Circle, AK - Mushers had mixed reports about Eagle Summit when they arrived in the Central checkpoint throughout the day Sunday. Some teams took spills, others were cautious about their approach. The field is spreading out and a hard icy trail has the front of the pack moving at a quick clip.
Eureka musher Brent Sass was the first musher to drive his team into Central. All fourteen of his frost-covered dogs wagged their tails. Many jumped in harness. Sass says it was part of his race plan to arrive first into the third checkpoint on the trail. “I like to be up there alone and I don’t get waylaid by anything g up there on the top. Not to say it’s going to happen, but every time I think it’s not going to happen it does,” says Sass.
In previous years, Sass has helped other teams who have had problems on Eagle summit. He’s won the sportsmanship award twice for his efforts, but the 34-year old says he wasn’t up for another rescue this year. “I don’t have any problem helping people," he says, "but if I can avoid it at this point, from the get-go that was my plan to just get over the top and you get more dog teams up there and maybe I’ll cause the problem too, you just never know.” This isn’t a typical year for Sass. He’s running one of the most competitive dog teams of his career and it’s likely he is well aware of his potential.
While Sass bedded down his dogs in front of the Central Corner Store, defending champion Allen Moore came through the checkpoint. The two had a conversation about their experience on Eagle Summit.
But Sass never really made eye contact with Allen Moore. Instead, he eyed a long line of perky, petite and energetic sled dogs. They spent less than 20 minutes in the checkpoint, happily snacking on chunks of meat and wagging their tails as they headed for Birch Creek and the trail beyond. “Have a good run, we’ll see you down the trail," Sass called as Moore pulled out.
Stories from Eagle Summit came in with dog teams all day long. This section of trail is particularly trying for Mike Ellis. In 2012, he dislocated his shoulder in an accident on the steepest section and was forced to scratch from the race. “I honestly was probably more nervous than I have been any time running a dog team in a long time," Ellis admits. "That’s a big demon. That one hurt, so it was good to get here in good shape.” Ellis says broken chunks of ice on the trail were hard on his dogs’ feet. He decided to leave behind Baker, an enthusiastic four-year old husky, named after a river in New Hampshire. “Yeah, my cheerleader, so that's unfortunate," he says. "He just got a bad enough cut on his foot that he needed to be done.”
Hugh Neff is also a dog down. He decided to leave a young puppy behind at Mile 101 before climbing over the summit, where he also has his own demons. Neff lost a dog near the summit in 2011. This year, he says he’s hanging back, but he doesn’t deny that he likes to be the rabbit. “Yeah, I couldn’t just lollygag back here and take it easy," says Neff. Every time I’m on the sled with the dogs, I’m constantly thinking… what should I feed them?”
Much like Brent Sass, Neff knows Allen Moore may have the team to beat. “I think ever since the finish of the race last year, when I came into Fairbanks in second place, and I was looking forward to shaking Allen’s hand at the finish line and when I got there, he wasn’t even there. I’ve been waiting for this moment. It’s been my motivations for the whole year," says Neff.