Martin & Kathy Buser .. A TEAM to remember!!

Photo from Happy Trails Kennel

The road to success is paved in many ways -but teamwork is one of the most predominately important and hard to accomplish. To win takes courage, endurance, tenacity, resourcefulness, grit and a healthy dose of luck. All of these traits can play against teamwork... just as much as they are integral to it. So, when a team does succeed, it stands out. Stands tall. Shines.

Whethere the team is one made up of well bred and trained dogs or humans, the success they achieve is only through consistant, pre-learned traits: ingrained, if you will into their very being. Nothing comes between the team and the goal. This is what puts us in awe of real teamwork.

Martin Buser and Kathy Chapota are just such a team. Married, with 2 fine sons, and owners of Happy Trails Kennel, they exude the team spirit. Just like the athletic dogs they raise and race, Martin and Kathy can pull their own weight individually and know when to leave the lines to the other when necessity arises. They also possess one of the rarest of 'team traits', they inspire others to become part of the team. This is where the team goes into greatness.

I don't know Martin or Kathy beyond a brief 3-hour meeting with them both at their operations last October (2004) and what I read reported on them over the years. But what I have observed - from both sources - combined with observing people in all walks of life for 30+ professional years - tells me this couple is an exceptional blend of, 'All the right stuff.' When people speak of them, they speak with respect. Why? Because both have worked hard to earn the respect. Their actions - in the good times and the bad times - have shown they base themselves on a purpose and/or goal, far bigger than themselves. They constantly exemplify the confidence that only comes with knowing they have nothing to prove; don't need to prove; enjoy their life; and live that life fully, with respect and awareness of the responsibility they have in remaining but a small part in the greater scheme of life. This is what many refer to as humility. And being that they are so - they will be the first to deny anything special about them or what they do. This is one of the reasons they are so well liked -by so many.

This is what makes the Busers such great spokespersons for the Outdoor Heritage Activity they make their life: dog sledding. The Busers are professionals and they are responsible (unusual note for dropped dogs). They have shown themselves credible. They continue to exhibit integrity - no matter the conditions. A commodity of great price - rare and hard to maintain. Credibility, like honesty, integrity and loyalty ... is won through hard work and dependable responsibility. It takes a lifetime to develop; only a moment to loose .. and is even harder to keep. Yet, it is worth every ounce of effort.

One does not remain at the top of 'the game' (remember LIFE is the ultimate 'game' ) long unless you are doing something very right. 'Roman candle winnners' may be exciting to watch, but they are not whom you want to pattern your efforts upon. Just like in the investment business. A risky venture can bring you ruin just as likely - if not more so - than it can riches. Investment therefore, is best done for the 'long-haul' --with vision and determination to be around long enough to reap the benefits of your efforts. When dealing in the realm of teamwork and success - where people are involved - the stakes are even higher and the losses even more devastating.

We can all learn lessons from the teamwork shown between the dogs in a sled-dog team .. and the teamwork between the musher and his/her dogs. Honor. Respect. Loyalty. Trustworthiness. Dedication. Determination. Love. Obedience. When we find human TEAMS that teach us this, too ... we are wise to slip into their tracks and learn how they made them so solid; so easy to follow; so welcoming. We are even wiser to realize they will not last; that they are only templates for our own learning. Soon they will be gone. If we want to continue in such 'good track', we must learn how to make them ourselves. Once we do, then one day, we, too, will provide 'track' others can use as highways to learning as well.

That in the end is the real purpose of TEAMWORK ... Winning in order to Pass On the KNOWLEDGE of HOW and WHY working as a TEAM is important in the first place. This is the only way society will continue forward in a sustainable future. The ONLY Way.

Thank you Martin and Kathy for being you. It has already spoken volumes for itself. And it's encouraging to know - it continues on.

O'fieldstream

Scdoris, Ellering .. Winning Combo!

Cabela's Iditarod - 2005 Race Coverage

Scdoris, Ellering recount Iditarod trip
by Jon Little

NOME, 1:30 p.m., March 18, 2005

When Rachael Scdoris’ dog team finally made it to Eagle Island, the Bend, Ore., dog musher was so wrung out from muscling the sled through soft snow that she cared for her team, shuffled over to a wall tent and collapsed into her sleeping bag. She didn’t move for hours. ...from Cabelas Idiatarod Coverage Online

Paul Ellering and Rachael Scdoris talking to the
media in Nome's convention center.

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As I said before .. Rachael Scdoris is a WINNER, by any and all standards. No slack should be given toward Paul Ellering either. It's had to imagine a veteran musher having the patience to take on a rookie without any limitations, let alone one who has so much media and politics attached as well as limits. And all that binds him in total responsibility for safety and security. Paul Ellering is a good man. And as the Marines are well known for saying, 'they are hard to find'. But there's no doubt, Rachael will find herself among the mushers of Iditarod 34 in 2006. GREAT!!

This was a great story in the 33rd Running of the Idit .. but it was by no means the only one. And I must say, "Hats off, Saluds and Kudos" to Jon Little, the no-doubt frazzled, by smiling like the Cheshire Cat, journalist who pounded the snowy and 'not-so-snowy', lonely, wind-swept and heart-pounding trail to bring us all the latest information on the Iditarod Race.

Cabela's did a good thing in putting Jon on the trail of the stories for their web site. He has performed with the professional moxie of the very teams he's covered. So a BIG, Hearty -

"Thank You!!" to Jon Little, Iditarod Journalist Extraordinaire!!

More later ...

