Category Archives: 2017

We love this guy! I’ll just say it– His relaxed way and kind dog care has really made us his fans! He fits in just perfectly with the Kaiser program.

About 30 minutes behind Pete and the Team, Niklas Wikstrand arrived into the Knik Checkpoint, just before dark.

The Willow 300 is really a different sort of race in many ways, but one big difference is in what each musher can do and what help they can have during the race. Niklas is using the Willow 300 as an Iditarod qualifying race, so he cannot have any help at checkpoints. Pete, since he isn’t using the race as a qualifier, can have help at the checkpoints.

Unfortunately for Nik and some of the other later arriving mushers, the facilities ran out of hot water just after the first Teams arrived, so he had to heat his water to cook his dog food. In his quite, calm way, though, it didn’t bother him a bit and he completed his chores in short order and it was off to the restuarant for his own large order of a Cheeseburger and fries.

After Pete and the Team were off on the trail, Nik began to ready his Team as well. I teased him and asked him if he was teaching his Team Norwegian- “Yah” was his answer, “they seem to understand me.” As I listened as he bootied the Team, indeed he was speaking to them in Norwegian. As Nik gently worked with the dogs and speaking to them, the Team was definitely responding. I then teased Ron, “Hey- We’ve got a bilingual Team now” We all chuckled, but I for one think Nik has something here…

As his 3 hour break came to an end, Team Kaiser sprang into barks and howls, lunging at the gangline- Ready to Go. Nik grabbed the hook, signed out with the Checker and off the made onto the trail. 65 miles to go until the next Checkpoint.

We won’t see them again in person until the Sheep Creek Lodge Checkpoint late tomorrow. Go Team Kaiser!

It’s something that we don’t get to do very often here at Kaiser Central– See Pete and the Team at a Checkpoint in a race. 50 miles down the trail of the 2017 Willow 300 lies the checkpoint of Knik. Placed on a small lake near Knik Bar and Grill, the secluded little lake was alive this evening with the howls and sounds of hundreds of dogs, support crews, and mushers.

As the sun set into the fog of the Matanuska Valley, Pete and Team Kaiser arrived into Knik 17 minutes behind the leader, Nicolas Petit. It was a beautiful evening in the crisp still air. Just perfect for mushing.

Generally Pete and the Team leave off into the wilderness leaving all of us behind until the finish line appears. In this race, support crews are mandatory in a couple of checkpoints to clean up straw and other presents left behind.

After the Team was bedded down and snacked, it was a pleasant break for Pete as we all gathered in the restuarant for Alaska sized hamburgers from the Knik Bar and Grill. Being it was a Friday night, the place was packed and festive to celebrate the event.

In this race, mushers are mandated to take 18 hours of break. Knik is 50 miles into the 300 mile race (think Tuluksak if this was the K300). But many teams were taking 3 and even 4 hour breaks before heading back onto the trail. I’m sure the Team was wondering what was going on with a 3 hour break after such a short time, but not a one complained and fell fast asleep on their beds of straw.

After his monster-sized hamburger and fries, Pete made his way out to the Team, bootied them up, and with a “Ready- Let’s Go!” – They were off into the darkness. It was just a fun time with Pete and the Team. Highly Recommended! Here are Pete’s Photos!