Pilot lands mushing adventure

GENE JANSEN\For the Frontiersman

WASILLA - Musher Phil Morgan may be a new face at the starting line of this year's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, but he is no stranger on the trail to Nome. Since 1995, he has been a volunteer for the Iditarod Sled Dog Trail.

Morgan has helped shuttle race marshals and mushers in and out of remote checkpoints as a member of the low-flying Iditarod Air force. But this year, he wants to keep his feet on the ground. Instead of watching, he will be competing in the 1,049-mile race to Nome.

To qualify for the Last Great Race, Morgan entered the Copper River Basin 300 and finished 15th out of 40 mushers. He also raced in the local Knik 200, in which he placed second. A pretty good finish for a rookie, although he said many of the teams entered in the race were practicing and merely exposing puppy teams to the rigors of competition. Morgan still has three weeks before making the final cut to narrow the team down to 16 dogs.

"I have 22 Iditarod-worthy dogs," he said. "Five more three-and-half-hour runs to go, then I will determine who goes."

The Alaska Airlines pilot is using every bit of vacation time he has accumulated to enlist in the race, but he does not mind being ground-bound as long as he is still the pilot. When Morgan approached kennel owner and former Iditarod competitors Andy and Silvia Willis, of Alaska's Deshka River Lodge, about leasing their dogs, it was a mutual fit.

"I thought if the opportunity arose, I would take it," Morgan said. "They had the time and resources to allow me to fulfill a dream."

Morgan has been flying to the confluence of the Deshka and Big Su Rivers once or twice a week since September to train for the race, but he was in Wasilla recently to take care of his canines' business affairs.

The Iditarod Trail Committee requires all dogs to go through health-screening processes. Morgan brought 22 potential starters to the Iditarod Trail headquarters Monday to have electrocardiograms, blood tests and microchipping done. According to the ITC's Rule 45, titled "Pre-race Veterinary Exam," mushers may bring up to 24 dogs to be examined by ITC veterinarians, as long as they do it all at one scheduled time.

The medical work must be administered between Feb. 18-March 2. The deadline includes submission of each dog's pre-race exam forms, proof of vaccination, microchip identification sheet, verification of deworming form and a completed chief veterinarian signature form.

Procedures like blood testing, electrocardiograms and microchipping are done as part of the race prep and are provided by the ITC. Race entry fees help absorb some of the vet costs, so mushers are not charged additional fees for the services. However, Iditarod entrants are responsible for providing each dog's appropriate checkup and vaccination documentation, the costs for which the mushers and kennel owners take on.

"So far I'm in the hole," Morgan said. "I do it for the love of the dogs, the love of the race and the challenge."