O'fieldstream

Iditarod 2005 - Women make BIG contributions and presence : Kathy Chapotan

Kathy Chapoton praised at White Mountain

Dogs rest in White Mountain
Photo by Danny Seavey

Mushers arriving at White Mountain are usually puzzled enough after enduring long runs at the end of along race. They're as tired as they will get. So imagine the odd feeling they must have had upon arriving at this second-to-last checkpoint in a snowstorm only to be greeted by virtually no one. No one, that is, except a few local residents, Martin Buser's wife, Kathy Chapoton, and some tourists Chapoton enlisted to help. Cabela's Iditarod - 2005 Race Coverage: "Scdoris scratches at Eagle Island" ... by Jon Little

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Allllll Riiiiightt K A T H Y !!! Now this would be a great story in itself. Kathy - on the way to meet here husband - musher Martin Buser - at the far-out checkpoints of the Iditarod, gets socked in with bad weather - and makes the best of it by being the 'champion' of the hour for every musher coming through remote White Mountain. Of course there is no one else there - but that also means you have to a LOT more than you would normally. Either way - it was a 'BIG JOB'. Therefore - BIG THANKS !

But too boot - she IS Martin Buser's wife!!! That means Happy Trails Kennels had three (3) major human participants in the race: Martin Buser bib #78, John Hessman, bib#51 and Kathy Chapotan, bib#Chief-Cook & Bottle Washer!! From all indications, she was a happy and jovial -to be around- as her musher-hubby Martin. What a pair!!

I do believe this would pop Kathy into a shoe-in for the Louis L'Amour 'Woman to Ride the River With - Award' !! Hands down. Now we know WHY Happy Trails Kennels is so successful. No offense Marty .. you look good on the trail and mush dogs better than most - but Kathy is better looking and is a One-Woman-Army! That is ONE THING no one messes with - for sure! You are one lucky guy to have her on YOUR side. Don't forget the flowers and goodies .. she deserves 'em !!

"THANKS TO YOU KATHY!" from all of us in the 'from afar' range of viewing the Great Race - by paper, magzine, internet and TV. Your efforts were appreciated by those who were in your presence - in that hard-tme on the trial.. Your example, too, shall kindle fires for years to come.

O'fieldstream

Iditarod 2005 - Women make BIG contributions and presence : Rachael Scdoris

NOME, 11 p.m., March 16, 2005

Rachael Scdoris, who followed through on a childhood dream of running the Iditarod, despite being legally blind, has ended her first attempt more than halfway into the race. Scdoris opted to scratch at Eagle Island, one of the most remote and often bleakest points in any Iditarod." Cabela's Iditarod - 2005 Race Coverage: "Scdoris scratches at Eagle Island" ... by Jon Little

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Ahhh .. Maaaannnn!!! NUTS! I was pullin' for you RACHAEL! But, I guess Mother Nature has been pullin' against all the mushers this year. And being the last one up the trails, I can only imagine just how 'messed-over' they would be for you.. "8 ( That would be hard on your dogs; having to literally drag the sled over soggy ground. Not good. Not good, at all!

Regardless, though - you are a real winner anyway. I am really proud of you and your acomplishement in this race: just getting into it if nothing else. I can imagine you dad is really beaming with pride for you. Hey, you're young yet. You'll be back next year - and no doubt for several years. And I can see you winning the Iditarod in not too many years as well.

As I said in an email to your website, I and many others will be watching you, Rachael. You have a great future in front of you. It will be a beautiful scenery to behold. No doubt!!

Great race. See you next Iditarod.

O'fieldstream

The Iditarod is Won - but NOT OVER!

Cabela's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Coverage

Robert Sørlie with his two lead dogs, Sox and Blue, at the finish line.
Photo by Jeff Schultz.

Sørlie holds off Iten to claim 2nd Iditarod
by Jon Little

NOME, 10:30 a.m., Mar. 16, 2005

Robert Sørlie broke trail for more than 500 miles in what surely must have been one of the most sweltering Iditarod’s ever, barely holding off an impressive late charge from Bush Alaska musher Ed Iten to win Iditarod 33. The win, the second in three years for Sørlie, returns the championship trophy to Norway.
More...

Well... the first 6 places are in - Robert Sorlie has Won the 33rd Iditarod and it is his 2nd time. Congratulations to Robert for a race well ran. He led from the beginning, despite bad weather, some trail troubles, and stiff competitors surging him - even to the very last. Still he held the lead and won.

But don't forget - there are still 61 mushers and dog teams out on the trail; in the bad weather, poor trail conditions and exhaustion. Sixty-one fellow participants of the Greatest Race on Earth .. and partakers in one of the last great Outdoor Heritage Activities left on earth: in one of the last 'wild places' as well.

My friend, Marty Buser is still on the trail - currently in 12th position; as well Jeff King (whom I've met and know professionally) in 11th position. They are among the 'next wave' of mushers who will be scrambling across the frozen surface of the barren north in crusted snow and ice, to get to the 'glow of Nome'. But they are not the last .. there are still mushers to come into Eagle Island - like Rachael Scdoris, in last place - 67th - but ever bit the energetic winner she is.

Pray for their safety. Pray for their good judgement. Pray they have a great run. Pray for their teams. Pray they will want to return again next year - to once again afirm the necessity of having 'wild places' to access - in which to do those things 'wild'. For it is peole like the mushers of the Iditarod who keep the Outdoor Heritage alive in us all. Thank them all those who participate and promote the Outdoor Heritage Activities - year-in and year-out.

Another musher will soon be crossing under the "Finish Line Bow" at Nome. Let's all be glad for it ... and pray it will never be lost. Let's all work to keep places 'wild' where mushers and dog teams will find snow and cold to challenge them and keep them coming back, year-after-wonderful-year.

