 3 hours and 7 minutes ahead.
38th place can not leave until Seth has already been gone for an hour and 49 minutes. 39th-41 are all 3 hours behind.

[InTheIttaBenaHotSun]

Appreciate you keeping us updated Scooba

[Bully13]

Seth is a bad ass. Would be really cool if he gave us a shout after he's done.

[ScoobaDawg]

I'm guessing Seth will arrive at the finish in Nome around 1pm CST. Should be at Safety by 10:30 this morning.
That would have him finishing the race in under 10 days.
You can watch the finish line here
http://iditarod.com/live/

[jbjones]

Seth has checked into Safety! He's on the final stage now to a finish in Nome!

[ScoobaDawg]

Seth has checked into Safety! He's on the final stage now to a finish in Nome!
Yep. He is 49 minutes behind 36th place, so I think he is going to end up staying in 37th. Unless Scott Smith keeps slowing down more, something caused him to turn a 6.5 hour trip into over 14.5

Nevermind, Scott Smith is coming in right now.

[ScoobaDawg]

Rookie Nicolas Vanier just finished. , age 54, was born and raised in France. He is a film director, an author and a musher. He started traveling in the “far North” at the age of 18 and spent most of the last 35 years traveling through Canada, Alaska, Norway and Siberia. He went from Skagway, Alaska to Quebec with a dog team and has spent four years in Siberia where he’s done about 20,000 miles in dog team expeditions. He is a film maker and produced “The Last Trapper” and “Wolf” and has written about 50 books, including photo books and fiction. He has his own dog team and two years ago he went through Mongolia, China and Siberia and did the Yukon Quest, finishing in 9th position. “I loved this experience.”

Seth should finish in 37th, and be in within the next 45 minutes.

[ScoobaDawg]

Seth just finished. I'll post a finally time and any pics I found later.


I checked to see who the last place person was and where they were. God Bless you Roger Lee and thank you for your service Bib Number 10. This is his rookie run and might be his only one. He still has around 261 miles to go and is down to 9 dogs.
"Currently, Roger is on an inaugural USAF sabbatical – allowing him one year to train full-time for the Iditarod. After the Iditarod, he returns to active duty as a US Air Force, Biomedical Sciences Corps, Bioenvironmental Engineering Lieutenant Colonel."

[jbjones]

Congrats Seth! Looking forward to the Quest and next year's Iditarod.

[jbjones]

I checked to see who the last place person was and where they were. God Bless you Roger Lee and thank you for your service Bib Number 10. This is his rookie run and might be his only one. He still has around 261 miles to go and is down to 9 dogs.
"Currently, Roger is on an inaugural USAF sabbatical ? allowing him one year to train full-time for the Iditarod. After the Iditarod, he returns to active duty as a US Air Force, Biomedical Sciences Corps, Bioenvironmental Engineering Lieutenant Colonel."

No kidding. LTC Lee is a dedicated individual. Unfortunately, his race is over. He scratched in Shaktoolik. He had a damned respectable run going.

Roger Lee Scratch (http://d3r6t1k4mqz5i.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/3.16.17_Iditarod_Roger-Lee-scratches-at-Shaktoolik-checkpoint-FINAL.pdf?x86326)

[ScoobaDawg]

No kidding. LTC Lee is a dedicated individual. Unfortunately, his race is over. He scratched in Shaktoolik. He had a damned respectable run going.

Roger Lee Scratch (http://d3r6t1k4mqz5i.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/3.16.17_Iditarod_Roger-Lee-scratches-at-Shaktoolik-checkpoint-FINAL.pdf?x86326)

Yea, Once i looked at how long he had been out I wondered if he could finish. two runs of over a day time that should have been half that. and his last two before dropping were 18 and 17 hours.
Hope all his dogs and him are healthy.


There is a UGA Grad running as a rookie, Thomas Rosenbloom, he is in 56th place. There are still 64 possible finishers (42 have finished so far).

Another interesting note is Larry Daugherty, who is in White mountain doing his mandatory 8 hour right now and should finish tomorrow. Once he finishes. He plans to climb Mount Everest and be the first to ever do both in the same year.

[jbjones]

Another interesting note is Larry Daugherty, who is in White mountain doing his mandatory 8 hour right now and should finish tomorrow. Once he finishes. He plans to climb Mount Everest and be the first to ever do both in the same year.

I saw that; He is one tough SOB if he can pull that feat off. Hopefully the weather on Everest works out. Often it's a big factor....The biggest being it's a tourist destination now. It's a shame what has become of that "adventure", but I digress.

I hope he gets his Iditarod finisher's buckle. That is a damned prize.