O'fieldstream

Cabela's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Coverage

Cabela's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Coverage: "2005 Leaderboard

1 Robert Sorlie
2 Ed Iten
3 Mitch Seavey
4 Ramy Brooks
5 Bjornar Andersen
6 John Baker
7 Paul Gebhardt
8 Lance Mackey
9 Jessie Royer
10 Jeff King
11 Martin Buser
12 DeeDee Jonrowe
13 Aliy Zirkle
14 Doug Swingley
15 Jessica Hendricks

Well folks, that's the standings on the Iditarod's Top 15 positions from the Cabela's Iditarod web site. What a switch in two (2) days! Marty has fallen to 11th place (was 12th until he left the manditory 8 hr stop in Elim). The front six (6) are running a snow grinding race for the finish at Nome. I don't know how close they are yet .. but the Nome Cam shows it is 7:06:17 AM AST .. still dark but people are beginning to gather for the finale to what has been a really interesting race.

The weather has been a major factor. So have unexpected mishaps and errors. But this is the best race I've observed in a number of years. And it is all made so much better with the ability to gaze upon the hourly progress of the mushers via the Internet. I can only imagine what the 2010 Ididtarod Race will be like. Dog-cams; musher podcasts; virtual dog-teams .. who knows. One thing is for sure .. the weather could turn this into a wheeled sled race instead of skis !!!

There was also considerable talk this year about the lack of preparedness by race officials. The trail in many places out past Iditarod were not even prepared, forcing the leaders to be trail busters as well. This benefited the positions from 15 to 25 a lot. They were not forced to expend the energy. This could account for the swell of new faces in the Top 6 places.

However, nothing is taken from Bob Sorlie .. the 'Mighty Norseman'. He has led this race from the very 'get go'! Amazing race he has run. Unless he just keels over - he should have the 2005 Iditarod trophy in his hand within an hour or so .. to take back home with him to Norway.

If you want to watch the Crossing of the Finish Line .. then turn your browser here a LIVE STREAM from ABC Alaska ... it should be neat.

I do hope Marty Buser makes a good run to finish low in the Top 10. We'll have to see when he crossed the finish line.

O'fieldstream

Martin Buser - lost dog = lost 2 hrs

Cabela's Iditarod - 2005 Race Coverage: AWOL dog costs Buser a couple hours
by Jon Little

EAGLE ISLAND, 7 p.m., AST, March 12, 2005

Martin Buser waves his arms in a kind of hula, indicating his sense of the ridiculous. Buser actually lost a dog on the way to Eagle Island. - Cabela's Iditarod - 2005 Race Coverage story 03.13.05
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Well.. as I've said anything can happen on the Race trail .. and to the most experienced of mushers. One of the KEY things I read in this article about Marty's 2-hour goose-chase, was when he said, about his lost dog, Quebec, "He's a good dog, and I decided to have a good attitude about it". This statement reveals a man who can roll-with-the-punches. He's tough as nails - proving that by racing with this injured hand - and continuing in the Idit Race business for over 20 years, but Martin Buser is also a class act. He could have come into the checkpoint at Eagle all mad and making excuses, but instead he comes in characteristically jovial and joking about the mishap. Noone was hurt. Only time was lost - not a LIGHT THING EITHER .. but he was NOT going to let this get the better of him or his dogs. Because Marty knows, the dogs will 'feed' off of his attitude - therefore he keeps it High.

This is an exemplary example of the Outdoor Heritage. Where those involved realize they are not the objective and the cool-head, clear-mind, focused-on-the-goal-at-hand attitude, will WIN in the end. More importantly - will survive.

Good luck Marty ... you've already won in many categories. Let's see if "Buser #5 in 2005" is yours this year as well.

O'fieldstream

I REST my case ...

I just visited the Cabela's Iditarod site and found this headline report on Marty Buser ... it's quite an interesting read! Take a read and enjoy the air of this musher with a real sense of the moment ...

O'fieldstream

Day 6 on the Iditarod Trail: Buser is #3 and hot on the tail ...

The Iditarod: Seriously like REAL LIFE

Well... I've definitely got the Iditarod fever - so I'm posting more about it. And I'm fixated on watching the performance of 4-time Idit winner Martin Buser.

I always come in on the side of an under-dog, but who would have thought Marty would ever be an under-dog? But due to his hand injury - just a few days before the start of the 2005 Iditarod race - the event this man LIVES for .. had done just that.

Not even Marty was sure - right up to the gunshot start - whether Marty would compete or not. Folks that is SERIOUS stuff!

That's like imagining all the major players in the 'other sports' - you know the ones where guys and gals are paid a lot of money to play, in comfort and close proximity to saftey and help if they need it. They're the sports that the mushes in the Idit would call, 'woosie sports'; and rightly so. Well, it's like imagining they (the top seeds) ALL had to set out the season of their respective sports. Set it out WITHOUT PAY .. and without the opportunity to prove you're worthy of making any money the rest of the year.

Oh! Now it sounds a bit more serious. Doesn't it? I should hope so! This race - though today a very different race than even 10 years ago - is still one where a musher or their dogs can die on any given day of the entire race: even minutes before victory or at least a finish. This is serious. This is a lot like REAL LIFE. Maybe that's why I really enjoy this race.

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March 10 2005 saw Marty come in from WAY behind to stop in Iditarod as #4 in the Race !! Woah MARTY!! And you're doing this with a severely injured hand? It's no wonder you're a multi-year winner of this Race.

This morning, March 11 2005 sees Marty on the trail with Paul Gerhart in front, but with Robert Sorlie and Martin Buser in a real RACE for 1st position. As of 09:15 AM EST on March 11 2005 - here's the Official Cabela's Iditarod Leader Board standings:

1 Paul Gebhardt
2 Robert Sørlie
3 Martin Buser
4 Aliy Zirkle
5 Ramy Brooks
6 DeeDee Jonrowe
7 Mitch Seavey
8 Jeff King
9 Ed Iten
10 John Baker
11 Tyrell Seavey
12 Gerald Sousa
13 Doug Swingley
14 Bjørnar Andersen
15 Lance Mackey

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How's the young Rachael Scdoris doing ? She's currently in 61st position - remember she was in 70th position just 3 days ago - Whoa! up 9-slots ! Way to Go Rachael!! She's currently still in layover in Tokotna, 2-checkpoints out from Iditarod and 419 miles onto the trail. What a lady! This young lady is a true winner! GOOOO RACHAEL !!!!
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Where's the Amazon Lady of the Iditarod .. Jessica Hendricks ? She's left Ophir making here way tod in 17th position - with 1 less dog in the team - to only 13 dogs, now - she's just 2-positions out from the Leader Board!! Amazing. She's 444 miles on the trail out of Anchorage - and breathing down the necks of every musher on the trail - and their future Iditarods! MUSH Jessica MUSH!!
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I remain in AWE of these tough and knowledgable athletes - both human and dog - as they brave the bitterly harsh elements of the Alaskan wilderness. Today there is help along the way if something is SEEN to go wrong. And this is the KEY WORD .. SEEN. For if you get off the trail or have a crash in the trees - you may NOT be SEEN and therefore, you might become a statistic of the Iditarod that only OTHER people get to read.

A parting note on the care and concern given the dogs by their owners in this race. There have been, over the years, much debate on the ethicacy of even putting dogs in such a race. The argument is that the dogs are 'pushed' and 'beaten' - forced as if slaves' - to bear their mushers along the trail ONLY for the sake of winning. And this no doubt was the case in the 'early days' of the race .. for a FEW: but only a very few. For the musher knows full well that the dog IS the key element to getting from Point A to Point B safe, sound and alive. In the bush your learn very quickly that only a FOOL will knowingly put him or herself into harms way .. and that includes the dogs.

Read this piece from Kathy Buser, on their web site, talking about their dog Freedom - who 3 days ago injured her humerous - and the rapid chain-of-events that led up to her corrective surgery.

March 9 - Our team was once again mobilized and Freedom was at our own Big Lake Susitna Veterinary Hospital with Dr. Beatsle before midnight last night. She is scheduled for surgery this morning and the prognosis for a full recovery is good. As soon as Dr. Beatsle heard the news about Freedom he made plans to rendezvous with her at the clinic. Harry happened to be in town so we had a fairly quick transport time. Considering the incident happened less than 12 hours earlier in Nikolai it's pretty amazing that she will be getting treatment so soon. Dr. Beatsle will examine each dog that is dropped as they come off the trail. Anyone who has doubts about the humane treatment of Iditarod dogs might make note of such incredible care given our dogs. Thanks to the staff at the clinic for their long term commitment to our dogs.
From the web site: Happy Trails Kennels ... 03.09.05

I would also recommend you take a visit to the Happy Trails web site and review the 'awards' Marty has won in his 25 years of running the Iditarod. Yes, he's a recognized 4-time winner of the Iditarod. This tells you he was skilled and fortunate enough to be the first one to cross the finish line. It also tells you he has and cares for a magnificent team of canine athletes. When to go to this LINK you will see that Marty is ALSO a 4 -time winner of the Alaska Airlines Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian and a 4-time winner of the Gold Harness Award among many others from 1988-2004. These two awards specifically tell you want kind of man and human - this person named Martin Buser - REALLY IS. Do not worry for dogs under the care, ownership or command of Martin Buser. Also know, he not only affects the dogs he owns, but many of the dog owners across this modern-day sport of the Outoor Heritage Activity of Dog Sleding.

I would say... Dog Sledding is in Good Hands, with Martin Buser. He also has two fine mushers walking in his footsteps and making their own in his two sons, Rohn and Nicholai. The family that mushes together - keeps the Heritage alive.

Here's a link to a really nice overhead shot of Marty and his dog-team a few miles out from the Ophir checkpoint.

O'fieldstream

2005 Iditarod : the View from Below 61.2° N

Last year my wife, Debra and I - along with our good friends, Ed and Judy Hauser, were in Anchorage, Alaska for an annual church conference meeting. When we found out that the municple of Anchorage, AK was an available choose for attendance .. we jumped at the opportunity. This was the first time in Alaska for all of us and we will all attest - Anchorage was going to be interesting - but it what was Outside that we really wanted to see!!

Ed and I have dreamed of Alaska since we were kids - and we've shared hundreds of hours of conversation on the various topics Alaska inspires in the minds of those who love the outdoors, over the past 21 years we've known each other. Our wives, too, have had a deep interest in seeing Alaska as well; for reasons different than ours. But, I also think it was partially to see what has kept us so enthralled with this, the largest state in the collection of unique landmasses called The United States of America.

Well, needless to say, we were ALL duly impressed, awed and splendidly pleased with out first visit to the Land of the Nothern Lights. How could you not in a state with, "North to the Future" as it's motto.

One of our excursions - was a planned church outing - to visit the kennels of an actual Iditarod legend: 4-time winner, Martin Buser, owner of Happy Trails Kennels, in Big Lake, AK. We again - jumped on this opportunity - eagerly! And we were not disappointed.

Matin Buser- known as Marty - is an extremely outgoing, friendly and welcoming person. He operates a handshake and a smile the same way he does his business .. with warmth, compassion and professionalism. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour of the kennels, meeting the rest of the Buser family .. which includes the amble through the dozens of dog houses - where, as Marty puts it, ".. the true athletes live." And athletes they are: in endurance, skill, determination and welcoming! Marty raises his dogs to be 'people oriented' and they show it. They LOVE you to walk up, pet, scratch and talk to them. They then warmly reciprocate. I've never enjoyed dirty paw prints so much in my life.

When we left, carrying our brochures, souvenir dog-booties and several score of digital photographs, we also left with a new-found friend. You just can't help getting the feeling that both Marty and the Iditarod were NOW close to you. They both seeped into our souls... nestling in like a sled dog into a much earned snow-bed ... and warming up against all the 'cold' we find in daily life. Amazing that a race that takes place in such ominous surroundings; dangerous conditions; and spirit grinding length and breadth .. can actually infuse a person with such a 'fire'.

But - I reckon I'm not totally amazed at this .. I've been an Iditarod-junkie since the first time I read about it long ago as child on the farm in west-central Indiana: a long way from AK and Dog racing's Greatest Race.

Yes, it may be a long way from here to there, but that does not stop the 'fire' and the 'love' I have for both the event, the athletes, the mushers ... and that mystical land they all converge on the first week in March.

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Tid-bits on the 2005 Iditarod

IDITAROD 2005 Weather Conditions ON THE TRAIL ... provided by Weather Underground

You'll see the current weather THERE as you pass your cursor OVER the Check Point and ... and in most cases, you'll be glad you're where YOU ARE!! ;-)

* Southern Route -this years route - (odd years) map for current weather conditions along the trail
* Northern Route ...(even years) map of current weather conditions along the trail

These are the two sites where I'm getting all this information:

* Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and
* The Cabela's site ... again has a GREAT coverage on the race - this year !!

Just thought you might like to know how our 'buddy' Marty Buser is doing.

1. Marty is IN the race .. despite partially amputating his middle finger ( right hand) in a table saw accident on March 1!! Yikes Martin .. what were your thinkin' '!!!!???!!!!! Here's a neat Interview with Marty .. some pix, too from HAPPY TRAILS KENNELS. Here's more in-depth coverage from the Cabela's site on Marty's amputation .

NOTE: Updates on Marty and his dogs found here - Happy Trails Kennels!

2. Marty is currently holding 8th position .. (may change by the time you all read this, too!) He WAS in 5th place when he entered the McGrath checkpoint, yesterday. UPDATE 03.08.05: Just as I sent this email Marty was still resting in McGrath and has now dropped to 9th position - just ahead of Cabela's sponsored Mike King .. who is a good friend and serious competitor with Marty. I now have met them both - want to get to know them both better. I hope he [Marty] has it in him to continue to the finish line .. we know his dogs do !! That's for sure !! :-)

3. Here are Marty's 'stats' on his previous races ... pretty interesting.

4. Marty's BIO from ITSDR site ... more background on Marty for this race ... note the NAMES of dogs at the bottom of this info.. you WILL recognize a couple - if not more - name ... Cool! 8-)

5. And if you want to find out MORE on ANY MUSHER .. go here. Select from drop-down list and clik .. really interesting!

6. Hey WANNA Race Next year?? !! Here are all the forms necessary ..!! :-) 8-)

7. Here's the NOME Web Cam ... I'm assuming that from here you can WATCH the Winning Musher cross the line !!! Wicked Cool! 8-) And - they say MORE are 'coming' .. here's the list of 'other' Race Cams.

8. The IditaRider Program begun by Mike King, Cabela's sponsored musher and used by Make-A-Wish and others ... very neat write up from the Cabela's site

9. Here a truly interesting and heart-warming story... Rachael Scdoris ( Yes, the spelling is correct !!) .. legally blind, fought with Iditarod race officials for several years to allow her to race. They finally gave in - here's her story. Here's more! This young lady is not only a great musher .. she's the first real "Iditarod Babe'!! :-D 8-) :-* And here are Rachael's CURRENT STATS ... she's in 70th position .. and EVERY BIT a WINNER !!!

10. Not to mention the Mushing Female Amazon Jessica Hendricks!! This shows here latest STATS from the Cabela's site. [From the first piece, notice WHOM she beat in the Tustumena 200 Mile Race !! Jeff King .. Cabela's 'sponsor god' !!! This young lady is a musher to reckon with .. she's currently in 12th position ... and she's a ROOKIE !!!

Well .. that's only a 'sampling' of the info from both sites. INCREDIBLE!!! Technology is pretty cool .. eh? Check out the web sites at the top ... there are some amazing stories .. just from THIS YEAR .. and that is not including the Archived Years !!!

I'm printing off each day's highlights - again this year - and sending them to my brother, who is in his final 14 months of a 20 year incarceration in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Florida facilities. He is and has been an avid fan of the Iditarod as long as I have been: so, He LOVES it! And so - it seems - do a couple of his 'roomies' .. they are FROM AK!! Well, you know they have GOT to be hurting - being 'cooped' in FL !!!
ARRGHH .. I think I just found another definition for HELL !! [:o

'til next time ,

O'fieldstream

Should Wisconsin Allow Feral Cat Season?

Should Wisconsin Allow Feral Cat Season?

Updated: 4:41 PM Mar 7, 2005

by ... Zac Schultz

Dane County: What is the best way to deal with the feral cat problem in Wisconsin? That's a question being asked of animal lovers, wildlife ecologists, and now hunters.

The Conservation Congress is considering a proposal to hunt wild cats.

A group called Friends of Ferals is working with the Dane County Humane Society to take care of them until they have a new home. 'Last year we got six hundred out of the wild brought them in here, spay/neutered them and released them back into the wild,' says The Humane Society's Tracy Earll.

The captured cats are just the tip of the feral iceberg. UW Wildlife Ecology Professor Stanley Temple says his 1995 study conservatively estimates there are 1.4 million feral cats in Wisconsin. And those cats kill and eat a lot of other animals.
'So 1.4 million cats times 28 kills a year and 20% of those kills being birds adds up to at least, and I'll emphasize at least 7.8 million birds that are killed by free ranging cats a year. That's an alarming number,' says Temple."

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GIVE ME A BREAK !!!

Look - I like cats as well as the next person. Kittens are one of the cutest little animals going ... but a cat is a cold-blooded, calculating killer; an incredibly effecient predator. To knowing unleash hundreds of such predators on the natural world is not only STUPID .. it is unconscionable!!!

There is absolutely no sense whatsoever in turning cats loose - on the wild - that are only here because of abused and over-populated domiciled felines, turned loose, due to human neglagence. So, those who are 'soft' on the cats, make a decision to waste the birds, rodents, reptiles, amphibians and insects of the natural ecosystem - just to keep alive cats who are NOT a part of that ecosystem: and never were ?

Now that these - 'Friends of the Ferals' - have taken upon themselves to unleash this menace upon the Wisconsin ecosystem, someone else has to come in and clean up the mess. The whole thing could have been totally avoided by destroying the feral cats when caught the first time around. But of course that makes way too much sense .. right? And of course it's not a 'politically correct' action in these days when far too many humans operate on 'human emotion' when making decisions that are purely biologically oriented. These two ideologies are NOT inclusive and never will. Human emotion is NOT related to the life and death struggle of the natural world of animals. When it is brought into the mix - mistakes become the prolific norm.

This action is a clear example of someone having NO IDEA of what Outdoor Heritage is about. Ignorance - regardless of where it comes from - is destructive.

Let's get it straight. The RESOURCE ... that is the NATURAL RESOURCE ... is what needs to be protected, conserved and as need be - restored. The RESOURCE for any given ecosystem is determined by the native plants, animals and other biota that existed there, BEFORE man came into its scene. This includes our importations of plants and animals from outside the ecosystem.

So, no matter how 'cute', 'cuddly' or 'deserving' we may think a creature is - if it is NOT part of the ORIGINAL building block of the ecosystem in question ... GET RID OF IT. AVOIT IT. KILL IT. DO NOT put it - or ALLOW IT - into the ecosystem. It DOES NOT BELONG and will do more damage to the ecosystem than any good we 'emotionally driven humans' might imagine.

It is imperative that we understand, humans are NOT the 'creators' of the ecosystems or environment. We are only co-habitants along with the rest of the resource. We do have the ability to be either 'caretaker' or 'undertaker'. One does NOT mutually condone the other; they are mutually exclusive! Our staying out of the way of nature, does NOT afford the luxery of 'insertions'; even those many of us have come to love, appreciate and depend upon for our outdoor enjoyment. The Bottom Line on ecosystem longevity and sustainability is simple, "... if it [a life form] is NOT a part [of an ecosystem] by natural development, it does not belong and should not be infused and should be restrained at all costs."

One of the most important parts of understanding the meaning of Outdoor Heritage, is the understanding and appreciation for the ability of the natural system to keep and maintain it's on integrity... without man's intervention. We humans will do much more good if we Stop-Look-and Listen ... something we used to be taught for our own saftey and protection - as children crossing roadways ... to what nature is doing in its normal patterns. The moment we begin forging nature into what satisfies our wants - nature begins to be altered - unnaturally. And the results have shown themselves to be disasterous for all -- to nature and mankind.

O'fieldstream

Alerts - September/October 2002 Planet Newsletter - Sierra Club

Alerts - September/October 2002 Planet Newsletter - Sierra Club: "Fire Hysteria Clouds Wild Forest Effort
By Tom Valtin

CedarDespite a growing chorus of editorial skepticism from newspapers across the country about the Bush administration's pro-logging 'Healthy Forests Initiative,' the president and his Senate allies have been burning up the airwaves blaming environmental protection for this summer's forest fires.

In late July, before the fires usurped the headlines, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) introduced the Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2002, S. 2790, which joined its House counterpart, H.R. 4865."

Alright ... breakout the pens, keyboards and telephones! Get your comments and opinions out to your local members of Congress. Let them know you WANT you Outdoor Heritage Protected and NOT wasted for the sake of making a few $$.

If you don't take action, then don't complain when you head for your favorite backwoods area and it's nothing more than a grassland at best - or a wasteland at worst. But neither of them will provide you with the 'forest of your dreams'.

ACT NOW .. or CRY for the rest of your life.

O'fieldstream

$1,000,000 and 1,000's of hours of volunteer work ... WASTED!

WKOW TV: "Sugar River Contaminated
Sun 02-27-2005 , 9:27 pm


Dozens of fish have turned up dead over the weekend in the West Branch of the Sugar River.

A Dane County River just removed from a list of polluted waterways is contaminated again."

QPR Institute: Life is too precious to NOT be pro-active

QPR Institute: "For the general public,the QPR Institute and its over 1,200 certified trainers offer suicide prevention training throughout the United States. Schools, service clubs,fire departments, churches, youth groups, and hundreds of other organizations have received the QPR gatekeeper training program. In just over five years, more than 250,000 Americans in 40 states have received this life-saving training."

I have lost 4 close friends, several associations and 2 revered authors to the finality of suicide. There are as many 'causes' of suicide as there are people to who make this fatal decision. However, all of them have one thing in common: "Life, to them, becomes unbearable." The one thing we cannot replace - no matter how much sci-fi one consumes, it is still in the imagination and out of touch with reality that humans can restore life. Once Life is gone - it is gone. That is final.

However, like many other social ills we, in our fast-paced, time-crunched and over-anxious society experience, there IS solution! And, amazingly it -like the proverbial 'forest' - is, right in front of our noses; but we can't - or choose not - to see it. Amazing and aggonizingly frustrating - but true.

For those who have experienced the loss that comes with a committed suicide, I need not 'pound the podium' to drum up response - your attention to this subject is surface-oriented and ever present. For those who have only 'read about it' or 'observed it in the media', will need a bit more cajolling - however, I hope not too much. Because as the statistics show, ever 18 minutes - of every, single day - 24/7/365 - another American dies at their own hands. This need not happen.

The QPR site offers expert advice on the 'signs' we can all be aware of - personally and socially - that will allow us to head-off a potential act of the 'Forever Choice' : Suicide. Take the time to visit the site. Read their information; thoroughly.

I also strongly encourage all of us to become educated in the skill of Suicide Prevention. Many of us in the world of OUTDOOR RECREATON are aware of the benefits CPR certification. What most of do not know is there is equally a need for QPR's Certifications. These are tools anyone can be taught to use that can and will save lives.

As a QPR-trained Gatekeeper you will learn to:

• recognize the warning signs of suicide
• know how to offer hope
• know how to get help and save a life

Visit their site today - get the facts - and make the committment to become QPR Certified. The life you save - may very well be someone you care deeply about - possibly even your own.

1. QPR: Question - Persude - Refer
2. URL: http://www.qprinstitute.com
3. Contact: 1-888-726-7926 or qinstitute@qwest.net

Arthur O'fieldstream

Being Thankful, unfortunately, has it's difficult side these days

We live in what has to be one of the most awkward times for our country - possibly ever. On one hand we are striving to rid the World of the menace of demonic terrorism. And, yet, on the other hand that same government is speeding pall mall toward the destruction of our very platform of life: our lands. our water. our air. How can this be?

There is but one word that calls all of these together and binds them into understanding. That word is GREED. There is an old story of how to catch a monkey with a jar of cookies. Put several cookies in the jar and leave it in the open. When you see a monkey reach in, you will also see him just set there. You will be able to walk right up to the monkey and dispatch him without bother. Why? Why would this, otherwise, shrewd and warry animal not flee at the approach of a human? The answer is simple. The monkey had too many cookies in its hand to get it out of the jar and would not drop the cookies to make his escape.

This describes the very act of knowingly destroying the land, air and water on which our very life depends. And why those who do so, do it with doctored science and statistics. Knowing full well that the truth-of-the-matter will be devastating in the end. Yet, they will - for the short-term - suck the life out of what is avaiable for their gain today.

I know. When you put it like this - it's obviously insane. And you'll say, "They can't possibly be doing that!" My response - and the response of many others in the scientific, outdoor recreation, environmental, agricultural and many other areas - is simply this, '... take a look at what is happening. The facts do tell as very scary truth.'

So, at this season of the Thanksgiving holiday, as yourself this simple question. At time when more people are concerned with 'big sales' and buying gifts for the upcoming Xmas season, than they are for the health and safety of their very own environment, do we actually have ANYTHING ... or ANYONE!... to be Thankful; for?
Well... more all the time - a thinking person must weigh-that-question-out... longer and longer. But the overriding answer is still .. YES!

We STILL have he opportunity to put a halt to the insanity. We STILL have the power of Free Speech. We STILL have the ability to move toward a 'grass roots' movement. We STILL have the financial freedom to 'make things happen'. The QUESTION that remains is still the same one that's been asked for the last 34 years of my memory - and who knows how long before that ... "Will we ACT?" Not just, "Will we ACT IN TIME?" But, simply, "WILL WE ACT?", at all... ?

But IF we wait much longer, we won't have the air for the breath it will take to speak-out or take action. We will go thirsty for want of water - and all efforts will wither. In the end there won't be any land worth fighting for. Then - YES THEN - we will no longer need a Thanksgiving Day ... we'll then be crying for a DAY when we once could be Thankful.

Act NOW ! Let's not wait until there is NO time left. And let's realize that time IS very close. A LOT CLOSER than most realize.

--------------------
Be Thankful. Have a Pleasant Thanksgiving. But, also be in a state-of-mind that is determined to KEEP THAT FOR WHICH WE HAVE TO BE THANKFUL!!

This IS vital to - and a vital part of - your OUTDOOR HERITAGE.

A. O'fieldstream

A Picture of Outdoor Heritage .. in ACTION

Weblog: "Four Generations Of Richeys.

TRAVERSE CITY - The air was cool and the wind was up a bit but I chose to sit out this hunting day. It was a day I'll long remember because it was filled with love and promise as we greeted a new arrival in our family.

There were four generations of Richeys gathered at our home today. My father, Lawrence, at 92 years old, is the patriarch of our family. Me, at 65, was the next oldest. My son Guy, soon to be 35, brought his six-week-old son, Joshua David, to our home for a mini-family reunion. It was the first time my father had a chance to meet his great-grandson, and for us to get all four generations together." READ ON

Dan Small Outdoors: "Blogging The Road"

From Blog The Road: "I wonder if anybody makes a surface bait with 3-foot wings and legs?"


It's just not everyday that your read something like this. And then, it's not every day you get to read .. oh, wait just scaulded-dog minute! You do! You do get to read this .. every day - and sometimes twice a day.

How? You ask ... (Ok .. .OK.. O K !! That's your cue .. !!!) How ? YOU ASK ... ???

Whew! For a moment I didn't think you'd catch on ... but since you asked .. and so kindly, tune into an Outdoor Writer's Network Blog .. that's how.

Never heard of the Outdoor Writers Network? And what's a BLOG? Well, I'm not surprised - they are both still pretty new - and for the most part quite rare, too. But they are out there. In fact - if you're actually reading this - then you've found one: The O'fieldstream Blog.

The Outdoor Network Blog: Blog The Road, comes from Dan Small, from up-Wisconsin-way. Each day, during Dan's regular activity as an outdoor communicator, he uncovers and discovers interesting details that he passes onto his reading public by way of his Blog.

I've yet to read one of his Blog-o-ports (that's a report-by-Blog .. by, Blog!) that isn't both enlightening and entertaining. And that's pretty much why I read this stuff anyway. It's fun. Engaging. And it's downright informative.

So .. shuffle back this way - The O'fieldstream Blog (the 'Original' Outdoor Writers Network Blog) from time-to-time (daily would be a recommended good-thing!) to get your daily dose of Outdoor Information that's both, Fun and Engaging. And if you really don't have time to buzz on over here - like most of these days, you're no doubt a busy-person, too - then get yourself a News Aggregator to do your 'travelin' 'n gatherin' for you. Huh .. you say? News aggravation .. well, yes it is ... ??

NO. I didn't say News Aggravator !! I said NEWS AGGREGATOR.

OK, I see it's time for an 'official' definition for the question:

What is a News Aggregator?

• A news aggregator is "software that periodically reads a set of
  news sources, in one of several XML-based formats, finds the new
  bits, and displays them in reverse-chronological order on a single
  page."


• You open the Aggregator and read the short-blips on what a 'blogger' has written and then you descide if you want to read any more. It's pretty cool. You don't have to go trapsing around the Internet or try to remember how you filed those Bookmarks, to find your information. It is serverd - right to you. Personal like.




• From : Dave Winer's, DaveNet Oct 8 2002, What is an Aggregator
  

Now head on over to Danny-boys and read his latest ramblings - he's got some really good ones, too. But don't just stay around with the current 'warm bread' .. head down through the Archives to read those that are resting on the bottom.

Unlike the "sludge" - you'd expect to find at the 'bottom-of-something' - this is more like fine wine that improves with time and stored in a cellar while it ages and matures. You'll find some really 'good stuff' down in the, Blog The Road 'cellar'.. Just wait 'til you read the story that goes with this one !!

A. O'fieldstream

Whitefish Studio & TMAR .. Outdoor Heritage Boosters

Another Box of Rocks ... maybe, maybe not

'Got a black magic woman
Got a black magic woman
I've got a black magic woman, got me so blind I can't see.
That she's a black magic woman, she's trying to make a devil out of me.'
-Carlos Santana

I recently received a visit from a reader of the Thursday Morning Art Review who happened to be in the area on business and took the time to stop by.

We'd just exchanged pleasantries when I was called down to the house for a few minutes.

'Sorry to bail out on you like that.' I said upon my return. 'Not a problem.' He replied. 'It was fun to look around the place. Even though we've just met, I feel like I know quite a bit about you. There's the box of rocks that you wrote about last week.' He nodded toward the corner. 'But, there's more than just rocks...'"

-- from the Whitefish Studio web site's -"Thursday Morning Art Review ...

Yes ... that's the way it is with a lot of things we see on a regular basis .. we begin to forget that they are MUCH MORE than just rocks.

This exerpt, is from the site of a gentle man - and I do mean that in that way - who is both a collegue and a friend. He is also an incredibley talented person who is able to share with others through his art and his writing the experiences of a lifetime streamside and afield. His name is Bob White.

Bob and his wife Lisa own and operate Whitefish Studios out of their home in Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota. Bob is a 20+ year veteran of guiding both fishing and hunting in some of the most beautiful areas on earth: Alaska and Argentina. He brings to the canvas and watercolor paper the revelations of his years of passionate attention to detail and the experiences with some of the most colorful characters imaginable. He and Lisa then make them available to us - the waiting and yearning public, who only dream of such experience - in the forms of original art, reproduction prints and note cards.

Recently - over the past 2 years - Bob has been experimenting with a new medium: writing. Bob has shown, in that time, that he is as at-home with a computer keyboard as he is with his brushes and palettes. Each week, nearly 2000 eager souls wait for their email to inform them they have 'mail'. Because they know they will be getting the new - hot-off-the-press visions of Bob in his regular weekly publication, "Thursday Morning Art Review" .. or TMAR as we've come to fondly refer to it.

TMAR is a word story that flows from the images of Bob's artwork - through his years of experience - and colored by his very fertile imagination and storehouse of knowledge. Each story carries with it the images of thousands of experiences - yet focused though one image - a print - which Bob promotes, each week.

As an artist myself, I can appreciate the talent it takes to make these images and prose come to life for me and hundreds of others. As an outdoorsman, I relish in the experiences Bob allows me to experience vicariously. As a promoter and evangelist of the Outdoor Heritage I am not only thankful .. I am awed .. by the power Bob brings to the statements one can make for the grandeur, the majesty, the magic .. the sheer wonder of it all: the beauty of the natural world.

The ancient chinese philosopher Confucious is credited with the saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words" .. and it is so true. Imagine, then, how gifted one must be to be able to say a thousand words and create a picture in your mind of the very picture your are looking upon, but ... from another perspective. That is the art and talent of Bob White.

Experience the Whitefish Studios. Experience the 'Thursday Morning Art Review'. Experience the great Outdoors. And then step-to-the-plate to ensure they will always be there ... for us - and for future generations. Support efforts to protect and preserve our resources. Take steps to insure each of your actions- in or out of the outdoors- does the same. Teach a child, pass-on-to a friend and strengthen within yourself - the Outdoors Code ... to be respectful of and towards the natural resources. Embue this effort through being engaged in the Outdoor Heritage Activities.

Experience the magic through the visuals and words of those like Bob White. Support those who work diligently to feed their passions - those that bring to all of us the wonders of nature - in their various forms: of artwork , as stories in print, as photographs, in movies, as online productions, and by whatever media they use.

Support the Outdoor Communicators. Those who ply their craft as artists of pen and brush - and those who today use the modern technological versions. For it is through their efforts we have a legacy - a visual, oral and written - record of our wonderous Outdoor Heritage. It will be through those 'pictures' with which we will launch a thousand words - that will reconstitute our memories of the wildlife and times that inhabit the streams, fields and mountains. All of which we so deeply hold dear .. and for many, as the burning words of a wise man once said still prod us today;

"... Be that as it may, I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?"
- Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac

And that .. well, that's - as my dad used to say, "our sack-of-rocks".

A. O'fieldstream